BVWG 14

chapter 14

Even after hearing information about the other two candidate men from Duke Esperanza, I found it hard to believe so easily.

First of all, the fact that I could learn about these two candidates so easily, and that both of them were far more formidable than I had expected, made it hard to process.

Anyway, I felt a brief sense of satisfaction because the Devil’s Game seemed to be unfolding more smoothly than I had anticipated.

But soon, the hollow feeling I had experienced when I first received information about the candidates from Dalia returned. Why did this feeling keep coming back?

I decided not to dwell on it too much unless I could find an immediate answer. Better to focus on the game.

According to the Duke, all four of the Deus Cornu Empire’s ducal families were involved in this game.

Whether this fact would be an advantage or disadvantage in completing the Devil’s Game mission remained unclear.

While I was lost in thought, the Duke took my hand. His eyes were filled with pride as he smiled kindly.

“Asha, I am proud that you handled this task so well and returned safely.”

The Duke wasn’t the type to show affection often, but every so often, he would convey his feelings to me like this.

I knew that he was a father who loved his daughter deeply and did his best in his own way.

But having been eaten alive in my past life, part of me was twisted, and I found it hard to accept his affection completely.

Still, I couldn’t just ignore his genuine feelings—it felt wrong to do so.

So, I forced myself to say words that would make him happy.

“I’ll continue to be a daughter who works hard, Father.”

After parting with the Duke, I immediately went to the room of the mansion’s mage. I felt that if I went to my own room in my exhausted state, I would collapse immediately.

His room looked much smaller than mine and was cluttered with piles of papers and books, to the point that it was hard to tell where the furniture ended and the documents began.

Here and there, I could see bottles filled with colorful liquids and what seemed to be herbs.

I had heard that mages often did research alone, and it seemed true.

The mage was already sitting on his bed, papers spread all around him, studying them carefully.

When he noticed me, he was surprised and quickly got up to greet me.

“You’ve just woken up, but you’re already studying?”

“Yes, this is my passion.”

The mage gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.

“But why did you come all the way to my room, Miss?”

“To make sure you woke up safely. You’ve worked hard too, you know.”

His ash-gray eyes widened for a moment.

“Miss, you’ve changed a lot recently. Even someone like me gets your concern. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine now.”

Seeing him smile sincerely, I returned a smile.

“That’s good. Because I’ve arranged an incredibly remarkable teacher for you.”

The mage looked completely caught off guard by this turn of conversation.

“Who is the teacher you found? Or rather… I realize I’ve fallen short of your expectations.”

His expression suddenly fell as if he had just realized something. I quickly reassured him.

“No, don’t exaggerate. I can’t say that your skills completely met my expectations… but you’re certainly not lacking.”

The mage still looked guilty. I quickly added,

“You did incredibly well with water-related magic. You saved all our lives. The fact that we’re safe now is entirely thanks to you.”

“That must be thanks to the mage who appeared at the end and cast the white lightning.”

“That person contributed a lot, but so did you.”

My tone grew slightly irritated. I was terrible at comforting others.

At that, the mage stopped digging himself into the ground. Still, his expression brightened slightly compared to before.

“And that lightning mage I mentioned? He is the teacher I arranged for you. Morpheus Venbolio. Also known as the Royal Mage Leader.”

The mage went pale and couldn’t speak. His reaction was intense.

“Why? You don’t like him? If you don’t want him, it can be canceled. He promised it would be as if it never happened.”

The mage immediately shook his head vigorously and shouted,

“No! Please let me be his student. It would be an honor to study under such an incredible mage!”

“Your voice is too loud!”

Only then did he calm down a little. His eyes shone with joy.

Satisfied with his reaction, I spoke again.

“But what’s your name?”

“Huh?”

He seemed lost in the flow of conversation.

“I mean your name. I can’t keep calling you ‘mage’ forever, especially since we’ll be seeing each other often.”

Finally, he regained his composure and answered.

“Curi Shade. Please call me Q for short.”

“Alright, Q. I look forward to working with you. Looks like I’ll also become a student of Morpheus with you.”

Leaving a flustered Q behind, I closed his door. From the other side, I heard the joyful cheers of his excitement.

I smiled and went up to my room.

The next morning, muscle soreness woke me.

Looking at the bed last night, I had buried myself in the soft blankets and slept soundly, unaware of the world.

Apparently, my body had been thoroughly exhausted from my time in the southern slums.

I sent a letter to Morpheus first. The letter explained that Q and I had confirmed our willingness to become his students.

There were two more letters on my desk, but I decided to hold off on sending them. Instead, I summoned Dalia through Merci.

“Asha-unnie!”

Dalia appeared with a large deep pink ribbon in her hair that matched her eye color.

“Dalia, did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes. Did you?”

“Yes. If anything makes you uncomfortable while staying here, tell me—either to Merci or me. I called you here because I need to ask something today.”

“Uh? About the game?”

“Yes. Aside from Mage Morpheus, the other two candidates are the sons of Duke Judicum and Duke Desdemonta.”

Dalia blinked her large pink eyes and focused on me.

“Since you now know who the candidates are in this world, you should understand why you died while trying to win them over in the game.”

“Hmm… Actually, Dalia only played that game a long time ago, just three times, so I don’t remember much.”

Dalia looked dejected.

“Still, please try to recall as much as you can—their personalities and any tips on courting them.”

The little girl thought deeply before speaking.

“First, Beret was a knight and very righteous.”

It made sense, as the Judicum family championed justice.

“But in the game, I lied to him once, and he said he lost trust in me and left. That’s when I died.”

Could someone be so extreme in their values?

“And Klepta?”

“He was a great businessman with a bold personality. He loved money, and courting him required spending a lot.”

Even hearing about Klepta didn’t make him appealing. I frowned and focused on Dalia’s next words.

“Then I went bankrupt, and he left. I died again.”

Ah, to receive a proposal, one must also have money. I filed this useless information in my head.

‘Failing for such ridiculous reasons.’

Getting a proposal from these two seemed more difficult than I thought.

Beret, being righteous, certainly wouldn’t favor someone with a villainous reputation like mine.

And Klepta, who valued only money, wasn’t exactly someone I’d want to get close to.

That left only Morpheus, who seemed relatively decent in personality and already familiar.

“How about when you courted Morpheus?”

“Morpheus?”

Dalia recalled her memories.

“He was a skilled mage, but deeply wounded, and his inner self was very different from his outward appearance.”

Was this really the same Morpheus I knew?

Regardless of my doubt, Dalia continued.

“Outwardly playful and sly, but inside he had very high walls.”

If I hadn’t heard Dalia, I would have never known that Morpheus was like that.

He looked like a mischievous child with smooth lines of flirtation…

“At the end, he treated Dalia so well that I thought I had won his heart. But I hadn’t. That’s when I died.”

In conclusion, even courting Morpheus wouldn’t be easy.

Images of the illusionary fields and starflowers he had created for me, and the way he hesitated before kissing my hand, flashed through my mind.

If I continued to receive that kind of attention, I might have mistaken it for love.

“Ah, there isn’t a single easy candidate!”

I postponed deciding which candidate to focus on.

“But Dalia, wasn’t this supposed to be a survival game? From what you’re saying, it sounds more like a dating simulation.”

“Well, in the game, incubuses appeared occasionally, and terrain would change, threatening your life.”

“Eh?”

“You had to clear those first to survive.”

“Ah, I see about the incubuses. But what do you mean by terrain changes?”

“The ground would suddenly sink, earthquakes and landslides would happen—without warning.”

“All without reason?”

Yes, it was a damn game that completely disregarded plausibility.

“So there wasn’t much time to focus on courting.”

“You managed to survive all that and still tried to court the candidates.”

“Yes, I was lucky as a beginner. I only played three times.”

“Then which candidate do you think I should focus on first?”

“I’m not sure either. You should meet them all and decide for yourself.”

I washed my face and looked at Dalia.

“….”

Then it hit me—Dalia was only five years old.

I had just had a conversation with a five-year-old about past lives and games, topics usually reserved for adults.