130. Cayenne’s Third Personality
‘I’ve pretty much done everything I needed to do.’
I’d handed Perwyn decisive evidence, along with a concrete hint.
[And one more thing. About diplomatic ties with the Kingdom of Phyron. Don’t you think it’s about time you and I stepped back from this?]
[Why?]
[For the talks to get serious, you’d have to keep traveling back and forth between the two countries. I’m worried your injury will get worse from forcing such a schedule.]
[Are you worrying about me?]
‘…Does that count as that?’
Either way, Perwyn gladly accepted my suggestion.
He said he had already noticed plenty of problems while reviewing the documents related to this diplomatic mission.
At first, he had wanted to fix the trade proposal himself, but in the end, he decided it was better to just step away from the whole thing altogether.
‘This way, I won’t be stuck holding the bomb.’
The thought that I had taken a step away from a landmine made me feel lighter.
“Welcome back, my lady.”
The servants greeted me as I returned to the ducal mansion.
Just then, someone darted forward through the servants and came running.
“Welcome home, Master!”
“Cayenne? You were at home?”
Beaming brightly, Cayenne bowed to me.
Dressed neatly in servant’s clothes, his cuffs were blackened as if he’d just come from chores.
‘Then what was that system window about?’
A pop-up about a “male lead event” had appeared, so I naturally thought Cayenne was at the tournament grounds.
But here he was, greeting me as if he had nothing at all to do with any of that.
“Of course! I’ve been waiting forever for you to come back.”
“…?”
This man, who normally exudes pitifulness like a passive skill, was smiling so innocently?
“But Master, I’ve been feeling chills and weak since earlier. Could you maybe let me off housework for today?”
“What?”
“I think if I got a lap pillow from you, I’d be all better instantly.”
Cayenne gave me wide, imploring eyes.
His bombshell left the servants flustered.
They all knew I favored Cayenne, so they usually tolerated his quirks.
But this time, the boy had lobbed a massive bomb.
The head butler turned pale and rushed forward.
“How dare you make such a demand of the lady! You came in late even after slacking off during the day, and now you’re asking to be excused?”
He pressed Cayenne’s head down firmly.
“I beg your pardon, my lady. Please forgive him just this once. I will personally see to it he’s disciplined so this never happens again.”
“No, punishments can wait.”
“…Pardon?”
I grabbed Cayenne by the hand.
“You. Come with me. Now.”
Dragged all the way to my room, Cayenne bounced around excitedly.
“Oh no, this is big. We just held hands for the first time! Shouldn’t we make today a national holiday or something?”
“…”
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t the Cayenne I knew.
If this wasn’t the sudden awakening of a “third personality,” then there was only one answer.
“You’re the Administrator, aren’t you.”
I caught him mid-bounce and interrogated him.
“Ding-ding! Correct!”
Cayenne—no, the Administrator—grinned widely.
It was so strange to see that face, normally sorrowful or alluring, lit up with such pure joy.
“Surprised to see me after so long? Still, I knew my dear transmigrator would recognize me right away.”
“Of course I did.”
That tone, that expression, that brightness—how could I not?
“Didn’t you miss me?”
“Ha.”
Did I miss him?
Of course I did. There was so much I’d wanted to say to him in person.
Why did he always vanish without a word, only to pop up out of nowhere again?
He called himself my guardian angel, yet never told me anything about himself.
I’d been annoyed, even angry—but when I saw his face again, the first feeling was relief.
“I missed you.”
The truth was, I’d been worried.
If the Administrator didn’t come find me, I had no way to go to him.
I had feared—what if I never saw him again?
“Oh my, my, my.”
He cupped his cheeks in mock drama.
“Are you really the same transmigrator I knew? Since when did you become such a bulldozer of a heroine, charging straight ahead like this?”
“…”
“When a girl who used to be so aloof suddenly comes at me like this, it’s like she’s stealing my heart.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Even in this situation, he was joking.
And yet—I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Where have you been all this time? Where’s the real Cayenne, and why are you appearing in his form?”
“I’ll explain slowly. For now, Cayenne is asleep.”
“Both his day and night personalities?”
“Mm-hm. He’ll stay asleep for a while.”
“…?”
“Actually, the reason I manifested in this body is because Cayenne received a penalty for failing a mission. I can’t go into full detail, but let’s just say I made a sort of deal with him.”
“A deal?”
“Yes. I took over this body in exchange for canceling out his penalty.”
What kind of penalty was so bad that the Administrator himself had to intervene?
As if answering my thoughts, he continued.
“Cayenne received the ‘Return Upon Death’ penalty. There was no other choice.”
“What?”
My heart sank.
“It seems he was given a male-lead-only mission in this arc.”
“…Because I picked him as my hunting festival partner?”
So he’d gotten a protagonist-only mission, failed it, and ended up with a penalty?
“No, it wasn’t your fault. It’s just…”
The Administrator hesitated, choosing his words carefully.
“Normally, ordinary side characters are only given roles, not missions.”
“Then why—”
Suddenly, a memory flashed through me.
“…You said missions are only given to transmigrators, right?”
“Usually, yes.”
“Then what about other existences? Can a reincarnator or a regressor get missions too?”
After all, this romance-fantasy world had reincarnators and regressors as well as transmigrators.
I’d only thrown the question out casually, but his expression grew meaningful.
His reaction turned my faint suspicion into certainty.
“Cayenne’s a regressor, isn’t he? Am I right?”
And at that moment, a system window popped up:
【SYSTEM: You have discovered the hidden keyword of the mastermind ‘Cayenne’.】
[The censorship on this keyword has been removed.]
[#Regressor]
“How did you figure it out?”
“The signs were obvious. At first I thought Cayenne was a transmigrator, but…”
[Are you, by any chance, □□□?]
That time, when I’d uncovered his hidden keyword.
Back then, I’d suspected he was like me.
After all, he noticed the system window, got promoted to male lead, and even had a hidden route.
‘Most of all, his “day personality” doesn’t even exist in the original story.’
An existence forbidden in the original, desperately struggling against fate.
Just like me, trying to avoid an execution ending.
But there was one crucial difference between us.
“He didn’t seem to know anything about the original work. That’s why I ruled out transmigrator.”
“And then?”
“If he were a reincarnator, he wouldn’t have repeated this same life.”
If someone is reborn with all their past memories, the very first thing they’d do is—what?
It depends on the person, but if I were Cayenne, I’d run.
Run far, anywhere, just to avoid being used for human experiments and having my body stolen.
Cayenne was a powerful magician—he could have done it.
‘But the tragedy repeated even in this life.’
The fact that he still hadn’t escaped meant there had to be another reason.
“Like maybe he can only return to a specific point in time, not reincarnate from the start.”
Just as I always reset to the same point after a bad ending, maybe Cayenne only returned after everything had already gone wrong.
The Administrator sighed.
“I must’ve given you too many hints.”
“Too many? You’ve always acted like you knew nothing! How long have you known? From the beginning?”
“Well… pretty much, yeah?”
He glanced at me sheepishly.
So he’d known all along, hiding it the whole time.
Whenever I’d doubted Cayenne, the Administrator had just brushed it aside—because he already knew.
“You trickster. You fooled me with your cute little emojis.”
“Fooled you?!”
He practically leapt up.
“I only kept it secret because I thought it would be dangerous for you to know too much.”
“Excuses.”
“It’s true! If you knew Cayenne was a regressor, you’d never just sit still.”
“…”
“Our transmigrator is always weak to tragic backstories. If you found out Cayenne was suffering through endless regresses, you’d definitely want to help him. How could I tell you that?”
…Ouch.
He knew me too well—I couldn’t argue.
“So what if I did? Whether transmigrator or regressor, we’re all just pawns to the original. What’s wrong with helping each other out?”
“Nope, not allowed. To me, you’re always first priority. I won’t let you risk yourself helping someone else.”
