CH 27

I roughly wiped the tears with my sleeve, thinking I shouldn’t have played the piano.

Then I went up to my room again.

I’m going to find a way to live somehow. Even if the sky collapses, there must be a gap for me to rise.

To do so, it was now necessary for me to remember the original story completely since it would be a long-term battle.

***

—That was what I’d said. But it turned out the original story was useless to me now.

I tore my hair with a pen still in my hand.

The original story began with the appearance of the female lead, but since Ronan was still alive, the original story would never start!

In the original—

The female lead was caught while investigating Kid and was on the verge of being fired from her paladin position.

On a day when a typhoon blew, the leads fought on the bridge, and they both fell as the bridge collapsed.

As they saved each other, they, well, started building feelings. Kid finally declared that he would not kill the culprit, the first designer of the experiment that he wanted to kill. And in the end, the female lead, Kid, and Seniel lived well together.

The only useful information was that a bridge would break on a summer night during a typhoon.

If I had at least some information regarding the culprit, perhaps my chances of surviving Kid would increase because Kid’s ultimate goal was to find ‘Joel’, the planner of this experiment.

But unfortunately, I didn’t know any information about Joel because right before Kid found Joel, he repented by letting this Joel go.

So all I knew about Joel was that he was intelligent, a priest with scarlet eyes and brown hair, somewhere between his thirties and fifties. I had no information regarding his whereabouts.

‘But this is information that even Kid knows.’

If I had to add a little more information, it was that he had a strange religious belief.

If other people started the experiment because they were greedy for raw power, Joel had a different reason for planning it.

He wanted to welcome God in a human body. He longed to see the great god face to face. He believed that it was the right thing to do.

So Joel, the culprit, called Seniel ‘The One’ at the time of the experiment and believed that God would dwell in his body. Occasionally, he would appear in the laboratory and treat Seniel respectfully as if God existed in his body.

But this information was just some trivial facts. It was useless for finding Joel, much less useful for trading information with Kid.

I couldn’t act rashly because I could be suspected of pretending, or he could be suspicious of where I got that information.

‘Can I live?’

Seeing this situation where death awaited me at every turn, I thought I was destined to die in the first place.

‘What the hell should I do first?’

They said it would take a month for the ship to sail, but it could have taken longer than that. To escape that way, I had to possess enough luck to live until then somehow. That was why I thought of the original story, but there was nothing I could use.

Kid said he would spare me because I was useful. But I couldn’t believe his words.

‘It’s nearly impossible, but if Seniel really falls for me, that day will be my memorial day.’

Kid was someone who wanted to torment Seniel in some way, so if I became someone precious to Seniel, he would try to kill me on the same day.

There had to be a safety rope somehow.

The bigger problem was that even if I lasted for a few months, I could not divert Kid’s attention when I ran away.

‘Ronan isn’t the real heroine, so the thought of giving him the evidence makes me uncomfortable.’

I didn’t know if Ronan was as strong as Ezette. Ezette pushed hard to get Kid, but I was doubtful Ronan would do the same.

‘If Ronan were the female lead, he’d win.’

No, if that were the case, the ship wouldn’t have been blocked in the first place. I tousled my hair in frustration.

‘When I still thought that Ronan was the real heroine, I thought that after giving him the evidence and escaping, the power of the original story would unfold on its own!’

So I believed they would’ve fallen in love with the power of the story, but now it was completely ruined.

Ronan had no money, so he volunteered to become the monster’s sacrifice. But this happened because I gave him money without asking or arguing.

‘If I hadn’t given the money, would Ronan have died? And if I asked why he needed the money, could I have picked any ship and left right away?’

If it had been, I would have been caught right away. Still, could it have been possible to sneak out?

I let out a deep sigh and stopped feeling regret and self-blame since I couldn’t return time.

Ronan wasn’t as enthusiastic as Ezette. He seemed vague. If I counted on him, wouldn’t it just make Kid angry?

‘Once he gets angry, I think he’ll overturn everything he’d said and come after me.’

Chased by Kid? Just imagining meeting his eyes upon waking up one day at an inn in a strange country caused my hair to stand up.

‘… Will Ronan and Seniel fall in love if I give him evidence?’

Since they were siblings, maybe they had similar tastes… It’d be good if they fell in love. To be exact, it’d make four of us: Seniel, Kid, Ronan, and I have a happy ending.

Should I ask about Ronan’s taste first? I pondered seriously, then banged my forehead on the desk.

“What nonsense…”

It would be better to meet the female lead in person. I could keep giving Ronan indirect evidence to build up his curiosity about my escape, just in case.

“I’ll give him small evidence, look at his reaction, and think about the other stuff later.”

If that didn’t work, I’d just plant a bomb in the mansion and leave. I could go when Kid was busy cleaning up the ashes of the mansion.

I had my lady-in-waiting send a letter to tell Ronan that I wanted to meet him tomorrow. I wrote the words ‘see you tomorrow’ in a plausible manner and gave the letter to my maid.

After sending the letter, I was at a loss as to how to survive today.

I didn’t know why Kid had shown me such mercy the night before, but I was sure he’d try to kill me tonight. I shuddered at the thought.

‘It doesn’t seem like the shocker would work, so I’ll just put them somewhere else and wear protective gear just in case.’

Maybe I’ll last another month if I go past today.

Kid’s condition was for me to seduce Seniel and kill him after he fell for me. If I met that condition properly, I might survive this month.

‘If Kid comes tonight, I’ll beg him that I was wrong and prove my usefulness again. Then, after a month, I’ll bounce out somehow.’

I felt uncomfortable because there was no specific way, but now I had no other way than this. I made up my mind while chewing on the tip of the pen.

‘I should go out with Seniel tonight.’

I didn’t do much yesterday because I was sick, so I should do well today. I had to let him know that I was this competent.

It should be okay for us to stay outside until the time the attendants leave work. Seniel should agree since I didn’t plan to stay out for long.

I put down the pen on the desk.

‘Before that, let’s go see the female lead.’

I needed to meet the real heroine and decide what to do with her. I knew where she lived, so I didn’t need to hesitate.

***

On the way to Ezette’s village, there was a large river. So one must pass a large bridge to enter the village.

As the carriage crossed the bridge, I opened the window. I could see a beautifully built bridge and a large river when I put my face close to the window. 

‘This place will collapse during a typhoon.’

I couldn’t believe a bridge that looked so strong would be broken. There were a lot of people and carriages coming and going. Did these people know that this bridge would break and cause a lot of casualties?

I closed the window, thinking I’d never cross this bridge during a storm because I didn’t want to drown in this river of unknown depth.

***

The carriage stopped near Ezzete’s house. I got off and looked around Ezette’s house. Old walls with peeling paint and a roof that looks like it would collapse at any moment.

I stopped at the sight of someone running into the house. Without realizing it, I hid behind a building and observed closely.

With silver hair down to her waist, skin so clear that almost all her veins were visible, and bright sky-blue eyes that seemed to embrace the cold winter sky, the woman was shining just by standing still.

‘… It’s Ezzete.’

Ezette, who looked about the same age as me, hurriedly opened the door.

“Mom! I brought the doctor over!”

Behind Ezette, a man with a striking mustache followed. He was someone I hadn’t noticed because Ezette’s presence obscured him.

Ezette brought the doctor into the house with a desperate look. She was in such a hurry that she hadn’t even closed the door properly.

As I approached Ezette’s house sneakily, I heard a conversation through the open door.

“Mom, hang in there a little longer, okay? Doctor, what’s wrong with my mother?”

The voice sounded hurt. I felt the urgency so much that I bit my lip unconsciously.

“I changed the medication, but it doesn’t seem to work. Even if we overcome the crisis today, there’s no guarantee we will overcome it in the future. I think it’s better to prepare your mind…”

“No!”

I heard Ezette crying from inside.

Even though she’d been told that her mother wasn’t a good mother to her children, Ezette still couldn’t let go.

“…”

Ezette’s mother would die within a month, even after changing her medication with the money Ezette and Ronan saved.

Perhaps that was just the author’s method to isolate Ezette and turn her into an avenger completely. Even though I knew it was a simple setup situation, I couldn’t move hastily.

‘Ezette will faithfully help me if I ask for help.’

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In the original story, she missed her mother’s passing because she sought money and avenged her brother. But now that she didn’t have to, she’d been given a new chance to be by her mother’s side.

My mouth felt bitter as I recalled the time when I had to bury both of my parents due to a sudden car accident without being able to say goodbye to them.

“Eze-” My voice crawled, but I left soon after hearing nothing but a wail. I couldn’t disturb her because I knew better what it was like to be left by someone without watching their passing.