Trampled and Broken (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6
Since my life is already fated to end in a year, I might as well do as I please.
Hestia quickly gathered her composure and, pretending ignorance of Anetsa’s oracle, spooned soup into her mouth.
The meal ended in quiet atmosphere.
Just before the empty bowls were taken away and dessert arrived, Anetsa stood up from her seat. Naturally, everyone’s attention turned to her.
With an exceptionally bright face and voice, Anetsa clasped her hands tightly together and began to speak.
“Thank you all so much for gathering here today to celebrate me!”
As expected, Anetsa opened her mouth.
“But today, I have one more important thing I’d like to share with you all….”
It was clearly deliberate, the way she drew out her words.
Not wanting to miss this moment, Hestia calmly steadied her breath and immediately spoke up.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
At Hestia’s interruption, people’s gazes shifted from Anetsa to her.
Though it felt quite burdensome, she showed no sign of it and continued speaking.
“I also happen to have something I’d like to say. Since everyone I rarely get to see is gathered here… I’d like to take this opportunity.”
She quickly swallowed hard and immediately followed up.
“It’s not anything particularly important. But I’d like to share it before Saint Anetsa, if that’s alright?”
“Huh? Ah! Yes! Of course! Absolutely!”
Anetsa beamed and nodded, her expression clearly saying she could easily afford such generosity.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
After offering a respectful bow of gratitude toward Anetsa, Hestia rose from her seat.
Quietly steadying her trembling heart, she cut straight to the point without preamble.
“I wish to step down from my position as saintess.”
The archdeacons, priests, and even Anetsa widened their eyes as if they’d heard something utterly unexpected.
“…What?”
“No, what on earth do you mean by that!”
Chaos erupted in the hall.
Hestia remained completely unmoved and firmly continued.
“Anetsa has long handled all external duties, so I doubt my absence will be felt too keenly.”
“But, Saintess…!”
“My decision is final. My health is poor, and I wish to rest by stepping down from my duties.”
The clergy’s reaction was unfavorable.
As expected, they tried to persuade her with all sorts of arguments, but Hestia had no intention of backing down.
“Please understand that I’m not being stubborn without reason. I had no choice but to make this decision due to certain circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
Hestia deliberately bit her lower lip, then released it, calmly uttering a lie.
“Last night, I heard the voice of the divine.”
“You mean… you received an oracle?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Another ripple of murmurs spread through the priests like waves.
The atmosphere had changed completely from just moments before.
Sensing something amiss, Anetsa raised her hand abruptly with a slightly impatient look, trying to interrupt Hestia mid-sentence.
“Everyone! Actually, I also last night…!”
But unfortunately, her words couldn’t be completed.
Rarely for Anetsa, she was cut off by an archdeacon.
“I’m sorry, Lady Anetsa. Given the gravity of this matter, we must first hear what Lady Hestia has to say.”
This was likely the first time since arriving at the temple that she’d been treated this way, and her face showed clear bewilderment.
Hestia maintained her calm expression throughout.
Knowing there was no need to rush, she slowly parted her crimson lips.
“The oracle was simple.”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for Hestia’s next words.
Deliberately pausing for a moment, she slowly turned her head and locked eyes directly with Anetsa.
“Lord El Rapa declared that my dawn has only one year left.”
At that instant, a heavy silence blanketed the hall.
Anetsa, too, stared at Hestia with a suddenly pale face, clearly flustered.
‘Right, you never expected I’d be the one to say this first.’
Hestia quietly watched Anetsa’s reaction.
‘Anetsa, what will you do now?’
Of course, it was a question asked only in her mind, so Anetsa couldn’t possibly hear it.
Anetsa gritted her teeth and quickly snatched back the paper she’d handed to the priest beside her moments earlier.
Clearly, Hestia’s preemptive bombshell meant no one was paying attention to her anymore, making it impossible to announce the “true oracle” she’d received at this gathering.
‘After all, since it’s the same content anyway, the level of attention will be different.’
There was a significant difference between Hestia calmly stating her own tragedy and Anetsa announcing it as an outsider.
Anetsa chewed her lip, looking frustrated as if she’d missed a golden opportunity. Then she hid the paper beneath the table and tried to shift her gaze back to Hestia.
Before their eyes could meet, Hestia swiftly averted her gaze and quietly sighed to herself.
‘At least I’ve stopped Anetsa from announcing it herself—that’s a relief.’
And from Anetsa’s reaction just now, she was certain.
In her past life, Anetsa had deliberately revealed that oracle today precisely because all the key figures were gathered.
‘If Anetsa truly cared about me, she could’ve come to me first and given me a heads-up.’
But no matter how hard she searched her memories, there had been no such consultation. That was why, on that day, all Hestia had felt toward Anetsa was shock, bewilderment, shame, and sorrow.
‘It’s no different from wanting me to be embarrassed.’
Hestia’s clenched fist tightened.
“Though not immediately, the divine also said my sacred power will soon be withdrawn, so my strength will gradually wane. Therefore, I wish to step down from the saintess position in accordance with natural order.”
Meanwhile, Archdeacon Boswa and the other high-ranking priests were still flustered, each raising their voices in confusion.
“Why would Lord El Rapa issue such an oracle?”
“This makes no sense!”
“Saintess! Was there anything else the divine told you?”
They stared at her with desperate, pleading expressions, as if seeking the right answer from Hestia herself.
Seeing the very people who had always favored Anetsa over her now flustered made Hestia feel oddly amused by the situation.
“Saintess, please give us an answer.”
Hestia lightly shook her head. Her sacred silver hair fluttered gently, then settled perfectly into place without a single strand out of order.
“I know nothing beyond this. Everything will unfold precisely as the divine wills.”
At Hestia’s calm words, a deep sigh flowed slowly through the clergy like a quiet river.
In the past, she would have anxiously watched their every reaction, unsure how to respond to even the smallest sound.
But perhaps death, as the price for turning back time, had taken something from her—Hestia no longer cared about their opinions.
As if the priests’ feelings meant nothing to her, she simply continued speaking her mind.
“Like all of you, I am also a servant of the divine. Thus, no matter how personally regretful I may feel, the divine’s will must always come first.”
“Well… that is certainly true.”
“It’s just that we’re so taken aback.”
Led by the archdeacons, the other priests reluctantly nodded and muttered quietly among themselves.
In truth, from their perspective, Hestia leaving the temple’s sphere of influence was deeply regrettable.
Regardless of whether they’d treated her well or not, the mere fact that Hestia—a royal—remained in the temple as saintess had allowed them to maintain a close relationship with the Elsword royal family.
Though weaker than in previous generations, the kingdom’s people still held strong support for the Elsword royal family—comparable to their support for the temple. Consequently, Hestia’s own popularity among the people was surprisingly solid.
Though the emergence of a new saintess had somewhat divided that support, Hestia still retained a loyal base.
No matter how gifted Anetsa might be, Hestia was still regarded as the more noble and exalted figure in practice.
But what if Hestia—the bridge between temple and world—stepped down from her saintess role?
Even if not immediately, faith in the temple and all related ties might slowly begin to crack.
Moreover, the temple would likely have to relinquish the privileges it had secured thanks to the royal family’s concessions.
The archdeacons swallowed their groans, their faces twisted with complicated thoughts.
‘Now that we’re actually about to lose Saintess Hestia as a card in our hand, it’s quite a disappointment. Our losses will be enormous.’
Boswa clicked his tongue inwardly.
Hestia had been a symbolic figure bridging the royal family and the temple.
Yet King Yorgos had consistently shown only perfunctory concern for her welfare, never truly caring for or comforting her, which had led the archdeacons to subtly neglect her over time.
Furthermore, since she hadn’t received any new oracles in over ten years, even ordinary priests naturally paid less attention to her compared to Anetsa—and now they somewhat regretted that negligence.
Meanwhile, Hestia calmly steadied her breath and continued.
“I believe you all know how diligently I’ve served over the past ten years. Therefore, I wish to spend the one year left to me focusing solely on myself. I trust you’ll all grant me this small wish.”
Having finished speaking, Hestia fixed her gaze straight ahead, clearly signaling she would answer no further questions.
Anetsa stared at her with an expression of utter incomprehension.
Meanwhile, Hestia silently calmed her trembling heart within.
‘With this, I’ve bought myself some time.’
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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