Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 135 – Little Ai: Can Sylvia Really Do It?

Chapter 135 – Little Ai: Can Sylvia Really Do It?

Morning had come, but the sky wasn’t fully bright.

Outside the hotel window, thunder roared and lightning flashed.

Even though it was already early morning, the pitch-black storm clouds still loomed heavy over the sky, casting it in gloom.

The storm raged on, rain pelting against the glass windows, trickling down in winding rivulets.

By the clock, it was morning. But for Xia Ya—who had just returned from the Historical Echo of a brutal battle and then been hit with the shocking news of history being rewritten—

And for Ailora—who’d stayed up all night by Xia Ya’s side without closing her eyes—

They were both utterly exhausted by now.

Sylvia, on the other hand, wasn’t tired at all.

With her being at the Throne-tier, rewinding a small stretch of time or reliving a past event was nothing more than child’s play. She was still full of energy.

Still, the Argent Witch stared longingly at the soft bed in the room for quite a while, wanting to say something a few times.

But in the end, she looked at Xia Ya’s weary face and sighed softly, then opened a separate room next door to his and Ailora’s.

After all, her true body had already been freed. From now on, she could stay by Xia Ya’s side all she wanted.

There was still plenty of time. Opportunities would come.

She’d already endured being a cat-shaped third wheel for so long—waiting a little longer wouldn’t kill her.

…

Splash. Splash.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom—Little Ai was taking a shower.

“Pretending to be real... does that make it real?”

Xia Ya sat on the edge of the bed in a loose-fitting bathrobe.

He was toweling off his damp hair from his own shower while pondering everything about that rewritten history.

In his mind, the title “Bringer of Ruin” still glowed faintly in gold, making him drift into thought.

Two hundred whole pieces of Sands of Time.

Even for him, that was an unprecedentedly massive gain.

According to the prices listed in the Sands of Time exchange store, two hundred was enough to redeem that Transcendent-grade item of purple rarity—the Twin Soul Ring, which allowed one more Soul Pact.

Or, he could create four or five brand new Transcendent Skills, and even level them all the way up to Transcendent Mastery.

Even just the feedback he got from the Sands of Time in his Mental Sea was enough to push him to the Sixth Ring.

All in all, it was well worth the effort he had put into the Historical Echo of Aisgania—everything he’d done, all the Reputation he’d earned.

But—

Thinking back to Sylvia’s explanation now…

A deep sense of guilt started creeping into Xia Ya’s heart.

He didn’t regret entering the Historical Echo of the Cangting Ancient Kingdom. Everything he did in that Echo, he could look back on with a clear conscience.

He simply couldn’t have walked alongside Sylvia all the way.

And back then, Sylvia had been far too inexperienced, far too naive.

If he hadn’t used Tsukuyomi to rewrite her memories and implanted hatred to fuel her will to survive…

That fragile young Duchess’ Daughter would’ve never made it through the chaos of the Era of Cataclysm on her own.

But this time, the Historical Echo of Aisgania was different.

He had assumed that everything within that Echo belonged to a bygone era—no matter what he did, it would eventually return to the original timeline.

He thought he was just playing a role on a stage, and once the curtain fell, nothing would change except for the addition of a new historical figure named “Kayin” in Saint Roland Academy’s textbooks.

But this time, he was wrong.

Emotions onstage, people offstage—

The line between them had never been so clear.

“To reach the Throne-tier, one must leave their mark in history.”

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on novelbuddy.cσ๓.

“So that’s why Isadella went back in time with the help of the Holy Sword, appearing in Aisgania a thousand years ago as the Knight King... she wanted to leave her own imprint on history and use that to break through to Throne-tier.”

“With her skills and strength, even without my help… maybe she’d have faced more delays, lost more soldiers, but she definitely could’ve completed her conquest and unification.”

“And once she fulfilled her goal, she’d return to the right timeline and ascend to the Throne-tier.”

“Except—”

Xia Ya fell silent.

Whether he meant to or not,

The fate of that Second Imperial Princess had been irrevocably altered by his presence.

She had gone against the correct timeline, carving out a new branch of fate with her own hands.

Even with the protection of the Holy Sword, she was walking a path of near-certain death.

That thought made Xia Ya feel a twinge of regret.

No matter how you looked at it, he had a pretty good impression of that princess.

Not only had she generously funded him with tons of resources before the final battle at the Cangting Ancient Kingdom,

At the Borgia family banquet, she had even risked ruining the Holy Sword’s awakening just to step in—

Without her, Guderian wouldn’t have died so easily.

In Xia Ya’s heart, he had already considered Isadella a friend.

But now, everything that happened made him start to question whether it was ever right for him to step into a Historical Echo.

Did he really have the right to enter history as an outsider...

And interfere with someone else’s life path?

…

Click.

The bathroom door opened.

A wave of hot steam spilled out, turning to mist that diffused into the room.

Soft footsteps echoed.

Xia Ya looked up slightly and saw the blonde girl had changed into a full-on teacher outfit at some point.

In her light golden hair, she wore an intricately crafted headpiece—one with curved, dark-purple horns sticking out from both sides.

It was the hottest item in adult novelty shops right now—Succubus Horn Headband.

Ailora walked to the bed and gracefully knelt beside Xia Ya. Her snow-white skin, flushed from the bath, seemed almost translucent under the glow of the Magic Lamp.

She pulled back the blanket and slipped one long, black-stockinged leg underneath.

Then, tilting her head slightly, Ailora looked at Xia Ya with her doll-like porcelain face, expressionless.

“Still not going to sleep?”

Xia Ya froze for a second, staring at the girl in the teacher outfit and succubus horns. “Like this?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t get the hint—

It’s just that this version of Little Ai felt… unfamiliar.

This girl was usually so tsundere and prickly. Even when they shared a bed, she always wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket, never giving him a chance for any sneaky nighttime moves.

As for romantic gestures or couple perks, those were always delivered awkwardly and with great reluctance—just getting a lap pillow now and then was already a rare blessing.

"Why the sudden change today? Why so forward all of a sudden?"

“Mm.”

Ailora nodded gently.

Her sky-blue eyes blinked, then she leaned in closer to Xia Ya and reached out her hands.

The next moment, Xia Ya felt himself being pulled into a hug.

Unlike the full, soft embrace he’d felt with Sylvia before, this hug was more inexperienced—

But also incredibly gentle.

Soft, golden Mental Energy began to spread quietly.

Then, without a sound, it wrapped itself around Xia Ya’s spirit.

It was Ailora’s own Mental Energy, but unlike the sharp, aggressive force she used in battle, this time it was calm—like water.

Ailora pressed tightly against Xia Ya’s chest. The warmth from her delicate body slowly spread into him, warming both his body and soul.

A soft, gentle voice echoed beside his ear.

“It’s okay.”

“No matter what mistakes you made, what wrongs you’ve committed, or what consequences you’ve caused… I’m willing to face them with you.”

“I belong to you… not just because of that Oath we made back in Ceylan.”

Ailora bit her lip gently.

“Even if that Oath ends, and all our memories of each other disappear… even if you don’t want me anymore, I’ll still follow you—to the very end, even in death.”

“So please, don’t blame yourself or get lost in doubt… and don’t worry about what those historians say about you either.”

“Even if one day, the whole world calls you a monstrous, unforgivable demon and casts you into the abyss—I’ll go there too, and stay by your side.”

…

Hearing those tender words, Xia Ya couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.

He thought back to a few days after Ceylan’s fall, to everything that had happened in Redfrost Territory’s Lord’s Castle.

Even though he’d investigated everything in secret and arranged a promising new future for her,

Including a mentor from the White Chalk Tower and a brighter path forward,

That little girl had still stubbornly jumped off the departing steam locomotive, limping all the way,

And chose—without hesitation—to stay by his side.

And now, Xia Ya finally understood the meaning behind Ailora’s actions and words.

This silly girl wasn’t suddenly “enlightened”…

Nor had she somehow overcome her chronic case of tsundere.

She’d just noticed the shake in his resolve, the guilt and doubt in his heart.

So she used this clumsy, awkward way to comfort him.

Thinking that, Xia Ya couldn’t help but smile softly.

He shifted his body and, reversing the roles, pulled the blonde girl into his arms.

Her delicate body was soft and warm—scorchingly warm.

“Little Ai, you really underestimate your boyfriend.”

“You think I’m the kind of guy with weak mental strength? Someone who gets lost in doubt and spirals into madness just because of a little uncertainty?”

Throughout all this, Ailora didn’t resist. She let Xia Ya hold her close.

She looked him straight in the eyes with her sky-blue gaze, speaking seriously:

“Then what about the Second Imperial Princess, and this twisted history? What are you planning to do about it?”

“What else can I do?”

Xia Ya played with her light golden hair, twirling a few strands around his fingers.

“If I made a mistake, then I have to own it—and fix it. Facing your mistakes is way braver than running from them.”

“Since the Empire’s history has gone off-track… and Her Highness’s fate has taken a turn I never wanted to see, all because of me—”

“Then what I can do is fix it. I’ll rewrite the ending of this flawed Legend of the Knight King into one I want to see.”

“If everything started because of Kayin,

Then it will also end with Kayin.”

Xia Ya tugged the blanket over toward Ailora.

“I’m not doing this for some fancy promotion reward,

Or for any of that ‘correction of human order’ or ‘preservation of historical flow’ nonsense.”

“I’m doing it because I want to. That’s all there is to it.”

“In my eyes, if it’s something I truly want to do—then it’s the right thing to do.”

“Is that answer good enough for you, Little Ai?”

“Mm.”

Hearing his firm, unwavering tone, Ailora nestled into his chest and nodded softly.

She wasn’t interested in things like time travel, parallel timelines, or the definitions of “right” and “wrong” history.

Even thinking too hard about them gave her a headache…

But if it was something Xia Ya had to face,

Then she was willing to confront that headache too,

To learn, to understand—

So that she could stand by his side, and be his strength.

Back when she saw how self-blaming Xia Ya had looked earlier,

She’d been scared—because she’d rarely seen him like that.

The last time was during that blizzard in Ceylan.

But now, hearing him speak with his old confidence, she finally felt relieved.

This cocky, reckless, borderline arrogant boy—

That was the Xia Ya she knew.

Once he sets his mind on something, it becomes his absolute justice—he never wavers. And he always gets it done.

Whether it was how he treated Isadella, or how he dealt with Sylvia—he was always like that.

Though Ailora really didn’t like the appearance of Her Excellency, the Argent Witch,

She knew deep down—

If Xia Ya had actually wavered and denied his identity and feelings when the Tower Master of the White Chalk Tower showed up,

Then he wouldn’t be Xia Ya anymore.

“…I know you’re only doing this to comfort me, Little Ai.”

“But since you said all that, I’m taking it seriously, you know?”

Feeling the soft warmth of the girl in his arms and her gentle fragrance, Xia Ya spoke slowly:

“I promised I’d wait until after the wedding to touch you, but… everything else? I’m not holding back today.”

“…Okay.”

Ailora nodded.

Then, in a voice so quiet it was almost inaudible:

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a little more affection on normal days, either…”

“I also think… using two separate blankets on one bed is kind of a waste.”

Resting her head on Xia Ya’s shoulder, she nestled even closer into his arms.

His arms weren’t particularly muscular, but they radiated a blazing heat.

To her, it felt like even the blizzards that could freeze Snow Mammoths in the Northern Lands would be kept at bay by his embrace.

In truth, all she had ever wanted…

Was just to stay curled up like this, by his side.

…

That day, both luxury suites in the hotel were unusually quiet.

The pitch-black soundproof barrier not only blocked the outside world,

It even severed connections with the Soul Pact Space.

Meow~

Meow~

Only the occasional resentful cat meows echoed through the silence.

Someone, who had been too prideful to admit it earlier, couldn’t hold back their curiosity in the end…

They secretly sent their Mental Energy through the barrier to spy.

And what they saw...

Turned the white cat into a full-blown lemon cat.