Lin Yue rolled twice on the ground, shattering all the exquisite, expansive glass of the Assembly Hall as he crashed into it.
Although Isabella’s magic was fierce, it wasn’t really lethal—just left him a bit dizzy.
“I already told you the truth! Why are you still holding onto me?”
“Because you’re a liar! Liar, liar!”
He had no idea Isabella’s heart was already thrown into chaos by his unintentional teasing, so all he could do was look for an opportunity to subdue this woman before making further plans.
Seeing Lin Yue curled up and scrambling under her blows, Isabella couldn’t help but feel a tinge of bitterness inside.
I really am a fool.
No matter how bad things get, someone who always stays the same simply doesn’t exist.
To stubbornly pursue something that doesn’t exist—isn’t that just being unreasonable…
Isabella vaguely sensed that she was now heading further and further down a mistaken path.
She wanted to free herself from these abnormal thoughts, yet she still found herself enveloped by Mordecai’s spiritual influence.
That unwillingness in her heart only spurred her on to probe deeper and deeper into this man standing before her.
“Believe it or not! I really never thought about taking advantage of anyone, or using such means to get anything from anyone!”
“Then what about back at the Assembly Hall? You said you couldn’t bear for me to lose my home, but in the end… all this time, I’ve never felt I truly belonged anywhere!”
Lin Yue was suddenly startled, realizing that the woman before him wasn’t thinking in line with his expectations at all.
Instead, she’d twisted his words with a logic all her own.
“Even you want to distance yourself from me. You were the one who wanted me to stay, but now you act like you don’t want to have anything to do with me.If you’re not going to stick to your word, then don’t give me hope in the first place…”
…
She knew she couldn’t compare to anyone.
In stubbornness, she lost to Ellen, who despite lacking talent, always worked hard.
In talent, she lost to her younger sister, who was a year younger than her.
In generosity, she lost to Gus, who could even share a drink with his enemy.
In tolerance, she lost to the gentle and considerate Airella.
Even in social skills, she lost to Mapeir, who was a commoner.
What did she even have left?
The best substitute, the most suitable sacrifice out of every possible choice?
That did seem to fit her.
Hearing Isabella’s words of accusation, Lin Yue’s furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
So this was all because of the trouble that started with the deal with Yuan back then…
He’d never expected his impromptu words would stick with Isabella for so long, even becoming something like an inner demon.
That was a close call.
If Isabella kept this bottled up, it might trouble her for years.
The timing was awkward, but at least she wouldn’t falter at a critical moment when it was her turn to take action…
Lin Yue took a deep breath and spoke slowly: “Maybe what I’ve done does seem strange to you…”
“I treated you like a weed I could pick up at any time, always preaching grand principles, telling you that your future was full of promise, yet I never gave you any real help…”
He really did know the future, so he could be so certain.
He had immense faith in Isabella, because even at her lowest point in the original story, she never gave up and eventually grew into a towering tree in the future.
He’d been so focused on clearing the game, he’d overlooked that she, without having experienced the storms and trials, was still just a once-willful, sensitive, and delicate young lady.
Sorry… maybe I was just too confident.
I shouldn’t have put so much expectation on you.
Why, why are you apologizing to me…
She realized that even when she’d forced Lin Yue into a corner, he’d never intended to hurt her.
The knot of contradiction and unease in her heart reached its peak.
Just defeat me honestly, throw me away honestly, then go do what’s right.
Honestly… let me give up…
“Why put your hopes in someone as hopeless as me…”
“Might as well have just married me that day, so I’d never dare to dream again… what?”
Hearing Isabella’s words of despair, Lin Yue’s face was filled with disbelief.
During the final battle, even Ellen had been deceived by the Demon God’s illusion and was about to give up.
It was Isabella who first woke up, burning the false dream with blazing fire.
Inside her, there was always the heart of a strong one.
“I did pressure you, and I did grumble about you in secret…”
But I never once thought you were hopeless.
You have talent that’s second to none, the blood of the Valiana family, and the potential to become a Sixth-Rank Archmage.
You can’t just be a bird locked up in a mansion…
You still have to help me soar.
If you don’t work hard and become strong, and if Liya blows up the school, then all my plans will fall apart!”
Hearing these words, Isabella, who’d just been feeling dejected, instantly turned into a bristling kitten, shouting at Lin Yue: “And what makes you think I want to be a Sixth-Rank Archmage! You’ve never cared about what I really think!”
“If it weren’t for what you said, I’d never have stayed here!”
Maybe because her desires were magnified, or maybe because she was too worked up, Isabella poured out everything she truly felt.
….
Isabella knew Lin Yue had no obligation to care about her feelings.
[I won’t let you die.]
But the words he’d said that day were deeply engraved in her mind, impossible to erase.
She had no reason to hope, and yet she irrationally expected this special person to turn back for her, to really pause for her tiny, insignificant self.
“Ah…”
With just one sentence, Isabella woke Lin Yue up completely.
In the original story, Isabella had never said she wanted to become strong.
She’d always just stood there, waiting to go wherever she was needed.
Marriage, enrollment, getting stronger.
Other than her own decision to drop out, everything else had been forced on her, and in the end she’d stumbled her way into becoming one of the world’s saviors.
In the end, at the very beginning, the Isabella from the original story just wanted to help her younger sister—that’s why she enrolled in Avilina after her engagement was called off.
She was like a beautifully crafted, ever-malleable puzzle piece.
Send her anywhere, she’d fit.
When she wasn’t needed, she’d just be a vase: too tasteless to keep, too precious to throw away.
Lin Yue finally understood.
The home Isabella spoke of didn’t mean her family or anything else.
What she really wanted was someone, no matter what, to acknowledge that she was one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable.
Her sister couldn’t do that, because people always compared them.
Even if she didn’t care about others’ eyes, it was still hard to put those feelings aside.
Lin Yue had always been the key to unlocking Isabella’s growth.
No matter the situation, after his intervention, she would finally start to grow inside for real.
So this was the true purpose of the character 【Lin Yue Hawk】?
Just then, the already half-ruined Assembly Hall began to shake violently.
A massive stone broke loose and fell straight toward Isabella’s unsuspecting head.
“Tsk!”
Lin Yue’s heart tightened.
Without time to think, he tore open a spatial rift, just in time to throw himself over Isabella, shielding her as the giant stone crashed down.
He didn’t know any shield magic; all he could do was protect this already-confused girl in the clumsiest way possible.
The huge stone broke apart on Lin Yue’s back—it wasn’t very heavy or strong, but it was enough to knock Lin Yue half senseless.
He couldn’t hold back a mouthful of blood that dripped onto Isabella’s flawless, pale face, shockingly bright.
Pressed beneath Lin Yue, Isabella’s eyes slowly filled with tears of grievance.
“You… what do you even want…”