Episode 38: Monopoly Desire (1)
‘It seemed like applying wounds with something like a bond, but is it really?’
If that’s the principle, then everything makes sense. Fractures can’t be attached as they are, or the bones will stick together strangely, and you can’t attach a burn if the wound area is not uniform.
‘Then Julius should recover cleanly.’
Whether it was concern for Julius or not, I didn’t think much about it, but when I heard Percy’s words, a sigh of relief escaped me.
‘Julius got stabbed while protecting me with a sword. It’s
something you rarely see in a long life.’
I thought he was the most unpleasant person after the emperor when we first met at the palace.
‘We’ve been doing quite well.’
But once we started talking, he didn’t seem that strange. Instead, he seemed to reflect on how he treated Siena in the past.
– If only we had talked a little sooner.
Recalling Julius’s bitter expression, I shrugged my shoulders. Even if I had said it earlier, I couldn’t guarantee that our relationship would be like it is now. Because the Siena of that time and the current me are different people.
‘Real Siena is pitiful. If she had opened her heart a little more and talked to someone else, the story might have changed.’
I was a little surprised to find myself thinking that way. It was a reminder to myself that I no longer thought of them as game characters.
‘But how can we just dismiss it as a game? With emotions going back and forth, and events happening like this.’
When I first possessed, I couldn’t figure out what to change. But now, I seemed to know a little.
If I sincerely dealt with them, the story would undoubtedly change. Because this was no longer just a story; it was life.
‘All thanks to Percy.’
I looked at the broad back walking in front of me. Neat golden hair and a beautiful face, as if carved out of ice, caught my eye.
‘Meeting him allowed me to change the story.’
What should I call this feeling? It was when I was lost in thought.
Percy, who was walking in front of me, suddenly stopped. I, stopping in surprise, looked at Percy with a puzzled expression.
Then I was startled.
In front of him stood a young man with black hair and melancholy gray eyes.
“Princess Siena.”
“Sir Daniel.”
It was none other than Daniel Bohan. Why this man was here left me with a confused expression.
‘So, is this suddenly the entrance of the original work?’
In the original, Bess ties a thick green ribbon to Daniel’s sword.
Then, Siena, jealous, rushes to untie it, but Daniel avoids her, causing her to step on the hem of her skirt and fall over, revealing her underwear and becoming a laughingstock.
‘But I’m not in a skirt now! Even if I fall now, it won’t be such a ridiculous sight. And… huh?’
As I was inwardly comforting my anxious self, I opened my eyes wide. Daniel’s sword hilt, which should have the ribbon tied by Bess, was empty.
‘What’s going on? Hasn’t Bess handed over the ribbon yet?’
Wasn’t Bess absent during the unexpected incident earlier?
‘Could it be that she witnessed the incident on her way to tie the ribbon for Daniel and fainted…’
That means the events of the original story haven’t even started.
Is this game okay as it is?
I threw the unanswered question in my mind. Daniel Bohan walked steadily. Reflexively, I huddled behind Percy, and his face twisted, as if someone had bitten into something extremely bitter.
‘So, why are you here?’
I couldn’t understand the situation where Daniel looked at me and made such an expression. It was when I was tilting my head. Daniel opened his mouth.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you yet.”
‘Why do you keep wanting to talk to me like this?’
At that moment, a choice appeared above my head.
▶ Talk about what?
▶ Do you like me?
Should I continue the conversation or drive him away? The choices seemed to be in my eyes. I sighed.
‘I’d rather you curse at me and turn away in disbelief.’
After all, his feelings towards me wouldn’t be love anyway.
So, I chose the second option.
“Do you like me?”
“…!!”
But what’s this? Astonishment crossed Daniel’s face as he turned away in anger, clutching his face in response to my question. I tilted my head and asked, “Sir Daniel?”
“…Yes.”
“Huh?”
What’s correct? Don’t talk nonsense and turn away quickly.
However, instead of the words I wanted to hear, Daniel Bohan said this:
“I love you, Siena.”
Clumsy but sincere, it was a heartfelt confession.
* * *
While saying that this was not just a game or an original work but a living, moving life of characters, in reality, I seemed to be more captivated by the original work than anyone else.
I was confidently concluding that Daniel’s feelings toward me were not love while recalling the original work on my own. In fact, there were many opportunities to notice Daniel’s feelings.
“When I first saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”
Daniel, still unable to hide his confusion, confessed in a soft voice.
“But after the engagement ceremony, you treated me so coldly that I was scared. So, I thought, maybe you suggested the engagement just to tease me.”
Daniel’s confession painfully shook my heart. It was as if Siena’s soul, which had felt completely disappeared, responded.
“Now thinking back, it was all a misunderstanding. You had no choice but to set up thorns to protect yourself. Foolish me, without knowing your situation, judged you like everyone else, calling you a villain.”
In the end, it was a common and predictable story of the hearts of two people who were clumsy in love crossing each other.
Daniel, who had been calmly talking about his feelings, suddenly looked up at me with earnest eyes and said,
“Please give me another chance. If I lose you due to my misunderstanding and foolishness, I will live a lifetime of regret.”
His words were sincere, causing a subtle ripple in my heart, which had little interest in Daniel. Unconsciously, I found myself staring into empty space. The obvious choices that should come to mind didn’t appear now.
‘Why is the system so silent at times like this?’
“I…,” I tried to speak, and to my surprise, my voice came out. I blinked my eyes.
‘Could it be suggesting that I choose?’
Even after waiting for a while, there were no constraints from the system. I cleared my throat and slowly opened my lips.
“At that time, I definitely liked you. So, even while being manipulated by Emperor, I probably threw a tantrum to have an engagement ceremony.”
It was a story of Siena that I could only imagine.
Even now, the emperor, who wanted to keep Siena by his side even by orchestrating an ambush, probably wouldn’t have willingly allowed the engagement at that time.
Nevertheless, the engagement had clearly progressed according to Siena’s will.
However, even with the engagement, the relationship between the two, which had not been resolved well, was slow but firmly shaken.
I nodded slowly, “But now, I can’t hold your hand. Because you can’t protect me.”
“Princess.”
I laughed softly. Since it was sincere, I could laugh comfortably.
“Meet someone better than me, Sir Daniel. A quiet, calm, and good woman who suits you. We are not destined for each other.”
Daniel just stood there, not trying to hold me or reveal more about his feelings.
I closed my eyes tightly and slowly passed by him.
That was our end.
* * *
‘Sigh, the Daniel route is completely discarded like this.’
Does that mean there’s no dead ending? If Daniel and I don’t get involved, there won’t be a reason for me to hate Bess.
‘No, if that were the case, the system would have shown the ending achieved. But no notifications are coming.’
That also meant the game had not ended yet. I clenched my fist and sighed.
‘It’s difficult.’
It was really difficult.
Anyway, a corner of my heart felt light. I shook my head to dispel the discomfort. Then, I looked at Percy sitting on the other side of the carriage.
Percy’s face was strangely stiff, as if he didn’t like something very much.
No, I firmly rejected Daniel, so why does he look so openly displeased? I furrowed my brow and asked, “Why that expression?”
“I thought you couldn’t speak honestly….”
In response to my question, Percy, in his slow, intimidating voice, answered with a sense of pressure.
“After seeing you today, it seems you can talk about your feelings well.”
