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“Tell me it’s not true.”

Carlix, begging almost aggressively, stared at my lips, hoping for a denial.

Yeah, this is more like it. I couldn’t help but admire Kestiel’s acceptance of the situation anew.

After all, who wouldn’t despair at the thought of being a created character? No one would remain unaffected.

I shrugged, waiting for him to continue. His human reaction, strangely, felt less dissonant.

“Say it isn’t true.”

Carlix’s demand grew more menacing over time. As his hand approached my neck, I felt a twinge of anxiety, imagining how easily he could crush my throat or bones.

Damn it, shit, damn it all. He cursed, running his hand over his face repeatedly. His previously sly smile trembled.

“Even when Beatrice told me to stop, I never felt this way…”

I doubted he could calm down, concluding it was impossible. So, I quietly held his hand. There was a faint smell of gunpowder and iron.

“Calm down.”

I whispered softly.

“Grand Duke.”

“…”

“Mr. Hamel?”

The title had no particular significance, but Carlix flinched dramatically and then fell silent.

I repeated the action about five times before I could face him properly.

And I regretted it.

“Did you think this was a joke? Me? All of this?”

“…I.”

“Since you don’t seem to understand, let me make it clear, Margaret Colin Eilish.”

“….”

“I don’t care if I was created or who this world revolves around. Knowing the truth has made things easier. I don’t want Beatrice, the Crown Prince, or even the throne. There’s only one thing I want. You know why I pulled my rival out of this miserable guild and handed over information to you.”

‘…Ah.’

I finally looked closely into his eyes. They were stained with emotions similar to Taylor’s, but more than that…

‘He wasn’t high.’

I let out a hollow laugh. The words Carlix spat out were etched into my mind.

“But you, you never really saw any of this as real, did you? Except for your sister, everything was just a prop to you. Whether it was the assassin or the knight.”

Maybe even your sister.

Carlix didn’t try to force anything on me. But I was scared.

“I should have realized it from the beginning. Yeah, that’s why you could leave me so easily. I should have accepted it earlier…”

Well, fine.

Carlix clapped his hands and took a deep breath. The air seemed to calm, and I tilted my head with a slight sense of relief, which the deranged Grand Duke promptly shattered with hopeful cheer.

“In that case, even if I killed 300 people because of you, you’d still look at me with those eyes, right?”

From beginning to end, he was perfectly sane. He held a syringe filled with a stimulant.

* * *

Carlix grabbed my shoulders and leaned over me, almost crawling onto me. I had to look up at him blankly, unable to even try pushing him away, while the number he mentioned kept ringing in my head.

300 people.

I felt suffocated. Just as he had said, I didn’t like this situation.

“I can’t even comprehend it.”

I replied in a hoarse voice. Carlix laughed heartily, as if he had expected it, and explained.

“You must not have counted the casualties of the rebellion, but I’ve killed people without using my powers. Sure, it would be easier with them, but I enjoy planning and watching things explode. I did use my powers briefly during the rebellion, but I don’t really like using them.”

“…Why?”

“You.”

He stopped speaking and stared at me. His voice deflated as he asked, in disbelief, if I was curious about something like that in such a situation.

I laughed.

“Well… okay.”

I wasn’t sincere, but timing was everything. I watched him cautiously as I slowly sat up.

In novels, a character’s past and related stories are often the most used elements to define them. I knew Carlix Hamel was attracted to those who shared similar pain and obsessed over those who understood him. I also knew what he feared the most.

“You were right. I wouldn’t care if I killed 300 people for my sister.”

He flinched. If he was in a rational state, a bit of intimidation would be effective.

Thinking this, I pushed him away completely and straightened my clothes.

Carlix feared people who weren’t swayed by his threats. Specifically, those who could abandon him anytime.

Despite my unease, I knew he wouldn’t lay a hand on someone he liked. Hoping his expression would reflect that, I whispered calmly.

“It’s not like it’s unexpected…”

“…Margaret.”

“Oh, this is also true. To me, it’s all just a comedy. Fabricated. That’s why I don’t care about what you do.”

I snatched the stimulant from his hand, threw it to the ground, and crushed it under my foot.

“Because I’m a villain anyway.”

A bright smile spread across my face. Carlix looked up at me with a frozen expression.

I shook my head, chuckling softly, and patted his hair gently as I offered friendly advice.

“So, it’s up to you now, Grand Duke. You can go back to being drugged and killing three hundred people.”

Or prove that you’re not just a creation.

Carlix couldn’t respond. His eyes, those familiar black eyes, widened as he stared at me, unmoving.

“Fine.”

“That’s what you mean, huh?”

The former Grand Duke bit his lip in disappointment, then chuckled with his signature black eyes completely closed.

He mocked himself for injecting the stimulant, and with a voice that sounded extremely melancholic, he whispered.

“Alright.”

I couldn’t be sure if it was a sign of surrender, but Carlix did raise his hands calmly.

“It would have hurt less if I hadn’t used the stimulant.”

“I don’t recommend relying on drugs.”

“I do it often.”

“Stop it.”

I frowned and insisted stubbornly.

Putting aside the fact that using drugs is illegal, most substances in this world were extremely addictive. According to Taylor, they only dealt with the strongest ones.

‘Well, you’d need something strong to brainwash someone.’

Unlike Taylor, who was forcibly injected, and Kestiel, who avoided drugs altogether, Carlix actively sought them out. It was another reminder of his criminal and villainous nature, along with the smell of blood, drug smoke, dark eyes, and faint dark circles under his eyes.

Pressing my temples, I urged him again to quit.

“…We’ll see.”

Carlix laughed half-heartedly and sat on the chair. His non-committal answer indicated he had no intention of stopping, so I jokingly asked if I should bring something like a mask to cover my face next time, just like Taylor did.

He suggested we meet in a room with windows next time.

“Even now, you’ve locked all the doors. Would windows make a difference?”

Carlix answered easily.

“Well. I’ll try.”

“I hope you do.”

I smiled innocently as I responded.

In this world, there are a few unrealistic human traits that don’t usually exist in reality.

People who never break their word, those who are so violent that they imprison their loved ones but show no harm to them, and those who reform instantly without any cause are examples.

I knew Carlix Hamel fit all three of these categories. Sighing was a natural reaction.

“…”

Since he hadn’t given a definite answer, something might still happen. The silence continued with these thoughts.

Carlix seemed to enjoy the silence in his own way, observing me as if he were studying me. As the silence dragged on, I was the only one who felt awkward.

Unable to bear it any longer, I asked.

“So how did you really find out?”

“About what?”

Carlix tilted his head and asked back silently. I awkwardly brushed my silver-lavender hair and waited for his answer.

“You know, all the details? About Beatrice or the Crown Prince?”

Oh, that. Carlix rested his chin on his hand and began explaining as casually as if talking about the weather.

“I think.”

“…?”

“I used to love Beatrice excessively. You must have seen it. But looking back now, I felt nothing. When I thought about it, there wasn’t anything memorable about her. It was astonishing.”

“And then?”

My red eyes shone with a bit of curiosity. Carlix smiled wistfully before continuing in his usual manner.

“Then I noticed the assassin and the knight had similar attitudes, so I investigated. Being a wanted man, there weren’t many places to ask. So, I put in a request at the guild, and I got the answers I wanted.”

He looked satisfied. He paused, as if reminiscing, then continued before I could urge him.

“I figured you knew, but the guild master had quite a fondness for the assassin. He was his foster father, apparently, and despite the poor upbringing, there was affection. He knew too much about his son. Like who he was interested in, changes in his mental state, even who he had recently talked to. Very detailed.”

He shrugged, indicating the high cost of such information.

I shrugged in return, unsure how he managed it, but it confirmed that the master of Glacies was using his resources to monitor Taylor.

And for some reason, he was sharing that information with Carlix.

Otherwise, there was no reason to assign Taylor to my request.

Taylor also mentioned needing to see his father, so if Carlix knew that, there might be a connection I wasn’t aware of.

Especially considering the guild’s reputation for not sparing failures…

‘…It certainly feels like someone is watching their back.’

Unlike Carlix Hamel, Taylor Knight’s escape from prison had few loose ends. Even if Taylor was skilled at manipulating the scene, there was still something off about it. It was something impossible under normal circumstances.

“It does seem unusual.”

Did the master know about Taylor’s feelings for me from the start? What about this world? Would he try to use the original story?

The silent pondering continued until Carlix agreed with me and added his explanation.

“You’re right. The reason I blew up the subsidiary facility was partly because of that man’s influence. He asked me to help his son escape.”

“…Ah.”

I wondered what the original plan had been.

I debated whether to ask the question outright, and Carlix seemed to read my hesitation as he moved his lips first.

“Don’t look at me like that. I enjoy the grandeur, not mass slaughter.”

He maintained his arrogant tone throughout. He then mentioned that his initial target had always been the labor camp.

I openly frowned at him, glaring until he made a soft noise to calm me down.

“Anyway, once you get a feel for it, the deductions aren’t difficult. Who wouldn’t know that this world revolves around Beatrice? It became clear that after she and the Crown Prince got entangled, people like me and others would end up miserable. My guess was spot on.”

And above all, I’m a main character, aren’t I?

Carlix twisted his lips, confirming. Even with limited information, I’m set up to draw these unrealistic conclusions, aren’t I? Given my significance, I’m also a protagonist in my own right, unlike the others. That’s how I was made.

“Just like you.”

He whispered finally, as if asking if I understood now.

A chill ran down my spine. Goosebumps erupted on my neck, and my breath caught.

The Grand Duke before me, Carlix Hamel, was lying.

I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing his face for a long time, realizing that his languid eyes had no intention of revealing the truth.

Had I been too complacent?

 

“…I’m curious how much you actually know.”

I forced a smile, not wanting to converse with him any longer. It felt dangerous to continue.

This applied to both Kestiel Reload and Taylor as well. They had their own rules for deducing the nature of this fabricated world.

Part of why I felt secure exploiting their emotions and situations was the fact that they hadn’t grasped the most fundamental aspect.

Yes, they all started by considering who the world revolved around.

Only after that did they judge their role and act accordingly, which formed their behavioral patterns toward me.

But the Grand Duke…

“Well, let’s just say I know quite a bit.”

His response was infuriatingly vague, yet it carried an unmistakable weight.

He laughed.

“So, all I have to do is prove I’m not just a created character, right?”

I rubbed my wrist, trying to shake off the goosebumps.

The Grand Duke’s thoughts diverged significantly from the other supporting male leads. While Taylor and Kestiel Reload viewed themselves as characters created for ‘Beatrice and the Crown Prince’ and saw me as a mere observer in that situation, Carlix had a different perspective.

Just like you.

Yes, that one phrase was the problem.

Carlix knew that I, too, was a created character.

He had mentioned terms like significance and even used the word protagonist. And he was seeking confirmation from me…

Many thoughts converged into a single, undeniable conclusion.

Yes. He seemed aware that he was a character in a ‘novel’.

I trembled and stood up. The dawn light was as always a bright, familiar crimson.

My dilated pupils watched for an opportunity, circling near the Grand Duke.

Clenching the emblem in my pocket, I gritted my teeth. The latch rattled.

“Margaret.”

“…”

I didn’t respond, no matter how many times Carlix repeated my name.