I Picked up a Corrupted Heroine (The Secret Boss), and When I Spoiled Her, She Became Uncontrollably Affectionate With Me

Chapter 3: The Witch Gets Attached

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This world was never beautiful.

It was dirty and ugly.

A world full of lies.

It would be better if a world like this just disappeared.

I — Alicia — looked up at the starry sky in a back alley and thought that with all my heart.

“Dad, Mom, the church… everyone betrayed me…”

My parents were adoptive ones.
But they had raised me kindly, like I was their real daughter.

The church was the same.
Everyone had been nice to me.

I thought they liked me and cared about me.

—But that was all a mistake.

‘—Who would want to keep a filthy commoner like you in their house? The only thing we were interested in was your power as the Holy Maiden. Now that you know, get out already!’

Those were the words my father said to me just a little while ago.

All their smiles and kindness… everything had been a lie.

It was all a careful plan they had set up ten years ago just to take my Holy Maiden power for themselves.

In the end, they stole my power as the Holy Maiden and even changed my appearance with a curse.

My beautiful silver hair turned pitch black, and my blue eyes became blood-red.

My body shrank until I looked like a ten-year-old.

The Holy Maiden Alicia had basically been killed.

All that was left was a stupid girl who had been completely fooled.

“I really… am an idiot, huh…”

Even the person I trusted until the very end — the Hero — never came to save me.

—Even though he had promised before that he would always protect me.

That had been a lie too.

“…A world like this should just disappear.”

My true feelings slipped out.

That was the sign that the dam inside my heart had broken.

The next moment, something pitch-black that I had never felt before came flooding out from the bottom of my heart.

“What… is this…?”

—’I want revenge.’
—’I want to destroy everything.’
—’I want to kill every single human.’

The power that should have been stolen from me started filling my whole body.

But it was no longer the holy power from before.

It was an evil power so horrible it made me feel sick.

“Ah… ugh…”

My reason melted away into the overflowing darkness, and only curses and hatred toward the world filled my head.

Even so—

—I had never felt this good before.

“That’s right… A world full of lies should just disappear. I should erase it… with my own hands…”

The darkness dyed me completely black, all the way to my bones.

And so, the Holy Maiden Alicia disappeared from this world.

The Holy Maiden had transformed into the Witch destined to destroy the world.

—Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

“…Why?”

The knife I swung down stopped right before it could cut the skin on Asta’s neck.

If I wanted to destroy the world, I should have been able to kill someone like him without hesitation.

But when I looked at Asta’s face, some of the reason I thought I had lost came rushing back.

“Humans will betray me anyway, so I have to kill them…”

For some reason, when I watched Asta’s expressions and actions, I didn’t feel like he would betray me.

Every human has darkness deep in their heart.
After being betrayed so many times, I could see it clearly.

But Asta was different.

Inside his heart, there was nothing but endless kindness.

“…Maybe I should check one last time. Whether humans are really all liars. Whether this world is truly filthy and covered in lies.”

But if Asta ever betrayed me—

There would be no more hope for humanity.

In that case, I would destroy everything.

I quietly put the knife away.

“…I’ll trust you, okay?”

I buried my face in Asta’s back and whispered softly.

—

“…What do I do?”

The next morning, I was in trouble.

When I woke up, Ria was right beside me.

That part was fine.
I was the one who said she could sleep next to me yesterday.

But…

—Why is she hugging my back like this!?

Maybe she felt lonely.
If so, I couldn’t blame her.

I would have gently pulled her arms off and gotten out of bed.

But that wasn’t the problem.

—What the heck is this grip strength like a vice!?

I used to be an A-rank adventurer, you know.

Even with my strength, I couldn’t break free.

“…Seriously, who is this girl?”

I don’t remember any girl who looks like this in the game… and the more I think about it, the deeper the mystery gets.

Still, she really is like a koala.

I gave up on prying her off and gently stroked her head instead.

Ria relaxed her cheeks like it felt really nice.

Looks like she ended up trusting me a lot.

“Well, she’s probably had a really hard time until now, so just for today… it’s fine.”

I spent the time until Ria woke up by stroking her head and reading a book.

Ria seemed weak in the mornings. She only opened her eyes around nine o’clock.

“Mm… mmm… I’m sorry. It looks like I fell asleep while hugging you, Asta…”

Ria sat up from the bed, looking embarrassed.

“It’s okay. You were tired, right? I’ll go make breakfast…”

When I tried to stand up, Ria grabbed my hand and stopped me.

“No. I can cook too, so let me make breakfast at least…”

“Eh, but you just woke up…”

“—Please. Let me help a little…”

Ria stood in front of me and begged with serious eyes.

“W-well, if you insist that much… then okay.”

“Yes, leave it to me. Ah… but Asta, please stay still. If you try to help, I’ll tie you up.”

“Ti-tie me up!? How!?”

Ria giggled with a “fufu” and disappeared into the kitchen.

“…What was that about…?”

It felt like she said something really scary, but… whatever.

I lay down on the bed, read a book, and waited for breakfast.

“—It’s ready.”

On the table were bread and a nicely cooked omelette.

“Wow, you really can cook… Wait, isn’t this better than mine?”

“Is it? I only helped the maids sometimes, so I’m not that good…”

“Maids?”

“!! …Ah, no, it’s nothing.”

Ria quickly covered her mouth.

She definitely said “maids,” right?

So she used to live in a merchant or noble house…?

…No, it would be rude to pry when she’s clearly trying to hide it.

“Um… then let’s eat breakfast.”

“Yes. Please enjoy it.”

I cut the omelette and took a bite.

“—Mm! This is delicious!”

“Fufu, I’m glad.”

The omelette was soft and runny inside. It turned out really well.

Maybe she really is better at cooking than me.

“Hey, Ria.”

After breakfast, while drinking coffee, I talked to her.

“If you want, we can go shopping in town later for the things you need… How about it?”

“…I’ve been wondering since yesterday. Why are you doing so much for me?”

Ria looked straight at me with suspicious eyes.

“…Yeah, honestly, there’s no big reason.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. At first I wasn’t planning to do this much. I was just going to leave you at the orphanage and be done with it. But… the more I look at you, Ria, the more I feel like I can’t just leave you alone.”

I shrugged a little, feeling embarrassed.

“My gut told me you wouldn’t be saved even if you went to the orphanage. Well… you can think of it as just a whim.”

“I see…”

Ria made a complicated face, then said,

“You really don’t lie, do you?”

She spoke with a serious look.

“Can you tell?”

“Yes. I’ve been betrayed so many times… so I naturally got good at spotting lies.”

“I see…”

She’s still so young, but she’s already lived through so much…

“Then go ahead and take full advantage of me to make up for everything before.”

I slowly stroked Ria’s head.