Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 193
The Truth, As One Sees It
She was bedridden for a week.
Even when struggling with physical combat, something she’d never experienced before, she had realized it: the starting stats of a villainess were unbelievably poor.
Stamina, strength, and endurance were all abysmal, and my durability was rock-bottom.
The only good things she had were my environment and wealth.
Adeline, weighed down by accumulated mental and physical fatigue, could barely get out of bed.
She had the willpower. There were many things she wanted to confirm with her own eyes.
She needed to check if Lloyd was alright, and she was worried about Genevieve.
She also wanted to reassure her parents and brothers.
However, everything just circled in her mind.
Her body, driven only by willpower, couldn’t even lift her eyelids.
It was a few days during which she learned how long a human being could sleep.
She barely ate during that time, so there was no need to use the bathroom. She simply slept without interruption.
It was practically a fainting spell.
In her hazy state, she vaguely realized that several visitors had come and gone.
But even when she was conscious, all Adeline could do was listen to voices.
“She’s just sleeping. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will remain the same.”
“A person can’t possibly sleep for this long…”
“Madam Bertrand, Lady Adeline is healthier now than she’s ever been.”
Exactly, Genevieve…
Sleep without nightmares was sweet and deep.
During the five years she spent in seclusion, although she hadn’t experienced nightmares, she had often been unable to sleep due to anxiety, regret, and occasionally longing.
Now, Adeline was sleeping more deeply than she ever had since her reincarnation.
Perhaps she had slept well when she was very young, before realizing she was in a novel, but that was irrelevant.
The Bertrand couple and Genevieve visited every morning.
Patrick and Jeff alternated visiting once each, but Edwin did not come.
According to Genevieve, he was too busy sending off the invited bride candidates and handling matters related to the Kingdom of Brubewein.
Shane came back every night and softly recounted the day’s events, but Adeline, who was asleep more than she was awake, barely remembered any of it.
It was clear that Shane, like Edwin, must have been just as busy.
Genevieve was no exception.
In truth, it was no exaggeration to say that the three of them were the most important figures in the empire.
The Empress and the Imperial Crown Prince, who had seized all power in place of the Emperor, who had not returned to the palace for years, whether due to recuperation or exile.
The Duke, a close relative of the imperial family, practically a brother of the crown prince.
And the Saintess, the continent’s treasure, adored by the people.
Sometimes, Adeline couldn’t believe that she was connected to all of them.
The time when she only heard distant rumors about them felt more real.
She had taken solace in being far removed from their world and had comforted herself with the thought that she could never belong among them.
‘I was just scared.’
From the moment nightmares began blending with reality, the “novel” had felt to Adeline like a black wave rushing to swallow her whole.
When she found Lloyd sitting in an alley.
When she discovered Lucian injured.
When Shane brought Genevieve with him.
The kindly smiling faces of everyone she knew were overlaid with cold, disdainful expressions.
She had told herself she wouldn’t be greedy, that she would willingly step back because, as a seasoned reader of romance novels, she knew what the wise choice was.
But in truth, she hadn’t trusted the reality she thought she knew.
‘I’m such a coward…’
It was only after realizing that everything was twisted that she understood even the things she believed to be right had all been an illusion.
She had thought the genre had changed, but her life had been a misunderstanding from the start.
The misunderstandings that arose from that were now hers to bear.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Shane and Genevieve sitting side by side.
No longer did they seem like a well-matched pair to her.
Genevieve nodded with a serious expression, while Shane scowled as if he were angry.
There was no sweet atmosphere between them.
Such a thing had never existed.
If one had to force a connection, it would only be hostility, and no matter how one looked at it, there was no seed of romance to be found.
Even if the work was done well, even if duty could not be abandoned, working together despite dislike… that was the limit.
