Vol. 4 Ch. 22

“How… did you do it?”

Isha could hardly believe that Leon had just taken her down.

“When we ran into each other in the corridor, neither you nor Rosvisser had a kill card. If you had, you wouldn’t have just run away.”

“And only ten minutes have passed since then—hardly enough time to complete a task that would grant you a kill card…”

“So how exactly… did you do it?”

Leon’s method of taking down her aunt was less important to Noa than one burning question: Where was her mom?

According to her aunt, her parents had been together. So why was it that only her dad appeared as her savior?

Noa looked up at Leon, eyes wide and questioning.

Leon began to explain calmly, “I didn’t have any kill cards. But I did have… **[Avenger]**.”

Isha raised an eyebrow. “**[Avenger]**?”

“Yes. If I witness a kill firsthand, I gain a temporary ability to eliminate a player.”

But even with the **[Avenger]** card, Isha still didn’t understand. “But when I eliminated Moon and Claudia, you weren’t there to witness it, so there was no way to trigger **[Avenger]**. So how did you—”

Mid-sentence, Isha froze, her crimson dragon eyes widening as they fixed on the cake in Leon’s hand, which had a small bite taken out of it.

During the course of the game, she’d come to understand some abilities, including Rosvisser’s **[Royal Chef]**, which allowed her to inflict special negative effects on targets through pastries—sometimes even **[Poison]**.

In that instant, it all clicked for Isha.

“Rosvisser ate her own poisoned cake right in front of you, ‘eliminating’ herself and activating your **[Avenger]** effect, didn’t she?”

Leon nodded.

His face was expressionless, yet he didn’t seem burdened by any negative emotions over “sacrificing” his wife. The game’s immersive nature heightened the impact of triggering **[Avenger]** with such a self-sacrifice, making it difficult for him to laugh or joke about it.

Realizing the whole story, Isha sighed and shook her head with a small smile.

“I should’ve known… You and Rosvisser together are a powerful team. I should have eliminated one of you sooner.”

On this note, Leon had a question of his own.

“I can guess that your method for taking players down involved infecting them through the **[Apothecary]** with diseases that reacted to your antidote, letting you execute kills after each meeting.”

“But even if you wanted to save Rosvisser and me for last, why did you kill Little Light first?”

“If it were up to me, I would’ve eliminated Claudia immediately. She would’ve been a much bigger threat in the later stages.”

Hearing this, Isha helplessly spread her hands.

“I couldn’t choose a specific target.”

“You couldn’t?”

“Nope. Anyone who consumed my antidote was vulnerable to elimination at the end of each meeting, but the victim was chosen at random. I had no control over it.”

Isha added, “To put it in the words of the **[Item Card]**: Everyone has different resistance levels to poison, so the timing of its effect varies.”

“I see…”

“But you’re very clever, Leon, figuring out my method of elimination under all that pressure.”

Isha offered sincere praise to her brother-in-law. “Even when you were clearing your name, you mentioned saving up kill cards until you had enough to start taking people out. That’s what inspired me to try ending the game this round.”

“Oh, and your luck is truly impressive—you managed to survive my random kills.”

Had Leon been randomly eliminated after one of those meetings, Isha would have already claimed victory.

“I was never going to die to your random eliminations,” Leon said confidently.

Intrigued, Isha raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because I never took your antidote to counteract the contagious disease. I used Rosvisser’s **[Mint Tea]** instead.”

“Oh, so you were that cautious from the start. Well, I accept my defeat graciously.”

Isha smiled. “Congratulations, brother-in-law. You managed to turn the tables on me.”

Leon looked down at the cake in his hand, which still bore a faint lipstick mark left by Rosvisser.

After a moment, he murmured, almost to himself, “If I’d noticed earlier… maybe Rosvisser wouldn’t have had to use that method.”

Isha tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. “Brother-in-law, I have one last question.”

“Go ahead.”

“When Rosvisser ate that poisoned cake in front of you, her ‘body’ should’ve been right there. You could’ve easily called an **[Emergency Meeting]** and, with Noa’s help, voted me out. Why did you use **[Avenger]** instead?”

By this point, Noa had pieced together the clues, recognizing her aunt’s true identity through the game. After being chased, she had no doubt about her aunt’s role.

If Leon had called an **[Emergency Meeting]** next to Rosvisser’s ‘body,’ Noa would’ve undoubtedly voted for Isha. But Leon hadn’t done so, choosing instead to rely on **[Avenger]**.

Isha guessed he had considered various possibilities—perhaps fearing she held a card to deflect or nullify a vote, or maybe he was unsure if Noa would hesitate since he wasn’t aware she had been chased by Isha.

So… what was the real reason her clever brother-in-law hadn’t called an **Emergency Meeting**?

The answer was—

“Because it looked cool.”

Isha: “…”

Noa: Yeah, that’s my dad for you. I even suspect he was hiding behind the door for a while just to time his entrance for the last second.

Isha shook her head with a rueful smile, thinking that people who share a bed really do think alike.

If Leon had fallen, Rosvisser probably would’ve done the same thing, skipping the meeting and going straight for Isha.

After the recap, the staff came forward to escort Isha out.

Isha looked back at Leon and Noa, “Well, you’ve defeated me. Now it’s down to you two. I’ll head to the Observation Room and enjoy the show~”

“Aurora, Moon, Auntie’s coming~!”

With that, the staff led Isha away.

In the castle’s upper hallway, only Leon and Noa remained.

Noa eyed her dad warily for a few seconds before carefully taking a few steps back.

Leon paused, smiling. “What’s wrong?”

“If you were on the good side, the game would have declared the end after Auntie Isha was eliminated. Unless… you’re the last wolf.”

At this stage in the game, there was no point in Leon hiding it anymore.

“That’s right. But I don’t have any kill cards left.”

However, Leon did have a **[Super Influence]** card, which could increase his vote count from 1 to 5. With only him and his daughter left in the game, he could, in theory, call an **[Emergency Meeting]** next to Isha’s ‘body’ and win by an overwhelming 5-to-1 vote.

But he’d promised Rosvisser he’d let Noa win.

There was no way he’d use that **[Super Influence]** card.

But Leon also knew his daughter’s nature. She wouldn’t want to accept a victory handed to her.

So, Leon was curious to see how his beloved eldest daughter would handle this final showdown.

“Finally… Dad, it’s just you and me.”

Noa’s tone was serious.

Yet beneath the seriousness, there was a spark of excitement.

“What?”

That tone, that look—was she challenging him?

Wait, what?

Fight Noa?

Come on, I can’t even beat Little Light; how am I supposed to take on Noa? Leon thought in silent despair.

Noa slowly pulled an item card from her pocket.

“**[Cycle of Despair]**. When only two players remain, you can initiate a 1v1 mini-game.”

“The winner of that game becomes the victor of this entire game.”

“So, Dad—”

“Let’s duel, just you and me.”