chapter 51……………………
“What’s that?”
I widened my eyes and looked toward the window—
‘Ignore it.’
Then I turned my head away from the window.
If I went over to open the window now, I’d be a novice.
A master doesn’t get distracted by noises like that; they just keep doing what they were doing.
In horror movies too—
there’s always that person who opens the window out of curiosity, only to get killed by a monster or a serial killer.
‘If it’s Dad Derek, he’ll just come back in on his own.’
I shouldn’t worry about it. Let’s focus on something else.
I turned my back completely and stretched with a long yawn.
Maybe I’ll sit on the bed and think for a bit.
Maybe I’ve relaxed a little after all the tension.
Or maybe I’m just tired from staying up, excited that Dad and the others will be here soon.
I do feel a little sleepier than before…
‘No, I can’t sleep now.’
I should review the plan one more time before Mom and the Dads get here.
Of course—while sitting on the bed…
“Ughhh.”
I trudged over and flopped onto the bed.
Tap, tap.
Again, an annoying sound came from the window.
I frowned and jumped up.
“What is it this time? Seriously?”
Why does something keep bothering me when I’m already on edge?
“Sigh.”
Checking would be the rookie move.
But since Dad Harzen’s barrier is up, a quick peek shouldn’t hurt, right?
If I don’t check, it’ll just keep bugging me.
Eventually, I got off the bed and went up to the window.
I cracked it open slightly and peeked out.
“…A tree nut?”
I tilted my head, picking up one of the nuts that had fallen on the window frame.
There aren’t any trees like this nearby.
So who—
“Hi.”
“Wah—!”
At the sudden voice, I jumped back and screamed—
only for it to be muffled by the hand of the boy in front of me.
“Today, you really need to be quiet. I mean, I don’t care if I get caught,
but you’d have to do the explaining.”
I brushed his hand away, scowling.
“Perr!”
This kid seriously has a talent for scaring people.
Every time he appears, my heart nearly stops.
Or rather—
“What the heck? You said you wouldn’t be coming for a while!”
He’d left like I wouldn’t see him for a long time,
but here he is again the next day.
Did a bunch of time pass without me noticing or something?
“I did say that.”
“It’s only been a day!”
“Yeah, I know.”
Perr leaned on the window frame, resting his chin on his arm.
“I wasn’t going to come, but it was obvious someone would be getting anxious.”
“Obvious someone would be anxious?”
Wait, does that mean he knows exactly what’s going on right now?
“…You’re not spying on me, are you?”
I stepped back two paces, narrowing my eyes.
Perr frowned slightly and straightened up.
“Spying? I came because I was worried, thank you very much.”
“W-Worried? About what, exactly? How do you even know what’s happening?”
Perr rolled his glowing red eyes to the side—
“That.”
—and pointed at something.
At the tip of his finger was the scroll window.
I gawked between it and Perr.
“You—you—”
I’d suspected before, when he acted all mysterious…
“You can actually see that?”
“Of course.”
He nodded as if wondering why I’d even ask something so obvious.
“That’s why I’ve been saying those things to you all along.”
“Well, yeah, but still…”
I rolled my eyes in thought before asking another question.
“Then, those… ‘bugs’ you mentioned—can they see this too?”
“Ah.”
Perr frowned slightly, then replied casually:
“Probably not.”
“‘Probably not’…?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
What kind of answer is that!?
He’s making me even more nervous!
“Well, as far as I know, only you and I can see it.”
He shrugged.
I sighed deeply.
Please, let it stay that way…
‘If those people can see the scroll, they might be able to use it for clues.’
If they can read it, they could get a rough idea of how things are unfolding.
“Anyway,”
Perr said again, with a teasing tone.
“I bet you’ve got a ton of questions now.”
“Yeah…”
I exhaled heavily and glared at the scroll.
“Do you know what exactly it means when it says I’m ‘incomplete’?”
I mean, the original incomplete activation thing.
“It’s literal.”
He rolled the tree nut between his fingers and answered.
“It means the story can’t flow the way it was supposed to. It’s the result of your actions.”
“Then the part about the characters being ‘reconfigured to fit their personalities’…?”
“That’s obvious too.”
His ruby-like eyes stared at me for a moment, then curved in amusement.
“People are still who they are. So any revised plans would still turn out similarly.”
“Similarly…”
I tilted my head, mulling it over.
What was Berthold’s plan in the original side story?
If I only knew that…
“Don’t you know what that guy’s good at?”
As if reading my mind, Perr asked, still watching me.
What Berthold’s good at?
“Hmm… manipulation?”
“…”
“Brainwashing?”
“…”
“Or maybe… deceit?”
“He sounds like a real shady one.”
He raised a brow.
I nodded vigorously.
Right? He’s too shady!
And only my dad doesn’t see it…
“But this time, Mom hasn’t even done anything wrong.”
Not that Mom would ever do something to be blamed for anyway.
If anything, I’m the one causing trouble right now…
“You never know.”
Perr tapped the window ledge with a finger.
“What exactly is your mother doing right now?”
“Huh? She’s… trying to save Grandma…”
I stopped mid-sentence as realization hit me.
Maybe that’s how Berthold killed Mom in the original.
‘Judging by how the culprit reacted, Mom probably failed to save the Empress in the original story.’
Maybe Berthold sabotaged Mom’s attempt to save her,
then used that failure to rally the nobles of the capital—who already hated Mom—against her.
It sounds absurd, but…
‘The world’s big, and there’s no shortage of crazy people.’
If everyone were rational, this world would be a peaceful place!
“But still, something doesn’t add up.”
As I continued thinking, I hit another snag.
“Even if Mom couldn’t save Grandma, Dad Harzen would never just sit there.”
Maybe the other Dads didn’t know what was happening in the palace,
but Dad Harzen was always by Mom’s side.
No matter how much he trusted Berthold,
there’s no way he’d just stand by while someone tried to kill the woman he loves.
That would disqualify him as a romantic lead!
“Well, maybe…”
Perr, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
“What you’re imagining might just be one of the possible versions of how things unfold.
And the version you thought was just the process might actually be the real reason.”
