Chapter 38
Boris, who was standing next to Yudis, glared at Adrian as if he wanted to kill him.
“Adrian, stop talking nonsense…”
Yudis looked into the air for a moment, then looked down at Boris. She smiled sweetly as she tightly held his hand.
“Don’t worry. Everything will go well.”
Boris smiled faintly.
Of course it would. She had made sure it would.
Yudis then spoke to Adrian, who still had a stiff expression on his face.
“You know boys can be quite mischievous, don’t you? You’re a man too.”
Adrian didn’t agree with her, but he had no choice but to nod.
“Find people who will do anything for money.”
Yudis said in a low voice.
Adrian’s face turned pale.
Yudis looked at him coldly.
“You’re the one who gave Boris the key, Adrian. Don’t forget that.”
“L-Lady Yudis…”
“Bring them to me secretly. I won’t say it again.”
With that, she gave her command and walked away with Boris, leaving Adrian behind.
As the sun started to set, Yudis looked determined.
‘If that’s how you’ll live… it would be better if you were just gone.’
There was only one way to fix this mess.
She had to erase the existence of Izana Rohia.
Either way, she would only be mocked as a bastard child for the rest of her life.
Yudis convinced herself that it was better for the child, too.
‘And this way, I can get rid of Loti Hesward as well.’
Her steps became lighter.
***
After the whirlwind of an encounter with the main character, I was finally able to have a normal conversation with him.
“Izana Rohia. That’s my name.”
“Rohia…”
Winter Orcheus repeated my last name like he was tasting it.
To him, it was probably one of the names that brought him a lot of suffering.
“Why couldn’t I meet you until now? Was it those Rohia rats again? Did they hide you from me?”
His eyes turned cold.
“I’ve heard your name before. But by the time I met people from Rohia, everyone said Izana Rohia was already dead.”
I understood how he felt.
To prove that Yubel was the ‘Materia,’ Rohia spread false prophecies, and Winter had to die for no reason because of them.
“No one ever hid me from you. I just had some bad luck trying to stay alive. So please, don’t hurt them. I have my own plans.”
I quickly added that part, worried Winter might burn Rohia to the ground.
“I won’t touch them.”
Winter whispered while lifting me into his arms.
“I’ve already seen too much of their blood. I’ll do as you wish.”
Then I remembered another fact I had forgotten.
Winter Orcheus had already destroyed Rohia several times before…
“But if you want to see it happen, I’ll do it gladly.”
He smiled faintly.
I looked up at him quietly.
He really didn’t look human. And in some ways, he wasn’t.
After all, regular people can’t turn into magical lizards.
All of that special power… it felt like it was pushing him forward to stand as a shield.
I think I read that somewhere once.
Without thinking, I said what I’d been thinking before.
“Duke, please don’t hurt people carelessly.”
“I understand.”
Even though his shirt was still covered in blood, he nodded like it was nothing.
He acted like he didn’t care at all and simply agreed.
I shook my head.
“Not for them. For you.”
“…”
I wasn’t trying to give him some deep advice. I wasn’t even someone who could do that.
I just hoped he’d remember what he used to repeat to himself back then—to keep himself grounded.
Maybe it feels different when someone else says it?
‘Did he feel like I saw through him?’
To change the subject, I spoke again.
“Anyway, please put me down. Why do you keep carrying me like a bag of flour?”
“…You’re small and thin.”
Winter answered a little late.
“You might just collapse and die while walking.”
“People don’t die that easily.”
“People die very easily.”
Winter smiled softly.
“Much more easily than you think.”
His beautiful smile felt like it carried the smell of blood, and I froze, unable to smile back.
Winter started walking slowly.
“When you die, I have to be there.”
I swallowed nervously and tried to squirm out of his arms.
“There’s no need to protect me like that. I didn’t explain my ability properly, but I think if I die, the event itself disappears and stays as just a possibility in people’s memories. So like you, I can’t die easily… for now.”
He didn’t react.
‘Wait… is he thinking of dying with me so he can keep the memory and go back in time?’
Almost like he read my thoughts, Winter whispered.
“When you die, I’ll be with you. And…”
I’ll be with you when I die, too.
A voice like a dragon’s echoed in my mind.
It felt like something was scanning my body from head to toe at a cellular level.
I clutched my head and grabbed Winter’s shoulder, letting out a small groan.
It was the voice of a dragon.
The strange sensation made me feel like I’d sink into the earth.
As I thought about what he said, I realized Winter’s real reason for sticking so closely to me.
And I laughed bitterly.
“So if you think you’re about to die, you’re going to kill me too, huh?”
That way, I’d go back only ten seconds instead of to the moment I was born.
Winter finally put me down carefully on one of the stairs.
“I don’t die easily, so don’t worry. And also…”
He whispered kindly.
“No one on this continent can cut a head faster and more painlessly than I can.”
His eyes stared at me without a single tremble.
It felt like I was being stabbed through by a giant spear—I couldn’t move.
‘Damn it…’
I had no choice but to admit it—his obsession, which had embraced thousands of deaths before, was now turning toward me.
I closed my eyes and tried to ignore reality, but eventually opened them again and looked at Winter.
“Duke, you should prepare yourself too.”
I gave up quickly.
Even though I was inside a book, I never thought I could escape the main character.
Falling deeper into the story is basically a cliché of all reincarnation stories, right?
It was better to give up from the start.
“No one on this continent can cut a head slower and more painfully than me!”
Tears fell.
Because from now on, I was basically one mistake away from being beheaded.
Honestly, I felt like I could faint from fear.
“You better keep your promise to follow me in death instead of dragging me into yours.”
Even if the original story has changed in many ways…
One truth still remains.
“I’ll definitely kill you. No matter what it takes, I will end your life!”
Winter Orcheus wants eternal rest—an unending peace, like his never-ending life.
He gently touched his lips and looked down at me.
Then he smiled softly.
“It would be an honor.”
Realizing there was no escape, I looked around, trying not to cry.
The duke’s house was so quiet that it felt like no one was there.
And then I understood why.
‘They went up to the capital… Wait, did they leave me here?’
I never imagined I’d be abandoned like this.
I scratched my forehead, feeling awkward.
Wasn’t it bad for them too, to leave me so obviously behind?
Well, whatever. Being alone with Winter Orcheus was a good chance to talk about what we needed to do next.
After thinking for a moment, I said,
“I want to meet Huerion.”
Even if Huerion wasn’t one of the “unrecorded threats,” there were still things I wanted to ask him.
“You want to ask about what happens after his death?”
“Have you asked him before?”
“Yes. And he knew about it.”
What?
My eyes went wide, and Winter continued, taking my hand and leading me somewhere.
“Huerion becoming the evil god ‘Avilisk’—that’s the ‘end’ I saw happen hundreds of times.”
He stopped in front of a door.
Then, placing me behind him, he reached out and touched it.
Boom!
The door exploded with a loud bang.
“Why did you blow up a perfectly fine door?!”
I shouted in surprise.
But it wasn’t Winter who answered.
“Kyaaaa! It finally opened!”
“M-mom…!”
“M-Miss! Miss!”
Three heads popped out through the settling dust.
And among them, I recognized one face.
“Loti?”
It was Loti. But her cheeks were all puffed up…
