Cursed Villainess’ Obsession

Emily was momentarily confused, unsure of what she had just heard.

"...What?"

The voice was not the usual warm, gentle tone she was used to from him. Instead, it was filled with coldness and disgust.

Though it was the same person speaking, it felt as if it were coming from someone else entirely.

"...What did you say?"

She thought she must have misheard, but she hadn’t.

“Didn’t you hear me? If I go alone, I go alone. Why would I ever ask you to come?”

Ken Feinstein’s voice was icy as he glared at her, his words cutting deeply. He pushed away the hand she had placed on his cheek.

“Don’t you remember? You stepped on my head and insulted me.”

“…That was…”

“And now you dare to insult Mary?”

The hatred burning in his eyes pierced Emily’s heart sharply.

“Get lost. I don’t want to see you for even a second longer.”

With that, Ken turned his back on her.

To Emily, his retreating figure felt like an impenetrable fortress.

There was nothing more she could say.

All that remained was confusion and pain.

A deep, gnawing pain that was rising from within her chest.

‘I don’t care what Ken says… it doesn’t bother me…’

Emily tried to convince herself, but deep down, she knew something was going wrong.

She had been rejected.

She had rejected herself, just as she had tried to reject Ken.

‘I don’t care…’

She kept lying to herself, but her feet were already carrying her out of the classroom.

...

After Emily had left, the classroom was filled with the whispers of the other students.

I, on the other hand, was slumped over my desk, my hands clutching my head.

'What the hell did I just do, you idiot Ken?!'

It seemed that something Emily had said about Mary had triggered Ken, causing his immersion level to spike, and he’d finally unleashed the feelings he had been bottling up.

Watching it all unfold from the sidelines, I thought, This is it. I'm gonna get hit now. … But Emily’s reaction was completely unexpected.

“…Ugh, ugh.”

Her lips quivered, and her fists clenched tightly, her shoulders trembling.

She didn’t look scared exactly, but there was something in her expression… as if she was holding back a deep sorrow.

Her eyes began to redden, tears welling up before she hurriedly left the room.

‘Should I go after her?’

Still slumped over my desk, I wondered if I should chase after her and try to explain. But what explanation could I give? I had just said exactly what I had wanted to say. If I ran after her now with a smile, she’d probably think I was insane.

‘Well, there’s no helping it... Maybe I’ll talk to her tomorrow.’

I didn’t want my relationship with Emily to deteriorate too much.