<Episode 88>

“What are you?”

Abellard glared at Crown Prince Ferite with eyes flushed crimson.

“Young duke, your words have grown coarse… and your eyes have changed.”

“I asked, what the hell are you, you bastard?”

Abellard’s expression was strange. Despite his suspicious demeanor, Crown Prince Ferite didn’t seem particularly startled. What’s more, the leg that had been injured moments ago was already healed.

“How could no one have noticed such impurity until now?”

Abellard spoke as if in shock, but Ferite smirked mockingly in response.

“Look who’s talking, Dekarv. You’ve grown despicable, resorting to such tactics.”

“You…”

Dekarv, residing within Abellard, glared sharply at Ferite, who had instantly identified his true nature.

“What exactly are you? How did you intervene?”

“Didn’t Remeros tell you anything?”

“A mere human dares to speak a god’s name so carelessly?”

“And you shouldn’t see me in such a way, either.”

Ferite reached out and grasped Abellard’s neck. Dekarv, unable to register his movement, failed to evade the crown prince’s grip.

“Ugh…”

“No cheating now. But why are you breaking the rules?”

“Let go!”

Dekarv struggled against the tightening grip, feeling as if his head might be torn from his body. Desperately, he grabbed at Ferite’s hand.

Then their eyes met—gold against crimson.

“Speak, Dekarv.”

In that instant, Dekarv’s mind went blank.

“Yulias promised to help me.”

“What kind of help?”

“To make sure I win this bet.”

“Ah, I see. So you’ve joined her hand, then.”

Ferite smiled gently and released Dekarv’s neck. As his feet touched the ground, Dekarv seemed oblivious, staring at Ferite in a daze.

“What is your goal?”

“Eveline Wilden must…”

Dekarv paused for a moment, as if something within him resisted, urging him not to speak.

But that resistance faded as soon as his gaze met Ferite’s golden eyes once more.

“Kill everyone here.”

“And Yulias?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me.”

“I see.”

Ferite locked eyes with Dekarv again, compelling him to answer.

“Then why did you enter this body?”

“Because Eveline must kill Elkais de Robein.”

Ferite thought of Eveline Wilden, tearfully pleading not to kill him even while holding a gun to his head. Surely, she knew she was destined to kill everyone here.

Yet, in a situation where she could have ended his life, she cried instead. Despite knowing him for only a few hours, she had valued his life.

“Won’t everyone die anyway once the bet is over?”

“Yes.”

Dekarv’s agreement left Ferite reluctant to see Eveline killed for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.

“Should I help you?”

“Why?”

“Just because I want to.”

“…Help me. I don’t want to lose to Remeros again.”

“You should phrase it correctly. Shouldn’t you say you want to win because you’ve never won before?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I want to win. I’ve kept losing.”

At Dekarv’s innocent reply, Ferite smiled and met his gaze once more.

“I am one of the participants you brought into this game. Now, forget this conversation.”

“Okay, I understand.”

With that, Ferite stepped away from Dekarv, a strange smile lingering on his lips.

“And I am someone who helps Eveline Wilden kill Elkais de Robein.”

At his words, Dekarv nodded in agreement.

* * *

Eveline shivered as her legs felt unbearably cold, clad only in Elkais’s coat.

Her clothing was far too inadequate, yet strangely, wherever she stepped, the snow melted, sparing her the excruciating pain of trudging through the icy ground.

Pausing for a moment, Eveline took out and inspected the two notes she had brought with her.

One was a blue note.

[Retrieve the gun beneath the peony 300 meters east, and you will find new clothing.]

Eveline hesitated, unable to believe how different the handwriting was from the red note she had seen before. Eventually, she decided to head east.

As she walked, she unfolded the white note and read it.

[Do not let Eveline Wilden go. If you imprint her like this, she will rely on you forever.]

Eveline froze in place, staring at the white note.

It was clear Elkais had likely received the same command. The easiest way to subdue prey was to make it trust you, to implant affection in its heart.

“Ha.”

If Elkais decided to kill her, Eveline thought she would let him. It was a decision she had delayed, unwilling to confront such thoughts before. But she knew he couldn’t kill her.

<Remember. Only one person can leave this island alive.>

Eveline couldn’t bear to imagine a future where Elkais died and she alone survived.

If it came to that…

“It would be better if I were the one to die.”

Speaking deliberately for the unseen presence she knew was listening, Eveline set off toward the gun’s location.

* * *

Eveline didn’t have to walk far east before she found a patch where peonies were in full bloom.

Though snow surrounded the area, the vibrant red petals of the flowers were scattered here and there, as if untouched by the cold. As Eveline reached out her hand, the snow around her melted completely. She began digging into the ground. The soil was damp and soft, likely from the snow that had covered it moments ago.

It didn’t take much effort before her fingers hit something solid.

She unearthed the object, pulling out a small box. It was black, caked in dirt and grime. Wiping it clean, she opened the box.

Inside was a pristine Desert Eagle, untouched and without a single scratch.

Holding the gun, Eveline checked the magazine beneath it.

It was fully loaded. Additionally, at the bottom of the box, there was another case filled with extra bullets.

Despite this, Eveline loaded the gun.

“Ha.”

The cold steel of the weapon pressed against her neck.

She denied it, blaming the pheromones, but Eveline couldn’t ignore the feelings she had for Elkais. If things continued like this, the gods’ wager would force one of them to die.

Eveline knew Elkais wouldn’t be able to kill her. But she also knew she couldn’t kill him either.

If she had to choose between the two…

“This is better,” she murmured, as if trying to console herself. She was aware that whoever was listening wouldn’t allow her to die so easily.

But if this gamble failed and she died, Elkais would survive. Even without leaving a will, he would understand her intentions. He was no fool; he was sharper than anyone.

“I want to see him.”

The words slipped out, and she instantly regretted them. Saying it aloud only deepened the feelings she wanted to suppress.

If she saw him again, she would want to keep seeing him. Her heart would continue to yearn for him, and she would never be able to end it.

If only she could have been honest with her feelings before this—before falling asleep.

“I love you, Elkais.”

With those words, she pulled the trigger like a gambler making her final bet.

Click.

The gun didn’t fire.

Click. Click. Click-click-click.

No matter how many times Eveline pulled the trigger, nothing happened. It was as if the gun was broken.

“What… is this?”

Then, letters began forming on the snowy ground in front of her.

She struggled to suppress a bitter laugh as she read them. Of course, things wouldn’t go the way she wanted. They wouldn’t let her die.

[If you die, so does Elkais de Robein. Is that what you want?]

“Why? You said only one person could leave this place alive!”

[If you listen to me instead of Dekarv, everyone can survive.]

Eveline stared at the blue letters, realizing they weren’t from Dekarv.

“Are you the goddess Yulias?”

[Will you heed my words?]

Eveline couldn’t bring herself to trust the message. Yulias was no different from Dekarv, another god playing with mortal lives.

She was the goddess of life, but also the one responsible for the most deaths among her creations.

Yulias had even aided Dekarv in destroying her creations at times.

[If you die, Abellard Wilden will be killed by Elkais de Robein.]

Eveline tried not to think about her brother, but his face came unbidden to her mind.

“Why are you doing this? What did we ever do to deserve this?”

[This is my final question. Will you listen to me?]

The blue letters seemed colder than before.

“If I follow you, will everyone truly survive?”

[That depends on your actions. However, my goal is not the same as Dekarv’s.]

“What is your goal? What are you trying to achieve by manipulating my brother?”

Eveline ignored the tears that welled up in her eyes, refusing to wipe them away.

The tears trailed down her cheeks, but she stood frozen, glaring at the letters without moving.

[My goal is to become the leader of the three gods. This is the shared ambition of all three of us.]

“Is that what this wager is about? You gathered us here for this game to decide who becomes the leader?”

[Yes. If I become the leader, I will spare all of you. But if Dekarv wins, even you will ultimately perish.]

“I can’t trust you. And Dekarv promised me another life in the next world.”

Eveline didn’t believe Dekarv’s promise. She only said it now to raise the stakes with Yulias.

[The afterlife is my domain, not Dekarv’s.]

“Swear it on your divinity. Swear that you can truly save me and everyone else.”

Eveline finally wiped the now-cold tears from her chin as she spoke.

She instinctively understood what it meant for a god to swear upon their divinity.

If the vow turned out to be false, the god would lose their status, stripped of their power. They would never become the leader.

[I swear upon my divinity to show you a way for Eveline Wilden, Elkais de Robein, and Abellard Wilden to survive.]

Eveline clenched the gun tightly at those words.

 

 

 

 

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