Clarissa Beheads The Villainess

[30] Poppy

"You're breaking up with me!?"

Eka nods her head. "I am breaking up with you."

"D-did I do something?"

Freya stares intently into the eyes of her (ex) lover. "I refuse to break up with you!" She continues.

"You can't refuse. I'm breaking up with you whether you like it or not."

"But why!?"

"All you've been doing lately is ramble about revenge. At this point you talk about the woman you hate more than anything else! Why not go date her instead?"

"No- Eka... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

"But you did. See you around princess, I'll be resigning from being a maid at the castle."

"Fine then! Leave and be with the sickly peasants!"

"Do not call them that." Eka gifts Freya a final scowl before leaving the princess' quarters.

They got back together a few hours later. Eka loves Freya too much to let go that way. It didn't make her feel any less hurt though.

---

Back in duke Orias Viertel's suffering castle.

With shaky hands, Astaroth is writing his goodbyes while he still can. For him, the necrosis was spreading slowly, but he was not going to risk it. Whether the crow disease will take him a fortnight from now, or a year from now, he will write his wills as soon as he can.

"Astaroth?"

He quickly hides all the letters in his desk. "Come in."

Clarissa enters with soup in her hands. "Can you eat?"

"Yeah, thanks for bringing food all the way here."

"No one eats at the dining table anymore aside from Orias."

"Not even his own wife joins him to eat?" Astaroth snorts.

Clarissa places the soup on his desk and backs up to sit by the foot of his bed. He usually keeps his windows open, blowing gentle wind by her. "How's the progression?"

"Slow."

She watches him eat, staring like an eagle. He lifts the spoon to his face, eats calmly. Opposite of the duke who lowers his face to his spoon and occasionally eats like he's starving.

"The pain has been somewhat tolerable."

"You have prominent eyebags today."

"The pain sucks."

"I hope the soup helps then. Peter said he added poppy into it."

"And Poppy is supposed to help?" He swirls the spoon around in the soup. "Wait, did you tell Peter?"

"You can trust him more than the mites chewing at the walls." She stops briefly, waiting to see if Astaroth had any adverse response to telling the rat about his situation. With no angry-telling silence, she continues.
"In my first world, I remember reading that Poppy was one of the earliest painkillers."

"Care to tell me about your world? Perhaps I'll be reincarnated there next."

"If that's the case then I hope you are reborn into a loving and stable family." Clarissa turns her head to face the window, staring at the blue sky. "I'll let you in on my secret then. Like the first time, you may not believe me."

"What good will it do me to think you're lying when I'm approaching death's door."

"Maybe you're prideful enough to believe in only yourself till the day you die."

"If it weren't you that I'm talking too then maybe."

"Astaroth Vandor, Katherine Horak, Orias Viertel, and Vixen. The Golden Kingdom, Josie, Princess Freya, Peter. They're all part of a story written buy an assassinated author." She looks back at him. "You are a work of fiction in my world."

"That... Really is hard to believe."

"The story begins when Katherine is being bullied by Freya. House Viertel takes them in and Katherine develops a friendship with the three men. Eventually, all three of them like her but Vixen backs out because he doesn't want to compete.

Astaroth kills Freya for Katherine's safety, but in the end she still chooses Orias."

Astaroth sighs. "Did the story mention about this crow disease?"

"No. The author was assassinated before the story was finished, by me. An accident."

"How do you accidentally assassinate someone!?"

"She had an identical twin sister. I got the wrong twin."

He frowned. "I believe you. With this uhh whole story."

"I doubt you do. But it's fine, whether you believe it or not won't change anything. This world doesn't follow the story anymore."

"I believe you Clarissa. I will believe anything you tell me without hesitation." Astaroth's expression turns stern.

"Even if I say I'm half goat?"

"That's... A joke right?"

"You poor thing." Clarissa gets up and walks to the door. "I'll be here again by dinner to bring you food."

"Thanks. I love you."

"Huh?" She pauses, with her hand holding the doorknob.

"I said I love you."

"Then stay alive for me."

"I'll try."