IPDE 03

Chapter : 03

Even If I’m an Extra, I’d Rather Avoid a Death Route (3)

It said “survive,” and I’d skimmed past it, wondering what on earth it meant.

But it was obvious now—the damned book, calling itself the protagonist, was trying to kill me.

The realization that I’d been tricked made anger surge up in my chest.

As I layered that confusion over with rage, my mind settled a little.

“Survive, madness, dessert.”

I turned the words written in the book over in my head.

Iart’s sword was aimed squarely at me, close enough that a few more steps would put it within reach.

Survive—that was my current situation.

Madness—that was Iart’s state.

And finally, dessert.

The moment I thought this might be the solution, my gaze snapped to the table where the desserts were laid out.

Then I shouted loudly to Sophie, who was standing beside it.

“Head maid, cookies!”

“What? Irenea, come over here right n—”

“Quickly! Give me the cookies! Hurry!”

Startled by my sudden shout, Sophie floundered in confusion.

When I yelled again with conviction, she finally rushed toward the cookies.

“Just a little longer—please hold him back a bit more!”

I shouted at the struggling knight.

He looked at me, then nodded and reset his stance.

“Here—the cookies…! No, what on earth are you trying to do?!”

There was no time to answer calmly.

I took the plate from Sophie.

“Phew.”

Honestly, throwing myself into something I wasn’t sure about was no easy task.

Perhaps because of that, even the breath I let out felt heavy.

I tensed my whole body, forcing myself to steady the trembling.

“Ugh…!”

As if he’d reached his limit, the knight was knocked back and rolled across the floor.

There was no more time to hesitate.

If I was going to die anyway, at least I’d regret it less if I tried something.

Please, please work…!

The instant my feet finally moved, I charged straight at Iart.

Bang.

“Ugh…!”

A heavy pain shot through my entire body.

There was no way pain like this came without something being broken.

Well—if it was just one bone, maybe that would be lucky.

As my vision swam and my consciousness blurred, I could still see crumbs of broken cookies scattered across the floor.

Did it fail?

In the split second before I was shoved away, I had managed to shove the cookies right up near Iart’s mouth.

But I had no idea whether they’d gone down his throat or all fallen to the floor.

“Irenea!”

Sophie’s sharp cry rang out, and immediately afterward a stinging pain flared in my neck.

It felt like I should give up now.

My body lay sprawled on the floor, without even the strength to move.

Running away was out of the question.

Facing death so directly, I found myself calmer than expected.

If only I’d realized sooner…

Only after everything had unfolded did I think I knew which part of the novel this was.

The beginning of Iart’s misfortune.

The first time his madness appeared was when he was ten years old.

Fortunately, the blood he saw then belonged to a small rabbit running around the garden.

After that day, once the emperor understood Iart’s condition, he stationed knights by his side and built a small enclosure at the edge of the garden.

He filled it with small animals.

So that whenever the madness struck, they could bring Iart to the garden and let him resolve it.

And the first time he ever cut down a person—

That was now.

Starting with the guilt after cutting down an attendant in a single stroke, he would be gradually consumed by madness.

Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?

“…I was too excited.”

I’d been so thrilled just to see my favorite character that I hadn’t thought things through.

As my vision dimmed, I saw Iart clutching his head with one hand, writhing in pain.

I wish you wouldn’t suffer so much…

In my hazy consciousness, I did my best to smile.

World, this is my second goodbye.

Thud— Irenea’s body collapsed onto the floor.

“Irenea!”

Sophie’s tear-choked cry echoed through the wide room.

Blood flowing from Irenea’s neck began to soak Sophie’s clothes and the floor.

Sophie rushed past the stunned Iart and ran to Irenea.

With trembling hands, she gently placed her fingers beneath Irenea’s chin.

“…She’s still—she’s still alive!”

Her body was cold, but faintly, a heartbeat could be felt.

Taron, who had finally managed to pull himself up, immediately checked on Iart.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

Despite Taron’s question, Iart didn’t move at all.

He simply stared at the fallen Irenea with pupils that had grown slightly larger.

Taron looked at Iart with a gaze tangled in complex emotions.

Then he quietly addressed Luella, who stood beside them with her mouth covered, tears falling.

“My lady, you must be very shaken. It would be best if you returned now.”

Luella nodded, breathing hard.

After forcing a smile for her, Taron walked over to Sophie.

At that moment—

Clang.

The sword Iart had been holding fell and clattered at Taron’s feet.

Startled, Taron turned his gaze back to Iart.

“Your Highness!”

Iart’s body collapsed limply.

Taron lunged forward at once, but catching someone as much larger than himself was impossible.

The two tangled together and rolled across the floor.

“Ugh! Hey—someone—help…!”

Taron struggled to speak, looking at the knight sprawled nearby.

The knight tried to stand, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

“I’ll go call more people!”

Sophie shouted as she hurried out of the room.

Soon after, summoned knights began to bring the situation under control.

After supporting Iart out of the room, the knights first approached Luella.

“My lady, are you unharmed?!”

At their question, Luella steadied her trembling voice and replied,

“I’m fine, so please take care of the injured first.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At her words, the knights split up and moved in unison.

Supported by the knights, Taron was taken away first, and Sophie followed anxiously after Irenea, who was being carried out.

Before long, only Luella remained in the now-empty room.

“…Phew.”

She let out a short breath, then calmly wiped away her tears.

Then she slowly walked toward where Iart’s sword lay on the floor.

“What a shame.”

Murmuring softly, Luella picked up the sword, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped the blood from its blade.

Of the two unconscious people, Iart was the first to wake.

“Ugh.”

As he tried to sit up, the lingering headache surged back.

At the sound of his groan, Taron, who had been folding a damp cloth, hurriedly turned around.

“Your Highness! Are you all right?”

“Why… am I…?”

Before he could finish speaking, his broken memories began to piece themselves together one by one.

And what remained at the end was—

“…Why?”

Irenea’s smiling face.

A smile full of sorrow, as if trying to soothe him while he writhed in pain.

Iart couldn’t understand what that smile had meant.

“You suddenly lost consciousness. The palace physician says there’s fortunately no major issue. Probably due to the shock—”

Taron stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing his mistake.

He thought he might have reminded Iart of the incident too abruptly.

“…It’s fine. I remember everything.”

It had always been the same.

When the madness struck, Iart’s reason didn’t disappear—it was more like it was pushed aside.

As if he were being controlled by something, unable to move as he wished, yet still seeing and feeling everything.

Even when animals were killed out of necessity, killing just to see blood was another matter entirely.

There was no way to rid himself of the bitterness he felt each time.

“…That—the maid.”

Iart couldn’t bring himself to continue.

It was the first time.

The trembling transmitted through the sword felt as vivid as ever.

Clenching his fist tightly, Iart drew in a breath.

His chest felt unbearably tight.

Sensing what he was asking, Taron smiled and replied,

“Don’t worry. Her condition isn’t good, but she’s alive.”

“Ha…”

Only then did Iart let out a long breath.

The headache that had surged up gradually subsided as well.

“You still don’t seem well. Shall I call the palace physician?”

“…No. I want to rest for a while. Leave me.”

“Understood.”

Gathering the damp cloth, Taron quietly left the room.

Alone in the room, Iart lay back and slowly closed his eyes.

By now, the fact that everyone feared him didn’t bother him much.

The crown prince plagued by madness, who might go berserk at any moment.

Of course people would fear serving someone like that.

Facing people who avoided him with looks full of contempt and fear was his daily life.

It was the same look he’d felt when cutting down small animals.

And yet—why was it that Irenea, who stood before his blade,

could smile in the face of death?

As Iart wondered whether she hadn’t been afraid of him, he let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha.”

Even such small, trivial hope felt like a luxury to him.

Choosing to clear his complicated thoughts, he decided to sleep again.

Lying comfortably with his eyes closed, Iart suddenly recalled something and jerked upright.

“…That’s right—definitely.”

So focused on the madness turning toward a human, he had forgotten something important.

When the madness struck, Iart couldn’t move by his own will—

unless he saw blood.

And yet, at the moment he pressed the blade to Irenea’s neck, he had restrained himself by his own will.

He had stopped the arm that was moving to cut her down in a single stroke.

It had never happened before.

If he had awakened from the madness upon seeing the blood that spilled then, the timing didn’t quite line up.

“…Was it just my imagination?”

Iart murmured softly.

“Mmm…”

My whole body felt creaky.

When I slowly opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling came into view.

“Gasp!”

In that instant, my mind snapped fully awake.

I was sure—absolutely sure—I’d died.

Groaning, I forced my aching body up and looked around.

I hurriedly raised both hands to my face, my neck where pain still lingered vividly, my arms.

Only after slowly running my hands over myself did tears spill out.

“I’m alive… I’m alive.”

I sobbed like that for a long time.

I wasn’t sure if I was happy just because I was alive.

For some reason, the tears just wouldn’t stop.

Clatter.

“My goodness, Irenea!”

Sophie, who had come in to tend to me, dropped her tray with a clatter and cried out in shock.

As she slowly approached, tears began to well up in her eyes too.

“Head maid…”

“Do you know how worried I was? You wouldn’t wake up for so long—I really thought…!”

Scolding me as she spoke, Sophie grabbed both my hands.

The warmth I felt reminded me again that I was alive.

“Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.”

“Th-thank you—”

“Oh my, this isn’t the time for that. Wait just a moment.”

Sophie quickly picked up the fallen tray and hurried out of the room.

Soon, she returned carrying a tray with simple food.

“Eat for now. You need to eat something to regain your strength.”

“Thank you.”

It really does seem that people need food to recover their energy.

After taking a few spoonfuls of the warm, steaming soup, my weak, limp body began to respond a little better.

Once Sophie left, I finally picked up the book.

I felt exhausted enough to fall back asleep at any moment, but I had to check.

Swallowing dryly, I slowly turned the pages.