Dolores could see the favorability number that belonged to her.
She looked down, trying to lower it with a sense of disgust, just as she had in the beginning.
But, she couldn’t do it.
Perhaps it was because Dolores truly could not hate Green anymore.
Or perhaps it was because, ever since [Trust] began, the harsh requirements for gaining favorability had robbed her of the ability to control it with her own will.
“…”
Dolores preferred to believe it was the latter.
Her frustration and pessimistic emotions were caused by the system within Green.
She didn’t know why she had said those things; they were clearly meaningless.
But—sometimes, people subconsciously ask questions they already know the answer to in the form of a query.
For example: “Do you really love me? Do you really care about me?”
Some questions already have answers the moment they are asked.
Dolores felt that Green would be satisfied, especially now, as he gradually realized she was not as gentle as she was in his impressions and memories.
He would not soften his heart, nor would he regret anything.
Dolores would not be like the Dolores of his first life’s memory—kind, naive, and gentle.
A Dolores under the influence of the system should have been faster and gentler in her treatment of Green.
Now, however, because of her identity as a transmigrator, she had become rebellious and twisted. If she were Green, she feared that her unsatisfactory performance would only make him more determined to use the system.
Not to mention, Green had already used the Demon’s Power of the system more than once.
In Green’s eyes, Dolores’s words were extremely strange.
What did she mean by “if I can no longer hate”? Although Dolores’s reaction was not as gentle as the one in Green’s memory, Green felt there was no problem at all.
This was because the [System] and [Stages] in Dolores’s eyes were already clear and fixed.
She knew what kind of gentleness a Dolores at a certain stage should give to Green, and her own behavior did not match the gentleness that this version of Dolores ought to have.
But Green did not know this. At most, he would think it was excusable, or that the influence of the Demon’s Power—this system—was not as strong as he had imagined.
After all, Dolores also possessed a powerful talent that he knew nothing about, and talents could bring all sorts of incredible abilities and protections.
“Did you always hate me before, Princess?” Green asked, his tone sounding as if he were seeking an answer.
He did not seem to think he would receive a hateful response from Dolores’s mouth; even if there were one, it should have been fleeting.
“Yes, I hate you very much, Green. I have always hated you… from the moment we met, from that time… until now… I…”
As Dolores spoke, she grit her teeth so hard that her brow furrowed into a tight knot.
She realized that this might be her only chance to speak her mind directly in front of him.
This might not even count as resistance, for it was too weak.
It might not even count as a struggle, for it was too childish.
“The moment we met, I started hating you. I only left halfway through for that reason.”
“When you said you liked me at the banquet and offered gifts to my father, I didn’t think you were handsome or sincere. I only felt that love at first sight was hypocritical and disgusting.”
“Father allowed you to pursue me, and I tried my best to treat you as someone I could get along with… I made requests of you, and you were willing to face danger for me. I was moved…”
“You protected me… you protected Vesserian… I was very moved, but… but… I can’t like you, Green! I hate you! Having you stay by my side only makes me sick, because I still hate you now…!”
Dolores repeatedly used words like “hate” and “disgusting.”
She seemed just like those wicked princesses who were the villains in stories—receiving kindness and help from others only to belittle them, ungrateful and heartless.
But…
If she did not say it now, she would never have the chance to say it again.
If Dolores viewed Green as a trusted friend…
If he truly was this important in Dolores’s heart…
Green stood there as still as a statue, doubting what he had heard and wondering if the current scene was real or a dream.
Why would she, Dolores, say such things to him?
To be fair, Green’s motives toward Dolores were not pure; from the very beginning, he had approached her with the goal of revenge.
Furthermore, emotionally, Green perhaps did not harbor a love as pure as the one he had for the Dolores of his first life.
However, he had still poured a portion of his affection into her. The love and gentleness Dolores had given him in the past remained a part of him that he could not let go.
Moreover, from start to finish, Green had maintained a gentle face before Dolores and had fought for her several times.
Why did he see a expression on Dolores’s face that looked as if she were about to cry, as if she were being coerced by him?
Why did he hear Dolores’s mouth saying, over and over again, that she hated him?
“Princess! I have clearly been helping you, helping you so many times, and I was even comforting you just now. Does your conscience and upbringing allow you to say such willful things in a situation like this!”
Green admitted he was somewhat angry—very angry, in fact.
For the first time, he felt he truly hated Dolores.
Why was this face, which in his memory had always been incomparably gentle, and this voice, which should only comfort him with tenderness, speaking such foul words to him?
And why did Dolores, for a moment, seem so similar to a bastard like Silverbell from his memory?
Clearly, Dolores was the only person in Green’s heart who could heal him.
Clearly, Green had deliberately forgotten everything about Dolores’s final moments.
To speak so harshly to the person who had helped her countless times—was this Dolores’s true nature?
No, Green was unwilling to believe it.
He refused to believe that the inner self of his “ideal, beautiful Dolores” was actually ugly…
Green held a perfect Dolores in his heart, and there was only one Dolores in this world, but Green realized with panic that the two of them might never be the same…
“Even if you helped me and saved me, I will still hate you… I hate you, Green!”
“Hatred is hatred! Does it just disappear because you saved me or helped me?!”
Dolores shouted as if venting her frustrations.
‘You are using the system to overwrite my will!’
‘You told me yourself that your revenge would not stop just because “I” am not that Dolores.’
‘Yet you wear a mask of kindness and do things that I acknowledge in the depths of my heart, acting like a knight, making it impossible for me to harden my heart to hurt you.’
‘I know my hesitation will turn into a cowardly wait, yet I understand that waiting will not be the key to escaping the system’s control; it will only become the firewood that helps you cook my will.’
‘I already know that I will fall into the worst possible ending. I know that from now on, I may never again be able to rely on an impulse like this to say anything to you other than [Trust] or [Love].’
‘I have conceded so much.’
‘Can’t I at least say a few words of hatred to you?’
There was more than just disappointment in Green’s eyes.
A sort of fantasy, a kind of perfection, seemed to shatter amidst Dolores’s abrupt words.
He walked out of the room in silence and closed the door.
He left behind the unconscious Vesserian and Dolores, who was clutching her chest.
Whether it was repaying a benefactor with foul words…
Or saying cruel, hurtful things to a “friend she trusted”…
These were not things Dolores could do with a clear conscience, yet she had said them anyway.
After Green left, she curled up in pain by the bedside, clutching her clothes so tightly they nearly tore. Tears slowly fell onto her legs…
“I… what kind of words… was I supposed to say…”
“It was supposed to be a release, but I don’t feel lighter at all. Why does my chest feel like it’s suffocating… The left side… it hurts so much, it’s… my heart…”
Dolores sobbed, her voice growing lower and lower…
Poor dear.