IPDE 28

Chapter : 28

Even Extras Refuse the Death Route (28)

I muttered to myself, digging through some uneasy memories.

The scene where Iart, who had always been gloomy, had changed.

The thought that something had happened kept circling in my mind.

“What is it…? I’m sure something happened.”

The more I thought about it, the more suspicion solidified into certainty.

But, how should I put it… until now, a specific scene always came to mind at critical moments.

Now, however, it was hazy, like a fog, and no scene would come to mind.

“Ah, there’s something…!”

Eventually, I leapt from my seat and paced around the room.

My lips moved uselessly as I chewed on the thought for a while.

“Huh.”

A book on the desk was glowing.

I hurriedly ran over and opened it.

[Episode 3. The Mad Crown Prince: The End]
[Death Probability: -5%]
[Current Death Probability: 79%]

“Haah…”

The moment I saw the reduced death probability, a sigh of relief escaped me.

Thank goodness. Something must have changed for sure.

“This is just too much.”

After relief came a sense of emptiness.

Although it wasn’t certain, judging from the keywords attached to each episode and the situation so far…

It seemed that the book wasn’t asking me to change the story of Evening Primrose as it appeared on the surface, but to uncover and alter the hidden side of it.

If it were just about changing the surface story, meaningless keywords wouldn’t appear.

“Huh, what? Already?!”

While I was mulling over this alone, new content began appearing in the book.

Without a moment to catch my breath, a new episode had begun.

[Episode 4. Prelude to the Broken Engagement]
[Keywords: Trust, Truth, Conflict]

“…Broken engagement?”

The moment I saw the title of the fourth episode, something suddenly came to mind.

The vague memory from earlier became clear.

“What the hell is this!”

I shouted, gulping down a can of beer.

My healing time after work.

It was the time I washed away the fatigue of the day in warm water and enjoyed Evening Primrose with a beer.

“Author, this is unacceptable!”

I shouted words that would never reach anyone into the empty air.

The crown prince Iart, engaged to the heroine Ruella—my favorite—was being asked by her to break off the engagement.

And the reason? She had fallen in love with someone else.

“Couldn’t you at least write it properly? Is this it…?”

Moreover, it was barely a scene. At the very end of the chapter, there were only a few lines.

The dialogue was just a few exchanged sentences, nothing more.

Iart, having returned from a business trip to the Tartarn Kingdom, prepared a tea party for Ruella.

And there, Ruella demanded that Iart break off the engagement.

“…I’ve fallen in love with someone else. So, I want to break off the engagement.”

Iart tried to persuade her in a trembling voice.

“I won’t let you suffer anymore. I’ll change, so please…”

“No, you won’t change.”

At Ruella’s firm words, Iart’s carefully built-up heart crumbled.

“Who is that person?”

Iart only wanted to know who the person was that Ruella, who had always stayed by his side, had come to love.

He assumed it was someone who could make her happier than he could.

But Ruella’s reply threw him into an inescapable pit.

“I won’t tell you, because you might harm him.”

“Wow, this is really harsh.”

I muttered again, taking another sip of beer.

Except for the one time he had lost control, Iart had never harmed anyone.

Even if he appeared cold on the outside, his heart was completely different.

Every time a major episode ended, a chapter written from Iart’s perspective appeared, clearly showing this.

“Why are people like this? Did they even read it properly?”

Comments were filled with people saying he deserved it and should just accept the broken engagement.

Surely, those comments wouldn’t have appeared if they had read Iart’s chapters.

It seemed that the protagonist comes first, no matter what.

“Don’t make my favorite suffer…”

Beer cans had piled up all over the table without me noticing.

The alcohol gradually making my speech slurred.

Anger rising, it felt like heat was rushing through me.

“Ugh… I need to sleep.”

Stretching and lying on the bed, something sparkling caught my eye on the desk.

Before I could even check what it was, my heavy eyelids slowly closed.

I seemed to recall another strange memory, but that wasn’t important for now.

“Broken engagement…”

Yes, that was it.

Perhaps it was because I drank more than usual that day, or perhaps because it was a scene I didn’t want to remember.

The previously hazy memory became clear again.

Iart had shown a sudden change after returning from the Tartarn Kingdom.

Something must have happened to make him gather himself.

But in the original story, Ruella had immediately broken that resolve.

There was no guarantee it would happen the same way this time.

“Trust, truth, conflict…”

I muttered the keywords under the episode title as if tasting them with my tongue.

Since it was about a broken engagement, it was surely a story about Iart and Ruella.

Trust and truth seemed like keywords that could be naturally inferred.

What was important was truth.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the keyword truth.

From my experience so far, there must be a hidden story.

And it was probably my job to find the truth in that hidden story.

“As expected, I have no choice but to get closer to Iart.”

It would be difficult at first, of course.

But thinking about it, somehow Iart seemed to be at the foundation of the story.

I couldn’t yet know what the book wanted, but it didn’t seem far from the direction I wanted.

Of course, I couldn’t let my guard down.

“I should ask Edwin and Serena too.”

If they knew something, it might help.

Predicting events that hadn’t happened yet to figure out the truth would be difficult.

Moreover, just earlier, Ruella had left Iart’s room crying.

Surely, an important conversation had taken place, and normally, the topic of the broken engagement would have come up.

But Iart was fine—no, he even seemed better than usual.

It didn’t seem like such a conversation had happened.

Perhaps Ruella crying meant the opposite.

“No way.”

There was no reason for Iart to demand a broken engagement from Ruella.

Unless, like Ruella, he had fallen in love with someone else.

“…No, that can’t be.”

I tried to ignore the thought passing through my mind, but once it arose, it wouldn’t easily disappear.

It wasn’t impossible that Iart had fallen in love at first sight with some woman in the Tartarn Kingdom.

During his extended stay, love may have bloomed.

“Well, then that’s for the best.”

I didn’t know from experience, but they say the power of love is great.

If that was why Iart suddenly changed, it was perfectly possible.

“Then that’s for the best.”

Repeating the phrase, I felt a strange flutter in my chest.

Had I eaten something wrong earlier?

I felt uneasy and strange.

“Maybe I’m just tired.”

The next day.

I woke up early and headed to the kitchen a little earlier than usual.

“Ah, Head Pastry Chef.”

I smiled brightly at the familiar face I saw as soon as I entered.

The pastry chef glanced at me and nodded slightly.

“I showed Your Highness the design yesterday.”

“I see.”

“You said you’d think about it, but also told me not to tell anyone else.”

The pastry chef only nodded while listening, then finally looked up at me.

“Tell me in detail.”

“He said he’d think about it, and then asked who knew about it.”

“And?”

“I told him only the pastry chef and I knew, and he said not to tell anyone until he gave a definite answer…”

“Hmm.”

The chef stopped working and thought for a moment.

Then exhaled lightly and said:

“Alright, keep it secret.”

“I wonder why? You know the reason, right?”

“Well, Your Highness must have his reasons.”

The calm chef, seemingly unconcerned while I was dying of curiosity, annoyed me a little.

Well, judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like a bad reason.

“Hey, Head Pastry Chef.”

“Yes?”

Thinking about yesterday, a question suddenly came to mind.

“How do you earn trust?”

The chef was much older than me, so I hoped to gain some wisdom.

“Trust?”

“Yes, there’s someone I want to earn trust from, but I don’t know how.”

Saying it out loud made the situation feel even more hopeless, and I sighed softly.

The chef looked at me silently for a moment, then smiled and spoke.

“Trust isn’t something you achieve alone.”

“What?”

“If the other person doesn’t even intend to trust you, they’ll start with suspicion no matter what you do.”

“Ah…”

It felt like I had just heard something despairing.

If Iart decided to doubt me, he wouldn’t trust me, no matter what.

“Then how do you make them trust you?”

“Well, you’d have to know what they want. But if they could easily tell you, wouldn’t that mean they already trust you?”

“…Then I should just give up?”

I said, sighing in despair.

“You seem like you could manage it, though.”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, if you think you have to give up, you must also know how to do it.”

“Haah… this is hard.”

“It’s the other person’s choice to accept the sincerity you show.”

The chef tapped my shoulder.

“The important thing is not to fake it. If it’s genuine, there’s no need to dress it up.”

“Ah…”

It felt like a sudden blow to the back of my head.

Perhaps the problem was trying too hard to do something just to earn trust.

I just needed to act naturally, reflecting how I truly felt about Iart.

“I see, I guess I was thinking about it the wrong way.”

“There’s no absolute answer in life, and no perfect life without regrets. Just do your best in the moment.”

“Hehe, Head Pastry Chef, you really are an adult.”

The sly smile I gave was met with the chef’s firm playful flick on my head.

“Now that you know, why not try a bit harder?”

“Hehe.”

I rubbed my forehead awkwardly and smiled.

Either way, my heart felt much lighter.