Chapter 27
I wiped my tears roughly with my sleeve. I shouldn’t have played the piano.
I went back up to my room.
Let’s find a way to survive, somehow. They say even if the sky collapses, there’s still a way out.
To do that, I needed to completely remember the original story now. This was going to be a long battle.
―That being said, recalling the original plot was completely useless to me at this point.
I clutched my pen and tugged at my hair in frustration.
The original story only began once the heroine appeared—but since Ronan was alive and well, the original plot could never progress as it was meant to!
At best, in the original story—
The heroine would investigate Kid and get caught, interfere and get caught again, almost get kicked out of the knights.
Then, during a stormy night, she and Kid would have a standoff on a bridge, which would collapse, causing them to fall.
After that, they’d save each other, slowly build feelings, Kid would ultimately declare he wouldn’t kill the “mastermind,” Joel—the original designer of the experiment he wanted revenge on—and in the end, the heroine, Kid, and Seniel would all live happily together.
The only useful information in all that was that the bridge collapses on a stormy summer night.
If I at least knew something about the mastermind, my chances of surviving Kid might increase. After all, Kid’s ultimate goal was to find Joel, the planner of the experiment.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know much about Joel at all.
Right before Kid found him, Joel was let go instead of being captured—his so‑called “repentance” arc.
So the only information I knew about Joel was that I didn’t know where he lived, that he was very intelligent, somewhere between his thirties and fifties, had been a priest, and had reddish eyes with brown hair.
‘But Kid already knows all of that.’
If I added anything, it was just that Joel had a strange religious obsession.
While others participated in the experiment out of greed for power, Joel’s reasons were completely different.
He wanted to welcome a god into a human body. He wanted to witness a great deity with his own eyes. And he believed that was a righteous thing.
That was why Joel, the mastermind, referred to Seniel as “the Lord” during the experiment, believing that a god would descend into his body. He would sometimes appear in the laboratory, treating Seniel with reverence and awe—as if a god were already inside him.
But knowing that was meaningless. It didn’t help find Joel, and it was even more useless as bargaining material with Kid.
Besides, pretending to know too much would only make Kid suspicious about how I knew any of it. Acting rashly was out of the question.
‘Can I even survive at all?’
No matter what I did, it felt like death awaited me either way. I even started wondering if I was originally meant to die and was just stubbornly clinging to life without realizing it.
‘What am I even supposed to do first?’
They said the sea route would open in about a month, but it could take even longer. To last that long, I needed something—anything—to keep me alive. But no matter how much I thought about the original plot, there was nothing I could use.
Kid had said he’d spare me if I proved useful. But I couldn’t trust his words alone.
‘It’s unlikely, but if Seniel actually fell for me… that would be the day of my funeral.’
Kid was the type who wanted to torment Seniel at all costs. If I became someone precious to Seniel, Kid would definitely kill me on the spot.
I needed some kind of safety net.
And an even bigger problem was that even if I somehow survived a few months, I had no way to divert Kid’s attention when it came time to escape.
‘Ronan isn’t even the real heroine, so giving her evidence makes me uneasy.’
I didn’t know if Ronan was as capable as Ezet. She was driven and passionate about catching Kid—but I wasn’t sure Ronan would go that far.
‘If only Ronan really were the heroine, I’d at least have a chance.’
No—if that were true, would the sea route have even been blocked? Frustrated, I ruffled my hair.
‘When I thought Ronan was the heroine, I figured I could just hand over evidence and run, and the power of the original story would take care of the rest!’
I believed the plot would somehow fix everything and make them fall in love without me.
But everything had completely fallen apart.
Ronan had been forced to volunteer as a monster sacrifice because she had no money—and because I gave her money without asking questions, everything ended up like this.
‘If I hadn’t given her money, would Ronan have died? If I had at least asked why she needed it, could I have picked any random ship and escaped?’
I would’ve been caught immediately, of course. Still… if I had hidden properly, would there have been a chance?
I let out a long sigh. I decided to stop regretting and blaming myself. There was no way to undo any of it now.
Ronan didn’t have the same burning determination as Ezet, so she might act half‑heartedly. That might only end up provoking Kid even more.
‘If he gets angry, he’ll probably overturn the whole smuggling plan and chase after me.’
A chase with Kid… Just imagining waking up one day in an inn in a foreign country and finding him staring at me made my hair stand on end.
‘…But if I give evidence, maybe Ronan and Seniel could f‑fall in love?’
They were siblings, so maybe they had similar tastes… If that happened, it would be perfect. No—more accurately, all four of us would be happy. Seniel, Kid, Ronan, and me. A good ending for everyone.
Should I ask Ronan about her preferences first?
I seriously considered it before banging my forehead on the desk.
“What nonsense am I thinking…”
It would be better to meet the real heroine in person. Still, giving Ronan small bits of indirect evidence for now might be useful for building up my escape plan.
“First, I’ll give her small clues and observe her reactions. I’ll figure out the rest later.”
If all else failed, I could just plant a bomb in the mansion and run while Kid was busy dealing with the wreckage.
To tell Ronan I wanted to meet tomorrow, I asked a maid for letter paper. I wrote a simple, polite message—“Let’s meet tomorrow”—and sent it off.
After sending the letter, I was suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety about how to survive today.
I didn’t know why Kid had shown me mercy last night, but I was certain he’d be sharpening his knives for me tonight. Just thinking about it made me tremble.
‘He didn’t seem to like the shock device, so I’ll put that aside. But I should wear protective gear just in case.’
If I could just get through today, maybe I could survive another month.
Kid’s condition was for me to seduce Seniel, and for him to kill me once Seniel fell for me. If I played along carefully, maybe he’d keep me alive for now.
‘When Kid comes tonight, I’ll beg for forgiveness and prove my usefulness again. Then somehow escape a month later.’
It was an unsettling plan with no concrete method, but it was all I had. Chewing on the end of my pen, I made up my mind.
‘I should go out with Seniel for dinner tonight.’
Yesterday I’d been too sick to achieve anything, but in just one day I’d made good progress. I needed to show Kid how capable I was.
It would be fine to stay out until the servants finished work. I wasn’t planning a long outing anyway—just somewhere nearby.
I set the pen down on the desk.
‘Before that… I should go meet the heroine.’
I needed to meet the real heroine and decide what to do next. Since I knew where she lived, there was no reason to hesitate.
On the way to Ezet’s village was a large river. To enter the village, you had to cross a big bridge over it.
As the carriage crossed the bridge, I opened the window. Leaning out, I saw the beautifully constructed bridge and the wide river beneath.
‘So this is the bridge that collapses in the storm.’
It was hard to believe such a sturdy-looking bridge would break. People and carriages were constantly passing over it.
Did they know? That one day this bridge would collapse and cause countless casualties?
I closed the window. When the storm came, I planned to avoid this bridge at all costs. I didn’t want to die drowning in a river of unknown depth.
The carriage stopped near Ezet’s house. I stepped out and looked around.
The house was old, with peeling paint and a roof that looked ready to cave in.
Hearing someone rush inside, I froze. Instinctively, I hid behind the building and peeked out.
A woman with long, shimmering silver hair down to her waist, skin so clear her veins were almost visible, and bright sky‑blue eyes like a winter sky stood there glowing simply by existing.
‘…Ezet.’
She looked around my age. She hurriedly threw open the door.
“Mom! I brought the doctor!”
Behind her followed a doctor with an impressive mustache—someone I hadn’t even noticed at first because Ezet’s presence was so overwhelming.
With a desperate expression, Ezet ushered him inside. She was in such a hurry she didn’t even close the door properly.
I crept closer like a cat and overheard voices through the open doorway.
“Mom, just hold on a little longer, okay? Doctor, what’s wrong with her?”
Her voice trembled with desperation. I bit my lip without realizing it.
“We changed the medicine, but it doesn’t seem to suit her. Even if she gets through today, there’s no guarantee for tomorrow. I’m afraid you should prepare yourself…”
“No!”
Ezet cried out.
I’d heard her mother wasn’t a very good parent, yet Ezet still couldn’t let her go.
“…”
In the original story, even after changing medicine with the money Ezet and Ronan earned, her mother died within a month.
It was probably just a device the author used to isolate Ezet completely and turn her into a vengeful heroine.
Even knowing it was just a plot device, I couldn’t bring myself to act carelessly.
‘If I asked for help, Ezet would definitely help me.’
In the original story, she missed her mother’s deathbed while chasing money and revenge for her brother.
But now, she’d been given a chance to stay by her mother’s side.
I remembered how bitter it felt to lose my own parents suddenly in an accident without even being able to say goodbye.
“Eze…”
My voice faded.
After standing there listening to the sound of weeping for a long time, I finally turned and left.
Because I knew too well what it felt like to lose a parent without being able to stay by their side… I just couldn’t bring myself to interfere.
