IPDE 27

Chapter : 27

Even as an Extra, I Refuse the Death Route (27)

“Ireneah?”

“…Ah.”

At Taron’s call, my frozen body finally started to move.

“Are you alright? Your complexion suddenly looks off.”

“No, I was just… lost in thought for a moment.”

I forced a smile and brushed it off.

But still, Ruela’s cold expression haunted my eyes.

It felt completely different from before.

Something far stronger than simple hostility.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine—it was almost like a warning of life or death.

Why…?

Why did Ruela hate me so much?

No matter how I thought about it, the only connection between Ruela and me was Iart.

Had I been too careless?

Just because in the original story Ruela didn’t love Iart, it didn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t now.

Not having considered that possibility, maybe I had already made Ruela my enemy.

Right… she asked me from the start.

At Ruela’s birthday banquet, she had asked me if I had feelings for Iart.

I had definitely answered no, but there was no telling if she had believed me.

“Are you really alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I smiled brightly at Taron, who asked again, and then made my way to Iart’s office.

For now, I had to focus on the situation at hand.

Taron watched me for a moment, then turned and knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, I’ve brought Miss Ireneah.”

“Come in.”

As I entered the room, I saw Iart perched slightly on the edge of his desk.

…Well, what matters now?

Seeing Iart, whose everyday life was practically picture-perfect, naturally brought a smile to my face.

It felt like everything that had happened earlier was forgotten.

What had happened in the Tartan Kingdom…?

Even after just a few days, his beauty seemed upgraded to a blinding level.

The breeze from the slightly open window scattered Iart’s hair.

A blessing… truly a blessing.

“Huh?”

“Uh…! Ah, it’s nothing.”

I quickly covered my mouth at the words that had slipped out.

I avoided Taron’s curious gaze.

“Sit down first.”

“Ah, yes.”

Iart approached the sofa with his usual stoic expression and leaned back.

Yet… somehow, the atmosphere felt different.

“What’s that you’re holding?”

As soon as I carefully sat across from him, Iart asked.

“Oh, this is called honey lemon. I brought it to give to Your Highness.”

“…To me?”

I gently placed the glass jar on the table and spoke.

Iart glanced between the jar and me.

“Yes, I wanted to give it as a thank-you for the scarf.”

“Hmm.”

He picked up the jar, turning it in his hands, his expression unreadable.

It was impossible to tell whether he was pleased or displeased.

“Alright, I’ll accept it then.”

“Ah… yes…”

Something was definitely different.

It was a side of Iart that was clearly not the usual him.

Had something really happened in the Tartan Kingdom?

“Taron.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Step aside for a moment.”

“Yes, understood.”

Taron bowed, then turned away without hesitation.

As the door closed, Iart finally spoke again.

“You said you had something to tell me.”

“Yes?”

He set the jar down on the table and, unlike before, looked me straight in the eye.

His eyes, once empty, now shimmered with a blue light.

“About the madness.”

“Ah…”

For whatever reason, his composed demeanor didn’t feel unpleasant.

Yet, oddly, I couldn’t shake a sense of discomfort.

“I see… you say you can prevent the madness?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Explain it in detail.”

Now that the chance to speak was in front of me, all the words I had organized scattered in my mind.

Alright, calm down and speak clearly.

This might be the only opportunity.

“When I first witnessed Your Highness’ madness, and then again in the greenhouse, you were eating dessert.”

“Right.”

“At first, I wasn’t sure, but in the greenhouse, the madness definitely stopped the moment you ate dessert.”

Iart listened, arms crossed, then touched his chin with his fingertips and asked,

“Sure, but you know it’s madness yourself, right?”

“…Yes.”

“But…”

Suddenly, Iart’s gaze changed, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was a presence far more imposing than when he had stared with emptiness.

“Why did you give me dessert?”

“…Pardon?”

“In that life-threatening moment, why did you give me dessert?”

“Ah, that…”

It was a question I hadn’t expected.

Flustered, I struggled to answer, and Iart immediately fired another question.

“And in the first situation, there was definitely blood. How do you explain that?”

“That…! Perhaps the timing was slightly off…”

“Timing?”

Iart furrowed his brow slightly and continued.

“So there’s a proper timing, huh? Others can’t know when the madness occurs. I feel it in my own body.”

“….”

“Then how did you know that timing and give me dessert?”

It felt as if a hammer had struck my chest.

I had been far too careless.

I thought Iart was just fragile and hurt because of the madness.

But he was, without a doubt, the crown prince of an empire.

Not only was he insightful enough to see through every situation, he also didn’t easily trust anyone.

“That…”

It was my mistake to try to explain everything at once.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t tell him about the book, but the problem wasn’t that.

I would have to explain that I had possessed someone, and no normal person would easily believe that.

I might even be treated as insane and thrown out.

Unless it were someone I had immense trust with… in this situation, even more so.

“You must have some circumstances you can’t explain, huh?”

“No, that’s not it…!”

Anyway, I had to somehow get through this.

Please, brain, think fast.

“I gave dessert… because I’ve experienced it before!”

“…Experienced?”

“It’s not exactly madness, but when I get extremely angry or my emotions spiral, eating something sweet tends to calm me down.”

“Huh?”

“So I thought it might help, so I tried it.”

Iart looked incredulous, but I kept my composure.

It wasn’t a complete lie, after all.

“Fine, we’ll leave that aside. But how will you explain the next thing?”

In an instant, thousands of thoughts passed through my head.

I could have made up an excuse like before.

I could try to evade and smooth over the situation.

But somehow, I felt I had to tell this truth.

“…If I tell you honestly, will you believe me?”

Iart stared blankly for a moment, then let out a small laugh.

“Do you think saying that makes it believable? You have an interesting talent.”

“It’s not like that…”

“You’re clearly mistaken.”

In an instant, Iart’s expression turned cold.

“I could throw you out right here and now. But you want something, don’t you?”

“…Excuse me?”

“If I had truly intended to trust you, I wouldn’t have asked.”

I see.

The strange discomfort I felt from Iart was this.

He was now scrutinizing me, doubting me to the fullest.

“You mean you think I have some ulterior motive?”

“If that’s how you feel, then yes.”

It was clear Iart’s mindset had changed.

For some reason, he was thinking differently than usual.

I was ashamed for ever assuming he would automatically trust me.

I may resemble Iart in some ways, but he surely wouldn’t.

“…How can I make you trust me?”

Unconsciously, I wanted to speak sincerely because I sensed that he was suspicious.

Even if I revealed everything now, he wouldn’t believe me.

Perhaps I would just have to watch the story flow back to its original course.

“Anyone can follow instructions or hear what you say.”

“….”

“But trust… trust is something you build yourself.”

Iart was right.

If trust could be given that easily, distrust wouldn’t exist.

If I wanted Iart to trust me, I had no choice but to act myself.

“Yes, I understand what you mean.”

I had been thinking about Ruela and the others, but never deeply considered Iart.

But the person I most wanted to change was Iart.

Even if he didn’t initially like me.

“I will do my best so Your Highness can trust me.”

“Good, interesting.”

Iart leaned back on the sofa and casually said,

“If you’re done talking, you may leave.”

“No, there’s still more.”

Iart, looking as if he was about to close his eyes from fatigue, slowly opened them at my words.

“What is it?”

“I’d like you to look over this.”

I handed Iart the designs I had prepared.

He flipped through the pages, his expression faintly shifting.

“Hmm.”

“As a dessert specialist, I devised these with the head chef.”

“With Preet?”

Iart looked a little surprised.

“Yes. I know various desserts and want to create the tools to make them.”

“Tools, huh.”

“These are only partial because they were made quickly. There are still many tools I plan to make.”

Iart seemed lost in thought for a moment.

After running his long fingers along his jawline, he finally spoke.

“Who else knows about this?”

“For now, just the head chef and me.”

“Good, I see.”

He placed the designs back on the table and smiled faintly.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Yes.”

“And until I give a definite answer, don’t tell anyone.”

“…Yes.”

For a moment, I almost asked why, but I swallowed the question.

No need to cause unnecessary friction.

After finishing the conversation with Iart and returning to the room, I sat at my desk.

I began thinking about what to do next.

I can’t say his sudden change is bad.

Compared to before, the Iart I faced today was clearly better in many ways.

It could affect his future and even change the story.

Even his change itself meant the story had shifted… huh.

“Somehow… somehow this doesn’t feel unfamiliar.”