Jealousy Makes One Unrecognizable

“Nannali… That name sounds quite similar to the Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian, doesn’t it?”

Garen stared directly at Vivian, his face expressionless as he spoke. Every word felt like a knife’s edge.

Vivian’s scalp couldn’t help but tingle, but she still met Garen’s sharp, azure eyes.

“You’re joking, Lord Hero…”

Vivian’s voice held a perfectly measured tremor and hoarseness.

“…”

Garen stared at Vivian for a moment before turning back to his original position.

“Captain Barton, patrols must be strengthened in the coming days. Faro Fortress was attacked a few days ago, and it’s said to be the work of the escaped Demon Lord Vivian—although there are reports of the Demon Lord of Evernight appearing in other places, we cannot let our guard down here.”

“Y-Yes!”

When Garen mentioned the name “Vivian,” his voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised, gnashing hatred. Every syllable seemed squeezed from between his teeth.

Barton quickly responded, while Vivian felt a little puzzled by Garen’s words.

‘Reports of me appearing in other places, too? What’s going on? Could some other faction be using my name for their activities? But that’s actually good news for me. If someone is impersonating me, at least it can divert attention.’

‘I only ever made a move at Faro Fortress, right?’

But based on this information, it was clear that the Garen before her was specifically here to corner Vivian.

He probably never imagined that the person he was looking for was right under his nose at this very moment.

And did Garen truly hate her so much?

She hadn’t done anything.

Besides, wasn’t her official identity Lucia’s spoil of war?

However, it seemed Garen wasn’t finished speaking.

“The symbol of our light, our holy guide—the Hero of Light, Lady Lucia!”

An extremely subtle, almost imperceptible tremor entered Garen’s voice.

“She… she was met with the most despicable, most venomous ambush by the demons!” Garen’s voice was like the roar of a wounded beast, echoing in the silent clearing, filled with heart-wrenching pain. “It must have been that insidious, cunning Demon Lord Vivian, who deserves to do nothing more than squirm in the dark like a maggot—that damned… b*tch! It must have been her who used her own body as bait, bewitching Lucia over the course of a month! It was she who personally planned and executed this blasphemy against the Holy Light!”

…Dude, seriously?

Never mind Barton and the others; the person in question was standing right there, her mind in a complete mess.

‘Why did this guy suddenly get so agitated? And what does this have to do with me, Vivian! I was a victim too, okay! Besides, I never intended to do anything, nor did I have the ability to!’

She was all ready to hug Lucia’s thigh and just coast through life!

And what was with the hint of jealousy in Garen’s tone?

Although Vivian knew that in the game, Garen was characterized as Lucia’s admirer and follower, often acting as a supporting force to advance side quests, she never expected his hatred for her to have escalated to such a bizarre level.

“So, Barton! No suspicious person, no single clue, can be overlooked! Especially… people with similar names and unknown origins! The Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian, that butcher whose hands are stained with holy blood, who encroached on Lucia’s precious rest time, the true culprit who affected her state of mind!

She must pay the price for everything she has done!”

“She… she won’t get away! Lady Lucia is the one I… I love… admire most! I cannot accept that in her final moments of leisure, Lady Lucia spent them with such a filthy, lowly demon scumbag! I cannot accept it!”

“I, Garen, swear an oath here. I will spend my entire life to completely purify her, and use her head to commemorate Lady Lucia’s heroic spirit!”

He abruptly locked his gaze on the crowd again, his once cold eyes now practically filled with hatred, looking like they were about to burst into tangible flames.

And hidden within that hatred was an immense jealousy that only Vivian could detect.

Is this what they call “jealousy makes one unrecognizable”?

Vivian was speechless.

…Seriously, dude!

Every injustice has its perpetrator.

If you have the guts, go settle the score with those four Demon Lords! What’s the point of blaming everything on me?!

Vivian couldn’t help but complain in her heart.

And what did he mean by that?

What was this “I cannot accept it”?

Huh?

If you couldn’t accept it, you could have gone and found Lucia yourself.

It was Lucia who didn’t want you. What did that have to do with her, Vivian!

But on second thought, maybe Lucia was a lesbian.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed Vivian onto the bed, nor would she have completely ignored Garen’s pursuit in the game’s story…

Thinking of this, Vivian’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the day she was brought back to Lucia’s castle domain.

The same night she became her wife.

After being defeated and captured by Lucia, Vivian was imprisoned in a carriage, being escorted to an unknown destination.

At that time, with her mana sealed, Vivian initially found it very difficult to adapt, her body suddenly becoming extremely weak.

But it was fine.

It was just a matter of returning to the state of an ordinary person.

In fact, having only been transmigrated for a week, she had just gotten used to her new body and new powers, so after her mana was sealed, everything else was okay.

It was just being constantly confined that made her feel a little anxious.

“…Although Lucia said she wouldn’t kill me, what on earth does she want me to do?”

At that time, Vivian was huddled in a corner of the carriage, sighing with a bit of helplessness.

As a modern person from another world, she was all too aware of the unspeakable treatment that the defeated and captured party would suffer.

As a Demon Lord, in the eyes of humans, her crimes were surely too numerous to count.

“Phew, is Lucia taking me back to human territory for trial? To pay my blood debt? To be used as an outlet for other humans… Eek, just thinking about it, I might as well kill myself.”

Vivian grumbled, feeling extremely uneasy inside.

It turns out that sometimes, seeing too much strange stuff can only harm you—at least, the Vivian of that time had already run through the worst-case scenarios in her head several times.

But at the same time, what she was more concerned about back then was the development of this world’s timeline.

Although Bai An had only skimmed through the plot, “Vivian” was ultimately a mid-game boss that would be defeated by players, not one-on-one by the strongest Hero.

“So, this world isn’t progressing according to the game’s plot?”

She pondered, and just then, the carriage stopped.

“Are we here?”

Feeling the movement, Vivian raised her head—by this time, several days had already passed since her defeat.

Creeak—

As the carriage door opened, a dazzling light streamed into the carriage, making it impossible for Vivian to open her eyes for a moment.