~Chapter 24~
Jin clearly didn’t even want to say anything related to the Imperial family.
He gave me a forced smile, then got a little more serious and said,
“Lady, I think it’s best you pretend like you don’t know anything about this.”
“…”
I pressed my lips together.
Pretend I don’t know? That’s exactly what I want to do more than anything.
But… is it really okay to pretend I don’t know right now?
As far as I remember, in the original story, the monsters were managed by one of the male lead’s followers—a priest from the Bessiel Church.
The male lead could’ve destroyed the monsters easily, but in the original story, he just let them be.
Because, back then, death and destruction were basically entertainment for him.
Why would he go out of his way to handle it when monsters, humans, and even non-humans were all going to die horribly anyway?
Besides, the reason he ended up taking the throne wasn’t some noble mission like, “I’ll fix this rotten empire!” or “I’ll dethrone the useless emperor!”
Nope.
It was just because being emperor looked the most fun.
Wow.
The more I think about it, the more he sounds like a world-class psycho.
Well, to be fair, he does get “reformed” by the female lead later, so maybe not a full-blown psychopath.
Just your typical twisted male lead.
“…Is pretending we didn’t see anything really an option?”
I kept bouncing in the saddle with the horse’s movement.
Right now, it felt like I had two big choices laid out in front of me.
Quest 1: Change the original story to survive.
→ Find the male lead before anyone else does and stop him from going dark in the first place.
Quest 2: Rewrite the story to stay alive.
→ Investigate whoever’s behind the creepy monsters near the Leton Church and stop Bessiel from messing everything up later on.
Wait a second.
If the monsters are showing up now, doesn’t that mean their appearance has nothing to do with the male lead or the world’s destruction?
In the original, things went downhill after Bessiel started messing with them.
But they’re showing up before that now?
My skin went cold on the spot.
“Lady, if we keep going another 30 minutes, we should hit the main road. But… what’s with your face?”
“…This might be a huge problem.”
“…We’ve been having constant huge problems for a while now. But Lady, seriously, getting more involved with the Imperial family is dangerous—especially with Prince Endamion.”
Hyah! Jin kicked the horse into a faster pace.
“The Crown Prince doesn’t have the guts to team up with Leton Church, so the obvious suspect is Prince Endamion. No way His Majesty the Emperor would be involved either. Everyone knows he hates Leton’s high priest.”
Wait, what?
Endamion?
I do remember the original story mentioning the male lead wiping out the Imperial family…
But the focus was mostly on the Emperor.
The Crown Prince—who was the male lead’s father—was already dead a year before the male lead attacked the capital.
So Endamion, the second prince, never even showed up in the main story.
From the male lead’s point of view, the guy probably wasn’t even worth acknowledging.
“Damn it. Yeah, yeah, fine! Looks like Prince Endamion’s been dabbling in forbidden magic with Leton Church. Makes sense—he’s always been tight with them, hasn’t he?”
Jin groaned in frustration like he was giving up.
“Yeah, Lady, I think I get where your thoughts are going. You’re right. We’re both totally screwed. Hahaha.”
No, seriously, what do we do!?”
“How would I know, Lady?! Did you think I expected it to turn into this huge mess?!”
Neither of us were thinking straight anymore. Luckily, the infected area wasn’t too big, and Jin was really good at finding his way—but that was about it.
“Why the hell is there a ruined lab full of forbidden magic right near the Leton Church territory?! What the hell!”
Jin looked genuinely panicked, clutching his head and stomping around like a madman.
“Let’s just go with my plan. We saw nothing.”
“We literally saw it. What do you mean ‘nothing’?!”
I grabbed my head.
I was going crazy.
I wanted to yell, Don’t you know what that THING is?! But I couldn’t.
Of course he doesn’t know.
That’s why he’s pushing this ‘we saw nothing’ strategy.
Too bad I know exactly what that thing is.
“…So what, you want me to report this? Sure, it’s clearly illegal and involves forbidden magic, but you’re already barely managing your nephew. And let’s be real—if we found an Imperial seal in a forest near Leton’s territory, nothing’s gonna happen even if we do report it.”
Jin frowned openly. I got annoyed and shouted while pointing at the woods,
“Of course! Of course I…!”
But then I had nothing else to say.
Like, what could I say? Hey, so I read this book in my past life and now I’m reincarnated into that exact book. I know the future.
Yeah, right. Who’d believe that?
I scrambled for some kind of nonsense to say.
“Don’t you have a sense of justice!?”
“Life is worth more than justice, Lady.”
Jin smiled sweetly but cut me off like a guillotine.
He nervously rubbed his neck.
“Yes, Lady. I value my life very much. One high-risk mission—your nephew—is more than enough.”
He lowered his voice and took a deep breath. Then he pointed toward the forest and yelled in a dramatic tone like he was performing a play:
“Even if the crazy Imperial family teamed up with Leton Church to cook up forbidden magic in a lab from hell—it has nothing to do with us. The lab’s long abandoned. It’s in a spot no one could find easily. They even had those disgusting monsters guarding it, meaning they planned to kill anyone who saw it. It was all built to be kept a secret from the start. So the fact that we made it out alive? That’s pure dumb luck. As long as we keep our mouths shut, no one will suspect a thing!”
Huff! Jin exhaled after his speech, hands on his hips, then glared up at the sky.
“Damn it. No matter how I look at it, this is completely ridiculous. Ha! Unbelievable!”
I gave up and just plopped down onto the ground.
“Lady?!”
“…”
I was done.
Totally done.
I hadn’t even started yet and already wanted to give up.
Alright.
Let’s think for a second.
These ‘otherworldly monsters’ are one of the biggest disasters in the original story.
According to what I know, Bessiel—one of the male lead’s followers—was researching those things when everything went to hell.
The male lead, being the ruthless tyrant he was, didn’t care. It wasn’t his problem.
That’s just the kind of guy he was—super powerful, ultra dangerous, ruling with brute force.
After he got his revenge and became emperor, he got bored and started more wars just for kicks.
And when his subordinates messed up? He didn’t care.
If they got annoying, he’d kill them with a snap of his fingers.
Then the female lead showed up like, “Are you insane?! If you want my love, get your act together!”—and that’s when he finally changed.
So then… why the hell are the monsters from the other world showing up now, before Bessiel even gets involved?
Oh, and how do I know they’re those monsters?
Because the description matches exactly: the tar-like black goo, the eyeballs, the tentacles like octopus arms. It’s all in the original.
I recognized them instantly.
“…Is Prince Endamion always like… crazy?”
I asked absentmindedly, still sitting on the ground. Jin frowned and tilted his head.
“Excuse me? Why are you suddenly asking about Prince Endamion?”
I frowned right back.
“You brought him up! Think about it—does it really seem like the Crown Prince would do this? That guy had no power, no allies, no real influence. All he had was being the Emperor’s son, and he couldn’t even use that! Instead, he was out here having affairs—like seriously?! And now, with the political mess between the Empres and the Emperor’s factions, he’s not even helping his own dad. Ugh, it’s so frustrating!”
“…”
Oops.
That kind of just… came out.
I squeezed my eyes shut and smacked my mouth. Shut up, stupid!
