[Judging by Genevieve's outburst of emotion, one would have thought that Adaline had just narrowly escaped death.]
[First Shane, then Emma, now Genevieve, everyone acted as if she had returned from the dead.]
[Awkward. It’s even kind of embarrassing.]
[Apparently, payback has come.]
“I can heal any wound without a trace! But there is always that one in a million case!”
"..."
“If His Lordship had not been nearby! If only he was late! If only the attacker had not retreated after losing his arm! If things had turned out differently...You could have died!”
“But Shane was there. And I was the first to notice everything. If it weren't for me, it would be you."
“I would be fine! I'm not a saint for nothing! I’ve had to deal with this more than once!”
"What?!"
“Do you even know how strong the power of the Goddess is? Even if I am choked or beaten, I recover quickly! I can go days without eating and not feel hungry!”
“And you think it’s okay to say that?!” Then, it turns out that if I get hurt, you’ll just heal me, and everything will be fine?!”
“You think you and I are the same thing?!”
“How are we different?!” - Adaline flushed.
“I wasn’t going to die!” - she continued, heated. “You are there to heal, Shane, to save! I thought of everything, even if it was instinctive!”
“Is this a reason for pride?!”
“What should I do if the body acts on its own?!”
"..."
“I can promise that I will not rush to my death. But the rest...I can’t. This will most likely happen again."
"..."
“And I will do the same.”
Adaline said this with her head held high. Genevieve looked at her breathless, as if she didn’t remember why she was crying.
“Well, you’re shameless...”
“Sometimes you can.”
[Shamelessness was her weapon. Without it you cannot become a good actress. And without acting, it is impossible to survive in the role of a villain.]
Genevieve clearly wanted to say something. She opened her mouth, then closed it, took a deep breath and finally said:
“I was angry at you, Adaline. But, perhaps...I was even more angry with myself.”
“On yourself? Why?"
“That man... He was most likely under the influence of dark magic.”
“Dark...magic? Wow... Yeah..."
Adaline was completely incapable of reacting to unexpected turns. [Her strength was in her scripted lines. Improvisation, weak point.]
“Even in the morning there was kindness in his eyes. He was not that kind of person. If he really wanted to kill, His Lordship would have noticed it immediately. So...everything is obvious."
“I see...”
“Moreover, I should have been able to neutralize this magic.”
"..."
“The saint before me could heal even without physical contact. But I don’t.”
"But you can."
These words came out of Adaline easier than she expected, she was even surprised.
[Sounds a bit frivolous...]
It's like she doesn't understand how serious it is. But, despite the fact that Genevieve was stronger in many ways, Adaline tried to explain in her own way:
“People possessed by darkness do not feel pain. But this man screamed as soon as he lost his hand. He even tried to justify himself.”
"...Ah..."
“He may have been under control during the attack. But then, I quickly came to my senses.”
“Then maybe it wasn’t dark magic...”
“You yourself said that this is dark magic. Are you in doubt now?
“What if I made a mistake.”
"Even so, I believe you."
[Although in reality she just knew the truth. She trusted Genevieve, of course. But that Genevieve, the heroine of this story, was almost a superman, with a full set of “buffs”.]
Adaline smiled slightly. I felt like a fraud, but my conscience drowned out for a second.
Genevieve's voice trembled with tears:
"Adaline..."
"Yes?"
“How can you have so much faith in me? Even I don’t believe in myself... Nobody believes..."
Genevieve burst into tears and fell on her chest.
"Because I know how incredible you are, Genevieve."
"Uuuuuu..."
“Oh, be careful, nose...”
Adaline stroked her back, comforting her.
[If this were a romantic game, and Genevieve was the target for falling in love, the final would already be hers with a devastating score...]
[This is probably how a student feels who copied the answers and got a perfect score on the test.]
---As Genevieve sobbed on her shoulder, memories flashed through her mind.
[How did she stay the same?]
[Then and now.]
[How can you be so strong?]