Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 11
“You look pretty well for someone who’s been living under a rock.”
“No news is good news, as they say.”
The man called Lucian shrugged his shoulders.
Adeline had never dreamed she would be exchanging conversations with this man as if they were old friends.
‘Considering he’s the kingpin of the criminal underground.’
Despite looking like someone who would spend his life behind a desk, holding a pen, he was nonchalantly living off killing people.
Anyone would call him a villain, but without this man, Adeline’s exit couldn’t have been perfect.
He was the one who obtained the paralytic for her, and the drug that made it seem like she had stopped breathing for a while.
He was the one who secretly whisked the unconscious Adeline overseas.
He even crafted a dummy that looked like a corpse to put in the coffin.
‘He did it all.’
Although Adeline was the one who requested it, Lucian was the one who fulfilled all these requests.
To Adeline, he was like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.
‘Good thing I saved him and cleared his debt back then.’
Adeline, who picked up people according to the timeline, used them effectively at the right times.
‘Come to think of it, did Lucian get involved with the female lead?’
The underground’s kingpin, who was supposed to completely lose all his swagger and charisma was set to become a completely devoted follower to the Saintess, yet he now still seemed to maintain his composure.
She had already settled things for a smooth romance between the male and female leads, but… Adeline knew better than anyone how powerful and dreadful the force of the narrative’s plot could be. It wouldn’t be strange if he was involved somehow.
‘I’ll subtly ask him later.’
It doesn’t seem like he’d tell her these things for free, so she’d have to pretend she wasn’t interested and just probe nonchalantly.
Lucian was useful but an expensive friend to maintain.
“I mean, I did contact you a few times here and there, Lloyd.”
“That’s not really communication. You just sent one-sided messages.”
It was mostly requests for things she needed. Adeline said with an embarrassed face,
“Sorry? But you were never really interested in my wellbeing, were you?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Since they weren’t exactly the type to report every little detail of their lives to each other, Adeline’s apology was light.
“Still, thanks. Because of you, I was able to hear about my mother’s death.”
“Now you’re speaking well, huh.”
During her time in hiding, she vaguely believed that her family would be safe. That everyone would be happy just by her disappearance.
Not long after she rejoiced at finally reaching a happy ending, she received the death notice of her mother, mocking her shallow hopes.
She didn’t regret faking her death and exiting the scene, but she had done wrong by her family who loved her.
After realizing this world was inside a novel, and while she was plagued by nightmares and preparing for death, Adeline couldn’t deeply bond with her family.
She knew they were worried about her but had no leisure to look back. She must have caused them a lot of pain in the process.
“At least you gave me the chance to lay a flower, so thank you.”
“Planning to leave just after laying the flower? You said you would come back when the Saintess gets married.”
“Well, I’m officially dead in this city. I was planning to sneak in and out… It would be weird for a dead person to come back.”
“If you wanted to reclaim your identity, there would be many ways to do it.”
“Is it necessary?”
She wanted to see her family, but she didn’t want to cause them any confusion.
It had already been five years.
There was no need to trouble people who had probably moved on and were living well.
“So, you plan to hide again without meeting anyone?”
“That’s right. I don’t want to cause any confusion.”
“Why not ask your former fiancé for help? He could sort things out without causing any confusion.”
“He’s already married. He must have forgotten about his dead ex-fiancée from ages ago…”
Adeline smiled faintly without realizing it.
The last time she saw him, he was crying, and thinking of him possibly being happy now made her feel content.
“Hmm.”
Lucian smirked ambiguously.
‘This guy always smiles as if he knows something.’
