The Man’s 101st Bad Ending Chapter 8: ✧:.｡

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Translated By Arcane Translations

Translator: FusionX

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My clothes were in such a state that I could not go back.

But if I were to return ho like this, what would they say?

Various thoughts ca to mind, but no matter what, I could not choose the option of going back.

If I went to the ball with my throat slit and bleeding, wouldn’t people be terrified?

When I took off the handkerchief I had received from Adele, I realized that the bleeding had stopped.

However, the wound remained.

With the blood still on the collar of my shirt, there was no other option but to go ho.

A chance to et the princess…although today was a special opportunity, it was not like there would be no way to et her again.

Just from what I could rember, there were dozens of opportunities, and if fate allowed it, I would probably et her again.

So I let go of my reluctance.

If I were to et her soday, there was no need to be overly concerned about sothing as trivial as a ball.

Even if my father asked what happened, wouldn’t it suffice to say I t Adele?

For the handkerchief in my hand would serve as proof of that encounter.

For such a woman’s character, it was quite a plain handkerchief.

Just a white handkerchief with the Igrit crest embroidered on it.

I gazed intently at it, then began walking across the garden.

‘…Co to think of it, did she really an for to co see her?’

-Co to the north later. Have a drink with .

Given her nature, she would not have uttered an empty promise.

Both telling to co and inviting for a drink were probably sincere.

Then I can use this as an excuse to slip away.

If I say I have a connection to the Northern Duchess, even a man of my father’s character would have nothing to say.

But perhaps it would be better to avoid getting too close to Adele Igrit.

The reason I thought that was because of her future.

In any future, in any situation.

She too would be accused of treason and purged, like .

It was not a mory I wanted to dwell on for long, so I let out a wry smile and shook my head. Being around a woman like Adele made many things co to mind.

For example, the regrets I had harbored before. Or sights I would never see again.

Thud-

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“My apologies. I was lost in thought for a mont……”

My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped into soone.

I bowed my head, blaming myself for not looking ahead, but the other person rely stared past and responded.

As if unaware of my presence.

It was then that I realized the person I had bumped into was a woman.

Gold embroidery on a pure white dress, a spotless white garnt that only one person in this country could wear.

Saint Adriana, as soon as I recalled her na, I couldn’t help but laugh. So the saint was here too.

“I’m over here, Your Holiness.”

“Ah, I see. I cannot sense what I cannot touch, my apologies.”

Having lost her sight as the price for gaining holy powers, the saint had long been a symbol of this country.

With authority greater even than the Pope of the Tigres faith, the state religion of the empire, and possessing imnse holy powers capable of reviving those on the brink of death.

In fact, there were so who praised the saint more than the emperor himself.

Upon hearing my voice, she inclined her head with a gentle smile.

Did she not have any attendants?

It was quite unexpected to see her wandering alone in a place like this, just as I was wondering, Adriana spoke first.

“You have not said a word. Is it because I am alone here?”

“…Yes, at first.”

“Miragen is my friend, you see. Although the Pope objected, I still managed to co out with so attendants. They should be here soon. I asked them to leave alone for a while.”

Then – briefly placing her index finger on her lips, she turned her head and smiled faintly into the distance.

“There may also be so who have secretly followed , so you need not worry.”

“If that is the case, then it is a relief.”

She must be referring to the Paladins who guard the saint.

I understood why she was here.

What was a little surprising, however, was that this was the first ti I had t her in all my lives.

I had heard the na Saint Adriana many tis, but I had never had the chance to et her directly.

It was only recently that I had even considered eting her, as a ans of approaching the crown prince. Why would I, who had hesitated even to recruit those around , commit the foolish act of increasing the number of people involved?

As the sole saint of this country, she was soone even the emperor only t occasionally.

Let alone , a family disappointnt with no standing.

Her pure blonde hair seed to glow with light.

I had heard her hair color changed the mont she received her holy powers – she was truly a mysterious woman in many ways.

“By the way, are you injured anywhere? I sll blood nearby.”

“I was slightly injured. It’s a small wound, so please don’t worry about it.”

Sniffing intently, she looked at with a concerned expression.

The scent must be from the wound on my neck.

After a mont’s thought, when I nodded, Adriana looked slightly startled and turned in the direction of my injury.

Although her eyes were closed, she was clearly looking at the wound.

A strange feeling. Blind eyes that could not see were piercing through , seeing right into my soul.

Now I could not deny it.

“Did you…injure your neck?”

“It was just a small cut. Due to certain circumstances.”

While I said it was due to ‘certain circumstances’, she would surely know that such a neck injury was no trivial matter.

However, Adriana did not inquire further.

Instead, she approached and gently touched the wound on my neck.

A warm sensation seed to seep into my body.

A yellow glow emanated, illuminating the surroundings, and then Adriana withdrew her hand and spoke in a calm voice.

“…The shallow wound should have healed completely. But was your injury due to personal circumstances?”

She seed determined to know the reason for my injury.

I did not understand why a stranger would be so concerned about my injury, but I supposed it was simply her nature.

That was likely why she was called a saint – a woman who healed others’ wounds, embraced them, and felt empathy and compassion.

I let out a wry laugh and replied:

“Yes, personal circumstances.”

“I see…”

As if expecting such a reaction, Adriana’s face relaxed into an easy expression as she turned back towards .

When I tried to keep so distance given our proximity, her small hand clasped my wrist and would not let go.

“Your Holiness?”

“May I make one request of you?”

“A request…well, since you healed my wound, I can certainly hear you out…”

“I would like to know your na. You may know , but I do not know you.”

A little taken aback by her sudden request, I soon regained my composure.

Co to think of it, with her blindness, she would not know my face.

Since we had never t before, she would not know my voice either. After a mont’s hesitation, I slowly parted my lips.

“I am Robert Taylor of the House of Taylor . Saint Adriana.”

“I see? What a good na.”

Chuckling, she stepped back slightly, then bowed her head and made the sign of the cross in the air.

As if praying for soone, after tracing the cross, Adriana spoke again.

“The next ti we et, I hope you will not be injured.”

A warm, gentle smile drifted away on the sumr breeze.

Yet its tenderness lingered, enveloping the surroundings in a serene aura, unlike when I had t Adele.

As we gazed at each other for a mont, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard in the distance.

“Ah, it seems I should get going now. I’ll go on ahead.”

“If that is the case, please go first.”

Adriana began walking away, saying her attendants seed to be coming.

Deftly making her way despite her blindness, until she disappeared into the distance. I quietly watched her retreating figure.

The saint I had never t in a hundred lifetis, the saint who always seed to vanish whenever I sought to et her, as if fate itself refused.

What did it an that I had t her in this life?

Touching my neck, there was now only smooth, unblemished skin remaining, the wound completely healed.

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“My lord, did you co alone?”

“Yes. There’s nothing for to do even if I go.”

Renold looked at with an expression he had been showing quite often lately.

What was there to be so surprised about? Even if I had attended the party, I would have only been a bystander.

A partner was just a formality – the one who had to stand out the most in the Taylor family was Yuria.

Perhaps he was annoyed that I was absent, but it was clear that my absence would not cause any issues.

Even when I had missed a few balls before, nothing happened, so it should be fine.

Seeing the blood-stained shirt, Renold seed to have a lot to say.

But since there were no wounds, and I had simply returned alone from the ball…well, he would probably figure it out on his own.

At least by tomorrow, word would spread among the nobles that I had t Adele.

No matter how vast the place, rumors spread faster than anything.

Still, this ti I do not intend to hold back.

I’m also curious to see what foolish expression Yuria will make when she hears the exaggerated rumor and cos to confront about eting Adele.

It will be quite amusing. She is a woman who believes I would never take any action that benefits the Taylor family.

“I’ll be resting in my room today, so unless it’s urgent, don’t co find . If the young lady is looking for …just tell her I’m sleeping. I have no intention of eting her.”

“…Understood.”

Yuria’s irritation would likely fall on Renold to bear instead.

But I did not need to worry about such things.

Today, I would rest and collect my thoughts, and from tomorrow, I would gradually start taking action.

Click-

As the door closed, the silence welcod .

Not a single sound could be heard in the stillness, only the ticking of the clock’s hands ringing out in the room. I trudged over to a chair and plopped down heavily.

Perhaps due to the many events of the day, fatigue suddenly washed over , making my eyelids feel heavy.

I thought about taking a nap, and as I slowly closed my eyes…

-Robert, what I’m most curious about is when you will finally take your own life.

Yuria’s voice began pouring into my ears.

I knew it was an auditory hallucination. Likely a voice from a corner of my mory.

Yuria was currently at the ball. There was no way I could actually hear her.

However, no matter how I tried to convince myself, this mory seed to choke my throat and rob of my breath.

With a creaking sound, one of my arms began to be cut open.

My fingernails were crushed and fell out, my mangled fingers already missing a few.

It must have been a mory of when I was being tortured. That torturer was quite cruel.

He was very skilled at inflicting pain, rarely letting lose consciousness.

My head, fallen to the floor, was grasped by Yuria’s hand.

With that hideous touch, she raised my face and proceeded to hurl malicious words at .

-You should never have been born. If I had strangled you the mont your mother gave birth to you, nothing would have gone wrong.

Not resentnt, but an outright insult bordering on vulgarity.

Those words felt more painful than having my chest ripped open.

For at that ti, I was a man who respected the woman nad Yuria.

Should I really never have been born? There was a ti when I was consud by such thoughts.

My arms and legs were gone.

Only my torso remained, still breathing, but what poured over my face was cold soil.

Unable to scream properly with my teeth mostly gone, the shovel continued burying in dirt.

My vision grew obscured – dark and cold, I could only desperately thrash about with my motionless body.

Ah, I had no legs, did I?

But no matter how hard I struggled, that was simply how one of my many lives ended.

In the deafening silence, accompanied only by the stillness of death.

The last thing I rembered were those frozen blue eyes watching being buried in the ground.

“…Yuria.”

It was only after uttering her na myself that I finally regained my senses.

A cold wind brushed against my body.

Instead of the dazed feeling, a damp sensation made slowly open my narrowed eyes.

When I opened my eyes, my body was drenched in cold sweat.

Looking around the quiet surroundings, I realized quite so ti must have passed, and what I had just experienced was a dream.

It was because I had naively thought I would no longer have that dream if I did not have it for a day.

I had let my guard down, thinking I would no longer see it.

But this nightmare will never end.

How long will it keep chasing , branded like a scar, clinging to until the mont I die?

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I let out a faint sigh.

My body was intact. So this pain I felt must have been a non-existent illusion.

Just an illusion conjured by my own flawed thoughts.

In my many lives, Yuria was the person who had killed the most tis.

And yet, how could I possibly think about it so indifferently?

Perhaps…I had lied.

That I no longer had any feelings left, that even if there was a past, it was in the past, and I could simply forget it all.

I glare into the empty space.

The darkness offered no answers.

It only told to find the answers myself, keeping its eternal silence.

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