I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines
Chapter 137

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 137 – Drunkard (1)

Selena Drunkard.

If her role in the original work were to be summed up in a single word, it would be this:

‘Traitor.’

There was no need to add or subtract anything else.

Every action had been a choice she made for herself.

There had been no coercion or undue pressure involved.

She simply betrayed the Academy for the sake of her goals—

and allied with those she never should have touched.

None other than the black mages, worshippers of slaughter and greed.

The path of unending ruin.

Of course—

It wasn't as though she had planned betrayal from the beginning.

As every villain has their own reasons, the drunkard had her own as well.

Perhaps she could’ve become a great educator—

if only she hadn’t clung to the past so foolishly.

Was it memory?

For an adult, memory is a kind of lingering regret—or a form of alcohol.

A lack that causes one to wander through life without direction.

And in this case… it was the dullness and intoxication tied to the name Selena Drunkard.

It began when she was very young.

—Lianne! Look what your big sister brought home!

—It's fresh bread! I did great begging today!

Selena had a younger sister five years her junior.

Lianne.

A little sister she raised like a daughter.

—You're the best, sis!

—It smells so good! Did it just come out of the oven?

—Hehe… I’m already drooling.

They had no one else.

Their parents had died so early that the memories were already fading.

Selena had no choice but to take responsibility as the older sister.

Though they lived in the slums, surviving on the charity of others, the two girls never lost hope from one day to the next.

Because they had each other.

It was, in some ways, ordinary.

Just another life among the countless orphans littering the slums.

In hard times, they would lean on each other’s shoulders for support.

Even during desperate winters filled with cold and hunger, the sisters used their deep bond to survive the seasons.

Their mutual reliance only grew as they aged.

—I love you more than anything in the world, sis!

A life at the very bottom, where even the faintest light couldn’t reach.

A life constantly chased by misfortune.

A life that still dared to hope.

Perhaps it was that hope the world chose to reward.

Even on days shrouded in darkness, a ray of sunlight shone through.

—You… have talent.

—Would you consider learning magic under me?

—I’ll take in your sister, too.

An old man appeared one day.

He introduced himself as the head of a prestigious educational institution,

and extended a hand, asking Selena and Lianne to become his students.

He had noticed the magical talent within Selena.

Hesitant but curious, the girls accepted his offer.

—From now on, you may call me ‘Master.’

A moment they would never forget.

From that point on—

Color finally filled their lives.

New experiences, one after another:

a cozy home, soft clothes, warm meals, a bed to sleep in.

A miracle that arrived overnight.

—Master! Master! Can you teach me the magic that Selena’s learning too?

—I want to be a great mage someday too!

—Like the sages in fairy tales!

—Lianne… Master said you’re too frail for that.

—And magic’s not even that fun, you know. You really want to get stuck in homework hell?

—I do! Since my sister works so hard, I want to be strong enough to protect her too!

—So please teach me!

—Haha. If you wish to learn, I see no reason to say no.

—You may not reach Selena’s level, but… I’ll teach you magic as well, Lianne.

—Yay! Master is the best!

The children came to learn what peace meant.

Smiles never left their faces.

They no longer went hungry, cried in fear, or shivered from the cold.

A morning that came after endless nights—

one they treasured with all their hearts.

They believed, with all sincerity, that happiness would follow.

But—

—Three months.

Misfortune did not release them.

When Selena was twenty and Lianne fifteen…

her sister was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The exact cause was unknown. They could only guess.

Her body, weakened by years in the slums, had finally broken down.

The tragedy shattered even their brief dream.

—Don’t worry.

—I’ll make sure you get better… No matter what, I won’t let you die.

—Master’s looking into it too. I’m sure there’s a way.

But no such way existed.

An incurable disease, they said.

Doctors frowned. Priests shook their heads.

Even their Master eventually put down his pen.

The girl in bed slowly slipped away—

holding her beloved sister’s hand the entire time.

—I’m sorry… Sis.

—I just wanted to stay by your side a little longer… I wanted you… by my side…

—I’m sorry… I’m sorry I can’t stay with you…

Lianne’s whisper, barely a breath, was drenched in emotion.

Tears flowed without end.

—······.

Selena was powerless.

There was nothing she could do for her ailing sister.

All she could do was hold onto the warmth in that fading hand.

When the breathing stopped—

and even the warmth that proved life had grown cold—

The elder sister could not walk away.

—No… no… this can’t be real…

A lifeless lump of flesh from which the soul had departed.

She clung to what had once been Lianne and cried.

The vibrant world turned black and white in an instant.

—Please, Lianne… open your eyes…

—We were finally happy… Why, why does this only happen to us…

Her sister’s death left behind only a cold world where she no longer existed.

It was then that she realized—

What had come to them hadn’t been a dawn.

It had been a meteor—fleeting light that passed and disappeared.

Happiness, to Selena, became a concept of hollow deceit.

—It was all a lie…

After her death—

The girl lost herself.

As if she had given up on everything.

The light disappeared from her eyes.

Her expression hardened, emotionless.

She began drinking heavily—

a whole bottle at a time, despite never having liked alcohol.

She was rarely sober anymore.

—Lianne…

Even as she matured into a woman.

Even as people stopped calling her a girl.

Selena lived, buried in her memories.

Clinging to the happiest moment of her youth.

And then—

—Would you be interested in working with us?

Strangers approached.

They were cultists.

They had been watching her, planning to use her despair.

They made her an offer she could never refuse as a sister—

A devil’s whisper promising the resurrection of her dead sibling.

—Wouldn’t you like to see her again?

—Your beloved sister.

She couldn’t say no.

Her mind was far too unstable for rational thought.

She simply wanted—desperately—to see her little sister once more.

And so—

Selena became their puppet.

She even made a mana contract, binding her heart.

Perhaps she was drunk.

Her head filled with only one thought—

to bring Lianne back.

Suppressing her emotions, she joined in their wicked deeds.

—Just follow our orders properly.

—We'll handle the rest.

Their demands were simple.

Leak Academy secrets and information regularly.

As the headmaster’s prized disciple and a senior professor,

this was easy for her.

She was also the one who had handed over the map to the underground tunnels.

—Wait for me, Lianne… I swear.

—When the time comes, maybe we can be happy again…

She knew full well she was steeping herself in evil.

But her unstable steps never stopped.

Like a runaway truck with no brakes,

her broken mind simply barreled forward.

She drove her own life like a drunk behind the wheel.

But even that drunken stupor had to end eventually.

—W-What is this…

When consciousness returned, so too did reality.

She had to face it.

All the tragedies she had brought about.

—Kuoooooo!!

The dragon roared with monstrous fury.

A calamity towered over the Academy’s shattered main building.

Flames and death rained like fire from the sky.

The seething hatred threatened to destroy the world itself.

Corpses littered the ground.

Her own students.

Colleagues who had always annoyed her.

A place that had once become a home to her—

now a scene from hell.

The choices she had made buried countless lives beneath rubble.

—Ah…

Only now did she realize.

Her own foolishness.

The sins she had committed.

—W-What have I done…

—This isn’t what I wanted. I just… I only wanted to see her again…

—No… This wasn’t supposed to happen!

In the field of despair, the only things left were pools of blood and flesh.

And an emptiness vast enough to drown in them.

Screams, sorrow, terror, pleading.

Selena stared at the crimson inferno.

Sitting there blankly, where she had collapsed.

—This… all of it… was my doing.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

And then—

Stab—!

Something burst from her chest, from behind.

A blade.

—You’ve done well.

She turned her head.

A cultist she had worked with stood there.

Wearing a wicked smile as he twisted the blade into her heart.

As though this had been the plan all along.

—Tools that’ve served their purpose… must be discarded.

—As you can see, the plan was a success.

—We can now hasten His resurrection.

The drunkard coughed blood and collapsed.

Her miserable breath stopped along with the burning Academy.

Perhaps, for a traitor, it was a fitting end.

…Though what was revealed afterward was even more shocking.

Selena Drunkard.

According to additional lore released later,

she too had been manipulated by the cult from the start.

Lianne’s mysterious illness—the cult had orchestrated it.

They spun a web to ensnare Selena, from beginning to end.

Her sister’s death had been manufactured.

The promise to bring her back was a lie.

Selena had never escaped fate.

In the end… no one found happiness.

A miserable ending beyond words.

I cleared my mind of these thoughts and met the woman’s gaze.

“……”

“……”

Lying in the hospital bed was either a traitor—or a victim.

The room was steeped in a chilling silence.

As I quietly mulled over the weight of the mood,

the woman let out a bitter chuckle and asked:

Her voice was low, subdued.

“…Since when?”

“Hm?”

“When did you know I was the traitor?”

“Who knows. I suppose it was just a hunch.”

“A hunch… I see. You’ve always been the secretive type, Judah.”

“And at this point, isn’t the question meaningless?”

“That too, I suppose.”

A conversation that flowed like water.

It felt like our usual exchanges—yet also, entirely different.

I cast aside the strange dissonance and spoke.

“There’s a lot I want to hear. And a lot I need to hear.”

“……”

A complicated expression crossed her face.

What are you feeling right now?

Resignation?

Despair?

Sadness?

A sense of loss?

Or maybe—

“…Do you regret it?”

A question, hesitant and heavy—unlike me.

Her red eyes trembled in response.

I quietly waited for her answer.

I needed to hear it—so I could decide what I would do next.

I was waiting for you.

‘Please.’

Let you be different from me.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]