I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 28

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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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#28
When I opened my eyes, I had fully intended to relay Estella’s message to Perenustus if his face was the first thing I saw. Unfortunately, instead of his visage, all that filled my blurry vision was the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
‘What a shame. I was looking forward to teasing him.’
I stretched languidly and immediately bounded from the bed.
‘Estella?’
‘Perhaps you should dress yourself before wasting time searching for me?’
Her sharp retort echoed from the deepest recesses of my mind. I rushed toward the wardrobe, and her voice reached me again.
‘There are some clothes your brother used to wear in the bottom of the innermost drawer.’
‘Why on earth would you hide your brother’s clothes in your own wardrobe?’
‘…Those melodramatic novels about women disguising themselves as men and falling into destined love have become quite fashionable.’
I had plenty to say, but if she took offense, only I would suffer the consequences. So I held my tongue, quickly retrieved the clothes she indicated, dressed myself, and pulled on my boots.
‘Alright. Now tell me where I need to go.’
‘Mother, Father—did you not hear what they said? I don’t know where the Crown Prince is.’
‘Right, of course. Then at least tell me about the Secret Passage.’
‘You’re far more impatient than you appear, aren’t you?’
I responded to her while hastily tying my boot laces.
‘Yes! I’m already incredibly impatient, and your leisurely tone is only making my anxiety worse!’
‘Think about it. My first death. When Father severed my neck.’
‘Can’t you just get to the point?’
‘Father was prepared to die. That means when Father passed away, he must have hidden the Crown Prince somewhere no one could ever find him.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘So I’ve been wondering why Father was so certain about that. Perhaps Father was confident that even if the Emperor searched our entire territory after all our family perished, he could never find him.’
I had been listening with half an ear, but I stopped what I was doing.
‘A place like that exists?’
‘Our family has a legend. Long ago, our ancestor married a spirit of the forest.’
‘Hm.’
‘So the forest gave our family a gift—permission to traverse a forest path that only spirits can enter. They say if you smear a family member’s blood on a specific tree, a path appears.’
‘Really? Well, this is a world where such things as Echo Stones exist, which I’ve never seen before.’
‘To be honest, I’ve never seen it myself. My grandfather told me this story when I was very young, and I thought it was just an old tale until now.’
‘But it could be real?’
‘Based on Father’s conviction… perhaps.’
As I listened to Estella, I tied my hair back into a single braid and gazed at my reflection in the mirror. I looked less like a lady-in-waiting and more like a young apprentice knight.
‘My, how handsome. I wonder if I should have been born a man.’
‘…Do you know where the tree that reveals the forest path is located?’
‘At the Northern End of the forest surrounding this mansion, there’s an ancient oak tree.’
Estella pointed to the full-length mirror. I was delighted that my initial guess had been correct. Following her instructions, I traced my fingers across the pearls, then simultaneously pressed three that protruded slightly more than the others.
The gap between the mirror and the door opened just slightly more than a hand’s breadth.
‘What kind of Secret Passage is this? Someone with a larger build couldn’t possibly fit through.’
‘It’s why maintaining a specific physique is recommended for the ladies of the Keldrian Family.’
I shook my head in resignation and walked through the narrow passage, then walked some more. Losing all sense of time, focusing only on escaping the darkness, I eventually noticed a faint glimmer of light seeping in from far ahead.
‘It’s finally over!’
Elated, I half-crawled and rolled forward, fumbling with the door in the same manner. This time, when I pressed three unusually recessed decorative indentations, the door swung open.
I had expected blinding sunlight, but instead, a dim Spirit Forest greeted me, its dense canopy blocking most of the light. Only scattered rays piercing through the thick foliage allowed me to discern my surroundings.
‘I need to head north… but I have no idea which direction that is.’
‘It’s this way.’
I began walking confidently in one direction, and before Estella could say anything, I pointed to the cross-section of a felled tree.
‘The growth rings are densely packed and there’s more moss on the side facing north. That’s usually how it works.’
‘Is that so…?’
‘Read more books for once. Stop limiting yourself to pulp fiction.’
I could practically hear myself clicking my tongue in disapproval. As Estella fell completely silent in a huff, I was rather relieved and focused all my attention on running.
‘My body has never lifted anything heavier than a feather fan in my entire life, so my physical capabilities have limits. Even with Basilect, it’s dangerous to face all the Knights alone, so creating as much distance as possible is my best strategy.’
After running for some time, a massive tree caught my eye—so thick that five grown men would be needed to encircle it.
Without breaking stride, I bit my finger to draw blood, then flung it across the tree. The droplets rolled down the moss-covered bark in an oddly mesmerizing way, gathering together in one spot.
‘Our family crest!’
Estella’s voice rose with rare excitement. The family crest, shimmering with subtle golden light, soon faded like smoke, seeping into the moss. And when the last glimmer vanished, the space beside the tree rippled, revealing a hidden path.
‘We did it!’
I clapped my hands in delight, finding Estella’s prim little cough rather endearing, and without hesitation, I stepped onto that path. The moment my feet crossed the threshold, the air itself transformed completely.
‘It’s… brighter here.’
Having taken only one more step, the forest’s colors and the sunlight pouring from above were noticeably brighter.
‘The legend Grandfather used to speak of was real. How extraordinary.’
Following the path with Estella’s awestruck voice as my companion, I walked onward.
This path was no ordinary trail. The moss gleamed with a mineral-like brilliance rather than organic luster, and the scattered stones were densely covered in soft fur like living creatures. Most striking of all, tiny lights like fireflies were swarming densely around us.
‘What are these lights?’
‘Surely the spirits of the forest?’
‘Wait—so your ancestor married something that tiny?’
Estella sulked again at that remark, and silence fell once more. This time, it didn’t last long before a small cottage appeared. It was small yet beautiful—not a structure built by human hands, but one that seemed to have formed naturally over countless years through the intertwining of trees and vines. Standing before this peculiar cottage was a familiar figure.
‘Bilateia!’
As I approached with delight, Bilateia, who had been on high alert, drew her sword toward me.
“Who goes there!”
Bilateia’s voice sounded unusually high and sharp. Perhaps the distance prevented her from recognizing my face, so I stepped closer and revealed myself.
“I am Estella, daughter of the Grand Duke of Keldrian. I have come to retrieve the Crown Prince.”
“The Grand Duke’s daughter…? Where is the Grand Duke?”
“Why are you asking me that? Father always came himself, yet here I am in this state.”
I was about to suggest we talk while moving, as there was no time for lengthy explanations.
-Aurelia. Can you hear my voice?
‘Yes, I can hear you!’
Perenustus’s deep, heavy sigh reverberated through my mind.
-The Training Stage you’re currently in has completely slipped beyond my control. It was functioning properly until your second death, but now…
‘What are you saying? You’re making me anxious.’
-The narrative is spiraling in an uncontrollable direction like a horse with a broken bridle. I suspect it began the moment you conspired with that entity to completely shatter the fundamental framework.
In that instant, a deeply unsettling hypothesis flashed through my mind.
‘Oh, please. Not what I just thought of?’
-Precisely that. Bilateia and Leonas have lost their memories and merged with the bodies of this world. Bilateia’s vital signs are at least detectable, but Leonas’s condition is… troubling.
‘What do you mean by troubling?’
-That… Aurelia will need to confirm it.
Perenustus’s voice thundered through my mind.
Lost their memories. Vital signs abnormal. I had been so certain—absolutely certain—that with those two present, everything would work out regardless of the circumstances. What in the world was happening?
“Don’t you dare gloss over this. Explain properly, or you won’t set foot inside this cottage!”
“Sister… I’m scared to be alone.”
From behind Bilateia, who gripped her sword with renewed resolve, a small child emerged from the cottage—no more than ten years old.
Jet-black hair and crimson eyes. Diminished to a child’s size, but unmistakably Leonas.
-Please examine him, Aurelia. Are there any abnormalities observed in the body that Leonas inhabits?
Instead of answering, I let out a silent scream and clutched my face.

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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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