This BL Novel Is Ruined Now - Chapter 215

BLR has been completely translated on Patreon

Chapter 215

Translator: Yonnee

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“They’ve finally arrived.”

Perhaps it was the uncertainty of their reaction, but a strange tension wrapped around her throat.

‘I hope this goes well…’

The woman murmured a small wish and gazed squarely at the man approaching her.

She relaxed her stiff expression and greeted him.

“It’s been a while, Lehman.”

The man facing her with a stern face was none other than Reina’s old nemesis, Lehman Karr.

* * *

The place chosen for their discussion was the cabin where Lehman and Jeremy currently lived.

While Lehman was preparing tea, Reina, seated on a chair, scanned the interior of the house.

The oak furniture, decorated with dark green paint, created a warm atmosphere. The not-too-high ceiling also offered a sense of security as if in a hideout.

‘It’s cozy.’

Additionally, perhaps due to the crackling fire in one corner of the house, her body felt increasingly relaxed.

“Are you upset to see me living in such a decent place?”

Startled by the voice from behind, Reina straightened up.

“Not at all.”

As she spoke, a steaming cup was placed before her. It was a drink made by boiling milk and tea leaves together.

Lehman, having set down the tea, took a seat opposite her.

“Drink.”

“Thank you.”

With those brief words, silence fell between them. Neither broached the topic at hand nor scrutinized each other’s faces in this silence.

Fiddling aimlessly with her cup, Reina sighed heavily.

‘I don’t know where to start.’

Jeremy had already conveyed the message, so theoretically, Lehman was interested in Reina’s proposal if he was here in the first place.

However, perhaps because their last encounter was a heated argument in a courtroom, she hesitated to speak.

As Reina aimlessly inspected her fingernails, Lehman eventually sighed softly and spoke first.

“Reina.”

Her name, tinged with a faint hesitation, prompted Reina to meet his gaze. He bit his lip and struggled to form his sentence.

“I… don’t regret it.”

Startled by his abrupt statement, Reina furrowed her brows.

“What?”

She wasn’t here to receive an apology, nor did she intend to accept one. Yet, what was this sudden declaration?

As she looked at him incredulously, Lehman ran a hand through his hair and spoke again.

“Yes… I admit I was wrong. I definitely committed a crime against you and acted wrongly. But even if I could go back, I would do it all over again.”

“……”

Was this neither an apology nor a quarrel, but rather…

Reina offered no response, confused as she was, and this prompted Lehman to grip his cup tightly.

“To be honest… the position of ‘Lorei’s’ managing director you proposed is tempting.”

Of course it would be. That position was the path to the ‘power’ Lehman so desperately sought.

“But if what you desire is my apology, then I’ll decline your offer.”

“……”

How could someone be so consistently unyielding? Reina couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

‘Right. That’s why I can trust him to be an administrator.’

Given how much he hated the current situation, would he easily compromise with reality? No, he’d likely develop Lorei more diligently than anyone.

Lost in these thoughts, Reina shrugged.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t come here expecting an apology.”

“…Then what?”

“It might be hard to believe, but I’ve simply come to propose a collaboration.”

Lehman lowered his head slightly at her calm words. After licking his lips, he murmured in a low voice,

“You… don’t resent me?”

Resentment. Well.

Honestly, it’s hard to say. Could Reina really claim that she came here purely trusting in Lehman’s intelligence and his will for social change? Without a single shred of personal feelings mixed in?

‘…No.’

Perhaps this was her own way of atoning.

‘It’s always bothered me, after all…’

Yes. The deliberate framing and ostracism were clearly Lehman’s faults.

Isolating someone and inflicting mental harm could leave a very deep trauma and wounds on the victim.

‘But what I really wanted back then…’

Was not the downfall of the Karr family, but a sincere apology from him.

That’s why, when the children’s quarrel escalated into an adults’ power struggle, when the perpetrator was ruthlessly cut down using the status of the nine households, at no point did Reina feel pleased.

Even when she became a saintess, overcame the plague, became the Director of the Bureau of Efficient Technology, and even earned the title of a ‘goddess’ in the end, she was not proud.

Like a thorn stuck in her finger, the existence of ‘Lehman’ continuously prickled at the back of her mind.

Lehman’s fall was Reina’s achilles heel.

‘So maybe…’

Including Lehman in this plan might just be an attempt to wash away a petty sense of guilt.

‘But…’

Apart from all that, what’s clear was that she did not harbor resentment towards Lehman.

Following the stream of her consciousness to a conclusion, Reina looked directly at him with a soft smile.

“I don’t resent you.”

Because I fully understand the injustice you felt.

She swallowed the rest of her sentence. She knew too well how hypocritical it would sound.