Chapter 210: Tia's Sorrow is Greater than a Despair - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

"I'm sorry, Tiya, the hypnosis was fake." As these words gently fell from his mouth, it was as if time stopped at that moment. He finally said it. For some reason, Lynn felt as if the heavy stone that had been pressing on his heart was suddenly lifted. This afternoon, he had been hesitating. Hesitating about how to say a proper goodbye to Tiya. Of course, there had to be a goodbye. Otherwise, if this vague and erroneous relationship continued, someday they both would taste the bitter fruits of it. As one of the heroines chosen by the will of the world, she abandoned her duties and responsibilities, even turned to the enemy and mingled with him, who was seen as a thorn in their side, much like a "contaminant." Lynn didn't know if there was such a thing as being "unworthy" in the will of the world. But if Tiya continued down the wrong path, she would eventually receive punishment from fate. Changing Evester’s destiny alone was already incredibly difficult, not to mention altering the fate of one of the original heroines. Moreover... If there was any possibility at all for Tiya to safely leave Sia’s team and come to his side, Lynn was still pessimistic about it. First, she was a woman, and a very beautiful one—especially since Evester had yet to lift the curse on her face, making her extremely sensitive about such matters. To allow an ambiguous woman into his home, Evester would surely not tolerate it. Secondly, even if by some means he managed to hide it from the Princess, the crisis remained unresolved. He had, after all, defied the witch’s orders like never before, not using the Moment of Fall to transform her into a puppet, and even intending to help her escape the original plot knowing full well that the future Moon Goddess was her captor. This was undoubtedly an act of betrayal. And Tiya’s future body was currently inside the Pantheon of a hundred thousand years later. It was foreseeable that, be it out of anger or jealousy, the witch would not hesitate to kill Tiya. Aside from the "fate-determined tragedy" she had long prophesized, this was Tiya’s fourth path to doom. Therefore, Lynn could not do it, no matter what. What truly made him decide to end things was the scene just now. When Tiya came back, he was still conflicted about how to bring it up. Upon learning she had found a way for him to leave Glosstine, Lynn was filled with mixed feelings. It wasn't derogatory, merely surreal. Not long ago, they were enemies, she even had stabbed him in the chest. Yet, because of the past few days' accidental misunderstandings during their escape, their bond grew tighter, and their views of each other subtly changed. Even if they never contacted each other again, or became strangers, Lynn might remember this experience for a lifetime. No matter how he explained it, no matter how he hypnotized himself to be loyal to the witch and the Princess, the joy and expectation in his heart were not feigned. At first, he approached this person with the mindset of completing a task, but as someone who has read the original work, could he really say he didn't have any bias at all? It's all for the sense of immersion, people say. During those nights of reading books, didn't Lynn put himself in that fantasy world, imagining someday interacting with these girls? He did. So from start to finish, he could never fully face Tiya Yoheusti with a completely cold heart. Or perhaps, at this moment, there was some loss in his heart too. However, when Tiya stumbled into the bathroom and Lynn followed out of curiosity, the sight of the gruesome wound on her shoulder made alarms ring in his heart. How arrogant and reckless was it? From the beginning, he didn't believe this escape could succeed, always having a fallback plan to return to the manor under the Princess’s protection. Throughout this journey, what he wrestled with was how to save Tiya. The problem was, Tiya herself didn't know this. She had been kept in the dark all along, like a young girl experiencing freedom from the Church's control for the first time, curious about everything outside, with great expectations and seriously plotting this escape trip, praying that she could safely escort him out of Glosstine. She really thought and acted this way. And he chose to remain silent. This was the most shameless and indecisive choice. So until now, the glaring wound on her shoulder pierced his heart like a needle. Their relationship started with the guilt Tiya felt. But at this point, didn’t Lynn’s heart also harbor similar emotions? This couldn't go on. Otherwise, it would only bring more harm to her. The best way of breaking up is said to be a clean cut. While it would be painful in the short term, there would be no lingering aftermath. Moreover, their relationship was never like that. Thinking this, Lynn's heart turned completely cold. Since someone had to be the villain, why couldn’t it be me? Watching the elf girl who seemed to be caught in chaos and shock, Lynn gently patted her head with a warm look. Although it appeared sentimental, anyone could sense the coldness and ruthlessness in his eyes. Under the effect of the Lie Swallower, Tiya's body seemed to be in some sort of restraint—not because the power gap between them was too great, but because she had just experienced a fierce battle and was severely injured, weak to the extreme. Moreover, after his efforts in the afternoon, Lynn had temporarily freed himself from the law of causality’s punishment, gaining the ability to move freely. Of course, as time passed, a sense of losing something welled up in his heart. Lynn was well aware that this kind of thing was not without cost, but for now he had more important things to deal with, so he couldn't care less. “What did you say?” Tiya's hand remained in the posture of lifting her skirt, exposing the mysterious area covered by cotton white panties right in front of him. Lynn's words undoubtedly caused unprecedented shock to her worldview. For Tiya, being able to take a series of actions that didn't align with her character was influenced not only by the bridge effect but more significantly by the hypnosis. After experiencing the initial attempt in the interrogation room, whether it was out of novelty or simplicity, Tiya quickly accepted this premise, unlike Evester. At the border, the suspicious Princess not only had Milani conduct a series of tests but also used the seal ring capable of lie detection multiple times to push Lynn to the brink. Tiya, however, never doubted much from start to finish. Thus, the subsequent absurdities occurred. She even embraced the idea that "because it's hypnosis, it doesn't matter" and helped Lynn with his physiological needs. Such an act was already forbidden to her, and maintaining her current mental state had surpassed expectations. But now, at this moment, Tiya, who had the little thought that "no one would know," found her worldview utterly destroyed and betrayed. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she hadn’t recovered from his words. Or maybe, she’d already understood the true meaning behind Lynn’s words but was still deceiving her own mind. Disappointment, despair, panic, anger, sadness, melancholy, shame. In an instant, various emotions surged in her heart. She was fine in the morning when she left, but why did everything change when she came back home at night? Clearly... Clearly... Tiya bit her lower lip tightly, her little face turning pale, as she stared intently at the young man in front of her. Don’t. Please... don’t continue. It was as if she was commanding, yet also pleading. Lynn had never seen such a chaotic expression on Tiya's face before. But at this point, how could he retreat just because of that look? Recalling the night when Tiya murmured "Brother Sia" in her sleep, any softness in his heart turned to stone. I am sorry for forcibly altering your fate and bringing you to this point. Yet, no matter what, my world is not yours. Perhaps this is the only way I can think of to return you to your original path. Don't worry. After this, I will handle everything. Thinking of this, a cold smile crept up at the corners of Lynn's lips. "As you've seen, there's no such thing as hypnosis in this world," he said, raising the vial of liquid moonlight in his hand and uncorking it. "At first, I thought it might be interesting to see what would happen, so I went along with the lie." "And it was indeed interesting and quite enjoyable." "Thank you so much, dear Tiya." Lynn squeezed Tiya's cheeks somewhat harshly, whispering cruel words. The silver liquid moonlight dripped slowly into her mouth. Yet she closed her eyes as if her heart had died. What other choice did she have but to relinquish herself to this form of escapism? As the cool liquid slid down her throat, the sharp pain in her shoulder subsided somewhat. But inwardly, it felt like she was falling into a bottomless abyss, losing all warmth bit by bit. Why, why do this to me? Tears silently slipped down her cheeks as her body trembled slightly, like a willow leaf swaying in the wind, on the verge of collapse. Still, Lynn's words, like a judge passing a sentence, persisted. She had the right and the reason to know all of this. Though it seemed cruel, at this point, it might be better for her to harbor more hatred for him. Only a deep-seated hatred could steer Tiya, whose destiny had been altered, back on the right track. "The second thing I need to tell you is a story." Lynn held Tiya gently, like a lover would. Normally, feeling both ashamed and angry, she would have hurriedly pushed him away. But now, with her body confined, Tiya simply kept her eyes shut tightly, as if trying to escape reality. In the next few minutes, the young man told her a simple tale about a hero and a wicked witch. The story was unremarkably cliché—a hero defeated the villainous witch who wreaked havoc upon the world, and eventually lived happily ever after with his wives. However, things took a dramatic turn afterward. "As you can see, what I just mentioned was supposed to be something destined to happen in the future." "But due to an accident, a person beyond the world’s expectations appeared and by an extraordinary coincidence, encountered that witch from a hundred thousand years in the future." "The imprisoned witch told him everything." "And she made a request of him." As he said this, Lynn leaned close to Tiya’s ear, softly inhaling her delicate and elegant scent. The girl continued to keep her eyes tightly shut, stubbornly yet silently letting tears flow. "She hoped that person could return to the past, rewrite history, and thus take revenge on the gods." "And her first issued task," Lynn gently arranged Tiya’s disheveled hair, "was to find a certain girl from a hundred thousand years ago intricately connected with the Moon Goddess, and infiltrate her trust as much as possible." "My dear Tiya, why don’t you guess which girl the witch was talking about?" Though the words were spoken softly, given the current atmosphere, they seemed like intimate words shared between lovers. Yet, Tiya’s pale hands had unknowingly clenched tightly, blood oozing from between her fingers. Only now did she finally realize something unusual. Recollecting when they first met, he had mentioned being the only male protagonist from her lost twelve years of memory. The original Tiya wouldn’t have believed such an obvious lie. However, as things progressed, despite denying it verbally, there was a slight loosening of her conviction deep down. If evidence were needed, his persistent use of "Viya" rather than her name, with her gradual acceptance of it, would have been quite obvious. But now, suddenly Tiya noticed that the man’s way of addressing her had changed since earlier. He no longer called her "Viya," but instead used her proper name like everyone else. Could it be... An unprecedented sense of despair and helplessness engulfed her. "Oh right, I almost forgot to say," Lynn sighed lightly, noticing the trembling and resistance of the girl in his arms, "from the beginning, there was never any possibility of honesty between us. Everything was just falsehood and charade." "I thought I'd see when you’d finally get it, but your innocence is unbelievably maddening." "Indeed, Tiya Yoheusti." "Those twelve years of memory, everything I’ve ever told you and those ridiculous promises, were all lies concocted to fulfill the witch’s task." "There was never, nor will there ever be, a ‘Viya.’" "My revealing this now is simply because you've lost all your usefulness to me." "That's all."