The Defeated Heroine I Married Cannot Forget The Protagonist

✦  Chapter 7  ✦

「Translator - Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

Until just moments ago, Judith had been filled with certainty—an absolute conviction of victory.

After all, Sia Stella had lost to Shirai, who was blind, during practice.

Yet this was someone who had gained admission into Lumeris Academy, the most prestigious educational institution, solely based on their ability to never die.

"What... exactly are you?"

".........."

The match was decided in mere five minutes.

Judith's body, rolling on the ground, was covered in scorched black wounds.

She had thought bringing down the guards of House Stardust was mere coincidence, or perhaps the guards weren't skilled enough.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Are you seriously asking me that question?"

Today, Judith had learned something she hadn’t known before — Sia could use a bow.

When Sia first drew the weapon, Judith hadn’t felt the slightest concern.

With that frail, skinny body? Pulling a bowstring? Ridiculous.

Judith had confidently unsheathed her sword and lunged forward. But then, the moment Sia nocked an arrow and aimed with unnerving precision, an icy chill had run down Judith’s spine.

Flames bloomed from Sia's aimed arrow, and before she could react, the arrow struck her right shoulder with blinding speed.

From that point on, the fight became nothing more than a futile siege.

No matter how quickly or unpredictably she approached, the arrows blocked all her escape routes. Every time Sia released the bowstring, Judith experienced excruciating pain.

Sia’s skill with the bow was nothing short of monstrous.

She accounted for every variable—the distance of the leap, air resistance caused by the wind, even Judith’s movement patterns. How could anyone defeat a creature like this?

Not even Mate, who graduated second from the Magic Department, nor Yuren, the top graduate of the Swordsmanship Department, would stand a chance against her.

Sia was a being beyond calculation, an anomaly that defied expectation.

No, she had been thinking about it wrong all along.

Sia Stella wasn’t someone who could be measured or compared to others. She was a phenomenon, an existence unlike anything else.

She possessed the ability to resurrect at the place where she had last fallen asleep. Some might think that was an exploitable weakness—pour lava on the location and trap her, perhaps?

Foolishness.

Sia’s resurrection ability had no such flaw. If the designated resurrection location was deemed unsafe, her ability would simply adjust the location to a more safe location.

Crack—!!

Judith squeezed her eyes shut when Sia lifted their foot, but Sia had merely stepped on Judith's sword rolling on the ground.

"I am who I am. Just a person in the same situation as you all."

"Don't make me laugh. Same situation? Are you even aware of what kind of existence you are in this world?"

Someone who never dies, possesses exceptional combat abilities, and is among the few who knows about time being reversed.

This was a monster who could destroy the Empire if she wished.

Judith had long since reconstructed her perception of Sia.

"I don't know about any of that."

Crackle—

"Wait—hold on."

The battle just now had been nothing more than a one-sided assault. Sia’s arrows, their fiery tips grazing Judith’s skin, had deliberately missed their mark, but the message had been clear — she was holding back.

Even so, the crushing helplessness of losing despite her opponent’s restraint left Judith feeling hollow. At the same time, a small part of her was relieved—if Sia had fought with her full strength, Judith would have been pierced by countless arrows, her body resembling that of a human pincushion.

"Are you insane?"

Sia pointed the fiery arrowhead directly at Judith’s face.

Judith, trembling with fear, tried to raise her battered body off the ground, but it was futile. Her arms and legs were burned so badly that she couldn’t even move a single finger.

"You ruined everything."

The killing intent in Sia’s eyes was palpable, more suffocating than anything Judith had felt before—even more than when she’d faced Asura, a top-tier demon beast.

And tragically, there was no one to stop this madwoman.

Even if a savior were to arrive, it wouldn’t matter.

How could anyone subdue Sia Stella, someone who couldn’t die unless old age eventually claimed her?

"Answer my questions from now on."

"Wow, that sounds like something straight out of a middle school drama."

Begging for her life? No, she mocked her instead?

Sia frowned and thrust the loaded bow right in front of Judith's nose.

The bowstring, already drawn to its limit, trembled as if ready to release at any moment.

Judith sensed it; the moment that arrow launched, it would absolutely pierce her head.

Death would be certain.

"Tell me everything that happened at the Guild that day."

Five minutes of combat was enough to know—Sia Stella wasn't someone whose arms would shake from drawing a bowstring to its limit.

Yet her arms trembled with the bow, and her face revealed why.

"You..."

Her tightly pressed lips and anguished expression clearly showed her reluctance to shoot.

Judith had thought Sia was utterly unhinged, completely lost to madness. But now she realized Sia was holding on to a sliver of humanity—desperately clinging to a line she refused to cross.

The line of taking a life.

Come to think of it, back then too...

With the guards at the Stardust mansion.

She had precisely struck vital points to knock them unconscious, avoiding bloodshed.

"If you don't want to answer, I'll change the question."

Sia lowered her bow, crouched beside the fallen Judith, and hung her head low to her knees.

"Why did you... betray Mate?"

The question was simple and clear.

Why did you cheat?

When Judith remained silent, Sia felt like she would burst from frustration.

"What did he fail to do for you? He resolved your complicated family matters in your stead, even canceled important appointments to celebrate your birthday."

"Yes... he did."

"...I liked him too."

Judith couldn't believe her ears.

That Sia Stella, of all people, had liked someone?

The flow of the conversation revealed who that person was.

Mate Daylight.

The man who had been her spouse before returning to the past.

"But I gave him up without saying anything. Anyone could see Mate liked you the most."

"..........."

"I wanted him to live as happily as possible. I didn't want the Tome he showed me at the academy to be torn either."

Even when the Regression Tome was torn and the world began to collapse, Sia’s reaction had been fleeting — just a moment of surprise before she returned to her usual calm. Because she already knew about the Tome’s existence.

"He was with me. Right before time reversed."

She didn't stop him from using the Regression Tome.

He must have felt profound despair at losing you, Judith, enough to undo everything he had worked for.

"He tried to act fine, tried to be cool about it, but in the end, after holding back for so long, he cried."

Though the tears were barely visible from afar, his face showed more misery than anyone Sia had ever seen.

"There's only one reason I'm leaving you be."

Sia stood up, grabbing her bow after dusting off her robe.

"Because he would hate it if you got hurt."

Judith could only lie there, staring up at Sia as she turned to leave.

Her body was too burned, too broken to move, but even if it weren’t, she was paralyzed by the overwhelming weight of everything she had just learned.

"And congratulations."

Sia pulled up her hood and spoke softly without turning back.

"You got exactly what you wanted, didn't you?"

You know better than anyone what I mean. You're the protagonist of this story, and I'm just an extra.

I was always the outsider, the side character hovering on the edges.

But now I want to be greedy.

Yet in the end, she couldn't say the words — so you need to step aside.

Perhaps due to walking quickly to escape her disgusted feelings, even a strand of Judith's hair was no longer visible.

'She probably understood.'

Now then, to test that out, I need to die once.

Where would be a good place to die?

𓆩♱𓆪

When I saw Shirai's face beyond the church door, I won’t lie — I felt a wave of relief.

When this world became more than just a game to me, Shirai had been the second heroine I pursued.

In order: first was Judith Moondust, second was Shirai, and third was Sia Stella.

As for Muse Fairfield... well, her difficulty level was so absurd that I never managed to conquer her, despite pouring considerable time into trying.

So what I want to know is...

Why was Shirai pressed against my side, nuzzling her face into my shoulder?

I had suspected something was off from the moment she ran to me with open arms, hostile toward Ihwa.

For some reason... she hadn't forgotten her memories.

She even knew everything about how I'd fixed her eyes.

I had specifically asked Yuren to prepare for this situation.

To claim he had done it himself. To never reveal the truth afterward.

"Sigh..."

Well, given how spineless he was, I should have expected this.

"Holy Maiden, this is inappropriate."

I spoke as calmly as possible, trying to maintain my composure.

But Shirai ignored me completely, continuing her actions.

The long wooden bench where followers usually pray...

I never thought I'd sit here as the Church leader.

Shirai and I were in the leftmost back row, acting like a couple at a movie theater—well, more like one-sided clinginess on her part.

Watching us with disbelieving eyes was Yuri, sitting at a distance in the same row. Behind me, assistant Ihwa glared with murderous intent.

Could there be a more chaotic situation than this?

"Haa... haa..."

As if nuzzling my shoulder wasn't enough, after some time she began caressing my thin arm.

With each action, Ihwa's gaze grew increasingly deadly.

'Does she think I'm enjoying this?'

Before tearing the Regression Tome, I had resolved never to form relationships with the heroines again. If possible, I wanted to maintain minimal contact while helping them overcome their trauma.

But everything got complicated because Shirai hadn't forgotten.

This meant other heroines might remember too, just like her.

"Saintess Shirai, it's time to return."

"It's only been 30 minutes since we arrived?"

"Still, considering the round trip..."

"I'll be the judge of that. There's still time, and you needn't worry about Ihwa."

Nuzzle—, Nuzzle—

"I'll... take responsibility for everything... so I promise you won’t suffer any consequences, Ihwa."

"As if His Holiness Claudio would scold just you and let it go at that."

Though it was Ihwa who had arranged the carriage, accompanied them out of concern for Shirai, and treated the torn skin on her forehead from self-harm...

"Mate, you don't understand why I'm acting this way, do you? That's alright. You'll understand everything in time."

Shirai's gaze was fixed solely on one man.

While feeling both hurt and burning with frustration, a question suddenly took root in Ihwa's mind.

'What is it about that man that she likes?'

He was lanky, sure, but there was no denying that he was absurdly handsome. The kind of handsome that would leave anyone denying it labeled blind or delusional.

But Shirai? She had been blind — she couldn't have fallen in love at first sight. It was impossible by common sense.

It was barely a year ago that Shirai had been singing about wanting to marry whoever restored her sight. Now, she was clinging to another man, uttering indecent little sighs and shamelessly running her hands over his arm.

"Her Holiness Shirai, I have an urgent request."

"Wh-what is it? Tell me anything!"

The man she had longed for and wished to meet was making a request of her. Shirai waited with heightened expectations for him to speak.

Though she couldn’t see him, she vividly imagined his earnest expression, and her heart pounded wildly, her pulse already well past 120 bpm.

She didn’t care about appearances anymore — what dignity when face-to-face with someone who had made her fantasies reality? If the church had been packed with hundreds of people, she would have acted no differently.

‘Come on… please, just say it.’

I'm so curious what you'll ask of me first.

"Could you convince that girl Yuri to stay at the church tonight?"

"Wh-why are you freaking out at me all of a sudden!"

"Because your house is going to burn down today! How many times do I have to tell you we need to bring your mother here right away?"

"Y-you psycho. You're seriously creeping me out!"

"..........."

Unaware that her body had frozen like a statue, Shirai was quite displeased with the sight of the two chattering away.

And so, Shirai’s sharp mind, long dulled by her obsession, finally conjured a solution.

“Then here’s what we’ll do."

"...I’m deeply concerned by whatever you’re about to say"

"Ihwa, return to the Church with this Yuri girl and her mother."

Ihwa asked again, just to be sure, while wiping away cold sweat from her brow.

"...You'll be coming with us, right, Saintess?"

"No? I'm staying here tonight."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!"

Believe it or not, the Church trembled slightly from the thunderous echo.

END of CHAPTER