Episode 7
The inside of the prison was dark and quiet.
Most of the cells were empty.
Those imprisoned here were vicious criminals too dangerous to be let loose in the world, and such criminals were usually executed summarily.
Therefore, prisoners incarcerated here were those the kingdom, for some reason, could not kill.
‘Twin flame’ Kenneth was a case of survival because he was a 5th Class mage.
wizards were valuable resources across the entire continent, and for a skilled individual of the 5th Class level, they would have tried to coax and utilize him somehow.
By deploying him on dangerous missions or lending him to other nations for a fee, for instance.
Engrossed in such random thoughts as I walked down the corridor, I saw no sign of guards no matter how deep I went.
Was this also on Josephine’s orders?
It was only when I was almost at Kenneth’s cell that I finally encountered footsteps.
A human figure emerged from the depths of the darkened corridor.
He wasn’t holding a candlestick or lantern, so it was only after he passed me that I noticed something strange.
That guy isn’t a guard.
There’s no way someone working in a prison would be wearing a hood.
The man spoke as he passed by me.
“One shouldn’t handle business this way, Baron.”
“What did you say?”
“‘Says the Master,’ I was told to relay.”
The unidentified man walked towards the other end of the hallway; by the time I processed his words, he had already disappeared into the darkness.
A sense of foreboding made me quicken my pace.
Arriving at Kenneth’s cell, what I found was Kenneth’s corpse, blood pouring from a wound on his neck.
“Baron Winslet is not the culprit.”
“I’m tired of hearing that.”
“When you discovered the scene, wasn’t Baron Winslet separated from Kenneth’s corpse by steel bars 32 millimeters in diameter? So how could the Baron have possibly slit Kenneth’s throat?”
“Well, obviously with magic—”
“The place where Twin flame Kenneth was held was a special containment cell. To prevent mage criminals from causing trouble, magic field suppressors are installed in the vicinity. Magic cannot be used near the suppressors.”
“But I’ve heard suppressors are less effective against wizards of the 6th Class and above. And Baron Winslet is a 7th Class wizard, is he not!”
“If you knew that, you should have prevented the Baron from entering the prison. Ultimately, isn’t Twin flame Kenneth’s death your responsibility?”
“What? That’s absurd!”
“If you persist further, I will report today’s negligence to the Royal Family.”
“Are you threatening me? Do you think the Inspectorate are fools? Do you think Baron Winslet will emerge unscathed if this case goes up the chain?”
“He will be fine.”
“What?”
“Whose side do you think the Royal Family will take? A prison warden who can be replaced at any time? Or one of only two 7th Class wizards in the nation? Sir Wendrick, the Court wizards, is aging. Who do you suppose the next Court wizard position will go to?”
“You… you cunning bastard!”
“I trust you will handle this appropriately.”
SLAM!
The warden of the Dintalby Prison, who had come to the interrogation room to dispute responsibility for this incident, finally stormed out, his face red.
The intelligence agent who had rushed to defend me upon hearing of my arrest whistled a short tune of victory, then offered me his hand.
“Donatel. We meet again.”
“Am I free to go now?”
“Yes, yes, of course. The warden won’t be able to hold you accountable. Frankly, the decision has already been made higher up.”
“But the truth remains uncovered. I truly did not kill Kenneth.”
“Haha, even if you were the culprit, if no one can hold you accountable, isn’t that the same as being innocent? Don’t trouble yourself too much over the death of one criminal.”
He didn’t even pretend to believe me when I said I really didn’t kill him.
Ignoring the handshake request from this man with dangerous ideas, I left the interrogation room.
Outside, Josephine was waiting for me.
“Ah, Winter!”
“Did you wait long?”
“I was just released myself.”
Now that I thought about it, since Josephine was the one who opened the prison for me, she must have also been suspected as an accomplice in Kenneth’s murder.
“I’m so sorry. Because I hesitated and gave permission, you got caught up in this unlucky incident…”
Even in this situation, Josephine was apologizing.
I found the situation somewhat amusing.
Because in Candela of Judgment, Josephine was a character who shuddered at the mere mention of her fiancé’s name.
She was the type who would rather harm herself than apologize to Winter Winslet due to wounded pride.
The relationship between me and Josephine now was incomparably more amicable than in the original game.
Perhaps the rift between the two in the original started from a very small misunderstanding.
If I could mend the cracked trust from now on, maybe the relationship between me and Josephine wouldn’t head for disaster?
…I couldn’t be sure.
Because there was still one mountain to cross between me and Josephine.
[Alert]
[This character’s Death Flag has been activated.]
“Josephine.”
“Yes?”
“Do you truly believe I didn’t commit murder? You could think I used you to get revenge on Kenneth, who attacked me last night.”
“Well… I don’t believe that.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
Josephine thought for a moment but, seemingly unable to find a conclusion, shook her head.
“I don’t really know either. Maybe I just want to believe. But does belief always need a reason? I want to believe in you, so I believe in you.”
“Since you believe in me, I will believe in you too.”
“That’s… a nice thing to say. But why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
To Josephine, who seemed slightly embarrassed, I held out a piece of paper I had brought from the interrogation room.
“What’s this?”
“A magazine I read out of boredom in the interrogation room. I had nothing to do while detained, so I picked it up, and it happened to have a story about you, so I tore out the page.”
“A story about me?”
< Top Gossip Magazine Rose Blanc Issue 132 – Love and War Special In-Depth Investigation! >
The man who appeared in front of the house of Miss J, fiancée of the celebrity Mr. W, at 2 AM, causing a disturbance.
Stalker, or secret lover?
Flutter.
The paper fell from Josephine’s hand.
I asked her, her face having turned pale.
“Is what’s written there true?”
According to the feature article, at 2 AM, a young man went to Josephine’s house and knocked on the door. He called Josephine’s name so loudly that it woke the neighbors.
Josephine’s father, Marcel, who was woken up, tried to chase the youth away, but Josephine stopped him. Soon after, Josephine was said to have disappeared somewhere with the young man.
The gossip magazine was raising the suspicion: wasn’t the woman who had even resorted to violence over her fiancé’s infidelity actually cheating herself?
Josephine spoke in a trembling voice.
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“You mean the magazine article is fabricated?”
“It’s not that they made it up entirely… I mean—!”
Josephine, unable to continue, just moved her lips soundlessly. I asked her patiently.
“Can you explain what happened?”
“No.”
“Then can you tell me who the man who came for you was?”
“…No.”
Finally, Josephine hung her head.
She must have felt it was shameless even to herself.
But I knew, contrary to what others thought, that no such unsavory event had occurred last night.
Having confirmed this morning that the present moment was the very beginning of the original game’s timeline, I could guess what had happened to Josephine yesterday.
After slapping me and returning home last night, Josephine must have encountered a country boy on the verge of collapsing from hunger in front of her house.
His name was Pierre Chauvin.
The protagonist of Candela of Judgment, a budding knight who came to the capital with nothing but a letter of recommendation, driven by his dream of becoming a knight.
I also knew the reason why that boy had sought out Josephine.
Josephine de Azetta.
My fiancée was the person named in the letter of recommendation—the Captain of the Candela Knight Order.
Candela of Judgment is a story centered around the Candela Knight Order and its protagonist.
The Candela Knight Order is a secret special forces unit of the Royal Family.
Its members’ identities are, of course, also secret.
Although Josephine served in the Royal Guard, this was a cover identity; her true role was Captain of the Candela Knight Order.
But to uphold her oath of secrecy, Josephine could not reveal to her fiancé the events of last night—that a country boy had come to her with a letter of recommendation from the former Knight Captain.
However, Josephine likely didn’t know.
She didn’t know that Winter Winslet was already aware of her secret, and that the reason he had pushed for the engagement was to exploit her double identity.
To a villain dabbling in all sorts of crimes in the shadows, a royal-sanctioned armed force and the kingdom’s secrets they possessed must have seemed like sweet, tempting fruit.
But there was something Winter Winslet didn’t know either.
The fact that the very Josephine and the Candela Knight Order he thought he could manipulate would one day be the ones to stab him.
The death flag Josephine held over me would only disappear if I someday ceased to be an enemy of the kingdom.
“Winter.”
“Speak.”
As I maintained a calm demeanor, Josephine looked at me with a guilt-ridden expression, yet with a hint of hope in her eyes, and asked.
“You’re not angry with me?”
“I have no intention of being so.”
“But if I were in your position, hearing such a rumor—”
“I would have gone and slapped you?”
“Guh. I’m still reflecting on what I did yesterday.”
“I’m joking. Didn’t I tell you earlier? Since you believe in me, I will believe in you.”
“But…”
It was clear she would be dejected all day if this continued, so I made Josephine believe my words using the same method as last night.
A soft kiss, and then eye contact.
“Look into my eyes.”
“Huh?”
“Do these look like the eyes of someone who lies?”
Raising the heroine’s affection was a struggle for survival, a fundamental skill for a Candela of Judgment veteran.
It’s not like I’m doing this with ulterior motives.
“Um…”
Turning my head at the voice from beside us, the prison guard who had been watching us spoke awkwardly.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d save the affection for outside the premises.”
“Ah.”
Josephine’s face turned red.
After a short date with Josephine and returning home, I organized my plan of action as Winter Winslet.
In the original, Winter Winslet became a target of the Candela Knight Order because he committed various illegal acts and, crucially, became involved with rebel forces.
Therefore, I just needed to reverse this.
Namely, don’t commit crimes, don’t create grudges, and live as ‘peacefully and uneventfully’ as possible.
How simple is that?
Arriving home, just like yesterday, the front door opened before I could even touch it.
Dahlia greeted me.
“Welcome home!”
Does this kid just stand in front of the door all day when I’m gone?
I handed Dahlia the pastry shop box I was holding.
“Oh, dessert! Are we expecting guests today?”
“No, it’s for you.”
Judging by his personality, the usual Winter Winslet wouldn’t have cared for this child, so I brought it back after visiting a café with Josephine.
Of course, this was also part of raising affection.
[Alert]
[This character’s Death Flag has been activated.]
Since this maid was also one of the people who could eventually cause my death, it couldn’t hurt to be prepared.
As children liking sweets is a universal truth, Dahlia jumped for joy upon receiving the cake.
“Ah, that’s right! A parcel arrived for you, Master.”
“A parcel?”
Dahlia nodded, ran off somewhere, and soon returned with a small box.
It was an elegant box, black with gold foil patterns, about the size for holding a ring or necklace.
“They said to deliver it as soon as possible. Must be urgent, right?”
I nodded and took the box, opening it.
And immediately closed the lid.
I needed a moment to breathe deeply.
…Damn.
What did I just see?
Click.
Opening the box again, the object was still inside.
It wasn’t a hallucination.
Inside the box was… a little finger.
A severed little finger, belonging to who knows whom.
So much for a peaceful and uneventful life.
![I Told My Fiancee [You Will Cheat on Me and Abandon Me] So Let’s Break Up](https://i3.wp.com/novelishuniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/71UA7JznAQL._SL1200_.jpg?resize=151,215 "I Told My Fiancee [You Will Cheat on Me and Abandon Me] So Let’s Break Up")
