Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 13
“You’re not planning to go knowing it’s a trap, are you?”
“What else can I do? I need Lucian’s help even to make a flower offering. I have to put up with some mischief as the price for his help.”
“Should I go with you?”
“No, it’s okay. You’d stand out more.”
Lloyd had very striking features, and having grown a lot taller at 17, he was easily noticeable. It’s not unusual for a lady to wear a hat with a black veil, but if a servant also covers his face, it would be suspicious.
Adeline looked at Lloyd’s dissatisfied face and asked,
“What are you worried about?”
“Your… safety?”
“You’re worried about me?”
“…”
It was worth seeing his expression. Adeline burst into laughter.
One of Lloyd’s charms was his refusal to ever admit he was worried.
“Even if Lucian is what he is, he’s not going to kill me, Lloyd.”
“I know, but…”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“…”
Lloyd didn’t answer right away. It was very rare for the usually decisive him to hesitate. Adeline waited patiently.
Lloyd finally spoke.
“The Saintess and the Duke recently married, but doesn’t the capital seem too quiet?”
“It’s been over a month, so probably. People in the capital get bored of anything quickly.”
“Moreover… no, never mind.”
“It would be nice if you just said you’re worried about me.”
“I wouldn’t say that even if my mouth was torn open.”
Adeline provoked him, but Lloyd couldn’t continue saying that he thought something was off about that Duke’s eyes.
…He would soon regret that.
*
Lucian’s intentions were soon clear.
Shane and Genevieve.
The male and female leads of a novel that had recently reached its happy ending.
It had been five years.
If spotting from a distance could be called a reunion, then this moment was it.
‘It seems the newlyweds have come to see a play. Good timing.’
Adeline snorted.
If she had come here only to regret and get hurt at seeing them now, she wouldn’t have been able to prepare herself to leave bitterly.
Despite many hardships, Adeline, as a transmigrated reader of romance fantasies, had not forgotten the first virtue.
To disregard unnecessary romance and emotions.
My life comes first.
Even without my help, the protagonists would live well anyway.
Just like those two.
Clearly, that place was not hers. She was only reassured of her right choice.
From afar, the two seemed like a perfectly matched pair.
“Today too, the Duke himself is escorting the Saintess.”
“It must be hard for him to leave his post…”
“After all, the Duke is her official patron…”
“They really are the perfect couple.”
“The Saintess is preparing for a pilgrimage for purification…”
“To ensure she’s not taken by another country…”
Adeline listened to the murmuring while deeply pulling her veiled hat over her face.
No one would probably notice her, but it would be troublesome if the protagonists spotted her with their insane vision.
A dead person should live quietly in the corner; let the protagonists live well and eat well.
The seat Lucian had prepared was a private room on the second floor of the theater.
It was a VIP seat where one could order drinks, snacks, and alcohol.
She couldn’t possibly pay attention to the play itself, so she planned to kill time by indulging in snacks. When Lucian arrived, she’d give him a piece of her mind.
‘Such terrible taste.’
Originally a villain in the novel and a criminal organization boss by profession, Lucian never did anything that didn’t profit him, often choosing options that would make people suffer. Even after they had become quite close, this was still true.
Despite previously receiving favors from her, which made him somewhat cooperative and earned his favor, his harassment was a different matter altogether. That was the kind of person he was.
But this time, Lucian had misjudged.
Shane and Genevieve, somewhere out there, could not torment Adeline.
‘After all, they were the two people I had tried to bring together in the first place.’
Why would it hurt now?
“If you go like this, I’ll never forgive you. No, it can’t be…”
“Wake up, Adeline! Please…”
I’m glad you’re happy now, Shane.
Every time she recalled that day, Adeline felt a twinge of guilt. It was a mistake to show Shane the scene that should have only been for Genevieve to awaken.
The last time she checked, she was certainly at a distance. But then, finding herself in his arms after being hurt, Adeline herself was quite startled.
She had done something cruel to the kind and gentle Shane.
Just hearing that his fiancée had died protecting the saintess would have been enough.
Now, although she no longer had nightmares, occasionally, the sound of Shane crying like a beast who had lost its young haunted her.
But by now, Shane must have completely forgotten about such a bothersome fiancée…
Adeline felt someone approaching from behind and said, likely to Lucian,
“Lucian, what are you thinking—”
That was the last thing she remembered.
And then, she woke up under an unfamiliar ceiling.
