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chapter 18
“I originally worked for the Imperial Palace.”
“If you worked for the Palace, isn’t that better? Why move to the duke’s house?”
I wasn’t really curious, but I kept talking to Eston in case I could get something useful out of her.
She flinched and answered carefully, watching my reaction.
“They said the duke’s family pays a higher salary…”
“Ah…”
‘Whether it’s a novel or real life, a stable government job is always the same.’
As a government researcher myself, I deeply understood what she meant.
And I felt a little sad.
‘I should’ve changed jobs at the right time like Eston…’
No, I should have joined a private company from the beginning.
Then I wouldn’t have been stuck purifying that cursed novel—and I definitely wouldn’t have ended up transmigrating into it as a villain.
“You made the right choice. Working for the government is always the dirtiest and most unfair.”
“Exactly!”
Eston brightened immediately.
“I thought being part of the Imperial Palace would be great, but they paid minimum wage and worked us to death! So many people demanding things, and especially those seniors who bullied newcomers…!”
“Of course.”
“But I heard at the duke’s house, you only have to endure one person. The benefits are good too—oh!”
She had been talking excitedly in agreement with me, then suddenly covered her mouth.
I stared at her and smiled slyly.
“So? Is it bearable?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean I can’t endure you, Miss—!”
Leaving her flustered behind, I knocked on the wall near the coachman’s seat.
“Coachman, how much farther to Tollen? Could we stop for a moment?”
“N-no, sir! Don’t stop! Miss, that’s not what I meant. I was just—”
“My companion says she’s about to throw up from motion sickness. The seat’s going to get soaked.”
“No, I’m fine! I’m a healer! Mom—!”
And so, during the ride to Tollen, we had a long and very serious conversation to clear up Eston’s misunderstanding.
Still, our conversation wasn’t a total loss.
Unfortunately, I learned that Tollen was under the jurisdiction of Count Frederick’s family.
“…The Count won’t come personally because of your brother, right?”
As I stepped down from the carriage, I asked casually. Eston answered with a dark expression.
“For now, no. I’ve healed everyone who was bitten, and my brother is tightly chained…”
“…”
“Even though I reported that I was hiding him, the villagers don’t want the Count to come either. Deep down, they’re all waiting for a purifier.”
Even without asking more, I could roughly understand the situation.
“Which direction did the gate appear?”
The road was rough, so we had stopped quite far from the village.
At my question, Eston looked at me in surprise.
“You’re going inside?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Didn’t you just need a carriage for an outing?”
“Not ‘Miss.’ Nancy.”
I corrected her and tightened my bonnet and mask to hide my face.
“Since we’re here, I should purify your brother too.”
“…!”
Eston froze, mouth open.
She stared at me with trembling eyes, then suddenly bent her waist at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
And shouted,
“…I’m sorry!”
“…What all of a sudden?”
“For everything I said and did rudely before… I sincerely apologize!”
“…”
“I… I think I misunderstood you, Miss—no, Nancy, because of what others said. Even so, I shouldn’t have said those things…”
I immediately knew what she was referring to.
—Some people can just claim they don’t remember after attempting murder and walk away. And others have to abandon their dying family to treat that person.
She must have been troubled by the way she spoke as if she were certain that I—no, Edith—had tried to kill Llewellyn.
Seeing her apologize sincerely made me feel strange.
Because it was true.
“If you want, I’ll submit my resignation when we get back.”
“Forget it.”
“But still—”
“Enough. Straighten up. Someone might see.”
She slowly stood upright, but she couldn’t meet my eyes like before.
Seeing her shrink like a guilty criminal made my conscience sting a little.
Of course, purifying her brother wasn’t part of my original plan.
‘Though it really is just convenient timing.’
I had used her situation without hesitation to come here.
So accepting such a sincere apology felt uncomfortable.
“…If you’re really sorry, just keep the secret well.”
“Of course!”
She nodded vigorously.
“Don’t worry. I can keep my mouth shut. I’ll be careful!”
“You’re the only one who knows. If it spreads, you’re the culprit.”
I added indifferently.
“And you weren’t completely wrong. It’s true that I don’t trust others easily.”
“…”
“So you don’t have to feel too sorry. Don’t forget that I still hold your weakness in my hands.”
Just in case she mistook me for a good person and relaxed, I quickly drew a line.
Not just with words. I had also told Nancy not to throw away the clothes she wore yesterday.
The black blood stained with demonic energy would be enough evidence of a near rampage.
‘If needed, I’ll run straight to the Security Bureau.’
Better for the rumor to be that an awakened person nearly lost control, rather than that I awakened.
As I finished calculating in my head, I noticed the silence.
When I looked up, Eston was glaring at me as if she couldn’t believe it.
“…Do you feel better saying things like that?”
“What?”
“If you keep pushing people away like that, even those who stay by your side will get tired and leave.”
She spoke as if cursing me.
Maybe she thought it was advice.
I let out a small laugh.
“Do you still see anyone staying by my side? Should I thank you for thinking so kindly of me?”
“…!”
Her eyes widened, and she bit her lip.
I walked past her and muttered lightly,
“You’ll understand when you’re older. Relationships? All pointless. Life is meant to be lived alone, you brat.”
“Ha! Like you’re that much older…”
“What was that?”
When I turned sharply, she suddenly shouted,
“N-not there! This way!”
Tollen, the origin of the gate, was a complete mess.
‘It must have been quite prosperous before the gate opened…’
I looked around the ruined square with bitterness.
It was bright midday, yet hardly anyone walked around.
Only workers repairing the few intact buildings and facilities.
Most people had probably evacuated to other regions or were staying in shelters.
At least the gate was small and appeared on the outskirts, so casualties were limited.
‘Though it dragged Ezenia down with it…’
After walking for some time, we finally reached a massive circular cliff, hollowed out like a volcanic crater.
The site of the gate.
‘Where is Edith… No. Let’s look for traces from when I possessed her.’
Excited, I scanned the area quickly.
But aside from the rotting corpses of giant monsters, there was nothing noticeable.
I had thought coming here—the place where Edith died—would reveal some clue about my possession.
‘What was the monster that found Edith? And the book? Did it not cross over with me? Was there some special ritual in this village…?’
I asked Eston about any village rituals, just in case, but there was nothing like that.
The monster corpses had long since rotted away, so there was no way to check.
And the book I had been holding before I died, How to Save the Abandoned World, was nowhere to be seen.
It looked no different from any gate site I had seen countless times in modern days.
‘…Well. Since I’m inside the book, it wouldn’t make sense for the book to exist here too.’
Even as I tried to comfort myself, I couldn’t stop the disappointment.
“Miss—no, Nancy. Are you looking for something?”
Eston asked carefully.
“No, nothing…”
I answered weakly.
Then, something strange caught my eye in the plains a little away from the cliff.
“…What’s that?”
It was winter, but it hadn’t snowed or rained in the past few days.
And today the sun was bright, the weather fairly mild.
‘Then why are there chunks of ice…? Glaciers?’
Dozens of large ice blocks rose from the dry ground.
Eston answered calmly.
“…They’re people exposed to demonic energy.”
“Don’t tell me Ethan did that?”
There was no reply. That meant yes.
“…When he asked whether to cut off their heads and burn them, or freeze them and wait for a purifier, everyone chose the latter.”
“…”
“I didn’t think a purifier would come again. So I ran away with my brother.”
