Diary of the Improper Monster Girl Transformation.

Chapter 128 "One Step Away" (15 first order please!)
PS: (Dear, it is recommended to eat it with the BGM: Por Una Cabeza "One Step Away"!)
In the middle of the dance floor, the childhood sweethearts who were once close friends snuggled up to each other and danced to the changes of the music.

They looked directly into each other's eyes, with identical perfect smiles on their faces.

And...the even more similar coldness deep in the eyes.

"There's no point..."

Filia remained silent for the entire dance and didn't say a word.

As the new dance began, she shook her head slightly, and as she turned her head, she whispered, "Herbert, what do you mean by that?"

"You really don't know what I mean?"

Herbert asked back with amusement: "You are not still trying to insist that you knew nothing about those things?"

"At this point, are you still going to continue pretending? You don't really want me to explain everything, do you?"

Herbert looked at Filia and said in a firm tone: "You may not have been in the royal city that day as you explained in your letter, but you also kept a lot of things to yourself."

"You... after that day, you were not completely unaware of the inside story of the incident."

"Besides, you didn't show up for some reason and left me to fend for myself in there."

Seeing that Filia seemed to want to explain, he simply shook his head, with a slight smile in his gray eyes, and said lightly:
"Oh, you don't have to explain, let alone deny, because I'm not asking you, nor am I trying to deceive you."

"That's the truth, isn't it?"

"..."

The princess looked at him silently for a long time, then nodded and said softly, "Although things are a little different from what you think, I do know what you suffered after what happened that day."

"Also...remained silent as you said."

Herbert smiled.

"hehe."

He laughed happily, relaxed, and even a little relieved.

Filia looked at his expression quietly and asked in confusion:
"Herbert, I understand the source of your anger, but what I don't understand is why you are still so angry even though it's been so long."

Filia couldn't understand it. In her opinion, there was no need for Herbert to be angry anymore.

After that test, he was completely transformed, a completely different person.

The soft temperament on his body has disappeared, and he has completely transformed into a new look with sharp edges and corners.

"You now... seem to be not only unaffected by those things, but you have become better than before."

No matter how you look at it, this should be a blessing in disguise after passing the test... Why is he still so angry now?

"why?"

"You ask me why? This..."

Herbert was stunned for a moment after hearing this question, then he laughed and shook his head helplessly. He said with some amusement: "Filia, we have known each other for so many years, but this is the first time I realize that you are such a person."

"I?"

"It turns out that you don't know anything...haha!"

Herbert blinked and said jokingly, "Your heart is so cold."

As if reacting to the word "cold", Filia frowned slightly and stared coldly into Herbert's eyes.

Herbert's smile remained unchanged, and he chuckled repeatedly: "Am I wrong?"

"From the results, I did benefit from that incident. I left the royal city, went to the monastery, and became what I am today."

"I have become stronger, more mature, and stronger, totally different from before."

"But, have you ever thought... Is everything I have gained really without any cost?"

The Church of the Goddess of Luck has a very famous motto: Whatever you gain, you must lose; whatever you lose, you must gain. "But compared to what you lost, isn't what you gained enough?"

Filia knew this, but in her opinion, no matter what Herbert lost, it seemed enough compared to what he gained.

"Do you think it's worth it? In your opinion, maybe so."

Herbert sighed softly, feeling somewhat emotional.

How heartless!

No, maybe not entirely ruthless.

But naive.

Your Highness, this idea is really too naive...

He looked at the princess who was only one step away but seemed far away, and said softly:
"Moreover, at this point, do you really think that everything can be treated as if nothing had happened?"

“My heart, isn’t it important?”

"The humiliation, pain, criticism, and shame I endured at that time, do you really think you can get over it so easily?"

The two of them got closer as the dance progressed. Herbert whispered in Filia's ear, using the tone of a lover whispering in each other's ears:

"My dear princess...it's hard to get through."

"Even if the wound has healed, the pain will be forever engraved in the depths of my soul. It cannot be healed, and it does not need to be healed."

"I will always remember that pain, that anger, that murderous intent."

"I swear, I will make them pay the price."

Filia frowned slightly as she listened to Herbert's malicious words. She stared at his smiling expression for a long time and shook her head, saying, "Sorry, I still can't understand."

The strange thing is that at this moment, Filia was not being sarcastic, but she really couldn't understand instinctively.

Realizing that her confusion was not fake, Herbert did not dwell on it any more. He was too lazy to explain and said calmly:
"Yes, you really can't understand it, because you have never experienced it. If the whip doesn't hit you, you certainly won't feel any pain."

"You only need to know one thing. I came back this time to take revenge on those people. That's enough."

Yes, that's enough.

Filia looked at him for a long time, and finally whispered when the two of them were close again: "You in the past..."

"People change, Filia."

Herbert interrupted her indifferently, his expression calm, and said softly: "You are like this, and so am I."

"My gentleness is dead. It died in that cold dungeon."

"And you...are no longer the innocent princess you once were."

"By the way, you know I took vows in the monastery to become a paladin, right?"

Filia narrowed her eyes and nodded silently. Of course she knew this.

"Then do you know what vow I made?"

"…the oath of purity."

"Yes, it is the Oath of Purity. This oath grants me the ability to detect unclean things."

He laughed, and whispered in her ear as the two of them got close:
"It keeps reminding me of a fact, you..."

“It needs to be purified…”

"Inhuman things."

　Thanks to my leader who has nothing in his hands! Thanks to the big guy! Add +4!

　　Thanks to Huo Kuang, Chao Aoliha Gangshen, Monkey~28, Mou Zhikai, Lianpeng Baishao Congee, Maybe It Seems Like It, Book Friend 20230708154024892, and Yalai Miu for their rewards
　　
　
(End of this chapter)