Chapter 302
Chapter 302
“How can you believe she’s telling the truth? It might very well have been a lie.”
“You can’t know the story unless you read the book. Transmigration or… endings and such.”
“….”
It was hard to accept.
How absurd would it be if one’s life was predetermined in someone’s story? But, this was the truth, and though uncertain, the plot was already unfurling towards its conclusion.
“So? Why do I need to know this fact?”
His tone was cold, one I had never heard before. It made me feel embarrassed for no reason. It was sad that he couldn’t afford to care for me.
From what I’ve heard, the precious people he lost in Turbeau were like family to Julius.
Kaichen, who delivered the news, also expressed a rare sadness. Those people must have meant a lot to both of them.
I knew my words couldn’t comfort him, so I said nothing about them. Fortunately, Julius didn’t want to bring up the incident in Turbeau.
But the message I had to convey to Julius now, who recently lost his precious family, was too harsh.
How should I convey it? How could I say it so that it would be less shocking for him?
As I hesitated, Kaichen, who had been silently beside me, unexpectedly spoke up.
“I am going to die,” he said.
“….What?”
Julius looked at him like he had just heard the most absurd story ever.
“Are you crazy? Or do you intend to drive me crazy?”
Julius shook his head. His words were filled with exasperation.
His reaction was normal. But thinking back to Kaichen…
‘I sacrifice myself for Julius? It sounds plausible.’
He had said, nodding. His calm reaction to the news of his death was abnormal. Maybe he was pretending to believe my words even if he internally didn’t believe them.
“Dalia didn’t read towards the end of the book. But that doesn’t mean the Princess lied about my death.”
“Why.. how?”
“I didn’t hear the details. She said I won’t be by your side when you become emperor.”
Julius looked at me with a crumpled face. It was an expression asking me to explain how Kaichen would die.
“I don’t know the details either. But… I believe Master will sacrifice his life for His Highness…”
“Why?”
“It’s an intuition based on what I’ve read so far. Master dying is the most likely scenario.”
Julies remained silent. His arms trembled so much because he knew he couldn’t wholly deny my words.
It was Kaichen. Not a stranger.
“I think Princess Exchetra is planning something. Although she imprisoned me for entertainment, she certainly locked me up to keep my attention on other things. And by linking me to Lamia Sorel’s death, Master was forced to act first. After that, she immediately… invoked Time Magic in the west and bound him there.”
“….”
“The Turbeau incident shook Your Highness.”
Julius, too, was hardly in his right mind during the days I was recuperating in sleep.
He looked at the worn-out diary silently, his tears gushing freely. He slept like the dead, and at times, he scratched the floor, groaning from the emotional anguish.
Yanghwa held his hand tightly each time, but Julius did not recover easily. Kaichen even had to drag him out today to hear my message.
“In the end, all three of us were tangled. We need to find out what Exchetra is planning… We have to know.”
I didn’t think the haggard Julius could do anything now, but he’s still the main character. The center of this world and the main character leading the story.
Exchetra said the fate of the protagonist wouldn’t change. So, the story centered around Julius wouldn’t change, either.
I gave Julius some time to think about it calmly.
Meanwhile, I glanced at Kaichen. For him to remain unfazed even after knowing his fate gave me a strange sense of discomfort.
He wasn’t anxious, but I was. He could sacrifice himself for a dear friend, but I couldn’t bear his death. Kaichen can’t die. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
But that doesn’t mean the protagonist, Julius, should also die.
“Oh, and I realized one thing when I was imprisoned… I guess you could call it an awakening,” I said.
The memories of my unspeakable deeds during the imprisonment came to mind. I should have revealed this story first, but I revealed the secret about he novel first to make things… easier.
“Ha.. what else is left?”
Julius sighed as if he was weary of everything. Looking at his extremely tired face, I wanted to tell him to go and rest, but I had to reveal something about my abilities.
“I’ve mastered Time Magic.”
Both men remained silent, probably from disbelief or astonishment. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly under their scrutinizing gazes.
While under torture, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind. I couldn’t even remember if I had transmigrated into a fantasy novel or a gore novel.
Amidst that, triggered by Exchetra’s words, I felt something abruptly severed. I used magical energy that was overflowing inside me. I cast Time Magic despite it being a forbidden magic.