Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 77

Yet the source of her tears was not injustice.

It was what Ken had said to her after he defeated her in their duel.

‘As punishment for tormenting me, Lafne, you are now imprisoned in this tower.’

His cold gaze, fixed upon her, resurfaced in her mind.

Why had she forgotten?

She had been the one who tormented him.

Somewhere along the way, she had become blinded by the tender feelings that had grown within her, forgetting that truth.

As she confronted his frigid gaze, the fact she had overlooked came rushing back.

Lafne did not feel wronged for being trapped in the tower.

“…Huh, huh.”

It was simply the realization, brought on by his cold gaze.

The fact that the happy future she had envisioned with him could no longer exist.

That thought pained Lafne’s heart.

“Why did I do that…?”

Now, looking back, she regretted her past actions.

“…Huh, how foolish.”

She sank to the floor, shedding tears without restraint.

She felt more resentful toward herself for tormenting him than toward the man who had imprisoned her in the tower after claiming he liked her.

“Really, I’m so foolish…”

Until just recently, she hadn’t felt such emotions at all.

But now, her thoughts were completely filled with him.

Overnight, she had dreamed of becoming his lover.

Forgetting everything she had done in the past.

And then, suddenly, Lafne gazed into the empty space before her.

Though there were enough furnishings necessary for living, the space felt empty for some reason.

“…Why does it feel like this?”

Her shoulders trembled as she looked at the desolate space.

For some reason, this place was unpleasant.

There was a sickening sensation creeping up from her chest.

But Lafne couldn’t comprehend what this feeling was.

It was undoubtedly a new sensation, yet it felt all too familiar, evoking fear within her.

“…Ah, ah…”

Suddenly, that sensation grew larger.

“I, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it━…!”

She wrapped her arms around her head, curled up, and lay face down on the cold stone floor.

At that moment, she began to understand what the source of this unpleasant sensation was.

An overwhelming loneliness crashing down like a tidal wave.

And the pain of being rejected by everyone.

Her parents, her family, her friends, the academy, and even her country.

No one came looking for her.

Everyone turned their backs on her.

Forgotten despair surged forth.

“Huh, ugh…”

For some reason, Lafne trembled in panic at that familiar sensation and kept seeing his face from earlier.

“…Ke, Ken…. Huh, Ken!”

Tears fell, soaking the floor as she called out the name of the person she yearned to see.

When everyone turned away from her.

Only one person.

The one who had come searching for her.

And the more she desperately sought him…

‘I’ll never abandon you….’

Fragments of memories she had never experienced before began to surface in her mind.

“What is this…?”

With tears streaming down her face, Lafne gazed around the room.

There she was.

Crying, clinging to someone, begging them not to leave.

And in front of her was a figure she longed for.

A round, clumsy-looking body, but one that treated her kinder than anyone else.

“Stop crying now. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

A gentle smile looked down upon her with affection.

When they were together.

As long as they could be together.

It made her indifferent to whoever rejected her.

Such a precious person.

Such precious memories.

“……What is this…?”

Lafne watched the scene unfold with a blank expression.

‘Will she be alright?’

I found myself lost in thought as I stared at the moon rising from my dorm room.

My mind was filled with Lafne.

She had, once again, been trapped in the tower as I intended.

When I contemplated a shocking situation that would jolt her memory during my consultation with Alicia.

The tower immediately came to mind.

The cause of my meeting with Lafne.

And that space existed largely within her lost memories.

I recalled the first time I met Lafne.

Her fragile state, desperately clinging to me, begging me not to leave.

“…I wonder if she’ll be alright.”

That’s why I was worried.

Lafne truly hated being alone in that place.

That’s why I made the pendant, so she could break her curse and escape the tower.

“…Hah.”

I carefully brushed my fingers over the pendant resting in my hand.

Having made it once, I could convert my mana to replenish the insufficient materials and recreate it.

Of course, now such an item was unnecessary for Lafne.

Still, it was the result of our efforts when we met.

‘…She must be struggling.’

Although Lafne had no memories, feelings from the past easily resurfaced.

If so, being trapped in that tower would also bring back those emotions.

I looked again at the dark sky and the shining moon.

And I envisioned Lafne trembling alone in that tower.

“…….”

No, this won’t do.

I jumped right out the window.

━ Tak.

My light body landed softly on the ground.

Then I ran along the familiar path to that nostalgic place.

Originally, I had planned to leave Lafne alone in the tower for a few days.

Perhaps if the time was short, her memories wouldn’t return.

But wanting Lafne to find her memories was merely my own selfish desire.

Was it alright for her to suffer in the tower because of my selfishness?

I had just imprisoned her there today.

It was absurd that I was running back out of worry so quickly.

‘…I’ll just check on her condition a bit.’

Before long, I arrived under the familiar tower.

Still old, shabby, and simple in structure, the tall tower loomed above.

“Hm, I’m sure it’s difficult to sneak a peek from the door…?”

I looked up at the tall tower.

The only opening was the window of the room where Lafne was.

In the past, I could never have imagined doing this.

Now, I planned to scale the tower's outer wall to approach the window.

I had the strength to take down even a field boss by myself.

This much wouldn’t be difficult.

━ Ta-at.

First, I carefully jumped from my place to avoid making any noise above.

I reached about halfway up the tower and placed my hands in a suitable position.

As expected of an old tower, it was easy to grip the outer wall thanks to the gaps.

Before long, I reached the top floor of the tower, my intended destination.

━ Thak.

I carefully gripped the window frame and lifted myself up.

It was now late at night.

If it were the usual Lafne, she would probably be asleep by now.

Judging by the absence of sound from inside, it seemed she wasn’t crying.

I cautiously raised my head above the window to check the state of the room.

‘…She’s not on the bed….’

Then I spotted Lafne collapsed on the floor.

“L, Lafne━!”

Seeing her, I inadvertently shouted and immediately climbed through the window into the room.

Was it too cruel to trap her in the tower?

It might have been too hard for her to endure in a space that was already difficult for her.

I rushed to pick her up.

“Lafne━! Wake up━!”

Her body was warm, and her breathing was steady.

But her expression was pained.

“…Umm.”

I cradled her with one arm and shook her shoulder with the other, and slowly she opened her eyes.

“Ken….”

As Lafne opened her eyes and saw me holding her, her pupils trembled.

“……Ken.”

She raised one hand to my chest and clutched my collar.

As if to say she wouldn’t let me go anywhere.

Then her hand gradually moved up, and soon she wrapped both arms around my neck.

I felt the familiar warmth of Lafne and she buried her face in my neck.

“L, Lafne… Are you okay?”

She didn’t seem to have any injuries.

But her condition was strange.

She held onto me for a moment, remaining silent.

Then, at some point, she suddenly spoke.

“Ken… do you hate me a lot?”

Her voice trembled.

It was uncertain and frightened, a stark contrast to her usual boldness I had heard recently.

‘Is it because I trapped her in the tower…?’

I couldn’t find the words to answer.

Even if I said otherwise, the fact that I had imprisoned her in the tower under the pretense of punishment was undeniable.

I could only stroke Lafne’s hair gently, filled with pity.

“You see… I know that I’ve done things that would make me hated.”

Then Lafne continued her words.

In a voice on the verge of tears. A voice that seemed about to spill over.

She lowered her face that had been resting on my neck and looked at me.

As I expected, small tears gathered in her eyes, looking at me sadly.

“But I keep thinking about you.”

“Lafne….”

Eventually, the tears that had formed in her eyes grew larger, rolling down her cheeks and falling to the floor from her chin.

“I know I’m bad, but… I can’t help but keep thinking about you, I want to see you.”

Then she lowered her head, as if it was hard to meet my gaze.

“…And that’s why I met you like this. I met the you I’ve wanted to see.”

Then she shook her head.

“No….”

“……Not so?”

What did she mean by that?

I had thought it was natural for Lafne to seek me out.

After all, it had been like that even before she lost her memories.

But she was saying I was not the one she wanted.

“What I want to see, the Ken Feinstein I’ve been longing for… is not this version of you… huh.”

“…Lafne, you.”

“I want to see you. Surely the you from before you lost weight was not like this… But I miss that you too much….”

Finally, Lafne buried her face in my chest and started to sob.

‘This…’

It has an effect.

While she had a strong desire to seek me before being trapped in the tower, Lafne was now undoubtedly searching for the me from her memories.

Not the one whose appearance had changed from weight loss.

But the me who had continually come to see her while she was imprisoned in the tower.

However, she hadn’t fully recalled the memories.

Something was missing.

While parts of her forgotten memories surfaced in the trauma of being trapped in the tower, the memories of the past hadn’t returned completely.

“Lafne.”

I called her name as I gently stroked her hair, which was buried in my embrace.

Then I softly grasped her shoulders, drawing her back to look at her tear-stained face.

“Even though my appearance has changed a lot… The Ken Feinstein you’re looking for is definitely me.”

“…….”

“I will prove it to you now.”

Lafne stared at me in silence.

In fact, when I heard about the shock therapy from Alicia, this was the first method that came to mind.

However, since it was an intensely personal memory for me, I had hesitated, unsure if it would apply to Lafne.

But now, it should be fine.

If Lafne was looking for me with such desperation.

This memory would surely be special and intense as well.

With that thought, I approached her as she looked at me with tearful eyes.

And I kissed her.

“…Huh?!”

As my sudden kiss took her by surprise, Lafne’s shocked voice echoed, yet her trembling hands did not push me away.

Instead, she gripped my shoulders tightly as if to say not to let go.

The familiar softness of Lafne’s lips felt so good after a long time.

And I sensed her warm body and the familiar, comforting scent of her close by.

“……Ah, ah…”

After a moment, I slowly pulled my lips away, and Lafne looked at me with blushing cheeks and trembling eyes.

“Th, this, this lips…!”

Her words stumbled out, and her panicked eyes darted around, clearly flustered.

Then, pop.

“…Huh.”

With smoke coming out of her head, Lafne collapsed into my arms.

“W, what?! Lafne?!”

I hadn’t expected her to faint.

Perhaps the intense stress from being trapped in the tower, along with the discrepancy between the me from her memories and the reality, and the sudden kiss had overloaded her.

I gently stroked Lafne’s cheek as she lay on the bed, trying to think it through.

‘No fever.’

Fortunately, Lafne, who had been fainting and letting out smoke, calmed down after some time, having been laid on the bed.

Now, Lafne’s face lay peacefully.

‘…I hope it worked.’

There were no more intense experiences I could offer her.

Of course, jumping into a trap in the tower of Tarros could be considered an intense memory.

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t go that far.

If possible, I hoped that this would help restore her memories.

As I held Lafne’s hand, I waited with a prayer in my heart.

“…Umm.”

Lafne opened her eyes.

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━ Swoosh.

“Lafne? …Is it okay to wake up?”

As soon as her eyes opened, Lafne sat up.

She stared blankly ahead.

There was no response, even when I called her.

Worry crept in as I waited for her to do something else.

Then…

“……O, oh?”

Light returned to her blank eyes, and soon her face was filled with bewilderment.

“Lafne…?”

“Ken….”

As I cautiously called her name from beside her, she looked at me with trembling eyes, startled.

And for some reason, she gazed at me with a frightened expression.

…What was happening?

If it was because of the kiss earlier, she should be embarrassed, not scared.

…Could it be.

“Lafne, did your memories come back?”

“…….”

I asked Lafne about the moment I had longed for, gripping her hand with an anxious heart.

But Lafne seemed to ignore my desperate feelings, awkwardly avoiding my gaze.

“Me, me? What, what memory? Hehe, Ken, wha, what are you talking about? I’ve never forgotten you!”

Her memory has returned.

The Lafne in front of me, her demeanor, everything is just as it was before the past was altered.

But…

“……Why can’t you meet my gaze?”

“Uh, uhm? Me? No way? I can see perfectly!”

For some reason, Lafne’s state seemed strange.

She looked like she was hiding something.

This was the longest time Lafne had spent with me since Ken possessed her. I could gauge her true feelings from her reaction.

“…Wow~ But it’s amazing that you returned from the trip~ It’s strange to wake up and find myself on the bed, hehe.”

In particular, her reaction right now felt very much like Lafne when she was lying.

If her memories had returned…

…Then why was she lying?

More importantly, what was she lying about?

“…Wait, did you just say you came back from a trip?”

“……Ugh.”

She was probably talking about the timing of her return after conquering the tower of Tarros.

…Did her memories connect from that point onward when they returned?

‘Then what about the memories from when she lost her memories…?’

Just because her memories returned, it shouldn’t mean that the memories formed after the past changed would vanish.

Listening to Lafne’s words, it sounded as if those memories had disappeared.

“…Heh, hehe.”

“…….”

I gazed at Lafne, who tried to brush it off with a forced laugh under my watchful eyes.

But as that gaze lingered, she soon began to tremble and then…

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…!!”

Tears suddenly burst forth as she clung to my waist.

“Ugh, I’m sorry…! Ke-en…!! But that’s not what I did…!! All of that was when I had no memories…!!”

Then she looked up at me, pleading.

Ah, I see. That makes sense.

When Lafne had lost her memories, she was still in a state where she tormented me.

After retrieving her memories, the tormenting recollections of her past mixed with the memories of our time together.

She was likely feeling sorry because she was still tormenting me even in her second year.

“Ugh, I’m sorry…! I’m so sorry for what I did…!!”

She soon started to sob loudly.

In truth, I had no recollection of what she had done, so I didn’t know what she had done.

But if she was crying and apologizing like this…

…What on earth did she do?

After that, I kept probing about it, but Lafne shook her head and didn’t answer.

Well, from my perspective, it was an event that never happened.

I didn’t pry any further.

Instead.

“I’m glad you’re back, Lafne.”

I hugged her and stroked her hair.

“……Ken.”

Lafne’s memories had returned.