My SuperVillain System: Building Legion of SSS-Ranked SuperHeroines-Chapter 31 - Thalia is Saved, Yeah!

"Wh...y... sob... why...?" Thalia's voice hitched, choking on the words she couldn't even string together.

Her hands flew up to clutch her head, nails digging into her scalp as her eyes brimmed with tears. "You... idiots... all of you..."

Grief had consumed her so thoroughly that she didn't even register the presence of others on the rooftop—including Jenny.

"Don't act weak with me!" Jenny snapped, seizing the opportunity. She shoved Thalia aside, hoping to escape. And she almost did, given Thalia's current physical and mental state.

Thalia's tears blurred her vision, her mind drowning in sorrow, leaving her too disoriented to react properly.

Her eyes widened—tears distorting everything—but even then, she saw it.

No... she felt it.

She was falling.

Her body staggered—one step back... two... three...

The edge.

One hand shot out, flailing for something—anything. Her skin scraped hard against the concrete.

And then—

"Sigh... was this how you fell?"

A hand wrapped firmly around her wrist, halting her mid-fall. She gasped in shock, her eyes frozen upward toward the sky, then slowly lowering to meet the gaze of a man. She blinked.

Black hair, streaked with grey. Eyes narrowed—not in concern, but in amusement, as if finding her tears... funny.

"Haa...haa—I..." Thalia tried to speak, still processing what had just happened. But her words were cut off by a scream.

"KYAA!! I'M GONNA DIE, I'M GONNA DIE! PLEASE! DON'T LET GO!"

The shriek was enough to jolt Thalia out of her stupor. That voice—Jenny's. Thalia whipped her head around and saw it: Cruxius's other hand gripping two of Jenny's fragile fingers just past the railing, barely visible from where Thalia now lay, supported only by his arm.

"W-Wait! Don't let her fall!" Thalia cried, still unsteady, her body dangling and held up only by Cruxius's grasp around her waist. She couldn't even find enough leverage to help herself, let alone Jenny.

"You would've died because of her," Cruxius muttered, eyeing Jenny carefully, calculating whether the push was deliberate or not. He weighed his options—should he torture her, or use her? But after observing her panicked expression and lack of malice, he concluded it was an accident.

Still, that didn't mean he'd let her off easily. Not until he got what he wanted—from Thalia.

"B-But... you saved me, right?" Thalia blinked up at him, her voice trembling with unspoken gratitude.

She knew—if he hadn't shown up, she would've died.

But before she could say more, she used the moment of stillness to slip beneath his arm and scramble over to help Jenny.

'Haah... Did I just fall for her trick?' Cruxius's eyes narrowed. He'd meant to keep Thalia close, to observe her response to her sister.

Instead, she'd manipulated the moment with a few clever words and escaped his grip. Still, he didn't mind—holding Jenny with one hand was getting troublesome.

"S-sister! Please! Save me! I don't want to die!" Jenny sobbed, staring down at the massive drop below her.

Her heels had already slipped off.

The fear of what lay beneath—the pain, the death—paralyzed her as she looked up with tear-streaked eyes.

"Come on! Why are you so heavy!" Thalia grunted, struggling to pull Jenny up.

Thalia definitely didn't care whether Jenny died or not, but she knew that if she died, then guilt and regrets would haunt Thalia because....she was not like her.

Jenny did worse by tying her with a demon, a lecherous monster from whom escaping might be hard, but by letting Jenny fall, Thalia would too become like her.

She could have taken revenge on her stepmother and stepsister for whatever they did to her all her life.

But she didn't, simply because she did not want to be like them.

Their torments were childish, just like those dramas of Cinderella and such.

So, the best thing for her was to stay away from them.

She had been exactly set to leave after getting the scholarship.

But again, these two idiots played their childish games without knowing the consequences of what might happen if Thalia were to get back at them with a bigger blow.

She thought of giving them a big blow for ruining her life, but... this mother and daughter duo were just too idiotic that it would waste her time trying to make them regret while they would not even understand that what they did was a mistake.

'Urgh, come on!' Despite how thin she looked, Jenny still had weight—as anyone would.

But finally, with one last pull, she managed to drag her onto the rooftop.

Both collapsed, panting.

"Haah... haah... S-stop eating so much, you fool," Thalia muttered, lying flat on her back and glancing at the sky. She gave Jenny a tired side glance. The girl was lying on her arm, sobbing.

"Sob... m-my hand... i-it hurts... b-blood is coming too..." Jenny whimpered, trying to lift herself. Her arm was clearly injured—possibly fractured. She attempted to stand but fell again, making Thalia sigh and sit up to help.

Despite everything, Jenny was her sister.

One who probably deserved a good slap after she healed.

Thalia could feel sympathy now, but it didn't erase the betrayal. Jenny would never learn, no matter what happened. Just like their stepmother—none of them ever did.

The best thing Thalia could do... was get away from this family altogether.

"Here, are you alright?"

Thalia had just thought to help Jenny down the stairs—planning to find a nurse or something, like she always did when Jenny got hurt—when she heard a man's voice. She turned her head.

"Huh?" Jenny, cradling her injured arm, saw a tall shadow looming over her. A hand extended toward her, impassive eyes gazing down.

The light behind him made him look like a walking halo of money.

Yeah. Rich and handsome. Definitely the "money guy."—Jenny at least saw it, if not others.

"Y-yes..." Jenny muttered, quickly taking his hand despite the pain—image over injury.

As she sat up, her gaze kept flicking toward Cruxius.

"You don't look it," Cruxius said flatly, but helped her regardless. Then, turning toward Thalia—who stood dumbfounded—he knelt and tore a piece of her dress near the knee.

Scrch

"H-Hey!? Don't tear my dress!" Thalia shouted, flinching.

"Your sister's injured, and you're worried about your clothes?" Cruxius raised an eyebrow, frowning. Thalia's mouth dropped open, speechless—especially when she saw Jenny glaring at her, as if this were somehow her fault.

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"Then tear your own shirt!" Thalia snapped. She never wanted to be part of this family in the first place. A place that only pretended to be family. A place full of people who didn't understand consequences.

Now, she just wanted to get away from this man too.

"Tch. She's heartless, isn't she?" Cruxius muttered, turning back to Jenny. The girl looked stunned by his gesture... then nodded, casting a dramatic, wounded glance toward Thalia.

'Damn him...' Thalia curled her knees in, watching as he tied the makeshift bandage around Jenny's elbow. The two looked like lovers from a cheap drama scene.

And yet... she felt suspicious.

Why was he being so kind to Jenny?

'Wait... does he think she'll fall for him?' Thalia blinked. Jenny wasn't exactly a beauty queen—not compared to others. But maybe Cruxius thought he could win her over.

She glanced toward Jenny—only to freeze.

That lovestruck look. The blinking eyes. The trembling lips as he tied the not-so-perfect bandage.

'Cough... are you already planning to cheat on your fiancé, Jenny?!'