Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 79

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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 15. The Face of a Traitor (1)

She wished it had been a dream.

Had all that blood really come from Lloyd? The boy was taller and bigger than Edelaine, but he was still young. For all that blood to have come from a boy who hadn’t fully grown yet—it had already soaked his entire upper body and still formed a pool on the floor.

A bloodless face contrasting with the completely crimson upper body, and the chunk of metal piercing through the center.

That sharp and eerie chunk of metal that could easily tear through human flesh was embedded in Lloyd’s chest.

Edelaine replayed that scene over and over again.

She needed to find some clue that Lloyd was alive. If there was even the smallest clue, Edelaine would hold onto it firmly.

‘That kid couldn’t have died so easily.’

Originally, Lloyd had been Lucian’s right hand. If he had stayed under him, even with a surprise attack, he could have easily avoided it and escaped without injury.

‘But I was the one who raised Lloyd…’

To prevent him from becoming an assassin, Edelaine had brought him to stay by her side.

She knew Lloyd secretly trained his body. She also knew he had reached quite an impressive level. Lucian and Shane had praised him enough.

But Lloyd had been an assassin in the novel. He was someone who took lives unilaterally through surprise attacks rather than fighting head-on.

If he were ambushed or had to fight face-to-face, even if he had grown up according to the novel, victory wouldn’t be guaranteed, but the current Lloyd had lived by Edelaine’s side without receiving proper training.

Instead of techniques for killing people, Lloyd had learned how to cook dishes Edelaine enjoyed, how to quickly tidy up rooms she had messed up, how to brew delicious tea, and such things.

‘If I hadn’t brought that child with me.’

Her thoughts easily turned toward the worst.

No, Lloyd wasn’t dead yet.

That child might seem indifferent as if he had no attachment to the world, but he actually had tremendous obsession. Despite appearances, he had a persistent side that made him worry about even a single stain on wallpaper. Even when told to let things slide, he was a child who never did anything carelessly.

Unless she confirmed with her own eyes that his lifeless corpse was there, she would believe Lloyd was alive. She couldn’t maintain her sanity otherwise.

Edelaine opened her eyes and muttered.

“Where is this place, again…”

She didn’t know why her voice sounded like an old man’s again.

Her completely hoarse throat tasted of blood. It was probably because she had screamed toward Lloyd as he collapsed.

She was getting used to waking up dragged to unfamiliar places. Edelaine felt somewhat disillusioned that most of the kidnappings she had experienced were the work of people she loved, and sat up.

Fortunately, her hands and feet weren’t tied.

When she wiped her face with her dry palm, her skin felt rough like coarse sand. Saint Genevieve would cry if she saw this… Thinking that far, Edelaine looked around her surroundings.

Not far away, Saint Genevieve lay collapsed.

She crawled over and turned the prone body over. She was limp and unconscious, but had no injuries, and when she put her ear to her chest, her heart was beating healthily. Edelaine sighed in relief and placed her head on her own thigh.

‘There’s no point waking her up right now since we have no options anyway, so let her rest…’

The person who attacked Lloyd was…

Edelaine, who had been trying to organize the situation, shook her head violently midway.

Lloyd’s pale face kept coming to mind, making her thoughts freeze.

Think about what you can solve right now.

There’s no point in making assumptions about things you can’t confirm and despairing.

Start with what I can do.

Start with what I need to think about.

Only after muttering like she was brainwashing herself did the noise in her head quiet down.

The person who carried out the attack was definitely Saint Genevieve’s husband.

The Prince’s Royal Guard.

The ‘heroine’s husband’ who didn’t appear in the novel and couldn’t possibly appear.

‘Why didn’t I think more deeply about it?’

Edelaine had known of his existence since the day she returned to Delmez. She was so shocked by the fact that Saint Genevieve had chosen a different man instead of the ‘male lead’ Shane that she hadn’t thought deeply about what kind of person he was.

Of course, she had done light background checks through Lucian and Jeff.

She had added jokingly that she would make them divorce immediately if he turned out to be strange, but in truth, she was more than 90 percent serious.

But neither Lucian nor Jeff found anything strange about ‘Saint Genevieve’s husband.’

His background, upbringing, career, personality—there was nothing to fault anywhere.

The fact that he was Edwin’s royal guard also played a part. The suspicious Edwin wouldn’t give just anyone the right to hold a sword and stand by his side.

So she had felt reassured.

She believed Saint Genevieve had made the right choice.

‘Wasn’t it that you wanted to believe that?’

In truth, because the ‘heroine’ Saint Genevieve wasn’t connected to the ‘male lead’ Shane, there was a possibility he could become hers.

For that to happen, even if many things went awry, she needed the premise that the ‘heroine’ Saint Genevieve was happy.

So hadn’t she deliberately tried to think only that Saint Genevieve had made a wise choice?

Now Edelaine couldn’t be certain of anything—what she could believe, what she should do, or what was right.

Even the nightmares she had long believed to be her guide had now become incomprehensible.

If the nightmares had never been a guide or anything from the beginning, what would become of the life Edelaine had lived all this time? Nothing she had believed to be right was actually true.

‘My head hurts…’

Closing her eyes made the dizziness worse.

Last night, Edelaine couldn’t sleep a wink. She couldn’t even lie in bed. She was afraid of what dreams she might have if she closed her eyes, and she didn’t want to lie down without Shane. She had curled up on the sofa watching the day break, and then Lloyd…

Lloyd…

In the end, it was impossible not to think about Lloyd.

Moving her body seemed like it might help her think a little less. Edelaine carefully lowered Saint Genevieve’s head from her lap to the floor.

“Ugh…”

As soon as her head touched the floor, Saint Genevieve groaned and her eyelids fluttered.

She trembled and clenched her fists tightly, as if something was terrifying her. Edelaine gently shook Saint Genevieve’s body to wake her.

“Saint Genevieve, wake up. Saint Genevieve!”

“Ah, ugh, hic, Father, no, please forgive me, ah…”

“I’m sorry.”

Though she probably couldn’t hear the apology in advance, Edelaine struck Saint Genevieve’s cheek hard.

The slapping sound was louder than expected.

Saint Genevieve’s pale cheek quickly turned red, but fortunately, she seemed to have woken up.

Her long eyelashes were wet with tears. Edelaine wiped away the tears flowing down Saint Genevieve’s cheeks while her dazed eyes gradually came into focus.

Trauma was a wound carved into the soul.

Wounds that no one comforted were bound to leave scars even when healed.

Edelaine met Saint Genevieve’s gaze and asked slowly.

“Saint Genevieve, are you conscious?”

“…Yes…”

“Can you recognize who I am?”

“…Lady Edelaine…”

“That’s right. Good answer. You’re doing well.”

“…”

“Your stepfather is gone now. If you’re scared, I’ll hold your hand, so don’t cry, Saint Genevieve. There’s no need to cry over that bastard.”

“…Ah, ugh…”

The longer the comforting words went on, the more tears poured from Saint Genevieve’s eyes like a waterfall.

Saint Genevieve seemed to have remembered too much as she returned to reality. Unable to bear it, she covered her face with both hands.

“I’m sorry, Lady Edelaine… I’m sorry, because of me, I brought that person…”

She burst into tears like a child while apologizing.

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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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