A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 66.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Pardon?”
“If I, the last Player, simply press ‘yes,’ then the Aiden of three in the morning will disappear as well. Yet you don’t look very frightened.”
“Am I not?”
Aiden’s expression shifted to one of surprise at Caroline’s words. He turned his gaze to the side, paused in thought for a moment, then offered her a gentle smile.
“It is a little sad, but I was born for precisely this purpose. And your opinion matters far more to me.”
“There’s no such thing.”
“…?”
“I wasn’t born a Player either, but I became one. There’s no such thing as a predetermined fate.”
The sharpness in her reply to the man she cared for stemmed from resentment she’d carried with her all along—toward the game, the roles, the very notion of self.
Within the framework the System had shown her, Caroline harbored deep resistance to what was being imposed upon people. The idea that living as nothing more than a game character was destiny? It made no sense, and it shouldn’t be accepted.
“And like I said before, we barely found each other after being so alone, and I hate the thought of giving up at a time like this. I’ll win this game—so that you aren’t lonely, and so that daytime Aiden isn’t lonely either.”
“But that is precisely why I wish to dissuade you.”
“Why?”
“The time I have with you is fleeting, and the years you will face ahead as a Player, facing them alone, will be far more desolate and arduous. That is not in your best interest.”
Yet Aiden seemed not to grasp the true meaning behind her words.
Watching him, Caroline let out a small laugh. A man without a sense of self, unable to remember their conversations.
Someone with that strange disposition of accepting his own disappearance as fate—and yet, she valued his life even more than he did.
“When you think about it that way, it’s almost funny. I care more about Aiden than I care about myself. I’ve already staked my life on this, and I’ve even already lost one Heart…”
“…! You’ve already lost a Heart?”
His beautiful face drained of color with shock.
“Yeah, I only have two lives left now. But I’m not going to quit.”
Caroline drained the honeyed tea in one long sip, as if toasting to victory with golden wine.
“I’ve already started this. I’m going to see it through to the end. And I’m different from the other Players, aren’t I?”
“That’s true, Caroline. You are different. But that difference is precisely the problem. There is more you need to know.”
Aiden rubbed the corners of his eyes with a troubled expression.
It was as if delivering these words caused him genuine anguish—as though he were inflicting punishment upon an innocent.
“The System failed to give you sufficient explanation before drawing you into the game. Even if you don’t lose a Heart, if you fail to complete your Mission within the appointed time, that failure will also claim your life.”
If you fail to complete your Mission within the appointed time? What did that mean?
Caroline’s brow furrowed at hearing this for the first time.
“What do you mean by failing to complete it within the appointed time? How long is this appointed time?”
Aiden’s face went pale.
“Until Aiden Darvel chooses death. That is, thirty days.”
“…!”
Only then did Caroline understand why the Rules had emphasized thirty days so heavily.
“Wait.”
Just one month. Caroline counted which day this was for her.
“This is the eighth day. No, wait—it’s almost dawn on the ninth day now. Nearly a third of it is already gone… and I’m only finding out now.”
“The System never informed you from the start.”
“Why? Why would they hide such critical information… What do I do? What am I supposed to do?”
The world went white before her eyes.
What could she possibly do? Was roughly twenty days enough? How much further did this journey extend?
She couldn’t gauge it. Her limbs tingled, her hands trembled.
For a moment, she felt as though she were the last soul left in the world.
“!”
A large hand seized hers with firm resolve.
“Breathe, Caroline. You’re all right.”
“It’s not all right…”
When she answered with a petulant whine, the man let out a helpless laugh.
“It seems the information that should have been conveyed to you as you transitioned from a game character with an assigned role to an actual Player was not properly relayed. But you’re safe right now.”
“What am I supposed to do in twenty days…”
“Listen carefully, Caroline. It seems it is now my turn to stop you.”
Stop her?
Caroline lifted her head to meet the gaze of the man who held her hand firmly in his.
“The System would not have given you an easy task. No matter how well you understand the character of Aiden Darvel, it would never allow a game scheduled for deletion to be revived so simply.”
“…That’s true.”
His tone suggested he knew the System intimately, but Caroline didn’t notice. She remained suspended by his hand, listening intently to the quiet voice that brushed past her ear.
“Your world is safe even if the game fails. The people around you will remain unchanged.”
“…That’s right.”
“And for Caroline, Caroline’s life is what matters most. She attends the Academy, and she certainly has a life beyond this Mansion.”
“…….”
“So there’s no need to stake everything on this game. Aiden Darvel is just a game character, after all.”
All the sentences before this one had been a buildup for that final blow. The moment Caroline heard it, she pushed Aiden’s hand away.
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t wrong. She’d been thinking the same thing herself.
Aiden Darvel—precious, certainly. He was an actor she loved and would love in the future. But to risk death for someone who lacked self-awareness, who didn’t even feel human?
That was absurd.
“Why would Aiden say such a thing? It’s strange, no matter how much he’s an NPC.”
Caroline spoke like a petulant child, her words sharp at the edges.
If the daytime Aiden chose to die, this one before her would die too. Yet he spoke only of Caroline’s safety, as if utterly unbothered by his own fate.
“You’re Aiden too. Shouldn’t you be saying you want to live?”
The man’s expression shifted as if he’d been struck, and his lips moved soundlessly.
He clearly hadn’t expected her to ask such a question.
“That’s…….”
“Because you have to, as an NPC?”
Caroline cut him off rather sharply, stealing the words from his mouth.
“It’s strange. I’m getting stubborn about this.”
“Caroline.”
“I don’t want to die. I hate the thought of struggling for others while neglecting my own life. I’m not the type to volunteer for something that looks like a losing proposition.”
That’s more Anna’s style—a spirited woman who charges headlong into what’s right rather than what’s safe.
Caroline thought of her friend at the Academy. Fortunately, whatever choice she made, Anna would be safe.
“But I don’t want to lose either. The game’s structure is terribly unfavorable to me, and I can feel it’s desperate to take Aiden’s life. So if anything, that makes me want to win even more.”
“……Even though the game is designed that way?”
“Yes, I want to win. And I will win. You might not understand, but I’m an enormous fan of Aiden Christian Darvel. There’s no one who knows him better than I do.”
Caroline declared this with confidence. Aiden watched her bravado with an almost fascinated expression.
“……I see.”
And, unable to resist her momentum, his response came softly.
“See what? We just met today.”
Exhaust the Heart, and you die.
It was fatal information. But Caroline had no intention of abandoning something already begun, no thought of giving up on protecting someone she loved when she’d already come more than a third of the way through.
She had confidence she would win.
“Besides, if I quit the game now and settle back into my comfortable life, I know I’ll regret it for the rest of my days. I’ll long for Aiden, whom I’ll never see again. Is that the kind of life burdened by debt that you want for me?”
“It certainly isn’t.”
“Listen well, Aiden Darvel. Strangely, I feel a distance from the daytime Aiden, but words come pouring out when I’m with you—it’s curious.”
Caroline straightened her posture, her frame rigid and composed as she looked at Aiden.
“I will protect this world. I will guard this world, and even if you’re nothing but a conquest target without self-awareness, I will keep you safe so I can continue to watch your performance.”
“…….”
“And I will see it through without losing a Heart, protecting my own life as well.”
The man stood transfixed, his face etched with shock.
He’d clearly expected Caroline to withdraw at this point, to back away.
Yet his expression held more than mere astonishment.
A profound surge of emotion. Moved, yearning desire.
Caroline, who knew the actor in him so well, excelled at reading such feelings.
“And you—the Aiden of three in the morning, the NPC.”
“……Yes.”
“I need you. Help me with everything you have.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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