Chapter 90
Then, another message window popped up.
Tip. Limited-quantity pills (rare items) are directly linked to your companions’ lives!
Right. I’m not giving them away. So what?
Even if I give them to Grand Duke Kyle and Yurel, I’ll still have two left.
And if there are two left, it’s better for me and Ivelyn to keep them.
They’re linked to life itself? So… I have to take them?
The thought that I was indirectly responsible for someone’s death weighed on me.
At the same time, another part of me thought—it’s not like I’m the one killing them myself, so what does it matter?
Now I understood why there’s a defense game in hard mode.
It’s not just about stealing good items before others do.
It’s about deciding—through the eyes of the hard-mode protagonist, April—who to save.
I will not save you.
Thinking that, I faced the monster on horseback.
A knight?
The archetypal enemy that always appears in games—armored, on horseback, and incredibly strong.
Because the setting was a romantic fantasy, he looked like one of those chivalric knights.
If it hadn’t been, I would’ve thought of a Dullahan instead.
Then, it lifted its own head off and held it under one arm, while charging forward with a massive lance.
It was a Dullahan.
Great. I just jinxed myself. Watch the flag I just raised come crashing down.
But strength-wise, I wasn’t losing either.
[Total Health: 9.4%]
Pretty close. Maybe even slightly up.
Did it really think that a berserker in this state would go down from a lance strike?
It was mistaken.
I swung my halberd wide—
—and slammed it down on the Dullahan’s lance, sending it tumbling off its horse.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash rang out.
Compared to the other enemies, this one was actually easier. Honestly, the Dullahan felt too easy.
Probably because it relied purely on brute strength.
A horse taller than a man?
Then I’ll just knock the horse down too.
BAM!
The Dullahan’s mount went flying.
After dealing with long-range pests like archers and curse priests for so long, fighting something like this felt exhilarating.
Archers? Curse priests? Spearmen? Step aside.
The Dullahan was my favorite opponent so far.
Of course, from the Dullahan’s perspective, it probably wasn’t enjoying it nearly as much.
As I watched the twisted expression on its severed head—unsure whether it was laughing or crying—I swung my halberd again.
After a few power exchanges, it must’ve realized brute strength wouldn’t work. The Dullahan began retreating.
I hesitated.
Should I let it get back on its horse to make things more interesting?
Or should I just finish it cleanly?
Then I saw another Dullahan raging on the eastern battlefield—and chose the latter.
The “Weakened Curse” that had been spreading meant Yurel and the Grand Duke might have been affected too.
Where’s Yurel? Don’t tell me he’s fighting like that in that condition…
I found myself more worried than when Sian had staggered out earlier.
But this time, it wasn’t about facing monsters—it was about survival.
And Yurel was taking a beating.
Well, that’s my wording.
BOOM!
Neigh—!
His horse spewed flames as it charged.
I hadn’t realized during my earlier fight—since I’d knocked the Dullahan off before it could—but when they attacked while mounted, that lance strike was devastating.
Yurel blocked some, deflected others.
I wasn’t sure exactly how the “Weakened Curse” affected him, but one thing was clear: he didn’t have the energy to drive the Dullahan back.
“Sir Yurel!”
I waved at him.
The Dullahan on his side turned toward me.
Apparently unaware of what had happened to its comrade, it proudly lifted its lance and charged in my direction.
Didn’t see what happened to your friend, huh?
Then you’ll have to share its fate.
I raised my halberd’s blade and smashed the lance aside with a loud clang.
Bad matchup for it.
Just like when I had trouble with those long-range archers earlier.
But then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
If it were my brother, would he be handling this differently?
He wouldn’t charge in like a lunatic, deflecting metal-tipped arrows by brute force—he’d probably have figured out a more efficient strategy.
Nah. No way.
I quickly finished off the Dullahan with my halberd.
Because Yurel looked like he was in pain, and I was getting anxious.
I walked over to him.
“Sir Yurel, April brought this for you!”
I smiled brightly and took the pills from my inventory, placing them in his hand.
The heart was gone—probably used to heal Ivelyn.
“Share them with the Grand Duke!”
I gave him two. If Ivelyn needed help, she’d come talk to me herself.
“Thank you,” Yurel said quietly.
“April’s happy too!”
I smiled sweetly.
Come to think of it, Yurel’s favorability never increased when I smiled or acted kindly.
This wasn’t romantic affection—it was something different.
And I liked that.
“When Lady Ivelyn wakes up, please tell her—April hopes both you and the Grand Duke recover quickly!”
“Will you not come with us, Lady April?” he asked.
Of course I wanted to. But there was still one damn defense wave left. Maybe two, since it’s hard mode.
“I want to.”
I smiled at him.
“April really does want to.”
“To come, then just come.”
“I still have work left!”
I looked up at him with innocent eyes. I still had to return to that western tower—though that would soon be over, too.
As I turned to leave, a notification popped up.
Favorability with Slave Knight Yurel has slightly increased.
I returned to the western tower.
One more wave? Maybe two? I thought this defense game was finally nearing its end.
I’d ignored the Crown Prince’s curse and given the heart to Ivelyn.
I’d ignored Yeniel, Max, and Sian—but healed Kyle and Yurel.
In my hands, other people’s lives—their very existence—were being tossed around.
I smiled again, pretending to be sweet, innocent April.
Until the moment I have to leave this game… I’ll just keep—
“Ha.”
I exhaled coldly.
“Playing the idiot is exhausting.”
At that moment, someone behind me dropped what they were holding.
CRASH—! CLANG—!
And for the first time, I faced Sian without a smile.
Sian only realized he’d been cursed once he arrived at the banquet hall.
He’d been affected by the Crown Prince’s curse.
He remembered this well.
From the Forbidden Records of the Imperial Palace—
No, from those secret chronicles that hid the royal family’s darkest sins.
The current Emperor had, for some reason, shown them to Sian without hesitation.
Yeniel and Max were ill.
They suffered the same symptoms he did, writhing in pain.
But the Crown Prince looked perfectly fine.
“…My apologies, Sian. Because of me.”
“It’s all right, Your Highness.”
Some of the curse’s burden must’ve spread to those nearby, lightening the prince’s own affliction.
“What’s wrong? You look… shocked all of a sudden.”
“It’s nothing.”
The laws of the inner world are balanced.
For a curse this severe, there must have been an equivalent exchange.
He thought of the seven towers outside the banquet hall.
They exist to hold back—to fight.
But he wouldn’t have left them defenseless.
He must’ve given something in return.
You didn’t see it? Impossible.
Unless Lady April was lying—
—but if she wasn’t…
His body went cold.
Sian sprinted madly, curse be damned.
His lungs burned, but he had to see it with his own eyes.
At the central tower’s pedestal, faint dust lingered—
and on the western one, marks showed that something had once been placed there, and then taken away.
Sian knew exactly whose slender fingers could have done that.
He had to confirm it with April.
Not because she stole some valuable item—
—but because what she took might have been the very thing that could save them from the curse.
Did she take it knowingly?
Did the simpleton Lady April truly know?
“It takes intellect and cold reason to do that.
Does Lady April strike you as such a person?”
He remembered his own words.
When he reached the tower, she wasn’t there.
Then he spotted something on the floor—
a glass cup, lying shattered.
Why is this here?
He bent to pick it up—just as April entered, unaware of his presence.
“Ha.”
She was dazzlingly beautiful—someone he’d believed to be utterly innocent.
Then he heard her voice—cold, languid.
“Playing the idiot is exhausting.”
A chill ran down his spine.
