Since the talk with Xenovia back then, Griselda, who had been originally happy and smug about her plan working, fell into a dark mood. She holed herself up in her hotel room this entire time, thinking. What Xenovia told her had thrown all her assumptions and thoughts into the trash and shaken her completely.
The thing about women is that when they are sad, they usually look for someone to vent to. If they can't find anyone, they tend to shut themselves away and drown in negative thoughts. The more those thoughts pile up, the more they start believing that no one can understand them, that they are completely alone, and that nobody will help them. It becomes a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.
However, although Griselda had fallen into that cycle, she still had Yusuke. So when it was time for her to accompany Michael as his guard and she realized she would get to see Yusuke again, she finally left her room. Even so, her mental state was far more unstable than before.
When she walked into the conference room, the dark shadow that had hung over her life these past few days vanished. The moment her eyes fell on his face, her heart began to race. An overwhelming wave of love swept through her, completely dominating both her body and mind.
He was like an addictive substance to her. Simply seeing him and sharing the same space and air with him filled her with an intoxicating sensation, one far sweeter, more dangerous, and more dizzying than any drug. It reached the point where her mind was overwhelmed by ecstasy, leaving her almost unable to think.
She was so happy, but at the same time, so sad. Why hadn't she met him earlier? Why was he already in a relationship with so many other women? And more importantly, why wasn't he as happy to see her as she was to see him? Why did he still wear that indifferent expression even though their eyes had met?
Does he really not love her at all? Was it really as Xenovia said? Did he not care about her, and was he only playing along with her plan?! Was her love and devotion nothing more than one sided feelings?!!
The more she thought about it, the more bitter she felt and the more heartbroken she became. Especially watching him flirt so openly with Grayfia and even confront Sirzechs for her. This reinforced her thoughts more and broke her heart even further.
However, Griselda was a yandere now, and a desperate one at that. There was no way she would give up so easily. She was determined to try one more time. So after leaving the conference room, she changed into an outfit she thought he would like before searching the building until she finally found Yusuke.
She was going to confess her feelings and confront him once and for all. If things were really as she thought, if he truly didn't love her, then she would make him regret it!
She would kill herself in the most grotesque way possible, right in front of him!
She would make absolutely sure that her existence would be etched into his mind forever! Never to be forgotten!
If he wasn't going to love her forever, then she would make him regret losing her forever!
As a yandere, Griselda normally would not just give up and choose this method so easily, but she really could not think of any other way. Yusuke was so strong it was impossible for her to force her love on him. He was also nearly impossible to ambush. He had extensive experience in dealing with yanderes as well. It was just nearly impossible to harm him, ambush him, poison him, or even threaten him when all his women were strong. He had no clear weakness at all!
This drove Griselda into absolute despair. She had only just begun to dream when reality slapped her so hard that she was forced to wake up to its cruelty. Nothing ever went as planned in this accursed world.
Walking through the corridor, she spotted him leaning alone against the balcony. Even from the side, his profile looked just as perfect as always. She placed one hand over her chest to suppress her wildly beating heart while clutching the hem of her dress with the other. Then she slowly walked toward him, her high heels making soft clacking sounds with every step.
"Yusuke," when he turned to look in her direction, Griselda whispered his name, biting her lip. Her steps unconsciously quickened, but when she was only a few steps away from him, she hesitated.
Now that he was finally standing alone in front of her, she fell into hesitation and dilemma once again.
"Griselda," Yusuke smiled at her and moved closer to close the distance. He touched her face with one hand, caressing her cheek gently. "How have you been? I did not hear from you for a few days."
As if a dam had burst inside her heart, every negative and positive emotion mixed together and erupted all at once. Griselda threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Her hands clutched his shirt as her arms wrapped around his back. Her body began to shake, and between broken sobs, she started crying.
"Yusuke, Yusuke, Yusuke," Griselda buried her face in his chest, inhaling his scent. She did not know why, even after all the things she had been thinking about earlier, when he touched her face ever so gently and smiled at her like that, speaking to her in such a gentle tone, she felt her heart melt. At the same time, it pained her more that she could not be entirely entitled to such treatment.
She wanted his smile all to herself, to indulge in his gentleness, his embrace, his voice, even his roughness. She wanted all of him, completely and without sharing. She didn't want to share him with anyone else!
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Yusuke hugged her back, gently rubbing her back as he asked in a concerned voice.
"Yusuke," Griselda lifted her face, tears sliding down her cheeks, her perfect makeup which she put a great deal of effort into making was marred by her tears, her reddened eyes only had the reflection of him in them, she smiled, her smile was both beautiful and heartbreaking, "Did you know that the image you have left in my eyes and heart is something that I can never get rid of... my heart and my soul are filled with you, and I..."
"I cannot contain anyone else anymore, making me live every second, every minute, and every day with your image in my head. No matter what I do, see, or experience, all I can think of is you."
In the end, she blamed herself for not having the courage that Irina and Xenovia had to directly express their love to him. Instead, she had chosen to take things slowly, but that had been a mistake. Now she wanted to convey her unending love to him, to tell him directly that she was the woman he should be with.
[This bitch!] B2 cursed coldly.
"Griselda..." Yusuke stared down at her, meeting her gaze. He opened his lips to speak, but was interrupted by her.
"You know, when I met you for the first time, I knew you were the only person I would ever love. Even if there were future lives, I would still only love you," Griselda said as she lifted one hand and caressed his face. Her fingers traced his features, his nose, his lips, as if trying to memorize every detail of him. "I didn't say it properly last time."
"Yusuke, I love you."
Although she had implicitly shown her feelings before, now that she had truly confessed her love to him, she strangely felt as if a rock had fallen from her heart. At the same time, her heart began to beat extremely fast, so fast she could hear it. She was afraid, or rather, it was more accurate to say she was in dread, deeply afraid that he would turn her down.
[Griselda Quarta's submission + 1!]
[Griselda Quarta's submission + 1!]
[Griselda Quarta's submission + 1!]
[Griselda Quarta's submission + 1!]
"..." Listening to the mature, beautiful nun's confession, Yusuke didn't speak immediately, because a series of notifications appeared in his vision, showing her submission value rising.
[Griselda Quarta's submission: 60 (Possessive)]
It stopped just shy of 61, only one point away from the Dependent threshold. When Yusuke went on a date with her a few days ago, her submission hadn't risen so quickly. Perhaps it was because she still held the illusion that she could make him fall for her, or maybe she had not yet fully realized her feelings, that they were not only love but also a deeply obsessive attachment toward him. It was all thanks to Xenovia that she had received that early wake-up call.
Still, the job wasn't finished yet. Only when she reached the Dependent level could Yusuke say he had completed it. That single point alone was harder to raise than the previous 60 combined.
Who knows if the reason for her increase in submission was only because of Xenovia, or if she had undergone some change herself, given the way she was acting right now.
...
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