Hate Me, Witch!-Chapter 152: I’m Afraid He’ll Be Lonely

Sacred Calendar Year 903, Month of Blossoms, Day 4.

Golden Plains, City of Knowledge—Camelot.

Inside the hotel room, the central fireplace was roaring with flames.

The firewood inside crackled and popped as it burned, the waves of warmth dispelling the lingering chill of early spring.

However, in a sudden moment, the blazing fire abruptly froze.

The white-haired witch sitting on the sofa snapped her eyes open.

A silvery glow flickered in Sylvia’s beautiful argent eyes.

A dense twilight surged around her, halting everything—the drifting breeze, the transmission of warmth in the air—all ceased.

Around her, a phantom river of time condensed and spiraled upward.

Usually calm, the river now raged like a furious torrent, violently roaring and churning.

“Brother Xia Ya… he did it?”

With her Throne-tier status, Sylvia could clearly sense it.

That Imaginary Belt, once towering and unshakable between the end of the Third Era and the beginning of the Fourth, was now collapsing.

And its master—the Princess she had met several times—was already flowing back downstream, returning to the correct history under the Holy Sword’s protection.

To defy the momentum of history and create an Imaginary Belt… yet still return unscathed from the River of Time—

How did Brother Xia Ya manage it all?

Even Sylvia, with her knowledge and vision as the Tower Master of the White Chalk Tower, had never heard or seen such a feat.

No—this could only be described as a miracle, unique in all of existence.

Yet in this moment, Sylvia had no mind to ponder how Xia Ya achieved this miracle.

She merely stood silently at the lower reaches of the River of Time, gazing upstream.

Waiting for Xia Ya, as they had agreed before setting out, to return safely—

Guided by his bond with the Holy Lance, and with herself—to follow the path and be received.

But—

Five seconds passed.

Ten seconds passed.

What responded to Sylvia was still only the deafening, frenzied, and chaotic current of time.

The figure she longed to see remained absent.

And her heart, with every passing second, sank further and grew colder.

Countless thoughts and fragments surged through Sylvia’s mind once more.

Xia Ya’s resolute eyes before departure.

Words that weren’t like a cheer of encouragement, but rather more like a final comfort.

And that strange exchange between Ailora and Xia Ya before he stepped into the Historical Echo.

So the possibility Sylvia never wanted to face began to take shape, heavier and heavier in the heart of the Argent Witch.

“Brother Xia Ya… never planned to come back from the start?”

Sylvia suddenly turned to look at Ailora beside her. Disordered golden script shimmered into view in the air.

“And you knew from the beginning? Then why didn’t you stop him?”

Across from her, the blonde girl blinked her sky-blue eyes, just about to respond—

But in the next instant, a pale piece of stationery suddenly erupted with a brilliant glow of magic.

On the once-blank sheet, lines of jet-black handwriting began to appear.

Both Sylvia and Ailora instantly recognized the writing.

There was no mistaking it—it was Xia Ya’s own handwriting.

It was a magitech mechanism Xia Ya had specially set. It would only activate at a specific time, revealing its hidden message to Sylvia and Ailora.

Sylvia’s argent eyes narrowed sharply.

Her pale fingers trembled slightly, as twilight light surged around them.

In the next moment, the letter silently appeared in Sylvia’s hand.

The soft glow of the magic lamp lit up the page, making every word stand out clearly.

Sylvia used mana to project the contents of the letter into midair.

“My dear Sylvia, and little Ai.

I believe by the time you read this letter, everything about the Imaginary Belt of Aisgania from a thousand years ago has already been resolved, and Her Highness has safely returned.

But—I didn’t return with her from the Historical Echo, like I promised.

I’m sorry. I did lie to you both.

Her Highness… was too deeply trapped in that erroneous history.

Burdened with a thousand years of sin, there was no way to bring her back without paying a price.”

At this point, Sylvia’s pale fingers trembled slightly.

In that moment, a certain guess surged into her heart.

“Yeah, that’s right.

I think by now—maybe not little Ai—but someone as clever as you, Syl-Baby, must’ve figured out what I did.

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Using an ancient Holy Relic, I stole the identity and authority of the ruler of the Imaginary Belt—not as the Princess, but as the Crimson Empress.

And with it, all the twisted cause and effect that distorted history.

Haha. Bearing the sins and evil of this world alone, a lonely king watching over his land from the throne, until the day everything is wiped away by the force of correction.

‘The Emperor guards the gates, the King dies for his land, perishes with his nation’… sounds kind of cool, doesn’t it?”

“But please, don’t be sad. Don’t panic.

Yes, I stayed behind in the Imaginary Belt to save Her Highness, and yes, I’m now burdened with those twisted historical sins—but killing me? The force of correction isn’t strong enough for that.

Especially you, little Ai—please, no matter what, don’t do anything dumb like hurting yourself or following me in death!

You know me better than anyone. I’m the guy who dreams of becoming the Harem King! My great goal isn’t fulfilled yet—how could I just drop dead here?”

Reading this, Sylvia couldn’t help but glance at Ailora beside her.

But the blonde girl remained silent. She just stared up at the floating letter, her delicate face cold as ice, without a trace of emotion.

“Sylvia, little Ai—you’ve probably always wondered why I can enter the Historical Echo, right?

Honestly, I’ve always been curious too. But anyway, I really am different. I’ve tried many times—no matter how I mess with the course of history, the correction force doesn’t seem to affect me.

Of course, just because I won’t get crushed into dust by the force of correction, doesn’t mean the violent temporal currents of a collapsing Imaginary Belt won’t completely consume me.

But—I’ve got a way.”

The writing on the letter paused here briefly.

“Remember that annoying cup and the Golden Dawn invitation?”

“Although I still don’t know what Golden Dawn’s true intention was in inviting me, they did me a huge favor... That world, separate from history, is a special realm. I can use it as a reference point, so I won’t lose my way in the River of Time.”

“But that also means... I’ll be drifting alone in the temporal chaos for a very long time, until the storm dies down and I can find my way home.”

“Time doesn’t flow the same in reality as it does in history. In the real world, I think you won’t have to wait long. Maybe just a few days, maybe a few weeks... or months.”

“But for me, the time I’ll experience might be years... or even decades.”

“Wandering alone through the River of Time for years—maybe even tens of years—it probably won’t feel great... But maybe that’s not entirely a bad thing. Maybe it’s my way of atoning.”

At this point, the strokes of the writing softened slightly.

“Sylvia, my dear Syl-Baby... I’ve always felt guilty toward you.”

“Because of a single careless comment I made back then, you buried yourself in the White Chalk Tower. You waited for me in that dark, lightless tomb, enduring loneliness and suffering—for five hundred years.”

“Just thinking about it hurts my heart.”

“I’ve always felt like I wasn’t worthy of your love.”

“So I want to experience that feeling for myself... even if the time I’ll spend doesn’t compare to a tenth of the loneliness you once endured.”

“But I hope, when I return from the end of time...”

“I’ll finally be able to hold you in my arms, without guilt, without hesitation.”

“Then, I’ll declare to the whole world that you’re my lover—and also my fiancée.”

The black ink came to an end.

And the pale letter slowly faded, shattering into glimmering fragments that scattered into the air.

“Xia Ya... brother.”

Sylvia murmured, gazing at the letter’s final, heartfelt words.

Her argent eyes shimmered, unable to hold back the glimmer of emotion.

“Even though...”

“Even if you hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have minded...”

The witch’s whisper drifted away with the wind, unheard by anyone.

But in the next moment, a sudden brilliance of Holy Lance light filled the room—

Startling Sylvia into turning around.

And then, she saw it.

Around the blonde girl standing behind her—

The River of Time, which had nearly vanished into illusion, surged back to life.

“Ailora... Miss Ailora?”

Sylvia blinked in confusion, staring at her.

“I knew Xia Ya was lying to me. I knew from the start.”

Ailora’s figure was slowly fading, yet for the first time, a gentle smile bloomed on her cold, doll-like face.

“That’s just the kind of guy he is. Always hiding his thoughts and secrets, always choosing to act strong instead of letting others worry...”

“He’s always been like this. And this time’s no different.”

In her sky-blue eyes, a trace of unconcealable heartache appeared.

“I know him too well.”

“Even if he looks calm and composed on the surface, like he has everything under control... he’s terrified of being alone.”

“That’s why, even at great risk, he saved me in Ceylan. Why he took in Suren when he had nowhere to go...”

“With Xia Ya’s abilities, he never needed our strength. Or money. Or some sort of return on investment.”

“What he really wanted... was just companionship.”

That’s why Ailora had never let go of her regret over Suren’s decision to leave.

“When he found out I didn’t get on the steam train to the White Tower... even if he complained about it, I know deep down he was overjoyed.”

“If there’s no one beside him, he’d probably get so lonely he’d want to cry, maybe even fall apart.”

“So—”

In her cool voice came a kind of steely resolve that made Sylvia’s heart tremble.

“I have to go be with her.”

The Holy Sword held by Second Imperial Princess Isadella had allowed her to travel through time—to Aisgania a thousand years ago.

Then naturally, the Holy Lance—equal in rank to the sword, and forever etched into history by Kayin’s influence—could do the same.

In the next moment, Ailora’s figure completely faded away.

In the grand suite of the luxury hotel, only the stunned Argent Witch remained.

…

Upstream of the River of Time—within the Imaginary Belt.

Xia Ya sat upon the Black Iron Throne.

The endless unraveling caused by the force of correction finally halted as it reached the boundary of the throne.

And then, it dissolved. Vanished.

Leaving only the grand throne itself, suspended alone above the roaring tide of time.

Drifting endlessly amidst the turbulent currents, directionless.

“Master, based on estimates, the turbulence caused by this Imaginary Belt’s collapse will last about three months in real-world time.”

“That translates to roughly nine to ten years of perceived time within the Imaginary Belt.”

Yui’s voice echoed in Xia Ya’s mind, relayed through the Fifth Soul Pact.

“Ten years, huh...”

Xia Ya sat on the Black Iron Throne, glancing around the empty space of the throne domain, a bitter smile on his face.

It had all felt so cool and poetic when he said goodbye in style—

But now, facing the reality alone... only he knew the true weight.

“If I’d known, I would’ve had Yui copy a whole stash of sm*t novels to kill time.”

Leaning weakly against the throne, he looked up at the metal ceiling above.

This empty, silent throne domain was now his entire world—for the next ten years.

On the bright side, this was bonus time outside of reality.

Used properly, it might be enough to raise his mental energy to the Legendary Tier—or beyond.

Then maybe...

Even in front of Sylvia and Her Highness, he wouldn’t have to worry about being the one on bottom anymore.

But—

Looking around at the barren, silent world before him—

And feeling how Silver, Shiny, Crimson, and the rest of his summoned beasts were forced into sleep by the chaotic time flow in the Soul Pact Space—

A trace of unshakable loneliness crept into Xia Ya’s heart.

He had long grown used to the noise.

More than that—

He had grown used to the presence of that girl by his side.

It was like raising a cat.

You didn’t think much of it while it was around.

But the moment it was gone—

When you came home and didn’t hear its soft meows greeting you—

That sudden emptiness would hit you like a tidal wave.

And then—

In the next moment—

He saw it.

A sudden flash of light ignited within the dark and silent River of History.

It was a pure silver knight’s lance—

Carrying its master—

Piercing through the current of time.

Amidst the chaos of the temporal torrent, a silver-white lance cleaved through the waves, cutting upstream.

And then—

Just before the Imaginary Belt fully collapsed, it reached the throne domain.

Moments later—

Xia Ya heard approaching footsteps.

And a faint scent of sandalwood he had missed dearly.

Golden strands of hair danced in the dim light.

“I’m here, Xia Ya.”

With a voice as sweet as heaven itself—

Two soft, boneless hands gently wrapped around Xia Ya’s waist.

“Just like we promised back then…”

“Neither death, nor even time itself, can tear us apart.”