Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 25

“Get lost. I don’t want to see you for even a second longer.”

With that, Ken turned his back on her.

To Emily, his retreating figure felt like an impenetrable fortress.

There was nothing more she could say.

All that remained was confusion and pain.

A deep, gnawing pain that was rising from within her chest.

‘I don’t care what Ken says… it doesn’t bother me…’

Emily tried to convince herself, but deep down, she knew something was going wrong.

She had been rejected.

She had rejected herself, just as she had tried to reject Ken.

‘I don’t care…’

She kept lying to herself, but her feet were already carrying her out of the classroom.

...

After Emily had left, the classroom was filled with the whispers of the other students.

I, on the other hand, was slumped over my desk, my hands clutching my head.

'What the hell did I just do, you idiot Ken?!'

It seemed that something Emily had said about Mary had triggered Ken, causing his immersion level to spike, and he’d finally unleashed the feelings he had been bottling up.

Watching it all unfold from the sidelines, I thought, This is it. I'm gonna get hit now. … But Emily’s reaction was completely unexpected.

“…Ugh, ugh.”

Her lips quivered, and her fists clenched tightly, her shoulders trembling.

She didn’t look scared exactly, but there was something in her expression… as if she was holding back a deep sorrow.

Her eyes began to redden, tears welling up before she hurriedly left the room.

‘Should I go after her?’

Still slumped over my desk, I wondered if I should chase after her and try to explain. But what explanation could I give? I had just said exactly what I had wanted to say. If I ran after her now with a smile, she’d probably think I was insane.

‘Well, there’s no helping it... Maybe I’ll talk to her tomorrow.’

I didn’t want my relationship with Emily to deteriorate too much.

As the story progressed toward its ending, I needed to maintain some level of closeness with her to influence certain events.

Sure, Emily disliked me, but at least we could have brief conversations like we had recently.

'But... what should I even say?'

I spent the rest of the day agonizing over how to improve things with Emily.

But Emily didn’t return to the classroom that day.

And the next day, she didn’t show up at the academy at all.

...

Emily lay face down on her bed in her dormitory.

Since she had hurriedly left the classroom and returned to her dorm, she hadn’t done anything. She just lay there, unmoving.

But unlike the stillness of the room, Emily’s mind was anything but calm.

'...What was with those eyes?'

The only thing she could think about was the way Ken had looked at her.

His expression was filled with anger, hatred, and hostility.

His words kept repeating in her mind.

'Get lost. I don’t want to see you for even a second longer.'

That voice echoed over and over, stabbing at Emily’s heart.

“Why... why do I have to feel this way about someone like Ken…?”

She didn’t want to cry.

If she cried, she’d be admitting that his words had hurt her.

If his words had hurt her, it meant that all the feelings she had denied were true.

So she didn’t want to cry.

But despite her resistance, tears began to fall from her eyes, drop by drop.

“No… I don’t… I don’t care about Ken…”

She kept lying to herself, but in the cracks of her broken heart, her true feelings began to leak out.

'I don’t want him to hate me.'

“It doesn’t matter if Ken hates me. Nothing will change.”

'I don’t want him to hate me.'

“We weren’t that close anyway, right? He’ll go his way, and I’ll go mine.”

'I don’t want him to hate me.'

“It’s just… just how things are…”

Her words, meant to protect her from the pain, did nothing to help.

Her emotions, which she could no longer suppress, poured out, accompanied by more tears.

“Please… don’t look at me like that…”

In truth, Emily knew.

She knew she was in the wrong.

At first, she had only hurt Ken as a way to deny her own feelings for him.

She didn’t want to admit she had feelings for someone like him.

But at some point, her heart had started to race whenever she made him flustered.

Seeing him confused and unsure had given her a thrill.

Her heartbeat quickened, and she wanted to mess with him more, touch him more.

What she had initially rejected had turned into something she was addicted to.

And so, she had kept tormenting him.

Even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn’t stop.

So when Mary had stood up to her, part of her had felt relieved.

She didn’t know how to stop herself, after all.

And when Ken had defended her during the confrontation with Mary, she had been secretly overjoyed.

'Oh no, Mary! It’s not bullying! Emily and I are just friends!'

‘F-Friends?’

Of course, she knew that Ken had only said that to smooth things over.

But still, those words had echoed in her mind ever since.

That was when she realized.

'I want to get closer to Ken.'

After that, she had tried to make excuses to spend time with him, to build a more normal relationship.

'Ken, why don’t you eat lunch with me today? Just for once.'

But the opportunities had never come.

She had wanted to get closer to him, to eventually apologize for what she had done.

It was shameless, she knew that, but it was the best she could think of.

Her feelings were confused, and she had no experience with love.

Her clumsy approach to her first love had made everything fall apart from the very beginning.

Emily thought to herself.

She should have apologized right away.

She should never have let her pride get in the way.

If she hadn’t, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

“…What am I supposed to do now…”

It was only after everything had fallen apart that Emily finally admitted the truth.

The feelings she had for Ken were that of affection for the opposite sex.

And the way she had treated him was an irreversible mistake.

…

‘I don’t want to go to the academy…’

Morning came.

Emily had spent the entire previous day locked in her room, doing nothing, and skipping the academy.

But now, she knew she had to go.

She had to face whatever came next.

“...Let’s go.”

Emily, having made up her mind, got ready and left the dormitory.

Unlike the turmoil she had been feeling, the academy was as peaceful as ever.

Students bustled to and fro, chattering as they headed to their classes.

The birds chirped, and a gentle breeze blew past.

“Aah! Oh no, what am I going to do?! I need this project for the afternoon!”

A student had dropped something and was crying out in distress, adding to the calm, ordinary chaos of the academy.

But amid all this peace, Emily could only focus on one thing.

'I don’t know how to face him…'

She wondered how Ken would react when they met again.

Would he ignore her?

Would he frown and click his tongue?

Either way, it would undoubtedly hurt.

The thought of it all scared her.

'...He’s not here yet.'

Arriving at the classroom, Emily’s eyes instinctively searched for Ken, but he hadn’t arrived yet.

She went to her seat and began organizing her bag.

“Emily… Are you okay? You suddenly left yesterday.”

A soft voice came from beside her.

It was Marin, the girl she was closest to in class.

Though timid, Marin was kind and thoughtful, always looking out for others.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Oh, I see. Well, if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks.”

Marin must have seen what had happened with Ken, but she didn’t bring it up. Her gentle approach helped Emily feel a little more at ease.

“Good morning, Emily.”

“Oh, hi, Adrian.”

More students began to fill the classroom.

Emily sat quietly, waiting for Ken to arrive, but for some reason, he didn’t show up, even as class began.

‘...Is he skipping today too?’

He had missed a day not long ago.

Maybe he was skipping again today.

Emily, who had been bracing herself to apologize, felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

If he wasn’t here today, she could apologize tomorrow.

Another day might help her emotions settle down, and maybe Ken would be a little more receptive by then.

As the day passed, and the sun began to set, Emily found herself thinking.

‘So, he really didn’t come today.’

Ken hadn’t shown up all day.

The tension Emily had felt in the morning now seemed silly, as nothing eventful had happened after all.

Just like the peaceful walk to the academy, the day had passed without incident.

Feeling a bit better, Emily headed back to her dormitory, thinking about what she might say to Ken tomorrow.

On her way back…

'...Who is that?'

Walking down the path, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Emily noticed a woman approaching from the opposite direction.

‘...She doesn’t look like an academy student.’

The woman’s hair was long and black, flowing all the way down to her ankles, and her face was obscured by the messy strands.

Her clothes, even at best, looked like tattered rags, making her seem far from normal.

The unsettling woman was staggering toward Emily.

‘...Should I avoid her?’

Something felt off about her.

Was she a beggar who had somehow wandered onto campus?

Emily didn’t want to get involved.

There were no buildings or people around—just this tiled path, stretching out beneath the orange sky.

With only the strange woman in sight, Emily felt a chill run down her spine.

She carefully tried to pass by without making eye contact.

But then—

“It’s hopeless…”

The woman muttered as she passed, and her words unexpectedly reached Emily’s ears.

“...What?”

Instinctively, Emily responded.

She hadn’t meant to, but the sudden voice had caught her off guard.

The woman, hearing Emily’s voice, turned her head.

“You… are utterly hopeless.”

“….”

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Through the strands of her disheveled hair, Emily met the woman’s bloodshot, lifeless eyes.

'Don’t engage.'

Emily tried to ignore her and continue walking.

“…You know what? I choose you.”

Before she knew it, the woman had blocked her path.

Emily, startled, froze in place, staring at the woman who now stood before her.

“You… Heheh.”

Through her tangled hair, the woman grinned, her eyes narrowing into eerie crescent moons.

“Bring me the child of prophecy.”

“…What?”

In that moment, Emily’s vision was filled with red.

“Guh… cough.”

She tried to speak, but no sound came out.

The red that filled her sight came from her own neck.

Thud.

Emily collapsed to the ground, her hands clutching her throat.

‘…All this… is my blood?’

Her blood poured out like a fountain.

Her vision blurred as her strength drained away.

With no energy left to hold herself up, Emily’s body fell onto the cold ground.

‘…Mom…’

Through her fading vision, she saw the woman twirling with joy, clutching a large pair of scissors.

As she watched, Emily’s body grew colder and colder.

...

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a familiar ceiling.

“…Gasp!”

With a jolt, Emily sat up, immediately reaching for her neck.

“…It’s okay.”

Her neck was fine.

Looking around, she saw the familiar surroundings of her own room.

Warm sunlight streamed through the window.

It was the usual morning scene.

“...A nightmare…?”

It had been a disturbing dream.

Maybe the previous day’s stress and anxiety had caused it.

Nightmares weren’t unusual for her.

‘But… that was too real.’

The feeling of blood on her neck, the eerie laugh of that woman—it all felt so vivid.

The memory of it made her shiver.

‘Let’s just get ready for school.’

Emily shook her head, trying to rid herself of the lingering unease.

She prepared for the day and headed to the academy, determined to put the nightmare behind her.

Once again, the academy was as peaceful as ever, with students going about their day as usual.

'…Wait a minute.'

The birds chirped, and the breeze blew gently, just like in her dream.

“Aah! Oh no, what am I going to do?! I need this project for the afternoon!”

A student cried out in distress, just like in her dream.

Emily stood there, staring blankly at the familiar scene before her.

'Why does this feel so familiar...?'

Everything she saw matched the images from her nightmare.