âLeave...?â
Muenâs eyes widened as he turned to the door.
That oppressive sense of being sealed in was gone. The door before himâ
looked like it could truly open now.
Without thinking, he grabbed the handle and pushed down.
Click.
It opened.
Through the narrow crack, he could see the bright corridor outside.
A rush of joy lit up Muenâs eyes.
If the door was open, then he could escape!
Butâit wasnât that he wanted to abandon Celicia.
He just needed to find help.
Only by calling others could he have any hope of saving her!
âWait...â
His footsteps halted.
Something wasnât right.
âThe assassin outside shouldâve known this would happen too.
So why... would she let me leave?â
âShe said... âItâs almost overâ?â
Almost over?
What... was ending?
Muen turned sharply.
And thenâhe saw it.
The maid, her hand grasping the burning dagger, like Death itself raising a scytheâ
ready to strike and reap a proud soul refusing to bow, even in despair.
Forward was life.
Back was death.
Time seemed to freeze.
And in that moment, Muen thought he heard the fluttering of pagesâ
As if the story had reached a turning point,
and now waited for his hand to write the next line.
****
Reflected in Celiciaâs eyes were fire and steel.
Despair smothered her completely, so heavy she could barely breathe.
Everything in her vision slowed down, like the world had been put on pause.
But she knewâ
It wasnât time that slowed, but her thoughts that accelerated.
The brainâs final burst before death.
In other words: a life flashing before her eyes.
âHow pathetic... to fall in a place like this...â
âDamn that Muen Campbell...â
Celicia cursed the man she hated most.
But the fury from before had long since burned away.
There was no room for anger now.
âHeâs probably run off already...â
âGood.
He shouldnât die here...â
Celicia closed her eyes.
Calmly.
Accepting the end.
Shnk.
The sound of a blade entering flesh arrived right on cue.
Hot blood sprayed across her face.
Butâ
She didnât feel pain.
Instead, she felt something familiar.
Warm.
Surrounding her.
âWhat...?â
She opened her eyes in shockâ
And met a pair of bright blue, clear, yet dimmed eyes.
Just like back at the banquet...
When he had asked her to dance.
âCough... Giving up now feels kinda premature, donât you think, Your Highness...?â
Muen collapsed on top of her, laughing bitterly through the pain.
Then he coughed, hard, a mouthful of blood staining Celiciaâs pure white dress a horrific red.
âWhy...?â
Celicia stared in disbelief, her cold gaze cracking.
Her expression softened into one of raw confusionâ
Like a lost, frightened girl.
âMuen Campbell... why did you save me...?â
âWhy? Cough... Hell if I know...â
Muen gasped for air.
That daggerâthe one meant to deliver deathâwas still embedded in his back, skewering through his lungs.
The fire blessed by a god blazed within his body, tearing through him with unspeakable agony.
âIf I had to say...
Maybe it was just... a moment of impulse.â
âImpulse? Who does something like this on impulse?â
Seeing Celicia clearly not buying it, Muen could only give a helpless shrug.
But he wasnât lying.
He had taken a step toward the open door.
He could have walked away.
But the moment he looked back and saw that dagger raisedâabout to fallâ
Everything else vanished.
His guilt toward Celicia.
His regret for being weak.
His fear of dying.
His desire to live.
All gone.
He just didnât want Celicia to die.
He didnât want this girlâthe one heâd once adored as a fictional character,
who now stood before him as something so real, so vivid, so beautifulâ
to die.
Especially not like this.
Especially not because of him.
And so, he chose to turn back.
He stood in Deathâs path.
So this was what they called obsession.
Maybe... it had just been self-deception all along.
âGuess I really do have intermittent idiocy syndrome...
Always flaring up at the worst times.â
Muen chuckled bitterly.
Like that time at 2AM, when heâd blown all his savings on a gacha pullâ
And, too hyped from pulling five golds in ten rolls,
got hit by a cement truck.
âSo... is this the same ending?â
Wellâ
Having died once, it wasnât nearly as scary the second time.
âBut before I go...
Let me act cool one last time.
Otherwise itâd be a waste...â
Clenching his teeth against the pain, Muen forced himself to straighten up, to look composed.
With the grace of a dukeâs son, he smiled down at Celicia.
âSo...
Do I look like a real man now, Your Highness?â
âYou...â
But Muen never heard her answer.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
****
ă......ă
ăLoading...ă
ăPride: 50%ă
ăEnvy: 99%ă
ăGreed: 0%ă
ăLust: 0%ă
ăSloth: 0%ă
ăWrath: 0%ă
ăGluttony: -90%ă
ă......ă
ă......ă
ăKeep struggling.ă
ăMuen Campbellă
ăMy â â â â ă
Deep in Muenâs unconscious mind, the Black Book â NĐŸvĐ”lÎčght â (Read the full story) trembled faintly.
****
âYouâfuckingâbastard!!â
The maidâs voice trembled with fury, her eyes blazing as she stared at Muen,
now collapsed between her and her target.
He had just blocked the fatal blow with his body.
So closeâ
She had been this close to succeeding.
And Muen Campbell, of all people, had ruined it at the last second?
âTch... Did I just... zone out for a second?â
She clutched her forehead, instinctively sensing something strange.
But there was no time to think.
âYou think thisâll stop me?! Even if you blocked that strikeâ
With the blessing of the divine, Princess Celicia is still just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!â
âFine! Iâll just stab again!â
She gripped the dagger tightâ
And pulled.
...Huh?
It wouldnât move?
Confused, the maid looked down at Muen.
And saw it.
Golden sparks flickering faintly across the spot she had stabbedâ
His luxurious attire shimmering subtly,
holding the blade in place.
âSo that outfitâs enchanted...â
The maid sneered.
Of course the son of a duke would have some life-saving gear.
Still, it was just clothing.
It couldnât hold her back for long.
She summoned her strengthâ
And sure enough, the dagger came free easily.
Butâ
Something was off.
âHuh?â
She stared at the blade.
Still sharp.
Still gleaming.
Butâ
âWhereâs my fire?â
The divine flameâthe sacred fire gifted by her godâ
That roaring inferno from earlier...
It was gone.