Hate-Runner? Does that ring a bell to you?

Nope.

Me neither.

Judge!

What is it, defendant?

Cut the feed now! Boil me. Execute me. Throw me in prison. Do whatever the hell you want, just stop displaying my memories! If you won’t… I’ll break out of here and kill all of you!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Watch your tongue, defendant. I’ve given you a lot of leeways, but my patience has its limits. The Memoria spell must run its course. Even if you were to die now, the screen will continue the projection.

Fuck!

Language.

Eat shit, fuck face!

Amelia, don’t insult the judge or he’ll turn you into a statue again.

No, no, no! Dammit! And I was so close! So damn close!

What’s got her knickers in a twist? Her devil persona is pretty much gone now.

Who knows. Guess, we’ll find out.

Lady Eleanor is stunned after hearing the word “Hate-runner.” She asks her mother to leave the room and starts punching a pillow.

“Goddammit! I knew something was wrong with this realm! Those amateurs! Those damn maniacs! Fuck! Cough! Cough! Damn it… Should I just give up now and try again somewhere else? Sigh…”

Eleanor massages her temple, and that’s when the door opens and a familiar face walks in.

“Fuck! Who is… Princess?! Ah, I mean, Princess Grace! What are you doing in this lowly one’s room, your highness?”

“Your highness? I didn’t know you can be polite… Adrian.”

What!?

She knew!?

“Huh?! I-I don’t know what you’re t-talking about—”

“Oh, please. Silver Blood. Insanely strong. Pops out of nowhere. You don’t think I’m that dumb do you, Adrian?”

“P-princess, you must have mistaken me for somebody else. I was a simple maid who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Heh… heh…”

“You can lie. You can act. You can say whatever you want, Adrian… because I’ll never believe a single word you say… never again.”

“Princess…”

Princess Grace takes out a handkerchief and wipes the blood on the corner of Eleanor’s lips.

“I see you managed to become my adoptive cousin. So what’s your grand scheme, exactly? Do you want to destroy my family from within? Assassinate my father? Or do you just want to watch me squirm?”

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Eleanor keeps her lips sealed and the princess chuckles.

“Adrian Acker… The Devil, is it? That’s a cringey title if I ever heard one. But well, I can’t expect a brute like you to come up with something better.”

“…I’m not the person you’re accusing me to be, your highness.”

“I never thought I’d see you so weak… Well, you were sick before. But now… now, even someone like me can kill you.”

Princess Grace takes out a knife and places it on Eleanor’s throat. Eleanor looks up at her with calm eyes.

“This is the part where you’re supposed to beg for your life. Alas, you’re not a very good actor are you, Adrian?”

The princess laughs and uses the knife to cut an apple. She hands a slice to Eleanor.

“Eat up. A sick devil needs all the strength he can get.”

“What do you want—Omf!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

After feeding Eleanor some fruits, the princess gets up and walks to the door.

“My father is sending a convoy to guard me back to the capital. After this whole mess, I’ll probably never be allowed to step outside of the castle ever again. Ashamed too, since I was looking forward to attending school.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, your highness.”

“Huh! I’ll be seeing you… cousin Eleanor.”

Princess, why would you say that to someone you thought was a villain?

I knew she was Adrian. As for the other part… Well, it was more interesting to wait and see what Adrian was up to.

You shouldn’t make that kind of gamble, princess! What if she chose to silence you?

Then I’d be dead. But, to be honest… a part of me always believed in Adrian. Perhaps, I wanted to believe in my knight in shining armor… Oh, by the way, the screen may not show it, but the duchess was waiting outside for me. She explained the situation and quickly corrected my misunderstanding… I never told Amelia I knew her secret though.

Wait, what?! You knew?! All these years, you knew?!

Surprised, cousin? Hahaha! I waited a long time to see you make that face.

Damn you, you spoiled brat!

Blahhh! It’s your fault for being a liar.

Princess Grace sticks out her tongue at Amelia who’s grinding her teeth.

Eleanor waits for her health to recuperate so she could run away… again. But after weeks of resting her limbs still refuse to function properly and she constantly coughs blood and has nose bleeds. Her accumulated injuries finally take a toll on her.

She also can’t muster up mana despite recreating her internal organs several times over. In the end, she is confined to a wheelchair. Duchess Gilda uses the opportunity to reconnect with her daughter and takes her to tour the Lilac Mountains. The princess often tags along to hang out and tease her “Adrian.”

Eleanor uses Prince Gael, Professor Declan, and Lady Tate as her limbs, ordering them to spread the devil’s infamy far and wide while abusing them any chance she has.

When the princess’s convoy finally arrives, there is a royal edict ordering Duke Ashton Ambrose to guard Princess Grace back to the capital.

“Gil, this may take some time. How about you take… Eleanor back to Greenfield.”

The duke glances down at the girl who is half asleep in her wheelchair.

“Don’t be silly, Ashton. We’re finally a family after all these years, all three of us gotta stick together.”

“Gil… this child isn’t Amelia.”

“Oh, Ashton, you’re a blind fool… but you’re my blind fool… Here, I’ll leave her in your care. Go spend time with your daughter—or stepdaughter, whichever you want to call her. I’ll go pack the bags.”

Gilda… I really was a blind fool… Still am…

Duke Ambrose in the memory watches his wife walk away and look down at Eleanor.

“So… where would you like to go, child?”

“Someplace… quiet… the library.”

“Do you like books?”

“Uh-huh.”

“My daughter… Amelia also loved to read. Wherever she is, I’m certain she must have a stack of books next to her.”

“...Sure…”

Lilac Mountains doesn’t have a library so Duke Ambrose brings Eleanor to a bookstore. Eleanor picks out several spellbooks.

“Child… about your mana…”

“I can still feel them, but they refuse to do what I say.”

The duke raises his eyebrow and observes her body.

“You’re right. They’re still in there, although it’s hard to get a handle on them… odd… The doctor said you burned out. But from what I see, it’s like a water tank with no outlet… Maybe if… Yes! Yes, that would work!”

Ashton looks at Eleanor with sparkling eyes.

“Child, there is a way for you to wield magic again. But it requires a significant amount of work and patience.”

“I don’t shy away from hard work, your grace.”

“Good. Eleanor… Ambrose, to gain access to your mana once more, you must become a priestess.”

And that, my friend, is how the devil walks down the road that will eventually lead her into becoming Saint Eleanor, the merciful… And she actually called herself a villain with a straight face… Sigh…