Chapter 74 …
“How did you know the room was empty?”
“I’ve seen the hotel’s layout and the guest list before.”
Seen it? It sounded more like he had memorized it.
Are the assassination attempts still continuing?
‘Well, if it’s Leticia, it wouldn’t be surprising.’
I wondered whether I should ask, but Helion spoke first.
“I heard Baron Merdin and his wife arrived.”
“You weren’t following me, were you?”
“Of course not. Kal told me.”
“But you two fought.”
“That’s what I thought too, but he still told me.”
So Kal was the one tailing me. I didn’t notice—he must be quite skilled.
‘Then again, maybe it’s strange that I’d notice anyway.’
I had killed many people, but I didn’t have any special skills.
I lightly tapped the arm wrapped around my neck, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled me even closer.
“Can I see your face now?”
“…You can already see it.”
“I’d like Laila to show it to me herself.”
So that was why he was being so persistent.
Did he already know?
His voice barely restrained his anger, maintaining a fragile calm. I gave up trying to shake off his arm and turned around.
Helion stared at me as if he had been waiting.
His gaze slowly examined my face before focusing on one spot. His eyes cooled sharply and narrowed in an instant.
Even though it didn’t hurt before, my cheek suddenly felt like it was stinging.
“It’s nothing.”
“…May I kill them?”
“I’ll be the one killing.”
Helion gently brushed my face. His touch was so light it felt like a feather.
‘It probably looks awful, but it’s tolerable.’
His lips pressed tightly together. His expression was stiff, but his eyes were fierce.
“You know this much is nothing to me.”
“…Still, I hoped you wouldn’t get hurt.”
A faint trace of self-reproach slipped into his voice.
This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to show him.
Helion rested his forehead against my shoulder.
“Why did Laila become a Merdin?”
“I’d like to know that myself.”
“…You can’t kill a god, can you?”
Helion seemed to have accepted this absurd situation as the will of a god.
‘He might not be entirely wrong.’
I didn’t know exactly what role the system played, but it was probably something similar.
Still, the system could never be a god.
“Maybe there is a way.”
“A way to kill a god?”
“Perhaps.”
Gods are perfect and flawless—but the system has limits.
That’s why it couldn’t even kill someone like me, an extra.
Helion moved his lips as if he wanted to ask more, but this was something I couldn’t tell him yet.
To change the subject, I took a letter out of my pocket.
“Take this.”
“A letter?”
“I’m leaving here today. I’ll be living somewhere else from now on. The address is written here.”
Helion froze.
He must have misunderstood something.
“The baron and baroness wanted it.”
“…So it wasn’t what Laila wanted.”
“I was comfortable here.”
Did he really think I was running away?
If that were the case, I wouldn’t have told him at all.
“You won’t stay here forever either, right?”
“There’s a limit to how long I can keep avoiding things.”
“When you leave, let me know.”
More time had passed than I expected.
I should go now.
As I reached for the doorknob, Helion stared at me.
“You’ll be lonely.”
“I’ll come visit before it gets lonely enough that I can’t bear it.”
I knew what he meant, but I pretended not to understand.
Instead, I lightly patted his head.
Helion naturally closed his eyes.
“…I feel like I’ll come find you first.”
“You’re welcome to come, but hide your identity.”
“Then can’t we shorten the distance between visits too?”
“I’m sure Helion can manage.”
I couldn’t let him persuade me again.
While he was defenseless, I opened the door.
He followed right after, but because there were more people than before, he didn’t speak to me.
‘This is better than I expected.’
I used to feel like life had no meaning without Helion.
But surprisingly, I could endure it.
In truth, nothing seemed that different.
Still, it was nice seeing him after so long.
At least things weren’t boring when I met him.
‘…But why didn’t anything happen?’
I was thinking about Helion as I returned to my room.
The moment I opened the door, I realized something.
I was supposed to be controlled under the role of a villain.
So when I met Helion, there should have been some kind of change. Our current relationship couldn’t be called villain and protagonist anymore.
But the system didn’t intervene.
I hadn’t done anything, yet it was acting as if it were dead.
‘Should I test it?’
When I entered, Reina happened to be there.
She had changed into a blue dress, and her appearance clearly proved she was the protagonist.
Reina fidgeted awkwardly, but when she saw me, her eyes curved into a smile.
It was such a beautiful smile that Jamie, standing behind her, gasped.
“Looks go—”
But the compliment never came out.
This behavior is not befitting of a villain.
Now it responds perfectly at times like this.
So the system wasn’t broken.
Was Helion the only exception?
‘But both of them are still protagonists.’
Was it related to Helion regaining his memories?
He had once escaped the system’s control, so maybe that influence reached this far.
‘Then Helion probably won’t act according to the original story.’
While I was thinking, Reina hesitantly approached me.
“Um… thank you.”
Her harmless smile looked just like Helion’s from the past.
Seeing her openly send waves of goodwill without hiding it, I briefly reconsidered my own actions.
‘I didn’t do anything though.’
Was Reina just someone who easily grew attached?
Maybe even the system couldn’t stop something like this.
“You’re truly beautiful!”
“…Just how did you meet the master?”
Reina must have been persuaded with kind words.
Or perhaps money.
At Katie’s excited praise, Reina shyly hid behind someone.
The ironic part was that the place she hid was behind my back.
It was clearly a good situation, but I couldn’t understand Reina’s true intentions.
Looking around, I picked up a hat that had been prepared.
“Wear this.”
I said it like a warning to the flustered Reina.
This time, the system didn’t interfere.
She was almost buried under the large hat, peeking out with just her eyes.
“…Th-thank you.”
“Let’s go.”
If I couldn’t answer anyway, it was better to ignore it.
Reina didn’t seem to mind and stubbornly followed behind me.
‘If she’s the female lead, she’s supposed to end up with the male lead.’
If things flowed according to the system’s intentions, would those two end up together?
Honestly, it was hard to imagine just by looking at Helion.
He had even proposed to me, even if his words weren’t sincere.
‘But this is reality now. Things can change.’
The same applied to the female lead, who was still an unknown existence.
Of course, nothing could be guaranteed yet.
‘What will happen from now on?’
For now, I just hoped a situation wouldn’t arise where I had to kill the female lead.
Because the protagonist was someone I couldn’t kill.
I watched Reina, who looked nothing but innocent, as if observing her.
I didn’t stop watching her even as we moved to the mansion.
* * *
As a result, my observation continued until now.
It had been two weeks since arriving at the mansion.
Quite some time had passed, but I hadn’t met Helion again.
I thought he would secretly come find me.
Maybe he was hesitating because he was living in seclusion.
I couldn’t leave either, since the baron and baroness were watching me.
Sending letters was impossible as well.
And I hadn’t received any.
‘Will it be like this for a while?’
Ordinary, boring days continued.
Unlike me, Reina was living a busy life.
She quickly became a member of the Merdin household.
As soon as she was registered into the family, she started learning etiquette.
According to Kena, it was to give her the elegance befitting her appearance.
But to me, it seemed more like they were trying to raise her value.
Besides that, Reina learned various minor accomplishments, slowly becoming a respectable noble.
She was still lacking in many ways, but it was at a level that could be overlooked with understanding.
Her learning ability went beyond impressive—it was astonishing.
Things nobles usually studied for years, she finished in just two weeks.
‘She’s also much quieter than I expected.’
Her first impression had already been that of a frightened rabbit.
Still, since she was the female lead, I expected some noticeable actions.
But Reina was too busy obediently following the baron and baroness’s orders.
She lifted her teacup with flawless etiquette.
Her pale pink hair looked like it might melt into the sunlight.
Even her large eyes had grown noticeably calmer.
“You didn’t forget today’s banquet, right? The next one is here.”
Kena placed an invitation in front of Reina.
Beside it was a pile of rejected invitations.
They were invitations sent by the baron’s gambling acquaintances.
The baron and baroness sent Reina to every kind of banquet, telling her to catch a good match.
With her appearance, she was already extremely popular.
Rumors about Reina were spreading rapidly throughout high society.
They said an angel lived in the Merdin household.
Although she had suddenly appeared, the baron disguised her as a relative’s child.
Thanks to that, people simply accepted it.
Some even approached her, claiming they needed to rescue Reina from that wicked household.
“Don’t just stand there like last time. Approach people first and smile. What’s the use of a pretty face when you’re as stiff as a statue?”
Kena clicked her tongue, clearly dissatisfied with Reina’s attitude.
Reina couldn’t say anything and simply closed her mouth.
Her hand tightened around the teacup.
“I worry every night about you, trying to help someone as lacking as you, and yet you don’t appreciate your mother’s effort.”
“……”
“I can see why someone with that face was in a place like that before. There’s nothing to look at besides your appearance…”
It continued until Kena left the room.
The black tea had long gone cold, but Reina didn’t loosen her grip on the cup.
