“Stop!”
At the same time, someone grabbed my waist and pulled me sharply inside.
Every moment flowed slowly. As my body turned, I saw the person holding my waist.
Hair as black as the night sky and silver-gray eyes revealed beneath it.
“...Duke Langerster?”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Ian Langerster. The protagonist of this vast world. He stared at Summer with fierce intensity.
“Well, as you can see.”
Summer blinked as if to say, what’s the problem?
Ah. To Summer, this act was a return to her original world, but to others, she must look like a crazy person jumping to her death. A belated realization washed over her.
No, more than that.
“Why are you here, Your Grace?”
He had clearly been blocked by a transparent barrier at the banquet, unable to approach the protagonists.
Wasn’t the male protagonist supposed to be talking with Julian on the terrace right now?
“I want to ask why the young lady, who was just devouring all the food in the banquet hall, is trying to do something so reckless.”
“I have my reasons. I really wasn’t trying to die.”
“No one survives a fall from a tower, Lady Linji.”
The duke coldly retorted, pulling Summer further away from the window.
As her plans unraveled, Summer, feeling anxious, roughly pushed his hand away.
“It’s none of your business, Your Grace.”
“Why here of all places?”
“What?”
The duke’s voice sank. Summer was taken aback by his dark expression.
“I asked why you chose this place among so many places to die.”
“Because I can see the imperial palace, and there are hardly any people around.”
“......”
The duke was silent. He simply watched Summer with his cool gray eyes for a long time.
Eventually, unable to bear the silence, Summer spoke first.
“If you’re done talking, please go back.”
“Well, it is a famous story.”
Summer cringed at his words. It felt like they were speaking about entirely different things.
“Suddenly? I’m sorry, but I’m not really interested in outside matters.”
Possessing knowledge she shouldn’t have.
But Duke Ian Langerster didn’t seem to believe her at all. He let out a cold, almost certain laugh.
“If your goal was to attract attention, you’ve succeeded.”
“You’re so arrogant.”
“Arrogant? Then tell me why you’re here.”
“......”
Summer couldn’t answer. To explain, she would have to talk about possession and witches.
Ian Langerster’s face twisted in anger as he misinterpreted Summer’s attitude.
“Do you want to attract attention so badly that you’re willing to poke at someone else’s wounds? Even if I despise and find you disgusting?”
His gaze seemed to reflect true disgust.
At this point, Summer also felt something was off and began to think. Wounds. Attention. Disgust. The fragmented words pierced her mind.
It was clear that her actions had disturbed his wounds.
Summer immediately bent her waist and spoke earnestly.
“If my actions have disturbed Your Grace’s wounds, I sincerely apologize. But I truly didn’t intend for that. I met you for the first time at this banquet, and I’m not in love with you.”
However, despite Summer’s apology, Ian Langerster’s expression didn’t soften.
“That method has already been used by another young lady. I’m not a fool who repeats the same mistake twice.”
“Ha, you’re not even listening.”
“You’ve attracted enough attention, so go down, Lady Linji.”
A sigh escaped Summer’s lips.
She felt frustrated. There’s nothing more unjust and infuriating than being misunderstood.
“The delusion that everyone in the world would like you, Your Grace. Ha, it’s absurd. You and I are completely unrelated, so please just go down those stairs. Okay?”
Unable to hold back, Summer snapped.
The banquet had started, and Summer’s soul had appeared, so all that was left was to return to her original world quickly.
But now, the male protagonist, whom she couldn’t even reach until now, was getting in her way.
Summer turned sharply and placed her knees back on the window sill. Once again, Duke Langerster’s firm hand grabbed her wrist.
The duke’s gaze wavered.
“You can’t survive a fall from this tower.”
“I know. That’s why I want to fall! Without pain! All at once!”
No matter what, she wanted her last moments in this world to end with a smile. But that handsome-faced duke was ruining everything.
Once her irritation flared, emotions surged uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down Summer’s face as she shouted fiercely.
“Please! Can’t you just leave me alone? You can ignore me! I really have no interest in you, so please go back to the banquet hall and smile at the poor young ladies who are hanging on your every word.”
However, Duke Langerster instead pulled Summer back with more force. Confusion filled his eyes.
“Why do you want to die? Especially from this tower?”
“Why are you interfering with me!”
“...What?”
“Do you know how relieved I felt climbing to the top of this tower? Looking down from up here, do you know how happy I was? I thought it was all over, so why are you showing up now to interfere!”
He knew. In Duke Langerster’s eyes, Summer Linji was just a crazy young lady.
Still, she couldn’t bear to face him without speaking her mind.
As Summer gasped for breath, Langerster stood there, slightly dazed.
After a long pause, a low, firm voice emerged from him.
“I can’t let you die unless you’re an enemy. Summer Linji. Go back.”
“...Do you know my name?”
In that moment, a jolt of electricity coursed through her body.
The original protagonist knows Summer Linji. The moment her name slipped from the protagonist’s lips, the transparent wall blocking her wavered.
This was serious. The protagonist had more power in this world than she had thought.
The author is being drawn into the character. Suddenly, that phrase came to mind.
“First, you’ll need this to go down.”
Duke Langerster took off his blue jacket and draped it over Summer’s shoulders. Summer stared at him blankly.
This is a disaster. She was completely at a loss for words. The more she was recognized by the protagonist, the more she seemed to merge into this book.
This meant it would become increasingly difficult to return to her original world.
She was already at a point where she couldn’t even remember her name in reality.
Once again, fear crept up from her feet. What would happen after losing her name? Would she lose her soul too?
“Summer Linji? Get a grip.”
“...Ah.”
Summer blinked, belatedly coming to her senses.
Duke Langerster awkwardly placed Summer’s hand on his arm and explained.
“It might be unpleasant, but this is for the best. There will be many who find it suspicious that the young lady has taken off her dress.”
“Your Grace.”
Summer’s voice felt so clear it seemed almost innocent.
“Why do you say that?”
“Do you think I care about my reputation when I was about to fall from the tower?”
Duke Langerster had seen all kinds of people. Nobles were truly a mixed bag.
He himself wasn’t much different.
He had been drenched in the blood of enemies and allies on the battlefield. He had eliminated forces that sought to kill him. He had even taken the lives of brothers he had known since childhood.
Duke Langerster faced Summer, who looked up at him with those clear blue eyes.
He had never seen someone with such pure eyes in his life.
“Really, it’s strange.”
A kind of purification of his true feelings, that he was properly crazy.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Summer flicked the jacket resting on her shoulder with her fingertips. The golden fringe fluttered in the air before falling helplessly to the ground.
Summer walked down the stairs, thinking of her next plan.
Her steps felt heavy. She wanted to finish everything today. That handsome-faced male lead had ruined everything.
“Your Grace, you really have a peculiar hobby, don’t you?”
As she walked, considering whether to take a stroll in the sparsely populated garden after coming down from the tower, Summer suddenly stopped and turned around.
Even after coming down from the tower, the duke persistently followed behind her.
“I don’t know what you might do.”
“Wow. You’re treating me like a completely crazy person.”
Summer openly mocked him. Duke Langerster narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow.
“As long as I’m a witness, I can’t just leave you be. Cooperate quietly.”
“Is this a threat?”
“I thought this would work better on you.”
“Hmm. Well, dying at your hands does sound a bit unpleasant.”
Summer readily agreed and waved her arms. It was a gesture for him to lead the way.
Duke Langerster let out a mix of disbelief and laughter before lightly picking Summer up.
“What are you doing!”
Summer flailed and resisted. However, Ian Langerster covered her face with his outer garment and headed toward the main gate.
* * *
Duke Langerster called for his carriage.
Thus, Summer ended up in the same carriage as the male protagonist.
Duke Langerster opened the window and looked outside, while Summer watched him.
His profile, seemingly lost in thought, certainly carried the aura of a protagonist.
“A beautiful but worthless peach.”
“Are you talking about me?”
“If I say yes, will you kill me?”
Duke Langerster’s expression crumpled.
In the tense atmosphere, only Summer, the cause of it all, blinked with a calm face.
“I don’t kill people recklessly.”
Somehow, Duke Langerster felt like a drenched wolf.
“I know. It’s just that, extras die quickly.”
“Extras?”
“Yes. Beings that are hardly worth a speck of dust in this world.”
Summer said with self-deprecation, casting her gaze out the window.
Extras die easily. And the audience doesn’t think much of it.
That fact felt strangely, a little, sad.
“Seeing you engage in self-deprecation, I think I really need to keep an eye on you.”
“I really wasn’t trying to die earlier!”
At Duke Langerster’s words, Summer shouted energetically again. The male protagonist had a remarkable talent for getting on her nerves.
Fortunately, the carriage soon stopped in front of the Count Linji’s residence.
“Lady.”
“Yes?”
As Summer was about to jump out of the carriage, she turned at the call.
The moonlight shattered against her dazzling blonde hair.
In her icy blue eyes, there was no emotion, making her seem almost innocent.
Duke Langerster insisted on draping his jacket over Summer again, this time securing it firmly with a pin.
As he gently lowered his gaze and removed the heavy embellishments from the jacket resting on her shoulders, Duke Langerster spoke.
“Try loving someone.”