The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me-Chapter 62 - Aria and Lee Han Meeting
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 62 - Aria and Lee Han Meeting
Creaaak.
With trembling hands, Aria grasped the doorknob.
The knocking she had just heard...
A calm yet resolute, distinct pattern.
Since she always stayed indoors, Aria knew it well.
She was certain it was Lee Han's knock.
"...Ah."
It was Lee Han, the one she had longed for.
In the Holy Office, a place where everyone was wary of and avoided her, Aria thought only of Lee Han.
Even though she knew what she and her other party members had done to him, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
And that was because she finally realized.
That Lee Han was the only one who had truly been on her side.
When they were ambushed by monsters.
When they fought against demons.
When they took a break after battles.
When they ate meals.
Even when he came to wake her up every morning.
Lee Han had always taken care of her without wavering.
He sat beside her, spoke to her, and sometimes simply stayed silent with her.
She only realized the value of the things Lee Han did after he was completely gone.
In the Saintess' quarters of the Holy Office.
It was a space larger than most homes, not particularly luxurious but built with the finest materials.
Yet, despite living in such a place, Aria was certain.
That she preferred the tent on the field where she had stayed with Lee Han more than here. No matter how good the bed, blankets, and pillows were, they couldn't compare to the comfort of those moments with him.
So, the only thing she needed right now was Lee Han. Only Lee Han.
And then she heard the knock.
The sound he always made when he came to wake her up in the morning, whether it was at the tent or wherever else.
That same knock echoed from the door.
"Lee... Lee Han?"
Her mind went blank.
It was Lee Han, the one she had been waiting for.
Aria immediately got up from her seat.
With unsteady, shaky steps, she moved toward the door.
Normally, the Saintess' quarters were not a place just anyone could enter. If someone knocked, it was only natural to ask who it was. At the very least, Aria herself should have asked.
But Aria forgot all such procedures and simply turned the doorknob.
Creeeak.
The door, trembling as it opened, betrayed just how nervous she was. Aria stared at the widening crack of light, unable to blink.
Bright white light.
As her eyes adjusted to the dimming brightness, she saw the silhouette of a man beyond it.
Even when the figure appeared more like a boy than a man, Aria held on to hope.
There was the knock.
She knew Lee Han's knock better than anyone else.
So, even when she saw that the boy’s hair was a different color than Lee Han's, she didn't give up.
— Thud.
And finally, when the door was fully open.
When she confirmed the boy’s face, eyes, height, build, clothes, everything about him that was different from Lee Han...
"Ah..."
Aria slumped down, almost collapsing on the spot.
It wasn’t Lee Han.
No matter how she looked at him, she couldn’t pretend that the boy was Lee Han.
Come to think of it, why would Lee Han come to her quarters?
The hope that had been flickering before her eyes vanished in an instant, swallowed up by darkness.
Shudder.
Her shoulders began to tremble.
The darkening shadows in front of her eyes.
Aria began to sink deeper and deeper.
She had always been mentally fragile.
She had actually managed to hold out for quite a long time without Lee Han.
That was definitely the case.
The boy she thought was Lee Han grabbed her wrist as she sat there.
"...Lloyd! She’s the Saintess!"
So his name was Lloyd.
She learned this because of the startled woman and middle-aged man around him.
They were right.
Touching the Saintess without permission was a serious offense, one that could result in immediate interrogation as a heretic.
But Lloyd confidently took hold of Aria.
No, he practically yanked her up.
As if she were just a piece of luggage.
"Y-You...!"
"Lloyd’s really lost it this time."
The people around them gasped in shock.
But Lloyd’s movements were so assured.
Aria couldn’t say a word.
She just blankly stared at him.
"Why are you staring so hard? Do I have something on my face?"
His tone was blunt.
But his voice wasn’t cold.
It wasn’t exactly warm, but there was a sense of politeness to it.
Even though the pitch and tone of the voice were completely different...
Why did it keep reminding her of someone?
"I-I..."
Her words stuttered.
The fact that she managed to speak at all was an accomplishment.
Aria had always been shy, but her time in the Holy Office had only made it worse.
Yet here she was, somehow trying to speak to this boy.
Driven by a faint hope, Aria’s thoughts burned brightly.
"Y-your... name. What... is your name?"
"It's Lloyd."
"A... ah..."
Her mouth gaped open.
With just a single word from him, the hope she had clung to crumbled to the ground.
If this boy were the reincarnation of Lee Han, he would have said something to her. Told her he was disappointed, that he was seeking revenge, or even...
That he would kill her.
'Because I did something wrong.'
Even if this boy was Lee Han, she had no right to see him.
...Yes.
It's probably for the best.
How could someone like her ever hope to face Lee Han?
Since the moment she failed to stop what happened to him, she had become a worthless person.
Oh. I really am a person with no worth at all.
Aria's consciousness began to sink deep.
So deep that it seemed she might never rise again...
"Want to eat this?"
Suddenly.
A coin-sized object was thrust in front of her eyes.
Aria's eyelids slowly lifted.
It was chocolate.
"Seems like you don’t have the energy to open it. Hold on, I’ll do it for you."
...What?
Before she could even react, a sweet flavor spread in her mouth.
Aria felt as if she was about to lose her mind.
Her mood lifted, then dropped. She fell into the abyss, only to be pulled back up again.
Even the senses that had been sinking were awakened by the sweetness.
The taste of the chocolate, the warmth of the skin of the one holding her, the sense of security from being together...
They were sensations she had felt before.
Whenever her consciousness was sinking deep, he always woke her up the same way.
"Eh...?"
A stupid sound escaped her lips.
But.
The moment she saw the boy’s expressionless eyes beside her.
And as she slowly recalled his actions and tone of voice...
"Lee Han?"
Aria was certain.
This boy was Lee Han.
In some way, he was the reincarnation of Lee Han.
"Is it really you, Lee Han?"
She didn’t even wait for him to answer. That’s how sure she was.
"Hrk."
Her throat tightened.
So much that she could barely breathe, and then the tears began to flow.
"Sob... Sob!"
Tears started to stream down from her eyes.
Aria couldn’t tell if she was sad, embarrassed, or happy. The tears just kept flowing.
Lee Han was silently watching her.
The one who had helped her so much, the one who had been her support.
The only companion, the only friend she had ever had.
And the one she had dreamed of something more with.
She had only been able to realize these things after he died... after he was no longer around. Such a sorrowful, tragic figure.
Lee Han.
Finally, Aria realized what she had to say.
"S-Sob... I’m sorry."
She muttered, not even thinking to wipe away the tears and snot covering her face.
"I’m sorry... I-I’m. So sorry. I’m really sorry. I should have done something to stop it. I was wrong, Lee Han. Really. I was wrong... sob."
She was trash.
Even if she set aside her tendency for self-loathing, the things she had done to Lee Han were beyond foolish. They were so despicable, so revolting.
A friend, a comrade.
Someone she had just let die, clinging to false hopes that it wouldn’t happen.
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She was utterly repulsive.
So there was only one thing she could say.
"I’m really... really sorry."
Words like "I missed you."
Or "Thank you."
Instead of saying any of that, only one phrase slipped out.
I'm sorry.
"I don’t expect forgiveness, just let me say this. I’m really s-sorry."
Like a fool, she repeated it.
Over and over, dozens, even hundreds of times.
Even though she knew this emotional apology wouldn't change Lee Han’s mind, she kept repeating it.
After she had repeated herself until her voice was hoarse, Aria realized.
That Lee Han had calmly listened to her words. He had quietly heard her foolish, tearful apology.
'Even to someone as worthless as me, you won’t yell or hit me.'
That alone made her choke up, and the tears threatened to flow again.
But she barely held them back.
As it was, she would just be a burden to Lee Han.
If he had come to her, it must mean he needed something.
Aria vowed to listen to whatever it was.
No matter how unreasonable the request.
Even if he no longer wanted to breathe the same air as her and asked her to disappear.
Whatever it might be, Aria would listen to Lee Han.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
