TCVOWM 39

Chapter 39

It wasn’t hard to predict that Ethan’s reaction would be intense.

After all, this was the story of the original female lead.

Ethan—usually cold and emotionless—was the one person who had always been honest with his feelings and had truly loved her.

That meant that this story touched one of the few weak points Ethan had.

From past experience, I knew all too well that recklessly touching one of Ethan’s vulnerabilities was extremely dangerous.

“I don’t know what nonsense you might have heard outside, but don’t look at me like that.”

“Even if you don’t, I feel so horrible and ugly that it drives me crazy.”

The last time, even a look whose meaning wasn’t clear had been enough to trigger Ethan’s fierce anger.

Back then, there had been no direct mention, so things had passed naturally… but now, I had deliberately brought up Ethan’s weak spot.

I wasn’t sure why I had asked him about Rose, knowing how dangerous it was… I guess I just didn’t know.

I was simply curious.

I wondered how the original characters had survived in the ruined original story.

How they had endured the aftermath.

Most of all… I wanted to know how Ethan, who had been fated to kill me in the original story, had lived in that collapsed world.

“…Was he very sad?”

I couldn’t predict Ethan’s reaction carelessly.

When I had learned of Rose’s death, my own heart had felt heavy.

But that was only because I was sad that the story I had so firmly believed in had collapsed—not because I had truly accepted Rose Licetta’s death.

Ethan, however, would feel differently.

In the original story, he had harbored feelings for her for a long time, and later even confronted the male lead, Crown Prince Julius, directly.

Ethan had been truly sincere toward Rose Licetta.

Thinking about it like that, I realized that asking Ethan about her was a heavier, deeper question than I had initially thought.

“…Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?”

I wondered if, out of curiosity again, I had touched Ethan’s painful spot and made him sad today.

No—if it ended merely with emotional tension, that would have been fortunate.

If Ethan, pressed on his weak spot, truly became enraged, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.

Regretting my careless question, I waited with a slightly trembling heart for Ethan’s answer.

But contrary to my worry, Ethan simply stared at me sharply, his expression cold and composed.

The chill in his gaze swept over me in a way that felt oddly familiar.

‘Feels like when I first met Claude.’

Ethan seemed to be trying to figure out what I might be hiding.

But perhaps it wasn’t going as he wanted; he furrowed his brows slightly, looking somewhat uneasy.

Unfortunately, there was nothing suspicious in my simple curiosity for him to detect.

Unable to extract any answers from me, Ethan let out a low sigh and stood up.

Even just the act of standing up from a seated position felt threatening, and I tensed slightly, pretending not to.

Whether he noticed or not, Ethan approached me slowly, step by deliberate step.

“Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re thoughtless or if you’re meticulous enough to even fake a naive act.”

“…What?”

Ethan, seeming a bit frustrated, roughly swept his hair back with one hand.

Then, with a slight furrow of his brows, he looked at me directly with sharp, piercing eyes.

“You show no interest in the things others try so hard to pry from me…”

“….”

“…Yet you casually poke at something I never expected anyone to touch.”

Ethan murmured this almost as if to himself, but his gaze was unmistakably fixed on me.

It was as if he intended to draw the life out of me, maintaining a subtle distance even as he approached slowly.

I was frozen under Ethan’s sharp gaze.

Without hesitation, he continued speaking.

“Answer me, Eunice.”

“….”

“How do you know about her?”

His voice, which had been calm and light moments ago, sharpened.

‘…Ah, this is bad.’

I quickly covered my mouth with my hand in realization.

It wasn’t the later problem of touching Ethan’s wrath.

Right now, I had mentioned Rose Licetta—who had nothing to do with me—while distracted by the original story.

From Ethan’s perspective, my actions might have seemed suspicious.

“Answer me, Eunice. I’m asking how you know Rose.”

“….”

“I’m asking nicely, restraining my temper, and you still won’t answer?”

“Th-That’s…”

It was a problem that I had realized this fact too late.

I didn’t know what to answer Ethan, and instinctively tried to pull back.

But in front of Ethan, even that slight resistance was useless.

“Eunice Servita.”

“…Y-Yes?”

“I’ll ask again. This time, you’d better answer properly.”

Ethan’s fierce gaze seemed to tighten around me as if he had no intention of letting me go.

“How do you know Rose, that girl?”

“….”

“If she was someone close to her, I wouldn’t have missed it. This only makes it more suspicious.”

Though his voice was threatening as usual, it carried a slightly different tone.

It almost sounded like he was reproaching me.

Yet, at the same time, there seemed to be more complex emotions underneath.

I didn’t know why, but I could read a faint emotion in his voice.

‘He said “that girl.”’

Even the change in how Ethan referred to her—the usually indifferent Ethan—felt different.

His expression when he thought of Rose, the tone in which he said her name—all of it revealed his feelings toward her.

And so… it hurt more.

Julius, and Ethan too… they had both lost someone they loved.

I couldn’t even think of what to answer Ethan, and simply stared at him.

I didn’t know how my gaze landed on him.

Perhaps it was irritating to him once again.

Yet I couldn’t bring myself to look away.

Only when Ethan’s gaze sharpened further did I remember that I had to respond.

“The Licetta family is primarily a magical household, so I just happened to hear news from the Mage Tower occasionally.”

“….”

“And when I ran into you at the entrance of the Mage Tower before, I had just happened to hear news of Rose.”

I answered as naturally as possible, then closed my mouth and waited for Ethan’s reaction.

But Ethan offered no reply.

I glanced at him anxiously, unsure if I had said something wrong, but he remained silent, unaware of my unease.

At that moment, I hadn’t realized anything.

I had casually started the conversation, assuming the deep connection between Rose and Ethan.

And… Ethan, having realized that, had deliberately questioned me.

Right now, I only thought that I should empathize with Ethan’s heart, which had lost Rose.

I slightly raised my head, and Ethan had stopped approaching, simply watching me.

Though the space was reasonably wide, we were crowded together in a corner.

The weight of his gaze made me uncomfortable, so I lowered my eyes and murmured:

“…Did you stay by her side?”

“What?”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Ethan’s cold gaze fell upon me.

Still, I forced myself not to meet his eyes and continued speaking.

“I mean… Rose was important to you, after all.”

As I spoke, I unconsciously clutched the necklace around my neck.

A habit that surfaced whenever my heart felt uneasy.

“Take this, Eunice. Wherever you are, the blessing of our family will protect you.”

It had been given to me by the Servita Count and Countess, who promised to protect me.

I had always thought to myself while holding it: if I were to die at Ethan’s hands in accordance with the original story… the Servitas would be the ones who felt the deepest sorrow.

Not only the grief of losing their daughter but the pain of failing to protect her.

Yet Ethan had already engraved that sorrow in his heart.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that felt like.

“Losing someone dear… and not being able to stay by their side when they leave… it’s all so painful.”

Still, I thought I could at least empathize with that feeling.

Having lost the only person who truly understood him, shouldn’t he at least have one person who could lightly share his pain?

With some effort, I lifted my head and stared at the silent Ethan.

Ethan’s gaze was heavy and fixed on me.

But it didn’t carry the intense emotion I had expected.

It was as if… he were waiting to hear what I would say.

Perhaps that’s why, entranced by his meaningful gaze, I finally voiced what I had been holding inside.

“Were you very sad, Ethan?”

Once spoken, it felt like a strange question.

Just moments ago, I had said that losing someone dear made one sad.

Ethan had also lost the person most precious to him; he must have felt sad.

Yet, ironically, even while guessing that, I was curious about Ethan’s answer.

Whether he knew or not, Ethan averted his gaze from me, saying nothing.

I didn’t know if he didn’t want to look at me or if… he wanted to avoid my question.

But I felt I understood his ambiguous feelings, even if just a little.

So I looked away to avoid urging him for an answer.

Or rather, I tried to.

“Were you sad?”

“…?”

“Or… should I be the one to feel sad instead?”

If Ethan hadn’t said such an unusual thing…