I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 77 - The Only Ones for Each Other (2)

"…You're awake."

Irene lay close against me, almost as if she were embracing me. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

When she noticed that I’d regained consciousness, she slowly lifted her body off the bed.

She let out a sigh of relief, leaving only a faint smile behind.

“I’m glad. You wouldn’t wake up, so I was getting worried.”

Her voice came out as a low murmur, carrying a softness that felt different than usual.

There was no trace of her usual prickly attitude.

I gave her a somewhat puzzled look, and as she turned away, she held something out to me—a glass that felt warm in my hand.

“It’s a tea made from frostgrass. It’s good for restoring energy, so drink up.”

“…”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing.”

Still a bit disoriented, I took the offered tea, feeling its gentle warmth in my fingertips.

As I quietly sipped, Irene stood nearby, watching intently.

“…”

Her gaze was strangely intense.

Suppressing the awkwardness, I made sure to drink every drop.

The lingering drowsiness started to clear, and with my head feeling a bit clearer, I turned to her with a question.

“...So, how long has it been since I lost consciousness?”

“Two days straight.”

“Longer than I thought. Nothing unusual happened while I was out, I hope?”

“Nothing at all. We just kept on sailing, that’s all.”

She calmly recounted what had happened—from the moment she pulled me out of the water to the brief encounter with the Unnamed and the effort it took to bring me to the cabin.

Everything had unfolded mostly as expected.

‘That’s a relief.’

Feeling a sense of delayed reassurance, I ran a hand through my messy hair.

Then, all of a sudden, Irene, who had been sitting quietly beside me, spoke up, her tone questioning.

“The Unnamed… Why did he just leave us like that?”

Considering how hostile things had seemed between us, she had every right to be curious.

In response, I gave a vague smile.

“Who knows? I don’t really know myself.”

“The Unnamed told me to ask you. He said there was a reason he couldn’t kill you.”

“Hm.”

I let out a short sigh, realizing the Unnamed must’ve dropped a needless hint.

I paused, leaning on my hand in thought, recalling memories from years ago—events tangled in a murky past.

It wasn’t exactly the sort of story I wanted to share with others.

“It’s a secret.”

“…I thought so.”

She nodded, but her reaction was odd.

Normally, she would have brushed it off without interest, but today her gaze seemed unusually troubled, almost disappointed.

“If you say so, I’ll respect that. I’m sure you have your reasons.”

Her words of understanding were at odds with the subtle shadow in her eyes.

Did the Unnamed really leave that much of an impression?

Surprised by her reaction, I laughed awkwardly and decided to steer the conversation to a different subject.

“Speaking of which… Miss Irene?”

“Yes?”

“Earlier, when I woke up on the bed… we were, well, tangled up in quite a unique position. Would you mind explaining how that happened?”

“Oh… about that.”

She paused briefly, then answered in a steady voice, her tail twitching faintly.

“I was keeping watch by your side. I didn’t know when you’d wake up, so I tried to stay up through the night, but I must have fallen asleep at some point.”

“So you watched over me for two days?”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal… Just stayed up through the night, that’s all.”

“That’s enough for me. I’m moved, honestly.”

Without thinking, I reached out and gently stroked her head, my hand brushing through her red hair.

Her warmth spread softly across my palm.

“Thank you.”

“I’m… glad to be of help.”

She smiled faintly.

Her drooped ears perked up, showing a hint of her true feelings.

I tilted my head, a little confused.

‘What’s this about?’

She seemed strangely pleasant.

Obedient, even.

It was a side of her that felt unfamiliar, almost like her usual cold demeanor had softened.

I found it a bit puzzling, but soon let the thought pass.

‘I’m not sure what caused the change, but…’

Seeing her smile made me happy.

She usually kept a stony expression, so maybe now she was finally letting herself relax a little.

If it was a positive change, then I welcomed it wholeheartedly.

Softly, I continued patting her head.

We spent a moment like this before something came to mind.

“...Oh, by the way, what about the others?”

“The others?”

“I’m talking about the people who were captured as illegal slaves. If I recall, they were locked up in the lower decks.”

“They’ve been freed. They’re staying in the second-floor cabins now.”

“I see.”

Everything seemed to have been taken care of.

I got up from where I was sitting, intending to go check on them myself.

Although I had briefly looked them over before, I wanted a more thorough headcount to make the following steps easier.

Someone might also need further medical attention.

“I’ll go take a quick look around.”

“I’ll come too.”

Irene followed closely behind.

We put on our outer garments and stepped out of the cabin.

***

We meticulously made our way around the ship’s interior.

This vessel was several times the size of an average passenger ship, so going through everything took quite a while.

It felt less like a ship and more like a fortress.

Few ships in the world could match this level of extravagance of the Businessman.

‘What a great gift.’

This ship was mine now.

It meant I could do as I pleased with it.

Its basic functions were so exceptional that it would only take a few minor modifications to make it fully operational.

I set a new destination—the harbor managed by Astro.

‘I should send a notice ahead.’

Someone needed to safely transport the ship on my behalf since I still had the rest of the school trip to consider.

With two days already passed, I planned to return to the accommodations by tomorrow.

Flap—

I sent a crow made of shadows flying off.

Its dark wings beat through the air as it flew with my message.

By tomorrow morning, it should reach headquarters.

Once Lena received it, she would open a portal, allowing us to switch places and head back to the travel site.

‘Perfect.’

Everything was set.

Some students might find it strange if I vanished for three days, only to reappear without warning, but as an assistant instructor, all I needed to do was maintain silence.

After all, this authority was precisely for moments like this.

And, of course, the professor in charge of the trip was Selena.

Our master would always side with her apprentice, so any minor rumors wouldn’t be an issue.

“Haha.”

I grinned, pleased with the flawless plan.

Brushing off idle thoughts, I started walking again.

The ship’s interior was spotless.

‘Not bad.’

That must have been Unnamed’s handiwork.

He’d dealt with the onboard troops, leaving not even a trace of blood behind.

It seemed the bodies had been tossed into the sea.

As expected from the Sovereign’s right hand—his cleanup was impeccable.

‘I suppose I’ve honed my own skills as well.’

As I was mulling over this thought, Irene, who was walking beside me, broke the silence with another question about the Unnamed.

“The Unnamed… He seemed afraid of you.”

“Well, he has good reason to be.”

“He was the same after you lost consciousness. I watched him break out into a cold sweat and back off without getting close.”

“What a shame. I’d have liked to see him lose that rigid expression.”

“Why is he so afraid of you?”

“I couldn’t say.”

There was no way around it.

Two years ago, during the underworld’s great war, anyone who had encountered me then would inevitably carry similar fear.

I was a bit more… intense back then.

“Let’s just say… various things happened.”

My answer was, once again, vague, and Irene, seeming to expect it, simply nodded silently.

We walked for a while in companionable silence.

***

It took half a day, but we finally managed to search the entire ship.

Everything seemed in good condition; all functions were working normally.

-Thank you for rescuing us…!

The freed captives seemed to be holding up well.

Exhausted from their harsh confinement, they expressed tearful gratitude for being saved.

One after another, they thanked us with tear-filled eyes.

-Sob, sob… I thought I’d never see home again.

-If it weren’t for you two, I don’t know what would have happened…

-It feels like a dream! I thought we’d end up sold to another country!

-Big brother! Big sister! Thank you so much!

I lost count of how many times they thanked us.

While being appreciated for a good deed felt rewarding, this level of attention was a bit overwhelming.

I quietly slipped away from the crowd.

And so, we made it through a long, chaotic day.

“…”

Only when night had fallen did we finally return to our cabin.

The clock was nearing dawn.

“It’s later than I thought.”

“We had a lot of places to check, and people kept stopping us.”

“We’d better get ready for bed. Tomorrow, our trip continues, so it’s best to get some rest.”

“Yeah. Got it.”

Given the late hour, we quickly showered and changed.

The cabin had only one double-sized bed, so we lay down beside each other.

Of course, we could have used a different room.

“Don’t go.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s fine… Just stay here with me.”

Irene clutched my sleeve, her eyes looking up at me.

Maybe because of what happened a few days ago, she seemed uneasy about being left alone.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

“All right.”

I nodded.

It wasn’t often that Irene asked for something, so it felt like a simple request to grant.

‘I guess it’s fine.’

We were sharing the same room anyway, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal.

And Irene didn’t seem to mind either.

We lay down, keeping a respectful distance under the blanket.

As we waited in the quiet for sleep to come, she suddenly spoke.

“...Are you still awake?”

“For now, yes.”

“Sorry if I woke you. I just felt like talking.”

“Can’t sleep, I take it?”

“…Yeah.”

“All right. Is there something specific you’d like to talk about?”

“There is. I’ve been wanting to ask.”

Though we had talked often enough, it felt new to be speaking like this, lying side by side.

Her voice hovered in the space between us.

“When you fought the hound, you imitated my master’s voice.”

“Yes, I did.”

“So you already knew… about my past.”

“It seems I’ve been found out.”

“It was strange. Knowing something I never once told you.”

“I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just thought it would cause you pain to bring it up.”

“…It was a painful memory.”

Irene’s quiet murmur held a hint of unresolved questions.

Her black eyes flicked to me from the side.

Had she begun to doubt me?

It was understandable for her to be suspicious of a person, who shouldn’t even be aware of her master’s existence, would bring up the things he said, and carry out a play.

Smiling apologetically, I said.

“I’m sorry. It must’ve been a wound you wanted to keep hidden.”

“If it’s you, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

“If I asked how you knew about my master, would you just say it’s a secret again…?”

“That would be my preference.”

There was no easy way to explain.

I couldn’t just reveal I knew her story from the original storyline.

And claiming I had simply “researched” her felt off as well.

Silence seemed the best answer.

“…”

Her expression turned complicated.

She seemed lost in thought.

After biting her lip briefly, she murmured, her voice low and tense.

“You… You have too many secrets.”

“A bit unfair, don’t you think? I consider myself rather transparent.”

“Liar.”

The word was softly spoken, right by my side.

I turned my head, only to find that Irene’s face was unexpectedly close.

I could feel her warm breath on my cheek.

“Miss Irene?”

I looked at her with a question in my eyes.

But in that moment, she lifted her torso off the bed.

Moving closer, her body leaned over me.

Before I knew it, she had straddled me, sitting lightly on my waist.

“What are you…?”

Her sudden action took me by surprise.

Her scent filled the air between us, and the thin fabric of our nightclothes left little to the imagination.

Frozen in place, I felt her slender fingers touch my chest.

“You…”

With her hand resting over my heart, she began undoing the buttons on my shirt, one by one.

It suddenly clicked.

“Miss Irene.”

Realizing something was amiss, I tried to call out her name.

But by then, my shirt had already been completely unbuttoned, exposing my bare skin.

She stared down at it in a daze.

“You… What exactly…?”

Her voice was faint, filled not with desire or excitement, but with shock—and perhaps, pity.

Trembling, she whispered, clenching her fists tightly.

“What exactly… are you hiding?”

Her clear eyes reflected the countless scars covering my body.

Cuts, stab wounds, burns, strange surgical marks—barely any unscathed skin remained.

“…”

I found myself falling silent, my expression turning cold and blank, all humor erased from my face.

I swallowed down a chill that seemed to hang in the air.

‘Ah.’

I realized.

She’d seen it all.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]