Chapter 12

Countless stars twinkled as if they were pouring down over the shadowy night sky.

Considering I was running away at night, I was leisurely leaning against the window of the carriage and gazed up at the sky blankly, looking at the sight of the beautiful night sky.

At dawn, when everyone was asleep, the rattle of the carriage running on a bumpy dirt road echoed the serene world.

“Is the Young Lady really not going to tell me?”

Lily, who even threatened my sudden night escape to follow me, asked anxiously as she saw the front gate of the capital city in the distance.

When I pretended to not hear her question and kept my mouth shut, Lily raised her voice again like earlier.

“I saw the letter that the Young Lady left for the Count a while ago.”

“….”

“It’s frankly absurd to say that you want to go on a trip all of a sudden and leave a letter telling them not to look for the Young Lady, without telling them where you’re going or when you’ll be returning.”

“…Isn’t it illegal to look at the letters?”

“I didn’t even want to do that either.”

“….”

“But, you acted really strangely—like someone who’s going to die if they don’t leave right away.”

If you look at it closely, Lily has a very good sense.

Eventually, I turned my head towards her as she stared at me with a sad face. Perhaps, she was disappointed to leave without a word. I let out a shallow sigh as I looked at her, who was now having tears welling in her eyes.

“To be honest, it’s because my thoughts and circumstances have changed.”

“The situation?”

“I thought that if I were an extra, I wouldn’t get into the eyes of the main characters no matter what I did. The story was already set, and I’m the person outside that story.”

“….”

“However, things have changed and I realized that my actions could affect the actions of the protagonists, so I’m running away now. The night escape is also the reason.”

Lily’s face frowned as if it was difficult for her to understand what I was saying.

Seeing that, I glanced at her and opened my mouth again.

“And, one more thing.”

“….?”

“Don’t be upset that I won’t tell you everything.”

“Young Lady.”

“It’s not unheard of that people get hurt if they know too much. Why would the kidnappers want to kill a hostage when they see their face?”

“….”

“Sometimes, not knowing is medicine—whether it’s your life or someone else’s life.”

Yes, as an extra, perhaps I did not want to get involved with the protagonists, perhaps because I know the content of the novel that I cannot enjoy this situation…?

I was just an extra young girl, and Cain was the male protagonist of this novel. The interest and curiosity he puts on me were probably more of a fear than a good thing.

As she listened to me calmly, Lily frowned as if she could not understand.

“I don’t know what the Young Lady is talking about.”

“It was the best I could do to father and mother to tell them not to look for them without telling them where I was going, when I was returning, or anything.”

“….”

“…It was the best way to protect the two of them.”

Of course, at the end of the letter, it was always written to beware of the Marquis Black.

If the Marquise, who was like a viper, could entice my father, the work I was doing now would be of no use. Regardless, the thing that worried me the most right now was that I, who should have already died according to the original story, did not die, so it seems like I am constantly getting involved and gravitating towards the main character, Cain.

The fact that extras are entangled with the main characters is usually a shortcut to death.

Maybe, it was the unknown and intangible power in the novel that was weaving Cain with me.

Of course, it was true that I wrote a romance novel with Cain as a model, and it was also right that I wrote the expression, ‘The madman Grand Duke.’ Nonetheless, would it be possible to kill someone just because they had written a novel with him as a model…?

Even though I thought so, I smiled bitterly when I realized that the life of an extra was nothing like a lamp in front of the wind.

For the awakening of the main characters, for the transition of the episode, for the impactful ending—the death of the extra was nothing more than the simplest device in the novel that the author could use. Because of that, the thing I was most afraid of right now was my life, not knowing when I would die at the beginning of the novel.

Lilly, who was watching me biting my nails into the unknown future, cautiously opened her mouth.

“Then, I’ll be honest, too.”

“….?”

“Actually, I’m not that smart, so I probably won’t understand everything the Young Lady’s saying.”

“….”

“I only know one thing…”

At the sound of her carefully spoken voice, I stared at her quietly.

Lily, who followed me with only one simple bag, smiled brightly and continued her words.

“The Young Lady said that the heroine of this world was not the Young Lady… For me, you’ve always been the main character.”

“….”

“So, even though I don’t know why you’re doing this, don’t be too scared. No matter what happens, I’ll protect the Young Lady.”

“…That’s what I’m saying, I’m not the main character.”

The warm words I had never experienced in my previous life were unfamiliar to me, and I gave a blunt answer. The next moment, I turned my head to hide the awkwardness and shame, though my ears blazed and radiated heat.

I eventually opened my mouth again, covering my ears that were burning a fever.

“…Ah, anyway. After going through the west gate, let’s take a break for a little.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Lily’s answer, which came back bravely, kept leaking smiles from my mouth.

Even though my peaceful life was broken in just a few hours, I thought it was not too bad.