The Villain's Cheat Code: When a Gamer Becomes the Evil God's Sidekick-Chapter 240: Don’t Cry, My Dearest One

Lia sat in the study of the mansion with a throbbing head, distressedly flipping through a book in her hands.

No matter how she tried to read, she couldn't calm her mind.

What was this all about?

She wanted to read to calm herself down, but the more she read, the stronger that strange sense of disconnection grew in her mind.

When exactly did she develop this habit of reading?

Finally unable to continue, Lia closed the book and tossed it aside, massaging her temples.

She picked up the teacup beside her and took a quiet sip.

The bitter taste rolled across her tongue, followed by a lingering sweetness spreading through her mouth.

Vanilla stood silently beside her. After Lia finished drinking, she thoughtfully refilled the teacup.

Lia looked up at Vanilla and couldn't help but ask:

"Vanilla, I remember you're a mage?"

Vanilla gave a slight bow and replied:

"Lady Lia, I'm still just an apprentice mage."

An apprentice mage was equivalent to a trainee for formal mages.

Lia naturally knew this.

So she nodded.

"I never expected to find someone like you with magical talent among the demi-humans."

Of course, what surprised Lia more wasn't Vanilla's magical aptitude.

It was her unique rationality and wisdom that set her apart from other demi-humans.

Was Vanilla born this way?

No, certainly not.

With others' reminders, Lia had already sensed an obvious gap in her memories.

Being self-aware, she knew Vanilla couldn't have been trained by herself.

It was almost impossible for her to have trained a demi-human to be so polite and graceful, willingly serving others as a maid.

Someone else had cultivated Vanilla.

Who was that person?

Although she had asked Gwen many questions, Lia still couldn't recover that missing segment of memories that should exist in her mind.

However, she had found some clues.

First, because someone from the Kravina family had an engagement with Gwen.

So the identity of that mysterious person was almost certainly from the Kravina family.

But the betrothed couldn't possibly be her!

Lia investigated through the relationship between that mysterious person and Gwen, and finally remembered something.

Gwen was the swordsmanship instructor for the Imperial Princess.

With her limited qualifications, the royal family wouldn't have randomly chosen Gwen as the princess's teacher.

That's when Lia realized - the person she'd forgotten must have connections with the royal family, and quite good ones at that.

Lia was certain she needed to investigate based on these clues.

So she asked for help from Gwen, who was still in the capital.

She believed Gwen would surely find something.

At this moment, Lia noticed the crystal on the table starting to flicker.

She quickly picked up the crystal, but the voice that came through wasn't Gwen's.

Instead, it was someone else she knew very well:

"Lady Lia."

Leon's voice rang out from within.

Lia wasn't quite sure what she wanted to report at this time.

"I've remembered something that might help you."

Lia perked up and quickly urged:

"Tell me!"

On the other end, Leon stood atop the mountain at the mine, holding a glowing crystal for communication.

Her aqua-gold hair swayed in the breeze, her clothes fluttering in the wind.

Standing at the mountain peak, Leon's expression remained solemn.

Looking down at the miners below, she spoke softly:

"I was there when the miners dug up that mirror."

Leon remembered she had been looking for Lia about something at the time.

"But then, I suddenly forgot about you."

"It wasn't until this morning that I remembered."

Listening to her words, Lia felt a moment of confusion.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

She leaned forward slightly, staring at the crystal:

"What day is it today?"

"Lady Lia, today is Saturday."

Upon hearing the answer, Lia immediately sensed something was wrong.

Because she remembered receiving notification from the miners and going to see the mirror at the mine.

But she had no memory of anything after that.

She only knew that when she woke up, the mirror was already placed in her home.

That day was Friday morning.

She had lost an entire Friday's worth of memories.

Just as Leon had said.

During that entire Friday, Leon had forgotten about her.

Now, this gap in Lia's memories matched Leon's described experience to an uncanny degree.

Lia suddenly became excited and spoke into the crystal:

"Thank you, Leon!"

"Your clue has helped me tremendously!"

After saying this, she quickly cut off the crystal connection and turned to instruct Vanilla who was standing nearby:

"Quick, tell Butler Helnersen to bring that mirror here."

Vanilla received the order with a slight bow before leaving the study.

Shortly after, an elderly but strong bear-man walked in.

Vanilla followed close behind.

In the bear-man's hand, he gripped the mirror's frame, carrying it into the room.

The mirror in his hands looked as small as a serving tray.

Helnersen placed the mirror before Lia and respectfully said:

"Miss Lia, the mirror you requested."

The smooth mirror reflected Lia's face.

She examined the mirror up and down, and her reflection mimicked her movements.

"Hmm... this doesn't seem special?"

She was about to reach out and touch the mirror when suddenly she paused.

Turning back, she looked at Helnersen:

"Helnersen, what did you just call me?"

"Why didn't you address me as 'Master'?"

Helnersen gave a slight bow:

"Miss Lia, there is another Master."

Lia turned her whole body to face him, looking at him seriously as she asked:

"What do you know?"

Helnersen kept his head lowered, responding with utmost respect:

"I apologize, Miss Lia."

"My abilities are limited, I only know this much."

Lia placed a hand on her chin, deep in thought.

Just then, the bear-man's voice came again.

"However, I do remember."

Helnersen looked at Lia, speaking in his deep, rumbling voice:

"I once accompanied you both."

"Building snowmen."

At that moment, Lia's head snapped up.

This was it!

She no longer cared about the strange mirror, ignored Vanilla standing to the side, rushed past Helnersen, and ran out of the study.

Soon, she reached her bedroom door.

The intense physical exertion left her panting heavily.

But Lia didn't care at all, she pushed open the bedroom door and rushed to the cabinet:

"A magic lock? Heavens, when did I set this?"

She didn't dwell on it, reaching out her hand to think about the correct way to open the magic lock.

But the moment her hand touched the cabinet, the magic lock seemed to automatically recognize her and opened by itself.

Lia didn't quite understand, feeling confused.

But this was clearly a good thing.

Lia stopped thinking about it, searched through the drawers, pushed aside those old patched-up toys, and reached to the very bottom of the drawer.

Then, she took out that yellowed notebook.

Snowman, snowman!

She didn't care about any other content in the notebook, her mind fixed only on the word 'snowman'.

Finally, she found that page.

She looked at the content on it, reading carefully.

"December twenty-first..."

"Today, there was a very, very heavy snow..."

The childish writing showed the innocence and romance of her girlhood.

Finally, Lia read to the latter part.

She froze.

"I showed the snowman to brother."

"To brother... brother?"

Who was brother?

She put the diary down on the table and began frantically flipping through the previous contents like someone possessed.

"November sixth..."

"November seventh..."

"November eighth..."

Brother, brother.

These two words appeared throughout the memories in this diary.

But Lia had no memory of any of the content in this diary.

She was desperately trying to find the answer she wanted from this thin diary.

Even if just a name.

Brother, brother...

Who was he?

So Lia kept searching, not even minding that the yellowed and fragile pages were being torn.

Why did she forget, why?

Lia squeezed out an urgent sound from her throat, tinged with tears.

Remember, Lia, remember.

Following the diary's contents, she flipped to the back.

"December twenty-third."

"He said he hates tears."

Yes, he hated tears.

At that moment, she learned to be strong for the first time, learned to be independent.

So from that moment on, Lia never cried for him again.

But this time, she still cried urgently.

Drip, drip.

Tears wet the yellowed diary.

Lia helplessly lowered her head, letting her hair cover her face.

At the same time, she read out the last passage.

"I'm so useless..."

A breeze invaded through the window, gently blowing across Lia's face, slowly moving the yellowed and fragile pages.

In the wind's movement, Lia noticed.

A page of the diary had its corner folded.

As if deliberately wanting her to see it.

She hurriedly opened to this page and looked carefully.

It was blank, with nothing recorded on it.

But suddenly, her eyes widened.

At the top of the blank page, there was a simple smiley face drawn.

Yet it seemed to carry some kind of magic.

A name slowly appeared in her mind.

"Vik...tor?"

Wild wind gushed in through the narrow window, making the two window panels clatter loudly.

The curtains were swept up, and Lia's hair became disheveled in the surging wind.

But between the gusts, it seemed like there was a gentle breeze that, as if inadvertently, wiped away the tears from the corner of her eye.

Lia blinked.

That wasn't the breeze.

At this moment, she saw it.

It was a hand, warm, caressing her face.

Using its thumb to gently wipe away the tears from the corner of her eye.

A black windcoat danced continuously in the wild wind.

The man's deep voice gradually sounded by Lia's ear:

"I indeed don't like tears."

Lia stared blankly at the man before her.

A crow stood on his shoulder, raising its head, its single eye appearing rather proud.

In the man's cold gaze, a hint of gentleness appeared as he quietly looked at Lia.

Feeling the warmth from his palm, Lia raised her head with wet eyes.

The wind outside seemed to become somewhat clamorous, but no longer wild, instead growing gentle.

Soft wind passed over skin, hair rising in the tenderness.

The man's familiar voice, accompanied by the steady breeze, gradually echoed:

"So, don't cry."

"My dearest one."

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