Suddenly, it occurred to me that the answer I gave at this moment might determine my fate from here on out.
“I don’t understand what you mean….”
“To be honest, I find it hard to believe that your goal is to torment humans.”
“Why?”
“Because I was watching everything you did in there from a distance.”
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Intimacy: 62%
◇ Anger: 37%
‘As expected, he really had been watching everything. Then… could he have heard our conversation too?’
If he heard even our conversation, that would make things pretty serious. Evan showed me the book—that was what made Mary angry and wander off elsewhere. Then Lilith appeared and pointed a knife at me…Most importantly, everything I did was to save them all.
“That was because I thought that if I earned the humans’ trust, I could torment them in an even more wicked way later on….”
As I spoke, I felt a sense of intimidation.
“Eve.”
Basileon cut me off, then bent down and met my gaze.
“…Honestly, at this point, I don’t really care whether your true intention was to torment the humans or whether you felt like sparing them.”
‘What the heck. Then why are you acting like this?’
This time, Basileon’s gaze looked slightly… pained.
“I just want you to stay away from that platinum‑blond human….”
“Ah.”
Basileon had been wary of Evan all along, both last time and now, maintaining the same consistent attitude.
“Mm. But… what’s the reason?”
“….”
Basileon, as if unwilling to answer the question, turned his head to the other side.
“Then just answer this! Why did you spare the survivors? There aren’t many chances when all four of them are gathered together.”
“…Evien, it’s because you said so last time.”
“What?”
“Because you said your heart ached every time I swung my sword.”
Basileon remembered what I had said, with a hint of exaggeration.
“…Why do you care about me so much?”
I looked at Basileon with a slightly confused feeling.
‘What on earth do I mean to you?’
* * *
Why do you care about me that much…? Basileon was deeply flustered by Evien’s question.
From his perspective, caring for Evien was only natural. The reason he could maintain his humanity. The only refuge amidst his suffering. The savior of Basileon Ravenwood: Evien Montrose.
“Of course, I…you…”
But no words would come out after that.
“Just because you want it, doesn’t mean the dead will come back.”
The phrase lingered in his mind.
‘As if you couldn’t even overcome something as trivial as that curse.’
“…”
Basileon lifted his gaze and looked at Evien. Those violet eyes, sparkling purely without a trace of malice. Just looking at them, all worries and concerns would momentarily fade, leaving one drenched in a sense of happiness.
Evien’s eyes sparkled like that only when they looked at him. Until now. He was afraid that Evien might cast that same gaze on some troublesome human man. If that happened, anyone who saw it would inevitably fall for her.
“I, you?”
“….”
“Basileon, hehe… your ears turned red!”
Evien pointed at his ears and giggled. Basileon awkwardly brushed his ears and avoided her gaze.
“That’s enough.”
During the silence, Evien was the first to break the ice.
“…What?”
Even though no words had been spoken yet, a negative reply came from Evien. Basileon tensed up slightly.
“If it’s hard to say, then don’t say it.”
“….”
Evien repeated exactly what he had said last time.
“Hihi.”
She turned around, giggling as if trying to play a trick. Basileon, almost instinctively, raised his hand to grab hers… but…
“Ah.”
Realizing he hadn’t grasped anything, he withdrew his hand and wiped his face dry.
“…Evien. You’re nothing but a being full of mischief.”
“Mhm? Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”
“But there should still be enough room for something else to sneak in, right?”
Evien tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand the meaning of that.
* * *
No. Actually, I think I have a slight understanding of what Basileon meant. Judging by his reaction, it’s clear that his feelings for me go beyond mere obsession.
‘Blushing every time, acting a little shy, and saying things with hidden meaning… it has to mean something.’
I may have never dated anyone while living in Korea, but I’m not so clueless as to miss something this obvious.
“Uh… this sentence seems way too hard for me to understand!”
I pretended not to understand and flew into the sky so that he wouldn’t notice my expression.
“…It doesn’t matter. You’ll understand someday.”
‘Huh.’
“You’ll understand someday…” Hearing that made my heart flutter for no reason.
“I can’t stop you from getting close to humans.…But always be suspicious.”
“Suspicion?”
“There seems to be one human hiding among them with bad intentions.”
As I blinked and descended from the air, Basileon added an explanation.
“…On the day you collapsed in the rose garden, I was kidnapped by someone and bound in chains.”
“What?”
Basileon gritted his teeth quietly, recalling the memory.
“The only being capable of doing something like that is that thing—the one that cursed me. It’s an entity powerful enough to even grant power to humans.”
He clenched his fist as if grinding his teeth. It was the first time I had seriously discussed such a topic with Basileon.
“Do you mean that being—the Evil God?”
When I said the word ‘Evil God,’ Basileon reacted.
“Ugh—”
Basileon retched in disgust.
‘Damn. I guess I wasn’t supposed to say that word…’
I cautiously approached Basileon.
“Basileon, are you alright?”
“…Well, it happens often.”
Basileon casually wiped his mouth, as if it were no big deal.
‘Is he really okay?’
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like he was just pretending to be fine because I was in front of him.
“Mm… It’s my fault for bringing it up. You should get some rest.”
I stepped away, letting him rest comfortably. When I looked back, Basileon was standing in the distance, watching me with a look of reluctant longing.
‘…Ha.’
Today’s conversation was productive in a sense, but my emotions were extremely tangled. I felt as if I had glimpsed into Basileon’s heart.
‘…I think I need to rest for a bit.’
A mix of emotions swirled inside me, leaving me confused. So I left the ducal manor and headed into the forest, hoping that the fresh air might help clear my mind.
* * *
The Forest of Darkness. In terms of the actual game, this is a location that really plays its role in the mid-to-late stages. At the beginning of the game, after choosing one of the four playable survivors to start with, you had to rescue the remaining trapped survivors in order to escape the ducal manor. After that, the game continues within the Duchy of Ravenwood, excluding the manor itself, and one of the areas in that territory was the Forest of Darkness.
‘…This place is creepily unsettling.’
It was a place swarming with all sorts of monsters that hindered game progress, teeming with elements of fear. But now, I wasn’t a survivor, so I was able to regain a sense of calm fairly quickly.
I perched atop a towering tree and gazed at the Dark Lake. The moonlight kissed the surface of the water that night. As I admired the stars scattered across the clear night sky, my thoughts drifted to Basileon’s eyes.
‘When tears welled up, they sparkled just like those stars.’
At that moment.
“Lady Montrose.”
Someone called out to me. Even though there was clearly no one there—I had only been voicing my thoughts.
“Uh…”
Near the lake where mist was rising from the water, I saw the silhouette of an unidentified figure.
“Who?”
The kinds of monsters commonly seen at the Dark Lake were usually banshees or werewolves. But the figure emerging from the mist was clad in familiar armor.
When he removed his iron helmet, a man with silver hair tied in a ponytail came into view. It was clearly a spectral knight. He knelt on one knee toward me and gave a faint smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Deputy Commander Krius Harper.”
‘How did you follow me?’
I stepped back, wary of the Ghost Knight.
“Oh, it seems my sudden visit has startled you a little…”
“…How did you know I was here?”
“Oh my. Could it be that I’ve thoughtlessly interrupted the lady’s time?”
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