SAAE 29

Chapter 29

When Isael finished changing, he came out.

“Oh, you look great.”

“……”

Wearing proper clothes, Isael looked truly impressive—like a real prince.

I glanced down at my own outfit. After rolling around everywhere, my clothes had basically turned into rags.

“Lend me something to wear too.”

“All I have are men’s clothes.”

“That’s even better. They’re comfortable.”

“Alright. Take anything you like.”

Yes!

I hurried straight to the dressing room.

It was filled with clothes hanging neatly, along with a variety of accessories.

Maybe it was because this place was created based on Isael’s memories?

Everything in this room was said to be identical to the one he actually used. Even the clothes he wore outside seemed to be perfectly recreated.

I quickly got changed.

The pants were way too big for me, so I put on an oversized shirt instead. Over that, I carefully picked out a coat and slipped it on.

Wearing clean clothes made me feel a little better.

When I returned to the bedroom, Isael was standing with both hands resting on the windowsill, staring out the window.

The night view outside should have been identical to the gardens of the real imperial palace.

He must be troubled.

I needed to ask him if he could kill the fake Beatrice…

For now, maybe I should go over and casually ask what he was doing.

I organized my thoughts and slowly walked toward him.

Just then—

“…I realized long ago that she wasn’t real.”

Sensing my presence, Isael broke the silence first.

His gaze remained fixed outside the window.

“I knew she wasn’t… yet she looked so much like her.”

“……”

“Her warmth felt so real. I couldn’t let go. I think… I just wanted to believe she was real.”

His voice was calm, but the sorrow beneath it was unmistakable.

“Thanks to you, I came to my senses.”

Isael truly thought of Beatrice as family. He loved her.

That was why he had come all the way here to save her.

Unlike Dominic, who had personally shoved me forward as a sacrifice.

“Thank you.”

“……”

“If you hadn’t been here, I might have stayed trapped on this floor forever and died.”

“…There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“No. Truly. I’m grateful you’re here.”

Isael’s low, sincere voice left me speechless.

If I’d had an older brother like Isael… would everything have been different?

I was adopted into the marquis household when I was eight.

“Hello. You must be Rosette.”

I met Dominic for the first time when I was eight, and he was twelve.

To frightened, timid me, new to this strange place, he had been endlessly gentle.

“I picked a storybook that’s even more fun than yesterday’s. Want to read it?”

Even though he was a kid himself, he read me a bedtime story every night.

Not once did he miss a day.

He wouldn’t go back to his own room to sleep until he made sure I had fallen asleep first. He was such a kind older brother.

Thanks to his kindness, I was able to adjust to the marquis’ house quickly.

He treated me like a real sister, and I was happy—because it felt like I’d truly gained an older brother.

My childhood was filled with memories of Dominic.

He was the one who taught me letters and helped me experience the world beyond books.

Time passed, and on my seventeenth birthday—

As he always did, Dominic took me to the shopping district and bought me piles of gifts.

And the very next day, he took me to the temple.

Dragged along without knowing why, I saw the temple for the first time—a truly grand sight.

The inside was solemn to the point of being suffocating.

As always, Dominic held my hand, sensing how intimidated I was, and smiled gently while leading me toward the altar.

And then he said—

“Rosie, your noble sacrifice will make this world a little more peaceful.”

The knights stationed there fastened restraints around my wrists and ankles and tied me to the altar.

A flame they called the Holy Fire swallowed the altar in an instant and burned my body.

In that unbearable agony, I regained memories of my previous life.

I passed out—and woke up in this tower.

At first, no one else was here. Only me.

But soon, someone else arrived inside the tower.

It was none other than Leonard.

“My parents… sold me off… Ha… haha…”

The moment I heard Leonard muttering those hollow words, I realized it naturally.

This world was the world of the novel I had read in my past life.

And I had been reincarnated as Rosette—the minor character who gave the protagonist, Leonard, some items early on and then died.

I wanted to survive, so I proposed we stick together.

“Hey. Looks like it’s just the two of us here. Let’s move together.”
“Why should I?”
“Two is better than one.”
“……”
“I’m scared alone. Aren’t you scared?”

Leonard was wary of me—of course he would be.

But there were only two of us in the tower at the time, and he wasn’t cruel enough to abandon a terrified girl.

“I’m getting out of here. No matter what, I will escape. If you want to follow me, fine—but don’t drag me down. Got it?”
“Yeah. I got it.”

Later, Luis, Felix, Kane, and Jade appeared one by one…

Well, that’s how things went.

It was all in the past.

I could grieve and rage later. Right now, surviving this tower was all that mattered.

Revenge or anything else—you needed to stay alive to do it.

“Isael, I promised you. I’d help you leave this tower with your sister.”

“……”

“Your real sister is on the 9th floor.”

Not the fake meant to deceive him—the Beatrice he loved was on floor 9.

“We’re going to get there safely, meet her, and all walk out of this damned tower together.”

I spoke firmly, reaffirming my resolve.

“But first, we need to get out of this floor.”

“……”

“If First Brother doesn’t find the door within three hours, we might have to kill the fakes outside.”

“……”

“Can you do it? If you can’t, then I will.”

Isael finally tore his gaze from the window and looked at me.

Was I kind of cool just now?

He definitely seemed moved.

This was the moment to overcome our bitterness and strengthen our resolve and camaraderie.

Then—

“Your outfit…”

The words that left Isael’s mouth were nothing like what I expected.

“…What on earth is that ridiculous outfit?”

“……”

Isael. That’s not how I raised you…

Calling someone’s appearance ridiculous straight to their face—what kind of rude remark was that?

“Why are you half-naked?”

His frown deepened as he stared at me with sharp disapproval.

“Hey, I am NOT half-naked. I’m wearing it like a dress. It’s basically the same.”

The shirt reached above my knees—shorter than the dress I had on earlier, but not that short.

But Isael was looking at me like I was some kind of shameless barbarian.

“Haa… Come here. I’ll get you pants.”

“No, your pants are way too big for me.”

“There should be something from when I was little.”

“……”

“I’ll find it, so follow me. Hurry.”

Um. Isael-dad?

Weren’t we having a heartfelt, emotional moment just now?

“What if you scratch yourself somewhere walking around like that?”

Pretty sure my actual father died long ago…

Why did it feel like I’d acquired a new dad in this tower? And such a naggy one.

“You’re already shivering from the cold, so where exactly is your confidence coming from, walking around half-dressed like that?”

With long strides, Isael marched back into the dressing room.

I stood frozen as his voice echoed from inside.

“Aren’t you coming?”

I was speechless.

No, this isn’t the important part!

Can you kill the fake Beatrice or not!?