This is trouble.

Isabella, like a mad dog, had accidentally stumbled upon the truth.

What Felyn had originally planned to reveal step by step after careful probing was blurted out directly by Isabella.

And Viloti's reaction was the worst-case scenario Felyn had anticipated.

At this moment, the light in her amber eyes had vanished.

It made sense. If his companionship with Viloti was a lie, then Viloti would truly believe that no one liked her.

And the false warmth he had brought her would undoubtedly turn into a dagger and stab her in the heart. She would feel completely deceived, completely fooled.

Her psychological trauma would undoubtedly relapse.

Felyn felt he had been truly foolish.

To think he had naively wanted to test the waters. Thinking back on it now, it was laughable.

The contract rules not only protected himself but also the client.

If he had made a cleaner break with Viloti back then, if there hadn't been any ambiguous scenes with her, if he had simply ignored her after she confessed her feelings, then Viloti wouldn't have been hurt again like this.

The contract service was a failure.

The moment Viloti's body tilted backward, time seemed to stretch.

Felyn lunged towards her. Just as Viloti was about to hit the ground, he twisted his body, wrapped his arms around her, and his back slammed heavily onto the floor.

The intense pain in his back left Felyn speechless. He opened his mouth, desperately trying to suppress the agony in his chest.

It really hurts.

Viloti blinked blankly. The expected pain didn't come. Instead, she smelled that familiar scent from behind her.

When she realized what had happened, the world suddenly started moving again.

"Felyn! Are you okay?" Her voice was trembling.

Viloti quickly got up and knelt by Felyn's side, fumbling to open the small bag she carried. The contents scattered all over the floor with a clatter.

Her fingers searched frantically, oblivious to her nails scraping against the ground.

"Found it... found it!"

Her trembling hands held up a high-grade healing sigil, and Viloti practically slammed it onto Felyn's chest.

As the green light activated, Felyn felt he could breathe again.

"Hehe, this sigil is really amazing."

Viloti's bangs were stuck to her forehead with sweat, her eyes growing redder, and her amber pupils blurred with tears.

Felyn reached out and patted Viloti's head, signaling her not to worry.

For now, he had managed to protect Viloti's body, but the more serious problem was how to prevent Viloti from closing herself off again.

Felyn thought of a perfect solution, one that could perfectly handle the current problem.

That was to hold Viloti's face and kiss her, confess to her directly, tell her that everything Isabella said was a lie, just jealousy of their feelings for each other.

Then, become lovers with Viloti, and then deliberately act like he was actually a person with a strange temper, letting Viloti slowly become disappointed and eventually dislike him.

This way, he could completely sever ties with Viloti, drawing a complete full stop.

A perfect plan, right?

He just needed to lie to Viloti one more time, just one last time.

But...

Felyn's hand gently wiped Viloti's moist eyes, a smile gracing his lips.

But I really don't want to lie to her anymore.

Our relationship began with a lie; I don't want it to end with a lie.

"A hero saving the damsel? Felyn, you're really dedicated, aren't you? How much did the Silafiel family pay you? I'll offer double, come and serve me instead."

Felyn propped himself up with one hand and slowly stood up. He dusted himself off and glanced at Isabella.

"Isabella, is there something wrong with your brain?"

"Did you spend all of your limited brain capacity on dressing up?"

"Your family is obviously so rich, why did your parents save money by not getting prenatal checks and ended up giving birth to you?"

"Wh-What did you say?!"

Isabella had not expected Felyn to say such nasty things. Her voice trembled, and her lips froze in the air.

"Which eye of yours saw that Viloti is unpopular? Where did you learn that Viloti is hated by everyone?"

Felyn had spent a considerable amount of time helping Viloti walk out of her psychological shadow.

It wasn't just physical labor; he also had to find new ways to coax her every day, to get her used to this hostile world.

Felyn would even give gifts to Viloti's classmates, asking them in the name of a bootlicker to be a little nicer to Viloti.

And Felyn had also attracted the attention of everyone in the school, shifting the biggest news from Viloti to himself.

Even though Felyn had done a lot, it still took Viloti a considerable amount of time to slowly get better.

Seeing Viloti become stronger and stronger, Felyn was also very gratified.

He now understood why raising-sim games were so fascinating.

But this Isabella person, with just a few words, had almost sent Viloti back to the psychological state she was in before the contract began.

Felyn was furious. Furious that someone would slander Viloti in front of him, furious that someone would try to make Viloti return to a state of self-isolation.

This time, he decided to stop acting.

"Viloti didn't get into the Royal Capital District academy through her father. Do you know what time she studies until every day? Do you know she never goes out to play on her days off, just stays at home studying? Or do you know all of this, and you're just making up rumors because you're petty and can't stand to see her do well?"

"How could I be petty, I just..."

"Then you don't even know how hard Viloti works. You just hear a few casual words from others and start slandering her. What's the difference between you and those bitches who keep bullying Viloti because they see she's easy to pick on?"

"Bi-Bitch?!" Isabella covered her mouth, completely unable to believe what she had just heard.

Such a vulgar word was actually used on her?!

And her followers beside her also took two steps back. The expression on Felyn's face looked as if he was about to eat someone.

"Do you know how cute Viloti is? Do you know how soft Viloti's body is? Do you know how good Viloti's feet are to touch?! And you say such a Viloti is not liked by people. If I don't like her, should I like you instead?"

"Your eyeliner is crooked today, and the color combination of your socks is wrong. You desperately try to present yourself as a fashion-forward beautiful girl, but in reality, you're just a country bumpkin trying to force your way into the fashion circle. Viloti is ten thousand times more beautiful than you without any makeup, you're just jealous that she's a natural beauty."

Isabella's body began to tremble. Every word from Felyn was attacking the most important and softest part of her heart.

Insulting people and praising people were actually the same; both targeted the other person's softest, most valued parts.

"Do you guys even know Viloti? She's just socially anxious. She doesn't dare to argue with others, so you just slander her so unscrupulously?"

"She cooked for me because she wanted to make me happy, stood in the rain for two hours to deliver study materials to me, and when she saw that I liked her feet, she endured her shyness and let me touch them freely. Such a cute Viloti, such a kind Viloti, is this the unpopular person you speak of?"

Felyn's voice seemed to have a magical power, restoring the collapsed world in Viloti's heart.

She stood frozen in place, her amber pupils trembling slightly. Her ice-like expression began to melt, and tears dripped down.

Felyn said she was... cute?

All those things she did, Felyn had remembered them well.

Viloti looked at Felyn's back, which was shielding her, like an impenetrable wall.

A warm current suddenly surged from her heart to her limbs. So this is what it feels like to be valued...

"That friend of yours is also a bitch. What was her name again? Elisa? If she hadn't taken the initiative to curse at Viloti, would Silafiel have driven them away?"

Felyn held Viloti's hand tightly and approached Isabella.

Isabella was frightened by this version of Felyn. She kept backing away. "What are you doing? I'm warning you, I'm a noble, and you're just a commoner now! Do you know the consequences of insulting a noble?!"

"Noble? What part of you looks like a noble? Just a beast in fine clothes. In the end, you're all just a bunch of bitches who bully the weak and fear the strong. You know Viloti won't talk back, you know Viloti will only bury her emotions in her heart, so you just keep attacking and slandering her. Do you really think Viloti is easy to bully? Fuck, Viloti, curse at them for me. Say 'I'm not to be fucked with'."

Viloti took a deep breath, her puffed-up cheeks red, and held Felyn's hand tightly.

"I'm not to be fucked with!"

(End of Chapter)