EVHE 12

Chapter 12

「…The rain that had fallen all day showed no signs of stopping. The surroundings were as dark as night, and the occasional lightning served as the only light. The duke’s mansion was quiet—eerily so.

Lilith’s golden hair fluttered in the storm, resembling white snow. Her crimson eyes, staring beyond the wide-open window, revealed no trace of her thoughts.

Another bolt of lightning struck. Thunder followed closely. At some point, a dark shadow appeared behind Lilith and crept up to her silently.

The man in the black robe hesitated to wrap his arms around her waist and instead rested them on the railing, trapping her in his embrace.

Only then did Lilith notice his presence and turn around. She didn’t bother to reject his actions.

“You’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Instead, she slowly cupped his cheeks and whispered softly. They were so close, it seemed their lips might touch with just a small movement.

“I need power. Tremendous power.”

It wasn’t Lilith who couldn’t push him away—it was the man who couldn’t resist. Her presence was so dazzling, so overwhelming, it stole the focus of anyone nearby.

Even the wind soaked in rain couldn’t compete with the burning chill in her eyes. Her crimson dress fluttered like flames in the wind.

“So, will you help me?”

She smiled seductively as she spoke. Her upturned eyes, which curved only when committing cruelty, were irresistibly enchanting even though he knew better. Her laughter pierced into his chest.

“Saint.”

The first time she ever uttered his name. And he dropped to his knees. Reverently, he kissed the back of her extended hand.

Lightning flashed once again. In that fleeting instant, his blue eyes shone with intense emotion. Her loyal hound had just sworn his eternity to her.」

…That scene from the novel floated vividly in my mind.

There were three main villains in the original story: the central figure Lilith, her backer—the Second Prince Rushel—and the assassin who carried out her commands.

‘Saint.’

If Rushel was the sun that shone above Lilith’s head, Saint was the shadow beneath her feet.

Saint loved Lilith passionately. Even knowing he was being used, he followed her orders without question.

Throughout the story, he killed countless people at her command.

‘But why is that assassin here?’

Shouldn’t an assassin like him be lurking in some shady underground? A library? As a librarian? That made no sense!

‘If only there’d been an illustration…!’

Then I might’ve recognized him at first glance—and run.

Do you know how many white-haired, blue-eyed people are in this cursed world? Do they expect me to identify characters just from vague descriptions? Am I a genius?

“What are you looking at?”

I jumped, startled by the voice directly above me, and hastily shut the book.

“I was just… browsing, seeing what it was about.”

I quickly shoved the book back onto the shelf. Saint quietly glanced at the title of the book I had been reading, then asked:

“Are you interested in magic?”

“Well… maybe, maybe not.”

I blurted out an ambiguous answer, feeling that my hesitance must’ve looked extremely awkward.

Now it was obvious I’d been caught off guard by his name. Act natural—be natural!

“Mm, I suppose I am, actually.”

I added a light smile at the end, trying to appear casual.

“Would you like me to teach you?”

“When I was younger, my father said magic was forbidden, so… wait, what?”

“Believe it or not…”

He lightly clenched his fist, and red powder scattered into the air.

“I’m actually quite confident in magic.”

The powder swirling in his hand transformed into a translucent bird, then instantly burst into flames and vanished.

“I thought all clerics only used holy magic?”

“There are a lot of things holy power can’t do, so I learned it separately.”

With his hands behind his back, he looked down at me confidently.

Why was he making such a tempting offer now? Or maybe it was a good thing he waited. If I hadn’t known who he was, I might’ve eagerly accepted.

“If I’m ever interested, I’ll let you know.”

Perhaps noticing my hesitation, he took a step back.

“Anyway, if you like magic, this one’s good, and this one too.”

Saint quickly pulled out several books and handed them to me as if he had the whole library catalog memorized.

“Ah… thank you. I’ll return them later.”

I had originally planned to spend a leisurely afternoon here reading until evening. But I changed my mind.

I wanted to leave this place immediately.

No—I would leave. Whether I zoned out or prayed back at the temple, I just couldn’t stay here any longer.

‘I really thought I could make a normal friend this time.’

It wasn’t the same as the close female friendship I’d hoped for, but still—a normal friend I could interact with now and then.

‘But that’s not what this is.’

I had stepped on a landmine. A giant one.

“…I’ll be going now.”

“I hope we meet again.”

His tone remained gentle, but his voice was devoid of any real emotion.

In the original story, Saint was described as a cold, merciless assassin. Maybe that’s why the man before me seemed terrifying.

‘Is this going to be okay…?’

I’d stayed holed up in the mansion for two whole months. The first time I stepped outside, I managed to step on three landmines in a row.

Should I just lock myself back in the mansion like before? At this rate, my fourth reset was right around the corner.

Despite my hesitation, I ended up attending the Grandel Marquis’ banquet.

The sooner I changed my image, the better. Considering how close the original bad ending could be, there wasn’t much time to spare. The longer I waited to act, the closer I’d be to that dreadful execution scene.

And besides, since I kept running into so many main characters, that ending might be even closer than I thought.

As darkness settled after sunset, the banquet truly began. Dozens of candles adorned a crystal chandelier that sparkled like starlight, illuminating the hall.

The high ceiling was painted with images of a pink sky and angels, as if to declare that this was no ordinary venue. Laughter filled the air, and flowing dresses rippled through the crowd like waves—it all felt like a scene from a dream.

“Marchioness Grandel.”

“Oh my.”

Though her expression remained serene, the Marchioness seemed barely able to contain her delight.

“Lady, it’s been far too long. Thank you for coming.”

“I should be the one thanking you for inviting me to such a lovely event.”

The Marchioness had a warm smile. And yet, something about it made me uneasy.

She looked like she was expecting something. But what? I had no idea.

“As expected of your banquets—so beautiful and elegant. I’ve wanted to attend one for a long time.”

“We put in a little extra effort since we heard you were coming. I was worried, since you hadn’t been seen for almost two months.”

“I’m doing better now. Thank you for your concern.”

“You seem different somehow. Even more beautiful than before, I think.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, we parted ways. The hall was filled with small groups chatting here and there.

My heart felt like it would burst. Just thinking that this was the ‘first button’ of my plan made my stomach churn.

Still, I had to succeed. I had to. I had taken the risk of running into Olivia just by showing up here.

Stand tall, straighten your shoulders, keep your chin up. Walk with poise and grace.

I can do this. No—I must do this!

…But that determination didn’t mean much in the end. To sum it up, today’s plan was a complete failure.

People spoke to me, perhaps because of my noble status, but none of the conversations lasted.

No one outright ignored me, but they subtly kept their distance. Every time I smiled, it was as if they got chills.

It almost felt like the Marchioness invited me here just to humiliate me.

‘Technically speaking, maybe it wasn’t a failure.’

I came here to show that I could behave properly and courteously.

And if I looked at the top three things Lilith typically did at parties in the original story, that was already a win:

If someone rubbed her the wrong way, she started a fight. If she got angry, she yanked their hair. And if it escalated—she pulled a knife.

But tonight, I spoke politely, behaved calmly, and didn’t do anything strange.

So that was basically a success, right? Thinking that made me feel a bit better.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel hurt by their cold responses. I slipped away from the main hall and walked up the staircase to the second floor.

A few couples had stepped out to rest and talk in the quieter corridors. Being there alone felt embarrassingly awkward.

I thought about heading back down to the main hall, but just then, a man’s voice shouting from above caught my attention.

I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but it sounded like a couple fighting.

And it seemed the man was berating the woman, so I instinctively walked toward the upper floor.

“I told you we should stop this!”

“Shut up! You think I went along with your moods all this time just to hear that?”

His voice was full of barely contained rage.

“Thane…!”

“Is this all there is? You seduced me for this?!”

“You’re the one who misunderstood!”

“Cut the crap!”

Just listening to them made my skin crawl. Usually, guys like that didn’t stop at just yelling…

Worried, I rushed up the stairs and reached a small rooftop garden.

Just as I feared, the man’s hand was already halfway up her shoulder.