Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 14
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 3. The Villainess is Resurrected (3)
Prince Edwin was the person Edelaine had most suspected as the culprit who would kill her.
Even though she was playing the villainess role, ‘Edelaine Bertrand’ was a character who had enough resources to attempt assassinating a Saint candidate. She had guards attached to her and generally resided in well-secured facilities.
To assassinate or poison such a person without the culprit being identified would require someone with even greater power.
So she had been convinced it would be either the male lead Shane or Prince Edwin.
Their personalities were also the most plausible.
Sinister control freaks and sociopaths.
With golden hair like melted sunlight, clear round eyes, and gem-like sky-blue pupils, he looked as radiant as an angel from a religious painting, but his inner nature was the complete opposite.
‘I thought the Prince was the only character like that, but it turns out my childhood friend was an even worse character… this reality…’
My eyes were like knotholes.
“You’re not surprised at all. How boring.”
“I’m actually quite surprised, you know.”
No matter how leisurely she smiled while speaking, not a shred of sincerity could be felt.
Edwin approached with elegant steps and sat in the seat across from her.
“When I got the contact at dawn, I thought either Shane had finally gone crazy enough to see hallucinations, or I was dreaming.”
“It would have been nice if it were one of those two…”
“But you’re really alive. Is this what they call a waking dream? What a strange feeling.”
“You really don’t listen to people…”
Is this what they call a collective monologue?
However, on one hand, she was glad he hadn’t changed at all. It was even more so because there was someone beside her who had changed too much.
“What method did you use?”
“What do you mean?”
“What method did you use to be able to deceive that Shane right before his eyes?”
Shane answered instead.
“Lucian Call cooperated.”
“Lucian Call? Crazy Lucian?”
“Yes, that Lucian Call.”
“That crazy bastard knows how to cooperate…?”
Edelaine stared intently at Shane’s profile.
Lucian had also cooperated with Shane to sell me out. I’ll definitely find out how much he received.
“The youngest of a Marquis family isn’t someone you can easily meet. You never told me you had such connections. How did you become friends?”
“It seems he’ll cooperate even without becoming friends.”
When Edelaine answered sarcastically, Shane chuckled and said,
“You just need to pay him money.”
“…”
Anyway, if Lucian had cooperated, even without knowing the detailed process, it was roughly understandable. Edwin said,
“Edelaine, did you commit some crime?”
“Me? You know I’m someone who could live without laws.”
“Unless it was a serious crime, there wouldn’t have been a need to flee while laundering your identity.”
“…”
“Even if it was a serious crime, actually…”
Edwin glanced sideways at Edelaine. The nuance suggested that if she had just spoken to Shane, he would have resolved it. In the old days, I thought such words were just lame jokes. I secretly cursed him for thinking everyone was like him, but now I know.
Birds of a feather flock together – it was the truth.
“Did you kill someone?”
“I didn’t kill anyone!”
“Was it a high-ranking noble or clergy? Or royalty from another country?”
“I said I didn’t kill anyone!”
“Then why did you do it?”
“…”
Because the world hates me…!
The truth she couldn’t bring herself to voice sounded cringingly like middle school syndrome.
Edelaine kept her mouth tightly shut.
Apart from being embarrassing, she couldn’t say it.
In regression or possession novels, there are often cases where protagonists make the plot frustrating by not revealing their identity.
They might be hurt if they knew they were just characters in a novel?
Getting a little hurt won’t kill them.
They would dismiss it as crazy talk or nonsense?
Since she wasn’t in her right mind, she had begged to be sent to a monastery or for convalescence far away, but they wouldn’t allow that either. Of course, they didn’t believe her either.
When reading as a reader, I cursed them for dragging things out when they could just say it as it was, but when I actually became the person involved, it wasn’t easy.
‘Because if I speak or try to speak, I die horribly, so I can’t even talk!’
Whenever she confessed secrets or tried to confess them, that very night in nightmares, not only Edelaine but also the other person would suffer terrible fates.
She had never even thought of telling Shane or Genevieve so she couldn’t know, but every time she tried to confess to Lloyd, she had to die in quite gruesome ways.
Edwin, who had been watching the silent Edelaine for a moment, said,
“So what’s the reason you came to find me? If you’ve gone this far doing things your own way, there was no need to report to me.”
“We will hold the wedding ceremony as soon as possible.”
“Wed, what?”
“I’m just reporting for now. The engagement between me and Edelaine already received His Majesty’s permission long ago.”
“…That’s true, but…”
Edwin glanced at Edelaine for a moment.
Edelaine had an expression full of things to say. Her eyes were already hurling all kinds of curses, but she couldn’t say anything.
‘She’s being threatened.’
It was understandable. The hostage was probably Genevieve or her family.
Edwin thought Shane would lock Edelaine up.
Just looking at how he had been obsessed since childhood, his possessiveness wasn’t normal, and Edwin himself would have done the same.
But now he could see.
Edelaine wasn’t someone who would obediently stay locked up.
Since she could make deals with Lucian Call without anyone knowing, there was no telling what kind of trouble she might cause. He couldn’t let his guard down. To bind her so she could never escape again, he had to make good use of the surrounding terrain.
“Well, fine. Do as you please. Genevieve will suffer again.”
Edwin clapped his hands once. It was a signal that he was ending the conversation.
Shane stood up first and extended his hand to Edelaine. However, Edelaine ignored him and stood up by herself.
Edwin lightly embraced Edelaine’s shoulder and said,
“Welcome back, Edelaine.”
“At least wet your lips before lying.”
“I’m serious. Actually, Shane was getting difficult to handle.”
“…”
Though he was speaking calmly, Edwin had really been shocked at dawn too.
This wasn’t someone who had died on a battlefield, but someone who had saved the Saint in front of many people and been stabbed by an assailant’s sword. There were many witnesses, and Shane Blancarde was even among them.
To think she had deceived Shane and all those people, pretending to die and running away – Edwin saw Edelaine in a new light.
Edwin believed that the ability to identify and utilize subordinates’ talents was a virtue a ruler must possess.
“It seems I’ll be relying on you a lot in the future.”
Watching Edelaine’s face turn gloomy, Edwin inwardly smiled.
Edelaine had surprisingly not changed at all.
‘Even though many people changed while you were gone.’
That was something Edelaine would have to deal with herself.
*
“Shane, let’s have a conversation.”
If she just stayed like this with her eyes open, she would really become the resurrected one receiving the love of the century and meet a wedding ending with the male lead.
She could tolerate nonsense about love of the century and resurrection, but she really wanted to prevent the actual marriage.
Though things had gotten muddled after meeting Emma, she was determined to beg on her hands and knees even now. Since there seemed to be no way to physically escape, her strategy was to appeal to his emotions.
And later, wouldn’t it be fine if an article came out like “Miraculously Resurrected Marquis’s Daughter, Unable to Adapt and Dies Suddenly! Wave of Mourning Spreads”?
As soon as she got into the carriage, she opened her mouth to speak, but Shane answered immediately as if he had expected this.
“Breaking off the engagement is not happening.”
“No, what I was going to say isn’t not that, but more than that…”
“An apology?”
“That’s right too. But.”
“I don’t need compensation.”
“…Then you really intend to marry me?”
When Edelaine made a strangled sound as if suffocating, Shane looked up at her as if she was saying something obvious.
“I said from the beginning that’s what I was going to do.”
“…”
“Don’t do anything foolish, Edelaine. I don’t want to resort to rough methods either.”
He speaks well. Edelaine bit her lip in frustration.
“This isn’t rough? Blackmail and forced marriage. You’re constantly doing rough things.”
“I’m being quite gentlemanly. Seeing that you still harbor hope that you can escape.”
“…You can read minds too.”
“I don’t even need mind reading. I’m well-versed in your desire to run away from me.”
“…”
Ever since realizing the true nature of this world at age 9, Edelaine had constantly tried to distance herself from Shane.
She knew Shane was hurt every time she pushed him away, but she consoled herself that it would ultimately be better for him.
Because my young fiancé is a good person, when the time comes for him to meet someone he truly loves and betray me, he’ll still feel guilt. For his sake too, it would be better to grow distant now while our feelings are still shallow.
“It’s already too late, Edelaine. All of Delmez knows about your return.”
“What meaning could there possibly be in this kind of marriage.”
Edelaine held her head in her hands and hunched over. Her stomach hurt, and now her head was aching too.
Shane was one of the protagonists of this world.
Even though he couldn’t form a romance with the female lead Genevieve, he was at least someone whose happiness was guaranteed. It was the happiness they would have obtained if not for her.
Nothing would be achieved by marrying a resentful woman who deceived and ran away from him.
“There’s no way you could be happy doing this…”
Shane reached out his hand. A gentle touch cupped Edelaine’s cheek.
“At least you’ll be unhappy.”
“…”
“Since you have to marry a man you hate enough to escape through death.”
A cold sneer appeared in the blue eyes looking down at Edelaine’s face.
“Do you hate me that much?”
“…”
“Enough to cry.”
Me.
In reality, not a single tear had fallen.
I wasn’t crying.
But Edelaine couldn’t give any answer.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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