“No way.”
Upon hearing the shocking revelation, my head spun, and I staggered where I stood.
“Eve. I know it’s confusing, but everything we’ve just discussed is only my hypothesis.”
“I know. But it makes sense.”
Now that I had heard all those strange possibilities, I couldn’t simply pretend I hadn’t. And Basileon’s reasoning wasn’t absurd.
‘Especially since this is a world inside a game.’
“Then let’s say it’s true. If that thing really has my body, what could it be planning to do with it?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to know. I only want to retrieve it as soon as possible.”
Basileon looked faintly restless at the thought of not having found my body yet.
“…I see. So that’s why you’ve been digging all over the place.”
“Were you watching me?”
“Not exactly. I just saw you a few times while I was flying around.”
It would have been awkward to mention Adolf, so I glossed over it.
[Basileon Ravenwood]
◇ Affinity: 94%
◇ Rage: 58%
When I checked his status again, his Affinity was fluctuating between 93 percent and 94 percent.
‘Wait. What happens… if that hits 100 percent?’
If 100 percent rage means Basileon is consumed by madness and becomes a crazed killer, then what about affinity? Affinity… surely he won’t go mad with obsession and start courting me endlessly or something, right? I couldn’t predict it at all.
“Eve?”
As I focused silently on the status window, Basileon called my name.
“Ah—yeah.”
“…I’ll say it again. I don’t care what form you take. Whether you’re an evil spirit, a human, or someone from beyond this world.”
His voice was soft, steady, reminding me of what he had already said. I could feel his persistent gaze, so I pretended to look at the ground.
“But regardless of that, I won’t be able to endure it if something happens to your body. That’s why I’ve been digging.”
“I see. Then I’ll look for my body too.”
At my words, Basileon’s face contorted.
“No. It’s dangerous. If something were to happen to you, I—”
“No! I’ve even got a weapon now! In the end it’s my body we’re talking about. Are you telling me to just sit still?”
It wasn’t stubbornness. It was the truth.Who could stay indifferent when it came to finding their real body?
“…”
Perhaps he couldn’t find the words to dissuade me. He fell silent, letting out a small sigh as he gazed into the distance. From the side, I could see his profile—the clean line of his jaw, the straight bridge of his nose. His features were beautiful, yet sharply masculine. I found myself imagining him as a child. If he had been frail and often ill, had he once been small and thin? Basileon had endured violence and abuse since childhood and grown into the man he was.
‘But the weight of the past is always heavy. I know that too.’
For the first time, I saw the faint shadow cast across his face. Worry. Concern. His eyes, carrying that weight, shifted toward me. The moment our gazes met, something in his expression changed sharply. In that instant, the shadow vanished from his face. I wondered why—
“I like you.”
“…What?”
“Eve. I like you.”
The air stopped moving. I couldn’t move either. I could only blink, unsure how to respond. Then I saw his ears turning red. The color quickly spread across his face. And then—
Clang!
“Ah!”
What cut between us was Adolf’s rapier.
“Rapier!”
The blade darted back and forth in front of my eyes.
“What’s going on?”
When I asked, the rapier pointed in a direction with its tip, gesturing for us to follow.
“Follow… you?”
Without a word, Basileon followed the rapier as though nothing had just happened. I trailed after him as well.
“…”
The rapier led us into the ducal castle.
“Where are we going?”
The rapier tried to express something, but since it couldn’t speak and only used gestures, communication was frustratingly limited. The only thing I could understand was the gesture to follow. Basileon walked slowly, keeping some distance from me. With the confession from earlier refusing to leave my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to look up at him.
* * *
The place we arrived at, following the rapier, was a secret room in the basement.
‘I’ve… seen this place before?’
I searched my memory. Definitely. When I’d been trapped in the mirror room because of Lilith. When I’d first seen the past through the flames. I remembered now—this was the underground chamber where Evien had been imprisoned when she died in the fire. It was dark and damp. Just standing in this place, thick with a vile presence, was unpleasant. The chamber was filled with smoke. The rapier guided us deeper. Through the haze, I saw a large figure lying in the corner.
‘Who is it?’
As I moved closer, the figure began to take a more detailed shape. The massive being lying in the corner was Havel. Seeing him lying there so limp, it didn’t look like he was merely sleeping….
“Havel?”
I stepped closer to check whether he was breathing.
‘He’s not breathing!’
Startled, I called out loudly.
“Havel! Hey!”
“Puuuu—. Krrr… hup… puuuuu—. Krrr….”
…He was asleep. The lack of breathing had been sleep apnea, judging by the snoring.
‘Seriously….’
“Hey!”
“Puaa—. Krr.”
“Hey!”
Havel showed no sign of waking.
‘What a troublesome glutton.’
I sighed in irritation—
“Eve.”
Basileon, who had been surveying the chamber, called me. He looked uncomfortable.
“Yeah? What’s wrong?”
“It seems dawn is approaching. My body is reacting.”
It was time for him to succumb to the curse’s sleep.
“Ah.”
Only then did our situation fully sink in. The lingering thrill from earlier and this cold reality washed over me at once; it was hard to bear.
“Yeah… You should go rest.”
My voice came out subdued. Basileon looked at me with concern.
“And earlier, what I said wasn’t meant to burden you. I just—”
“I’m not burdened!”
I cut him off, raising my voice.
“I’m not like this because I feel pressured.”
“I see….”
I saw Basileon turn his face away and let out a faint smile.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
He held my gaze until the very end before turning to return to his room and sleep. After watching him until he disappeared from sight, I turned back to Havel.
‘Maybe brute force is the answer.’
Thwack!
Using a skill, I lifted a loose wooden plank from the floor and struck Havel.
You have used 〈Attack〉 on 〈Human〉.
〈Remaining uses: 9〉
“Waaah!”
The beating was effective. Only then did Havel open his eyes and lift his head.
“Hey. Why are you sleeping here?”
“Uh….”
Was he still dreaming? Havel looked around as if searching for something.
“Lilith, Lilith gone!”
“What are you talking about?”
He seemed disoriented, stamping his feet anxiously.
“Evil spirit. Lilith disappeared!”
When I tilted my head, the rapier began circling frantically nearby.
“Havel Akron. Calm down and explain slowly. What exactly happened?”
“Uh… all messed up. Lilith… changed! Inside castle…!”
Even after calming him down, it took effort to understand him. In the end, I had to piece together his scattered words myself.
“All messed up. Lilith. Changed. Inside the castle?”
“Right, right!”
As I listed the words aloud, Havel nodded vigorously.
“All messed up… You don’t mean Lilith herself is all messed up. The inside of the castle is all messed up and changed. Something like that?”
“Yes! The castle is all messed up!”
I let out a long sigh in frustration.
“I still don’t really get it even when you say that.”
“Yesterday, the passage. It was a maze. I walked through the maze all day. Lilith touched it, and it became like this.”
Once Havel calmed down a bit more, his speech became somewhat intelligible. The hidden servants’ passage that Lilith had taken him into to escape Basileon—had something gone wrong there?
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