Chapter 379: Because I Fell in Love with You Long Ago!

The scenes continued to shift, memory after memory surging forward.

Because it all unfolded from Ansu’s perspective, even his emotions at the time were synchronized without reservation.

A classic battle arrived.

At the docks on the outskirts of Benalu City, the little Holy Maiden suffered the tragic fate of literally losing her head.

Due to the witch’s sick sense of humor, tentacles sprouted from her severed neck, and her head crawled around on the ground like an octopus, pushing the mental pollution to the absolute limit...

“Enough! I’ve fucking had enough!”

“The game ends here! I don’t have time to waste with you!”

Ansu’s breakdown and rage at that moment surged up along with the memory.

Watching from the “spectator seats,” Celia silently observed, pursing her lips.

The next scene was the massacre at the Royal Academy.

This conspiracy brought the cult and the Church of Holy Light into a head-on collision at the academy, the light of God-Descent tearing through the sky.

Bracing against the God-Descent, Celia’s skin was burned and blistered, peeling away, yet she still stood resolutely in front of Ansu.

She had risked her life to save him.

In the end, she looked at Ansu’s bewildered eyes and laughed wildly.

“So, do you want to ask why I risked my life to save you?”

“There is no why. I wanted to save you, so I did~”

“Didn’t I promise you? Since you’re already mine, I won’t let you die so easily.”

“Hmph! No one can kill you in front of me. Even if you want to die, you have to get my permission first!”

From the “spectator seats,” Celia stared at Ansu’s dazed profile in the memory and remained silent for a long time. She could feel how deeply moved Ansu was at that moment.

After experiencing so much, if she had been in Ansu’s shoes, she probably wouldn’t have continued to assist her. Instead, she would have done everything in her power to eliminate the massive threat that was the “witch”...

Celia also knew what she used to be like—unapproachable and difficult to get along with... Switching perspectives, she suddenly felt that it was a miracle Ansu had even survived...

He was cautious, restrained, and calculating at every step.

Yet in the end, he still opened his heart to that wicked, bad witch and chose to trust her.

Celia fell silent. As the memories that had happened and those that had never occurred tangled together...

Even she couldn’t tell at which exact moment she had fallen for him.

Perhaps it was because his personality and thoughts suited her taste perfectly, adding a bit of flavor to her boring life.

Perhaps it was his pure, aimless smile when they said goodbye under the streetlamp.

Or perhaps it was his promise on that distant night, when he softly said, “Miss Witch, you aren’t alone, because you still have me”...

Perhaps there was no distinct moment of infatuation at all. It was just bits and pieces of companionship, quietly accumulating over time.

The hardest thing in the world is mutual understanding.

But under the power of the Filthy Heart, all the emotions hidden in the depths of their hearts were laid bare under the sun.

Gradually...

The relationship between the two in the scenes grew closer without them realizing it, even gradually developing a warm, ambiguous tension.

Watching Ansu’s repeated, failed attempts to test her in the memory, Celia would occasionally curl her lips and complain, “Of course, he loves calculating things the most,” or “What a devious man.” Other times, she would burst out laughing and curse softly, “Idiot.”

Before long, the scene stopped at the time when the cult faced a major crisis.

Samantha had made a careless miscalculation. Their communication line with the demons was rooted out by the Imperial Army, leading to their strongholds being raided one after another, resulting in heavy casualties.

In the seaside manor, Celia’s eyes had turned blood-red with slaughter. Just as the battle reached a fever pitch, Ansu rushed in, braving the danger.

“Ansu?” A hoarse, surprised female voice rang out amidst the chaotic battle.

“Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you not to come!”

She scolded him, both angry and anxious.

“I came to save you!” Ansu said with a serious tone.

“Save me?” Celia was startled, then she frowned. “With what? With your strength, coming here is just suicide!”

“No,” Ansu said, his eyes resolute. “I really will save you.”

...

“The bombardment should be coming soon...”

“Don’t worry, you have me.” Celia blinked and said, “I didn’t expect my words to actually come true. After this battle, the two of us really are going to be fugitives together~”

“Miss Witch, you really are a jinx.”

“What is there to fear?” Celia chuckled. “I told you, as long as I’m here, no one can bully you. We’ll lay low for a while, and once the heat dies down, I’ll bring you back with a vengeance!”

...

In the ruins of the seaside manor, the encirclement of the Imperial Army and the Church began to withdraw.

Afterward, artillery shells fell one after another. Deafening explosions merged into a single roar, and the night sky was lit up as bright as day by the fire.

Yet she stood before him the entire time, like a wall that would never fall.

At the final moment before the teleportation circle lit up, Ansu stared at Celia, whose hand was tightly clasped with his.

Artillery fire raged around them, her silver-white hair flying in disarray. Her breathtakingly beautiful face was stained with dust and blood, yet she flashed him a brilliant smile.

She opened her mouth, her voice drowned out by the roaring explosions, but Ansu knew what she was saying—

“See? I keep my word~”

From the spectator seats, both of them could clearly feel the heavy thud of Ansu’s heartbeat at that moment.

“This is when you fell in love with me, right?” Celia asked softly.

Ansu shook his head. “I don’t know. I only know that the number of times you saved me kept growing... Once you set your mind on something, you never let go. You have a morbid kind of sincerity. Sometimes I would think that I should do something for you too. Because I knew your tragic future, I wanted to save you once.”

“So from the very beginning, you knew about Samantha’s conspiracy against me,” Celia murmured. “No wonder you were in such a hurry later on...”

Ansu gave a bitter smile. Back then, his thoughts were very simple: just save her this once.

Help her see her teacher’s true colors, drag her out of her destined tragedy, and then turn around and walk away coolly.

Mission accomplished...

Accomplished my ass!

Who would have thought that once he reached out, he would never be able to break free?

Until now, he couldn't leave at all, thoroughly trapped for the rest of his life...

Watching his annoyed and helpless expression, Celia smiled, but her eyes gradually grew red.

“You did fall in love with me, right at this moment.”

Ansu immediately shook his head. “Definitely not!”

“I must have slowly fallen for you later on. I’m not the type of person to fall in love at first sight.”

“Heh... stubborn,” Celia said, curling her lips. “Whose heart was beating so fast back then?”

“That was from being scared by the artillery shells.”

Celia’s face instantly turned cold.

The memories before them continued to flow...

Finally, they saw some more intimate snippets.

For instance, when Ansu was stepped on by Celia’s feet.

She had thought Ansu was completely oblivious under hypnosis, so she came up with all sorts of ways to “punish” him, secretly feeling smug as she watched his motionless, dazed expression...

Lifting Ansu’s chin with her black-stockinged toes, teasing him on purpose...

Stepping on his body and cheeks with her bare feet after taking off her stockings...

Tormenting him thoroughly from head to toe!

However...

Those little gestures she thought had gone completely unnoticed—Ansu had known about them from start to finish.

In fact, he had actually enjoyed it...

As she watched, Celia’s cheeks grew hotter and hotter.

She could clearly feel this pervert Ansu’s excitement...

This guy really, truly loved her legs.

This pervert’s “appreciation” was so detailed that it differentiated between bare legs, black stockings, and little cotton socks, even further categorizing them! Among black stockings... he had even carefully analyzed whether pantyhose or thigh-highs were more delicious...

What a pervert...

Celia’s cheeks flushed red, so embarrassed that her toes were practically curling.

She had even almost taken things too far that time, nearly getting dominated by him in return...

Ansu had even evaluated her in his mind as a “high-offense, low-defense weak witch.”

How embarrassing...

At the thought of the many similar “public executions” waiting ahead, Celia suddenly said in a small voice, “How about... we skip these kinds of memories, Ansu?”

“No way!” Ansu shook his head, explaining with a serious expression, “Didn’t I promise to confess everything to you? We have to watch it, watch it openly and honestly!”

Celia: “...”

You really don't have to confess this part.

...

Just as the atmosphere between the two of them was beginning to soften.

The scene before them suddenly shifted, and a chilling killing intent flooded the air.

Another famous scene.

In a simulation, Ansu had been locked up by Celia in a mine deep within the Black Forest, happily earning himself a stay in the little black room.

It was also from this time onward that he seemed to have formed an indissoluble bond with this wretched place...

At this moment, the cave was filled with a thick scent of blood, and the disemboweled corpse of the little Holy Maiden was hung high on the rock wall.

A demonic claw covered in black patterns choked Ansu’s throat, and fury and despair swirled within her dark red eyes.

“Ansu, you’ve really played me for a fool all this time!”

Celia’s gaze swept over Freya’s corpse behind her, her eyes filled with disgust.

“If I hadn’t hypnotized this bitch, I probably would have never found out about your secrets!”

“You’re truly impressive, Lord Chosen One!” Celia’s grip on Ansu tightened. “From the moment we met until now, how much of what you’ve said contradicts what the Holy Maiden knows! How on earth did you bypass my black magic? Just how much of it was a lie!”

Staring at her in her rage, Ansu spoke calmly, “A lot of it was a lie.”

At least in the simulation, he really wanted to confess for once.

Ansu wanted to know Celia’s choice. This was very important.

If she killed him here, then she would do the same in reality. Although it was cruel, he would actually feel relieved.

He would give up on her completely, and once he finished what needed to be done, he would leave without hesitation.

From the spectator seats, Celia let out a soft sigh, because she could feel what Ansu had been thinking back then.

“Fortunately, I didn’t actually kill you back then.” Her tone carried a hint of lingering fear and resentment, not wanting to imagine what the consequences would have been if she had actually done it.

With Ansu’s personality, he would have only become completely cold-hearted, leaving her and never looking back.

Ansu, however, said softly, “Actually, I felt back then that you wouldn’t kill me, because...”

“Because I fell in love with you long ago.” Celia closed her eyes, her emotions growing increasingly complex, a hard-to-describe bitterness swelling in her heart.

“Although I don’t know what the me in that timeline was thinking, to me back then, you were like a lifesaving straw caught by a drowning person... I would only hold onto you tightly, and never let go.”

Sure enough, the Celia in the memory froze in her tracks.

From the spectator seats, Celia curled her lips into a smile of relief.

...