The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 83
“I came from the world outside.”
Vargan’s words echoed through the silence. Liam let out a hollow laugh, repeating that he had known it all along.
Liam’s face was crumpled with emotions he could not bear. Of course, he was right. Vargan was a possessor, just like him.
His past experiences flashed before him.
The entrance ceremony, Alicia, the research group… a sword stained in black appeared in the corner of Liam’s vision.
“Even Naias…”
The thought crossed his mind.
Vargan wanted to twist the existing narrative completely and proceed with the story as he pleased, on a completely new path that originally did not exist.
If that was the case… Could this incident also be due to his influence?
In the original storyline, this didn’t happen. The archbishop and bishops never took over the nest.
Though he didn’t know the exact process, Liam began to cling to the hopeful idea that the future had changed due to Vargan’s influence rather than his own.
It was only natural that Vargan’s impact would be greater than his own, as he had tried to move as quietly as possible, fearing the butterfly effect.
… wait. What was he thinking just now?
Hopeful?
What was… hopeful about this…!
Liam gritted his teeth so hard they almost shattered.
Even if the archbishop had intervened because of Vargan, it was Liam himself who had led them into the main altar.
If he hadn’t insisted on carrying out the plan to destroy the core, Ophelia, Haliana, and Lucaiel wouldn’t have died so brutally.
Nikela wouldn’t have lost her ability to use magic.
Liam blamed himself.
“Ah… what a pathetic fool…!”
He wanted to hide the truth and shirk responsibility.
Ironically, even as his thoughts were running in this direction, self-loathing accompanied them, making him feel nauseous.
His current self was so…
Excessively…
“Disgusting, Liam.”
Vargan spoke to Liam, who was sobbing with his mouth covered.
Liam instinctively tried to shift the blame as a defense mechanism.
What made him hate himself even more was the fact that this way of thinking offered him even the slightest bit of comfort.
⎯ Hey, clean out your ears and listen properly. This final exam has been a tradition long before we arrived here.
⎯ I still oppose it. And Haliana won’t participate in that plan either.
The words Lucaiel had spoken came back like a boomerang, piercing his heart.
If only he had listened to his argument and given up. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn.
If only he had discarded the weak thought that they might be harmed and taken on the challenge alone.
Then, this disaster wouldn’t have occurred.
This was not a burden to be shared with others. It was entirely his own fault.
Vargan was right.
He was disgusting.
He had decayed severely, reeking of stench.
“What should I have done… where did it all go wrong?”
Liam’s throat trembled violently, and the voice that escaped resembled the melancholy of the night sky.
Tears, still not dried up, streamed down his face.
Barely standing on his two legs, he grabbed Vargan’s shoulders. He shook him as if trying to push him away.
“Why couldn’t I change the future like you did… why did the situation only get worse?”
He spoke.
Why did someone as useless as him come to this place?
It would have been better if he hadn’t come.
Then, his comrades wouldn’t have died.
“What am I supposed to… how am I supposed to live from now on?”
Liam’s self-esteem plummeted to the ground. The mistakes he had made were that grave, and the wounds ran that deep.
Ah…
Suddenly, in Liam’s mind, a screen like an old movie began to play.
Memories of playing with a wooden sword with Emily during childhood or picking dogbane grass to tickle the stray dogs settled in the village.
As the day ended, the smell of hearty food and the sight of his family warmly welcoming him home would greet him.
Those sounds and smells had been buried in the soil of time but now gently rose, blurring Liam’s vision.
Liam wanted to bury himself in those memories.
Like a child, he wanted to rub his face and fall asleep in their embrace.
‘I am… Liam. I am… Liam? What was my real name again?’
“Looks like you haven’t been beaten enough.”
Thud!
The sudden impact brought Liam back to reality.
His focus returned, capturing the current situation.
Liam was clutching his stomach, staggering.
Vargan’s shadow, which had been stretched out long, was now retracting. A nobleman, displeased with Liam’s bowed head, kicked him in the face.
Liam, pushed back, fell to the ground.
As his face was struck, the taste of iron filled his mouth, and blood began to flow, likely from biting down wrong on something inside.
“Acting immaturely can only be tolerated so much. You have a bad habit of finding all your problems externally and merely jotting down answers from others. There isn’t a single thing you’ve achieved on your own, is there?”
None of Liam’s achievements truly belonged to him.
They were merely results produced by relying solely on the power of statuses and skills.
Just like Alicia, who had to drastically cut down her sleep to master unfamiliar magical senses and swordsmanship despite her natural talent.
Just like Finn, who desperately tried to make each sword swing better than the last, with better form, breath, and strength.
Even Vargan, who also benefited from being a possessor, constantly sought ways to improve steadily.
Instead of merely indulging in the status screen and the numbers listed there like a game character being leveled up,
He should have directly explored the discipline of magic, engraved the basic moves and flow of swordsmanship into his body.
Statuses and skills should be used not as the results themselves but as <tools> to effectively pump up his level.
However, this wretched Liam only barely realized this after Emily died in the original work.
To be precise, after losing his mind and wasting another two months in the aftermath of her death, only when his fragile spirit barely returned did he begin proper training.
“You seem to think this world is just a novel and distinguish it from the reality outside, but…”
To Vargan, who knew the truth, this was an utterly laughable statement.
Liam, this guy, knew nothing.
He was ignorant of the situation he was facing.
“This place where you and I breathe and live. This is our world.”
Despite both being possessors, the fundamental difference between them from the beginning was their perspective on this current world, which stemmed from their differing values.
Vargan had no lingering attachment to the world he called the real world. He let it go and focused solely on the current situation.
Thus, he thoroughly investigated the status, abilities, and wealth he originally possessed and tried to use the story to reshape the narrative.
To him, every moment in this world was reality and truth.
On the other hand, Liam couldn’t erase his attachment to the outside world and looked down on this one, labeling it as virtual or fake.
Even though he might not realize that himself.
To Vargan, Liam had clearly drawn a line between the two worlds, unconsciously looking down on the world of the novel.
When you met certain conditions, gained points, and leveled up, simply increasing your stats allowed you to easily surpass the training others underwent.
Wouldn’t that be interesting?
Wouldn’t it make those who worked hard look foolish?
While Finn had to strike a scarecrow thousand or tens of thousands of times to reach a certain level, you could simply flick your finger and surpass it with ease.
This wasn’t about good or evil; it was an emotion stemming from the inherent subconscious superiority that people felt.
“Your eyes see the scenery of the novel, and your ears hear the characters’ dialogues. Yet, your brain judges all this as just words on a page. You don’t even know your place.”
“… no, that’s not true. I… I valued the friendships I made here!”
Of course, in terms of personal emotions like affection and a sense of justice, Liam possessed exceptional empathy.
That was the root cause of the current incident. He projected his feelings onto the characters and acted without considering the consequences because he wanted to help.
But was that the sentiment of the possessed Liam?
Or was it the inherent personality of the original <Liam> character?
It didn’t matter which, but right now, it was something that needed to be addressed to Liam.
Having reached that judgment, Vargan spoke coldly.
“That’s the result of <possessed you> feeling pity for the characters and <Liam> cherishing his bonds with people and having a strong sense of justice—it’s a form of deception.”
“You mean… I was looking down on others?”
“Yeah. You’re even more arrogantly self-righteous than I am.”
From the start, they were on different levels of perspective.
Even though Vargan treated others as tools or characters to be used, his perspective still existed within the same world as them.
However, Liam, despite showing an admirable attitude of wanting to help everyone and treating the characters as individuals, was viewing them from outside the book, looking down upon them.
Feeling empathy, sadness, or joy for other characters was not something that only occurred in real relationships; it was a common emotion that could easily arise through creative works.
Tears fell while reading a book.
Laughter burst forth while watching a movie.
Liam was immersed in the so-called game characters or the novel’s characters and progressed the story.
Vargan picked at the contradiction Liam held and shook him. Liam, with empty eyes, reflected on his past actions.
In truth, Vargan didn’t care how sincerely Liam treated the others.
Why should it matter how this wretched guy views the world… he would like to dismiss it as such. But Liam, this damned bastard, was the protagonist.
Considering his future growth and role, it was an issue that had to be addressed.
If left alone, he would become even more useless or rot from the inside out.
“Judge and act on your own. Even if you make a wrong choice because of that, humbly accept it.”
He didn’t add kind words about using it as nourishment to move forward.
He thought it was too much to expect someone who couldn’t even stand properly to move forward.
In his heart, Vargan wanted to beat Liam, who had removed Ophelia, Haliana, Lucaiel, and even Nikela, one of the heroines, from the game board to the point of near death, but he restrained himself.
Hitting Liam wouldn’t change anything.
It would be a pointless action driven purely by emotion, only wasting his magic and energy.
If it had already passed, don’t dwell on it.
Don’t be swayed by emotion. Think logically.
Just calculate what benefits could be drawn from this incident.
Therefore, Vargan suppressed his anger and controlled his emotions. Although it couldn’t be said that it aligned with his interests, the awakening of Liam’s skills, which would have originally been filled by Emily, approached sooner.
This fragile mind might still take some time to fully awaken, but Vargan had laid the groundwork, leaving only the act of moving forward.
The problem was when he would take that first step, but it wasn’t something Vargan could help with.
As he told Liam, he needed to get used to moving on his own.
The conversation Vargan had with Liam tonight was all for laying the foundation for the future.
That was the kind of person Vargan was.
“This is all I can say.”
The night deepened.
Vargan looked at Liam, who now resembled an empty shell, and continued speaking.
He had kept calm and restrained himself with rationality, but he could no longer bear to look at him and wanted to erase him from his sight.
He had said everything he needed to say.
Now, there was no need to suppress himself any longer.
“If you understand, then get out of my sight and back to your room.”
Vargan dismissed Liam.
Looking into Liam’s empty eyes, it seemed he wouldn’t regain his composure for a few days.
Liam weakly exited the room.
His shoulders drooped, and his legs barely managed to move.
Vargan clicked his tongue, displeased with Liam’s appearance.
“Seriously, he inherited all the worst traits.”
Who Vargan was thinking of as he looked at Liam and spoke, no one knew.