“There is no way you can do any work in the church, let alone the Imperial Palace Church,” Fenric said, his eyes sparkling sharply as he looked at Vidar.
“What are you planning?”
“…”
“Why did you leave the statue in this state?”
Neither Vidar's visit to the church nor his meeting with Preseppe, let alone the complete destruction of the holy statue, were part of Fenric's calculations. Even Fenric was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
He really had to tread carefully and meticulously plan every move to get Prisse out of the palace. Such turmoil was extremely frustrating.
But Vidar's point of view seemed completely different from Fenric's.
“In the end, it worked out well, didn't it?” Vidar said.
"…What?"
“Thanks to that, I got another justification to get Presibe out of the palace.”
“…”
"If it had only been about the deaths of Atari Hannan and Noah Duffern, Dietrich might have adamantly insisted that Presippi was not involved. But once she encountered a suspicious character, it must have seemed like a really dangerous situation."
It wasn't entirely wrong. There is a difference between strange events happening around someone and directly dealing with a suspicious person.
“Whatever the process, I have been helping you the whole time,” Vidar continued.
“…”
“There's no point in doubting me, and you know that.”
“There's no point in trusting you blindly either,” Fenric replied coldly.
Vidar laughed.
“Don't be so prickly, Fenric.”
“…”
"Everything is going your way, isn't it? Atari and Noah are dead, and now you even managed to get Prisippi out of the palace."
Of course, this may still not be enough for you.
Fenric said nothing in response to Vidar's words.
“But you have to be more careful going forward,” Vidar advised him as he stood up from the sofa, focusing his gaze on Fenric.
“Dietrich, Ivan, Siegfried. The remaining three won’t be easy to deal with. Especially Ivan.”
"It doesn't matter."
“…”
“I don't intend to prolong this.”
"Okay, okay. Good luck."
Vidar shrugged and gave a slight smile before leaving the room without a backward glance, as if he had no regrets.
“…”
Fenric remained alone in the quiet, empty living room, staring silently at the door that Vidar had closed behind him.
A mysterious man, as always.
Although Vidar had never disrupted Fenric's plans until now, cooperation like his would ultimately lead to disaster.
“…ha.”
Fenric sighed briefly, then slowly turned his gaze to the night sky, where the full moon loomed eerily amidst the inky darkness.
In Ateloya, the full moon was considered a bad omen.
In contrast to the sun, which warms, illuminates, and protects all things, the moon was said to tempt, disturb, and attract unnatural and evil beings into the world.
Thus, no Ateloi welcomed the full moon night.
But Fenric was different.
The moon has always been full.
All days are linked to Preseppe in his memory.
[If you kill them all.]
The day he decided to implement all of this was also under a full moon.
[So I'm the only option left for her.]
...That's all that matters, isn't it?
Fenric never forgot the decision he had made, clenching his fists so hard that his sharp nails dug into his skin, and biting his lip until it bled.
Now it was no different.
“…”
Fenric looked silently at the eerily glowing moon, resting his chin on one hand.
He began to think about how to get rid of the remaining three obstacles as quickly as possible.
—
Noah Duffern's house remains untouched, despite the absence of its owner.
The sumptuous drawing room, the hallway filled with paintings, jewelry, and stuffed animals—everything was exactly as it had been.
Except for one thing.
One wall in the secret room - specifically the wall that once housed a window - has completely collapsed. Other than that, nothing has changed.
“…”
The countless mummified specimens were reflected in the eyes of the man standing there.
“How crazy,” he muttered.
It may be justified to collect one or two stuffed animals, but was it possible to collect so many stuffed animals? He must have lost his mind.
Frankly, Noah Duffern didn't seem like a particularly respectable man in life, so it was infuriating that his death would cause such problems.
“The body was in a really terrible condition,” one person said.
"I know. I didn't look at it myself – it was so disgusting."
“It was really terrifying. Much worse than what I heard,” the robed boy sighed as he continued speaking.
“His neck was torn out by some kind of monster. If he was lucky, he would have died instantly, but who knows? Noah Duvern doesn’t seem like the type to enjoy good luck.”
“At worst, he would bleed to death,” the man muttered indifferently.
“Or maybe… since his entire body was apparently damaged, he may have died from shock.”
“This is exactly why it's so terrifying…”
The man did not respond, but knelt down and ran his hand across the blood-stained floor.
"But isn't this strange? A monster in the heart of the capital? Even if it's arguable that a thief brought it, the staff said nothing was stolen...”
“True. Maybe the mummification process took revenge.”
"What?"
The boy stared at him blankly, but the man smiled wryly.
“Anyway, there's no trace of the suspicious energy, right? Really, what a mystery…”
And boy was she right.
If it had been related to magic or a curse, there could have been traces. But nothing unusual could be seen or felt.
...At least, not until the man noticed the black mark hidden beneath the bloodstains.
He ran his long fingers over the dark spot slowly and deliberately.
This was a faint trace left by one of Noah's beloved candles, which are known for their wonderful scent.
“Chief magician?”
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Someone...”
“Pardon?”
“It looks like someone is planning something very interesting...”
The boy frowned upon hearing these mysterious words, but Chief Magician Ivan didn't care.
He simply moved his lips into a smile, as if he was truly amused.
—
For the first time in a long time, Prisippi slept soundly.
“…”
When I woke up, I looked at the ceiling in amazement. Warmth filled the spacious room, sunlight was streaming through the windows, and the bedding was soft and comfortable.
“It wasn't a dream, it was reality.”
She fell asleep from exhaustion, but fear was still filling her.
She was worried that maybe she had finally gone completely crazy, and that this was all just a weird dream.
But it wasn't like that.
If she were still in the Imperial Palace, she would most likely be trapped in that ice prison, suffering.
Just thinking about the bitter cold and the excruciating pain caused by frostbite brought tears to her eyes.
But now, it's time to pull herself together and move on.
“…”
Precipi sat up slowly, leaning against the headboard, and took several deep breaths.
“Show me the incident log,” she whispered, her voice unsteady.
Nothing appeared.
“…Reviewing flashbacks.”
Still nothing. Familiar system windows failed to appear, no matter what I tried.
“I thought this might happen...”
The main setting of the game was the Imperial Palace of Atiluia. وبغض النظر عما حدث، وحتى الوصول إلى النهاية، كانت بريسيبي تنهي يومها دائمًا في البرج.
Except for pre-defined selections, system-related functions were only available within the tower.
“If I could just keep using the memory book...”
If she could, her presence outside the tower would not be an obstacle. But she shook her head, trying to console herself.
"It's okay. There's no use for me staying in this tower anyway. The Book of Memories wasn't working because of a glitch, remember?"
If the system had pointed out the real hero, it would have been different, but without direct information, she couldn't even look up.
There was nothing more to discover in the palace. I've repeated this cycle hundreds of times already.
Now, it's better to be free to move as you please. At least here, she wouldn't be as restricted as she was in the palace.
Moreover, reviewing previous records was futile.
The statue incident, Noah's death – things have been going so crazy that the insects will likely persist, leaving them with only frustrating question marks.
...But why did Noah die?
Honestly, she didn't feel any sympathy.
When Atari Hanan died, it was the first time she had encountered something like this, so she was in a state of shock. But this time was different.
[He was supposed to have been killed by a monster, and his neck had been torn off. At the scene, there were only his group and the body of Noah Duffern.]
“Worth it.”
Prisippi still remembers that cursed room, full of stuffed animals.
She remembered how she had almost ended up like one of them – dying in pain, just like them.
“Things might get weird, but... the basic structure of the game shouldn't change.”
As long as she finds the true male hero, the true ending is still achievable.
She can do this.
“…”
Prisippi lost her thought and turned her gaze to the vase of flowers.
The flowers that Fenric had given her enjoyed the sunshine and released their fragrance into the room.
Memories of a long time ago, when someone had left her flowers, and she cried alone, flashed through her mind.
At least now, things are better than in the past.
She lowered her head and Precipi carefully inhaled the scent of the flowers, and looked at them for a long time.
“…Huh?”
She paused, feeling familiarity wash over her.
“These flowers...”
Isn't it the same one that someone put in the vase many years ago?
Precipe gently touched the delicate petals, their soft lavender color matching her eyes – a rare, fragile beauty.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it lifted her spirits.
She felt as if the flowers were cheering her on, whispering that she could really succeed this time.
“Okay, I'll do my best. Thanks to you, it's already started out well.”
Presibe smiled cheerfully.
As her resolve became stronger, a sudden knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Grand Duke Fenric?”
He was the only person she knew in this house, so she assumed it was him. But the voice that came from outside the door was not familiar.