SIAHG 25

Chapter 25

‘Why does he regain his senses after being hit? Normally, even if you hit someone, they don’t snap out of it.’

Maybe Max was just the type who functioned better after being beaten?
It was pitiful in a way, but also ridiculous.

“What—what is this? My Lady! Why are you hitting me! Ugh! P-please, don’t come closer!”

“Thank goodness! Sir Max!”

I grabbed his hair and shook him. Ah. That was a mistake.

“Oh my, how strange. April was happy, and yet my hand moved on its own.”

“You and Sir Max are truly amusing.”

The Crown Prince tried to laugh, but he couldn’t.
His teeth chattered like someone shivering in the cold.

The demon was terrifying, but he had to overcome that fear.
Forcing himself to laugh was just a means of survival.

Everyone was trembling.
And yet, the will to survive still burned within them.

“Thank you, Lady April. You brought us all back to our senses. You saved us.”

“April likes her friends.”

When I smiled brightly, they looked at me as if I were a ray of sunlight breaking through the darkness.

At that moment, I heard the sound of affection rising.

[The Crown Prince Azeph’s affection has greatly increased!]
[Yeniel’s affection has greatly increased!]
[Strategist Sian’s affection has greatly increased!]
[Attendant Max’s affection has greatly increased!]

And with that, hope finally returned to our eyes.

“Over there, that building… doesn’t it look strange?”

Max awkwardly pointed toward a small structure nearby.

Yeniel’s eyes glimmered.
“That looks like… a columbarium. Strange to see one in a temple.”

“Indeed strange. A thousand years ago, death never had a place within temples. Let’s check it out. I’ll use the spirits to cover this place in fog!”

Sian summoned spirits.

“I’ll carry His Highness! I’m faster and stronger!”
Even Max was cooperating this time, carrying the Crown Prince on his back.

Thick fog shrouded the ashen garden at the rear gate, hopefully hiding us from the demon’s sight.

We rushed into the columbarium.

The bond of survival, comradeship, and unity felt strangely comforting.

That’s when Yeniel spotted a machine attached to the inner wall.
“It’s a magic device. Sir Sian, do you know what it is?”

The moment Sian saw it, his eyes filled with tears.
“It’s the switch to open the sponsor’s gate—the door leading to the dungeon behind the temple!”

“And it stopped working because the magic battery had run dry.”

Sian searched the area, then pulled a deep blue stone from an old box and inserted it into the machine.

The hum of machinery echoed faintly around the columbarium as the device resonated.

“We can leave. There’s hope now.”

Sian looked calmer than before.

“But it requires cooperation. For some reason, this ancient device needs someone inside to keep pressing the switch.”

The Crown Prince devised a plan.
“The slowest person goes first, and the fastest last. But must someone truly stay behind?”

The slowest was Yeniel, but of course the Crown Prince would be prioritized.

Through the columbarium’s small window, we could glimpse the gate of the rear dungeon glowing faintly.

The Crown Prince questioned further.
“Can’t it be pressed from outside? I’ve seen similar switches in the palace—both inside and outside.”

“Absolutely not.”

Sian shook his head gravely, warning us:

“Do not press the switch outside. That one is meant to stop the function of the door. If you do, the gate won’t open from inside. Especially Lady April, Sir Max—do not make that mistake. It would mean our deaths.”

“…Understood.”
“Yes.”

The gravity of the situation was clear, and Max and I agreed.

Yeniel then found a sheet of paper.
“Sir Sian, I think this is the manual for the switch.”

Sian widened his eyes.
They all gathered to read it—Yeniel, Max, and the Crown Prince.

I held back. April the Fool shouldn’t look too focused on complicated instructions. If I read and understood it perfectly, suspicion would rise.

After all, once we reached the third floor, the <Public Meeting> system would begin, and suspicion could mean execution.

“This is…!”

Reading the manual, their eyes widened, but they quickly nodded.

“…I agree.”
“We all think the same, then. Let’s accept it.”

“Lady April, be careful outside. The fourth floor is almost over.”

“Yes! We’ll all escape together.”

[Yeniel’s affection has reached a critical level.]
[Sian’s affection has reached a critical level.]
[The Crown Prince Azeph’s affection has reached a critical level.]

‘Huh?’

So, their affection must have exceeded 90%. That was when this alert appeared.

Love? Eternal loyalty?
Or some other emotion?

The Crown Prince arranged the order.
“Here’s how we’ll do it. Max will go first to check safety, then me, then Lady Yeniel, then Lady April, and lastly Sian. Agreed?”

[ Sian ▶ April ▶ Yeniel ▶ Crown Prince ▶ Max (switch) ]

They all stared at me, perhaps worried I wouldn’t memorize the order.

“I’ll try my best?” I tilted my head.

“Good. Lady April, we have no choice but to trust you.”
The Crown Prince smiled faintly at me.

[Yeniel’s affection increased.]
[Sian’s affection increased.]
[The Crown Prince Azeph’s affection increased.]

Affection kept rising.

Was it really okay for April the Fool to gain so much favor from the original heroine’s love interests?

We left the columbarium.

The demon’s gaze followed us through the fog.

As the fog cleared, a black sun rose overhead.

“The fog—! That cursed sun is dispersing the spirits’ mist! Hurry!”

We ran desperately.

The enormous rear gate loomed before us.

The inside switch was, thankfully, right beside it.

Blue mana glowed faintly along the circuit, and the switch pulsed with bright azure light.

Behind us, the demon’s shadow stretched long.

“Essen Ciela! Spirit whose name I still do not know! Eye of fire that watches me! Elphineum El Latien!”

Sian summoned multiple high spirits, coughing blood from the effort.

“Sir Sian!”
“I’m fine, Lady April. Cough. Just backlash from over-summoning.”

Max rushed out first, the demon tearing through spirits behind us with horrific shrieks.

“It’s safe!”
“I’m going too!”

The Crown Prince hurriedly dashed through as well.

Yeniel held the switch until the last moment, then handed it to me.

“Yes!”

The moment she let go, I pressed it down.

‘So that’s why we set the order. To move quickly and seamlessly.’

The demon was nearly upon us.
Death was so close.

My heart pounded with dread. Yeniel had long passed through.

“When is Sian supposed to take over the switch?”

“Sir Sian! It’s April’s turn now!”

I turned to look—

And my blood froze.

No one was there.

Looking through the gate, I realized the truth.

Everyone—Max, the Crown Prince, Yeniel, even Sian—was already outside.

And then, the outside switch was pressed.

“Do not press the switch outside. That one is meant to stop the function of the door.”
“If you do, the gate won’t open from inside.”

The gate locked shut with a thunderous clang.

“Lady April.”

The Crown Prince met my gaze with a calm expression.

“I will never forget you.”

Why?

I raised their affection. Almost to 100%.

I was their comrade. I was part of the heroine’s faction.

And yet—they abandoned me.

Alone with the demon, as the gate sealed, the light from outside vanished.

Overhead, I felt the demon’s breath.

I was trapped. Alone.