CHAPTER 124…………………………………………….
“…….”
“Everyone’s lost their minds.”
Ruspell shook his head, slamming the table.
“Owen, snap out of it! You’re driving the little one into a death trap!”
“What else can I do? That’s what the prophecy says!”
“Enough. Go to the temple and tell them. From what I see now, the little one doesn’t seem like a prospective Saint.”
“Does that make sense? The temple won’t just stay put!”
“And if they don’t?”
A tingling energy radiated from Ruspell’s entire body—a massive surge of magical power.
“The little one’s mother is a Duke of the Empire, the father is a prince about to become Crown Prince, and even her godfather is a master-level magician.”
Telepathy from the spirits erupted in my frozen mind.
[Hmph! We’re here too!]
[If anyone touches Piacere, the wind itself won’t forgive them!]
“Damn it, let them all come!”
“Who knows who might dare touch our little one—but let them try.”
Sigh…
Owen covered his face. Even he was uncomfortable representing the temple in this situation.
Ruspell grabbed Owen’s shoulder.
“Owen, tell me your thoughts. Are you planning to sacrifice the little one according to the prophecy?”
Owen slammed his chest in frustration.
“Do you think I want this? I’m about to go insane too!”
“Change the interpretation. Make it have nothing to do with the little one.”
“It’s not just me interpreting it. How can I change it? It’s impossible.”
“You have to make it possible. You know as well as I do, saving the world by sacrificing someone precious won’t ever save yourself.”
“…!”
Owen inhaled deeply and bit his lip hard.
He had also experienced losing the person most precious to him for the sake of the world—and knew the pain firsthand.
“Owen, let’s not let the Duke do that.”
Owen looked at me, tears spilling down.
“I’m sorry, Duke. Knowing how painful it is to lose someone precious…”
I couldn’t say anything. I could only stare blankly at him.
After sobbing for a while, Owen wiped his tears with a determined expression.
“Ruspell was right. On second thought, the interpretation must be wrong. God wouldn’t want the Saint to die.”
“Exactly! Finally, some sense.”
“I’m sorry, Duke. I caused unnecessary worry with uncertain information. Forget what I just said.”
“Duke, this time I’ll join in and help reinterpret the prophecy. So take a breather. You might faint otherwise.”
Owen and Ruspell tried to reassure me, but I still felt uneasy.
“Everyone… could you leave? Something urgent just came to mind.”
“Of course, we’ll calm down and come back later.”
“Sorry again for the trouble, Duke.”
Ruspell and Owen left the study, and the magic flowing to the spirits was cut off.
Alone, I clenched my fists.
“Is the prophecy true? Does Piacere have to sacrifice herself for the world, like me?”
The “terrible author” remained silent.
I pressed a sharp quill against the back of my neck.
“If you don’t want me to die, tell me. What’s real?”
[Step 3: Adrian humbly accepts the prophecy.]
The command made me chuckle. I covered my eyes, stifling a laugh.
“Ha… this damned guy again…”
I, the protagonist of Part 1, had sacrificed myself to save the world.
Part 2 was likely another story where the protagonist sacrifices their life—but I still hoped it wouldn’t be true.
A tragic ending completely out of place in a story about raising a child—a story that radiated utter failure just from hearing about it!
Even a terrible author should have some sense, right? I was the fool. Once a terrible author, always a terrible author.
In the end, Piacere would have to sacrifice her life to save the world—just like I did in Part 1.
And total annihilation would follow.
There would be no world for the child to return to, unlike me.
“Change the ending.”
[Step 3: Adrian humbly accepts the prophecy.]
“Don’t make me laugh. Change it.”
[Step 3: Adrian humbly accepts the prophecy.]
“Before I wipe out all evil, I’ll change the ending… ugh!”
The dreadful penalty began.
Gripping my throbbing chest, I slumped into the chair.
“Even if… this is useless. I have the Raven Cycle. Then… you wouldn’t be able to control me, right?”
If the terrible author didn’t intervene, I could erase the villains during the Raven Cycle.
However, this would also delay the ending of the story.
For me, who needed to return to the real world as soon as possible, it was the worst choice.
‘How long can I endure here? Five years? Ten? If I return to the real world then… will my parents still be alive?’
Thinking of my parents’ age made me anxious.
[Step 3: Adrian will ponder during the Familiar Cycle. Deep down, however, he knew he would eventually yield to fate.]
The command carried the author’s confidence.
He knew that the longer time dragged on, the more disadvantaged I would be.
That scared me—what if I eventually succumbed to the author?
‘Not now, though.’
I had to endure as much as I could until another option appeared.
“See who wins… let’s try it, huh? Fine.”
With trembling hands, I brushed my chest to steady myself.
This was not the time to be weak—I could barely move my legs.
‘My body is too weak.’
Even one penalty would make it almost impossible to move. My heart was in terrible condition.
Even if I didn’t die, lying like a vegetable would change nothing.
‘First, I need to restore my health.’
But how could I fix a broken heart?
‘Should I really ask a demon for help?’
I laughed bitterly, tilting my head.
Adrian was a Dark Sorcerer—why hadn’t he borrowed demonic power to fix his heart?
Was the cost too high, so he gave up?
Then another doubt struck me.
‘Did he really give up?’
Adrian, a perfectionist who couldn’t tolerate a single flaw, would he really leave his body incomplete?
I quickly summoned the spirits.
“Come out, everyone!”
They appeared instantly, cautiously eyeing me.
“Adrian must have known his heart was malformed, right?”
The spirits looked puzzled at my strange question.
“- Huh? Adrian?”
“- The butler casually said it in front of Master Rian. Of course he knew.”
“Then why did he do nothing?”
“- Rian… what do you mean?”
“If he had used demonic power, fixing the heart would’ve been easy. Yet Adrian did nothing. Strange, isn’t it?”
“- The demon bastard probably demanded an enormous price.”
“Exactly. Adrian had no choice but to wait. He hoped that as his body grew, his heart might naturally improve.”
“- But even after growing up, Adrian’s heart remained incomplete.”
“What was he thinking then? Did he calmly accept his condition? Or was he desperately looking for another way?”
Undine snorted, resting her chin on her hand.
“- Hmm… he probably didn’t just sit still. His personality’s a bit extreme.”
“- Moreover, Adrian is head of the Duke’s house. That’s a huge weakness.”
“- But the doctor said there was no way to fix a malformed heart. Right, Gnome?”
- (nod)
Medical technology in this world couldn’t heal Adrian. Even divine power from a cleric couldn’t.
Yet Adrian never gave up—and eventually found a way.
I lowered my voice, looking at the spirits’ questioning eyes.
“Remember the forbidden tome Adrian was searching for?”
“- Huh…? Oh! That tome was the key! So that’s why he was looking for it!”
“- I hadn’t heard such a tome existed… but it’s worth checking out at least once.”
“- So… we’re going to raid the temple? Oh, this is exciting!”
If the forbidden tome Adrian sought is what I think it is, I’ll have an advantage in the fight against the terrible author.
If my heart becomes complete, I won’t collapse after one penalty.
“First, we need to survey the library. Who’s going?”
“- I’ll go!”
“Remember every detail—exact location, window size, how often people come and go, number of guards… and report everything back to me. Got it?”
“- Leave it to me!”
Silph disappeared that moment, and only returned a full day later.
