Saving You, Villain - Chapter 80

“Why about Camian?” I asked.

“He got a girlfriend! Waaah!” Sherry cried, throwing herself into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. I patted her back, but my mind was reeling. Sherry wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled.

“Sniff… Tom said… Camian got tired of you and found a new love,” she wailed.

So, Camian and Lila had become lovers behind my back. While I didn’t trust Tom’s words entirely, it seemed the two of them appeared close enough for others to see them as a couple.

“That’s not true, Sherry. Camian and I are just friends. You knew that.”

“I didn’t know!”

Sherry jerked her head up and lunged at me, making me brace myself to avoid falling backward, propping my arm behind me for support.

“Then you… misunderstood…”

“I knew you were clueless, but I didn’t know you were such a fool to let Camian slip away like this!”

“…A fool?”

“Even a fruit fly has more sense! How could you—!”

“Sherry—”

“You’re even worse than Leo—more pitiful and dumb!”

Her angry outbursts pierced my ears like sharp needles. My head throbbed. And, unintentionally, I learned exactly how lowly she thought of Leo. Apparently, I was even more pathetic in her eyes. The comparison to a fruit fly or a fool wasn’t as harsh as being deemed worse than Leo—it felt more real, more cutting. I could clearly sense how insignificant she saw me.

“I told you to take care of Camian until I’m old enough. Sniffle, why couldn’t you even do that?”

“Sherry, Camian isn’t an object I can just—”

“Go apologize to Camian right now! Beg him to come back!”

Ugh, my head. Her shrill voice echoed painfully in my skull. I pressed my temples as I tried to soothe her, gently patting her back while she squirmed in my lap. Sherry, full of energy, was too much for me to handle in this state. Even when I tried to reassure her, saying, “When you grow up, Camian will come to you,” she refused to calm down. I’d reached my limit.

“Fine, I’ll apologize. I’ll tell him to come back, okay?”

Suddenly, her crying stopped. The room was silent, almost eerily so. I looked at her in disbelief. Sherry wiped her tears roughly with her sleeve and jumped out of my lap. She sprinted across the room to the wardrobe, digging through it. After rummaging for a bit, she returned to me, holding something.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s a necklace. I stole it from Leo’s bag. Mom says you should never go apologize empty-handed.”

“Return it to Leo. I’ll find something else for Camian.”

“When? By the time you find something, he’ll be even more in love with that girl! Take this and go now!”

“I can’t just… Ugh, fine. I’ll go, just don’t cry again.”

I snatched the necklace and grabbed my coat.

“Riv, don’t get sidetracked! Go straight to Camian, understand?”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

I hurried out of Sherry’s house, almost running to escape before she could start crying again. As I glanced back, I saw her glaring at me from her second-floor window, her forehead pressed against the glass. Creepy. Shivering, I rubbed my arms and turned away.

Now that I’d managed to escape Sherry’s house, the real problem was the necklace.

“Haa… what am I going to do with this?”

The necklace was a small silver chain with a sandglass pendant. The chain was scratched and worn, suggesting it had changed hands many times. I hadn’t yet decided what to do with it when I reached a crossroads. If I went straight, I’d head home. Turning right would take me to Lila’s house. I stood there for a while, frozen in place.

“If Sherry cries again, I’ll be in trouble.”

I convinced myself that turning right was just to keep my promise to Sherry. Nothing more. It definitely wasn’t because I wanted to see Camian’s face. No way. Repeating this to myself like a mantra, I made my way toward Lila’s house.

The necklace in my hand would be my shield. All I had to do was hand it over and leave. ‘Sherry wanted me to give this to you,’ I’d say, and then walk away. That was the plan. I clenched my fist, the cold metal of the necklace pressing into my palm.

Before long, Lila’s house came into view. Thick green vines wrapped around the exterior walls and roof. Here and there, red leaves and flowers bloomed among the vines. They must be enchanted plants—without magic, no flower could survive the harsh winter.

A cold wind ruffled my hair, sticking strands to my face. I brushed them away with my gloved hand and tightened my coat around me. Just then, I heard voices in the distance. Instinctively, I ducked into the bushes, crouching down and covering my mouth with both hands.

…Why did I hide?

My body had moved on its own, reacting faster than my thoughts. Now I sat there, huddled like a fugitive, hiding from anyone who might see me. It was ridiculous. Why was I making this into such a big deal? Handing over the necklace on Sherry’s behalf wasn’t difficult—there was no need to sneak around like I had something to hide. I was about to step out from the bushes when the voices became clearer, louder.

“Give it to me. I’ll carry it,” said Camian’s voice. I froze, completely forgetting my plan to step out.

“It’s light,” another voice replied.

Camian’s voice. The moment I heard it, I instinctively curled up even tighter, like a pill bug trying to disappear into itself.

“You always cause trouble when you do it. I might as well take care of it myself,” Camian said, grabbing the sack of fertilizer from Lila’s hands.

“Take it easy. You must be hungry by now. Want something to eat before you go?” she teased.

“I’m not eating salamander tongue skewers,” Camian replied with a sigh, his face twisted into a familiar expression of mild annoyance.

Lila laughed and playfully patted his back. That expression on Camian’s face—though it seemed like irritation, I knew better. It was his way of showing familiarity, a sign of closeness. He’d never shown that face to anyone in our village, only to me. My heart sank.

“I’ll make something you like today,” Lila said, easily hoisting the heavy sack of fertilizer onto her shoulder. Her delicate frame belied the surprising strength she wielded with ease. The energy and vitality radiating from her were overwhelming—qualities I didn’t have. Lila smiled as she carried the fertilizer to the flowerbed and began pouring it out without hesitation.

“What are you—” Camian started, but it was too late. The flowerbed was already a mess.

Weren’t they trying to revive the magic plants? But Lila didn’t seem to care about that, focusing instead on teasing Camian.

“We’ll have to redo the whole flowerbed,” Camian muttered, frowning slightly, but he wasn’t angry. I recognized that face, too. It was the same expression he used to make when I played pranks on him—half annoyed, half amused, unable to get mad. It was a face he wouldn’t show me again.

“Are you out of your mind?” Camian asked.

“Probably!” Lila replied, laughing as she stretched her long legs toward him. She then stepped closer, placing her slender fingers gently on his shoulder. She raised herself on her toes, bringing her face near his. The scene unfolded in slow motion, and soon Lila’s head obscured Camian’s face.

Camian didn’t push her away. My mind went blank.

A moment later, Lila pulled back, and Camian’s face came into view again. He frowned slightly as he looked down at her, but then, suddenly, his gaze shifted toward the bushes where I was hiding.

I froze, panicking. I instinctively crouched lower, pressing myself flat against the ground.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I heard them exchanging a few more words, then the sound of footsteps approaching.

“What are you doing here?”

I slowly opened my eyes and looked up. Lila was standing over me, smiling mischievously. Oh no. I wished the earth would swallow me whole.

I just sat there, speechless and frozen, while Lila narrowed her eyes at me.

“The ground’s dirty, you know,” she said.

“…”

“I spilled fertilizer there yesterday. You’re lying right on top of it.”

The dirt, the fertilizer—it didn’t matter. What mattered was the overwhelming humiliation and the desperate urge to disappear into the nearest rat hole.

“…I was… uh, looking for something I dropped,” I stammered.

“Want me to help you find it?”

“No, I already found it.” I quickly stood up, wiping my hands on my dirty clothes. Lila hadn’t been lying—there was a musty smell, and my knees were now stained a dark, grimy black.

“Lila,” Camian’s deep voice cut through the air. He was looking at her with a cold, sharp gaze.

“Fine, fine, I’ll go,” she said, turning to me with a teasing smile. “Take care on your way back.”

I could only nod, fiddling with my dirty clothes, my face burning with shame.

Lila kept chattering as Camian led her back into the house, and finally, I was left alone.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. The embarrassment, the humiliation, the feeling of being utterly pathetic—it all pressed down on me. As I turned to leave, biting my lip until it hurt, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole world was laughing at me.