Pey slowly opened her mouth.
“You will regret it. You will surely be betrayed by God.”
It was advice, or perhaps a warning. Pey could not understand Mary’s desire to tread the thorny path she had already walked.
Mary replied with a calm face.
“I’ve already been betrayed.”
“Betrayed?”
“The lady is always thinking of going back, leaving us behind. So what? I’m prepared to regret it. The future of regret is mine as well.”
“...Alright. Let’s see how well you do. No matter what, the black-haired one trusts me more. You can’t do anything.”
“Don’t you think I’ve tolerated you until now?”
“...What?”
Pey’s eyes twitched. Mary stood tall, just as she had in her glorious past.
“When cornered, one bites back. I’m cornered, and I’m thinking of biting you.”
“...”
“Go back today.”
Mary abruptly turned and disappeared into the mansion. Pey stared at the lit Count Lindy’s mansion with a contemplative expression.
Pey had also done her best. She loved this world and loved God. She spared no effort to maintain and prosper this world as God’s agent.
And God abandoned the world.
‘Please! Oh God, do not abandon us, please...’
One day, God suddenly vanished. She still could not understand why God had abandoned this world. It was that sudden.
Why on earth.
Pey, who had lost her divine powers, was dragged down by the crowd, claiming she was cursed. Not only Pey but also the believers became targets of their wrath.
Thus, Pey fled into the Black Forest with a few remaining believers.
And the people called them witches.
“God is selfish... He doesn’t understand creatures like us.”
Was the black-haired one any different? They lamented that this world was a fiction, merely letters in a book. Yet the black-haired one, who spoke of returning to the original world while using puppets, inflicting pain, and betraying others.
“What a joke.”
Pey scoffed and vanished into the darkness.
This world is slowly crumbling. There is no way to stop it.
“...Ah.”
Summer, waking from a feeling of being crushed, let out a soft sound. The sunlight filtering through the curtains was not bad.
“Russell... brought me here.”
It felt like a dream. She wanted to run and check if that office still existed.
Count Lindy’s mansion had no such space. It was filled only with warm and cozy rooms.
“Three days.”
Another day had passed. Three days until she returned. A short time, yet a long one. Summer’s face darkened.
Since seeing Selena, Summer had felt anxious and restless.
According to Pey, Selena had stayed in this world for too long and had become enchanted. But Summer also felt herself gradually connecting to this world.
“Let’s stop thinking about it.”
Summer tried to turn away from the worries and anxieties that surged and got out of bed.
Having hesitated until now, she had brought it this far, so she should not hesitate any longer. Summer chanted this to herself and pulled the string of her dress.
“Miss! You’re awake?”
“Yes. Please prepare a bath.”
“Leave it to me!”
As if Mary was busy with something else, Daisy popped in and greeted her brightly. Seeing the lively Daisy made Summer smile slightly.
Daisy, who had filled the bathtub with hot water, casually spoke.
“Oh, by the way. Mary is entertaining a guest.”
“A guest?”
Do even minor characters have guests?
“Yes. Miss Dudley has come, and she’s talking with the lord right now.”
“Julian?”
It was unexpected. If he were to come, he would have informed her first. What could he possibly want to discuss with Count Lindy?
Summer hurried to prepare. She quickly washed up and changed into an indoor dress just as Mary came to find her.
“Miss. The guest wishes to see you. Would you like to go to the reception room, or shall I call him here?”
“Tell Julian to come to my room.”
“Understood.”
Once ready, Summer asked Daisy to bring a simple tea set and sat down in a chair. She was curious about why Julian had come.
“This is good.”
It was a good time for farewells. Especially, she felt a bit sentimental towards Julian.
She hoped Julian would be happy and live well. Perhaps it was because she saw her past reflected in his past.
After a short wait, Daisy set down the tea set, bowed, and left. At the same time, a clear voice accompanied a knock.
“Summer, it’s me. Julian.”
“Come in.”
Julian cautiously opened the door and entered with a smile. The door closed, leaving just the two of them in the room.
“Julian. Let’s talk while we drink.”
Summer offered tea to Julian first. To her, Julian seemed to be trying hard to act bright and playful while hiding something.
Is he anxious? Well, Summer had lost her composure in fear when she first witnessed the strangeness of this world.
“Phew, I think you’re the only one who can talk to me so comfortably, Summer.”
Perhaps Julian’s tension eased a bit with her consideration, as he smiled and lifted his teacup.
Both Julian and Summer poured a heap of sugar into their teacups.
“It’s an honor. But more importantly, Julian, what brings you here? You didn’t even give me a heads-up.”
“Um, I have something to discuss with Count Lindy.”
“What about...?”
Could the heroine have business with Count Lindy? Moreover, Julian’s mood had been strange since the hunting competition.
He seemed slightly off, yet also sharp. She knew the two descriptions couldn’t coexist, but that was how Julian appeared to Summer at that moment.
“Count Lindy and the Dudley family have decided to engage in a trade business together.”
“Trade... business?”
Summer quickly racked her memory, but there was certainly nothing like that in the original story.
Julian set down his teacup, smiling faintly as if he could hear the gears turning in Summer’s head.
“I suspect that I can’t shake the feeling that you’re going to leave me, Summer.”
“...”
Summer stiffened like a broken doll. How? How could Julian know?
Julian quietly gazed at Summer and added.
“I can’t let that happen. Even if you end up marrying the duke, I want you to stay here.”
What on earth was he saying? Summer was confused. Julian’s words swirled in her ears, mixing together.
How does he know I’m leaving, and what does he mean by he can’t let that happen? How does he plan to stop me?
And why is he suddenly talking about marriage?
“What do you mean by that? I’m sorry, but I don’t have anyone I’m dating.”
“Wasn’t there a good atmosphere with Ian?”
This time, Julian asked with wide eyes, as if surprised. Summer frowned in disbelief.
“Not at all. I’m serious. With Ian, it’s just a relationship of sympathy and reliance.”
“Well then, you’ve lightened your emotional burden. In fact, when Ian returns this time, I plan to propose.”
“Wait, hold on. Julian. Just a moment. Propose? Propose?”
“Yes.”
Julian answered a bit shyly. Summer’s jaw dropped, and she was left speechless.
Ah. Is this how parents feel when they suddenly hear their child is seeing someone?
“Ian is the one pursuing you, not you, Julian? Why?”
My precious heroine is proposing to Ian? It’s too fast. It’s way too fast. The original story hasn’t even fully unfolded yet.
In fact, in the original story, Ian actively pursues Julian after learning the truth.
Summer thought it would be better to faint than to deal with this. What on earth is all this?
“Yes. I’ve come to have feelings for Ian.”
“That’s great, but isn’t it too soon? You haven’t known Ian for long. I don’t know what it feels like to fall in love, but Julian, this is too rushed.”
“I’ve known Ian for... a long time.”
“So, I’m talking about forming a relationship,”
“I know.”
“What do you mean?”
Summer’s heart raced with anxiety.
How close has Julian come to the truth? Is this okay? Julian is the protagonist of the original story.
Can he really approach the secrets of this world like this? Can he break the flow of the world?
If something changes in the world because of Julian’s transformation... Summer swallowed hard, feeling a headache coming on.
Is there a chance that problems will arise in returning to the original world? Such thoughts poured out.
Thoughts spilled out like spilled water, impossible to gather back.
“On the day you came to my room, you know, I was dreaming.”
“...What?”
“It was a dream from my childhood. I thought it was a nightmare, but a face I wanted to see appeared.”
“...”
Ah. Was the world stopping Julian’s consciousness for this reason? To twist the direction of the story so that Julian could learn the truth first?
But still, questions remained. Why did the world go out of its way to twist the perfectly fine original story and inform Julian of Ian’s existence through a dream?
“The boy who made me feel the need to live for the first time in my childhood was Ian.”
The original story was completely broken. Isn’t this a big problem?
“I’m no longer going to hide my abilities. You knew, right? That I have divine powers.”
“Julian. That’s dangerous. The temple will definitely try to take you.”
“I don’t care. I no longer want to live, consumed by fear, hiding this ability that could save many people.”
After Julian’s divine powers were revealed, the temple resorted to bribery, political threats, and personal threats to secure him.
The temple was ready to do anything to regain its former glory.
Even though the pope had shown kindness by revealing my name to Summer, she still couldn’t trust him.
The pope was the kind of person who would expend divine power to change his appearance to become a perfect pope. If he discovered the saintess...
Should she plead with him to leave Julian alone since he had informed her about Selena? But Summer was hiding the fact that Selena was dead from the pope.
Instead, Summer could be in danger. Since the pope also possessed divine power, no one knew how that power would act.
If he harbored resentment and used divine power against Summer... It could potentially disrupt her return to the original world.
At this moment, Summer felt a sense of self-mockery for thinking selfishly.
“...What a beautiful heart, but Julian. The world doesn’t give trials that can be endured by mere will like a novel or a play.”
“I know. It could lead to death. The temple is targeting me too.”
“Then why...”
Julian’s lovely pink eyes were filled with Summer. As if he wouldn’t let go for even a moment.
“I decided after seeing you, Summer. I wanted to do something for someone else, to the extent of changing my fate, just like you.”
“I... did something for someone?”
“I know. You always wished that I wouldn’t have to go through bad things.”
“That’s...”
“Don’t worry. And the temple isn’t that bad of a place.”
It’s not. The pope seems a bit strange. Summer wanted to dissuade Julian.
But fearing that if she intervened in her affairs again, the path back to the original world would be forever blocked, she simply nodded silently.
“I support your choice, Julian.”
All she could do was hope that she wouldn’t have too many regrets.