“Hah…”
I let out a hollow laugh, utterly speechless.
Right, I should have felt uneasy from the moment I learned about their ability to control pigeons.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Among them, the dove was a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
And more than anything else…
‘No wonder I was drawn to this novel.’
I was never particularly fond of romance novels.
At most, I would read them for about ten minutes before bed and then fall asleep.
But for some reason, Try to Run Away for Once was different.
It was the first novel I had ever read to completion.
I couldn’t quite explain it, but I might have felt something akin to destiny in that story.
The fact that I ended up reading a novel written by Seongryeong and then found myself trapped inside it—what an unbelievable coincidence.
But I didn’t want to call it a coincidence.
It was always meant to be.
“Sera, I want to become a writer.”
Seongryeong had told me that with a bright smile while we were reading in the library.
“I don’t care what form it takes. I just want to create stories. Because that’s my own world.”
-“Your world…”
“Yes. In that world, I’m a god.”
…So that’s how it happened.
‘But now you’re telling me Seongryeong might be dead? In an unfamiliar world?’
Realizing this, my whole body trembled.
Even though it hadn’t ended well, Seongryeong was still a dear friend to me.
Until recently, I had been terrified of Princess Eva. I had wanted to escape from her, to flee to another continent, far away from her.
Maybe I had been hoping for someone else to resolve this automaton crisis while I simply stood by, doing nothing.
But not anymore.
‘I have to deal with this myself.’
She was my enemy, the one responsible for my friend’s death.
The friend who loved me, and whom I loved in return.
“Eva Vivaldi.”
I uttered her name slowly, as if savoring each syllable.
Until now, I had always run from Princess Eva, always trying to avoid her.
But after learning the truth behind my friend’s death, I finally decided to change my approach.
“I will come for you.”
From now on, I would seek revenge against Princess Eva.
I would no longer run. I would face her head-on.
“Seraphina? Why…”
“I just realized something.”
I answered Aurora with a bitter expression.
“That instead of avoiding Princess Eva, I have to fight her.”
I could feel the heat of anger rising to my face. The atmosphere grew tense as the others seemed to sense that something had changed in me.
I clenched my fists tightly before opening my mouth. This needed to be said first.
“Wait, before anything else, I have something to say. There’s something strange…”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
“When we visited the record keeper, he told us that there were no records of Maria before she started working as a maid at the Marquess of Shae’s household. Can a person really go through life without leaving a single trace?”
“…Even if she came from the Eastern Continent, that would be nearly impossible.”
“And Maria’s supposed homeland—South Korea—doesn’t exist in this world.”
“Then, are you saying…?”
“It’s possible that Maria came from outside this world. That would explain why she possessed special abilities and why she found Princess Eva suspicious.”
Aurora slowly blinked.
Aside from Simone, the rest of the group also looked bewildered.
“An existence from outside this world? Is that even possible?”
“That’s quite an intriguing theory.”
It was understandable that accepting the idea of someone originating from outside this world would be difficult.
As the others remained confused, Simone stepped in to support my claim.
“If we assume that to be true, then everything makes sense. Based on her diary, Maria seemed to have an ability similar to foresight. And if you think about it, Princess Eva’s powers are already beyond reason—so the idea of an outsider isn’t that far-fetched.”
“Hmm, that does seem plausible.”
Raffaelo nodded in agreement.
“But Seraphina, how exactly did you come to that conclusion? And where did you even hear the name South Korea?”
“Uh… It’s a vague memory, but I think I must have heard it from Princess Eva at some point.”
It was a clumsy excuse, but the others accepted my words with nods.
“So if Princess Eva was able to defeat an outsider, that means she’s truly powerful.”
“I’ll show you the last letter Maria sent me.”
Aurora rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a crumpled letter.
“After she was defeated in the royal palace, Maria must have sent this letter through a pigeon. I’m very familiar with her handwriting and speech patterns, so I can say for certain—it’s hers.”
[ To my dearest friend and family, Aurora,
Aurora, I’m sorry.
I ended up loving this world too much, and because of that, I ultimately lost.
+) I dared to lay my hands on the domain of the gods.]
“The domain of the gods?”
“Does she mean the power over life?”
“Yes. Breathing life into the lifeless—that is truly the realm of the gods.”
“That makes sense.”
“In that case, did the past me believe that the princess had crossed a line she never should have… and ended up ruining everything?”
“Are artificial humans really that powerful?”
“That’s the thing, we have no information on them.”
“They must be much stronger than ordinary humans, don’t you think?”
“Automatons follow pre-programmed commands. But artificial humans… they can go beyond programming. They can learn on their own.”
Simone spoke in a calm voice.
“If we fail to destroy an artificial human in one attempt, it will come back even stronger. Unlike regular automatons that only follow a fixed attack pattern, artificial humans will learn from our actions.”
“They might even possess special abilities.”
Ghieuspe chimed in.
“For example, they could control other automatons.”
“Ah…”
“Or they might be able to manipulate other mechanical devices.”
“I have a feeling they will be much harder to destroy.”
This time, Raffaelo spoke.
“Unlike automatons, which can be destroyed simply by shooting their core, artificial humans might have a far more complex way to disable them.”
As the discussion went on, Aurora, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked a serious question.
“Seraphina, aren’t you afraid?”
“But Aurora, we are no longer running away. We will stand against Princess Eva. We can’t just let her ruin this world.”
“Then I will respect your decision. You finally seem to have freed yourself from Princess Eva’s influence and returned to who you truly are.”
“This world is a beautiful place, worth fighting for, and I really don’t want to leave it.”
—Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
“Now this is the Seraphina I know!”
Aurora even seemed happy when I quoted a passage from a book. Clenching her fist with determination, she said,
“Well, in any case, there’s nothing else we can do right now, is there? If we face them head-on, we’ll find out just how strong they really are! Let’s head back to the Kingdom of Boleno and fight!”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
After our long journey, I finally felt like I had found what truly needed to be done.
Nodding in agreement, we each ignited our resolve.
“Since death is already determined, live cheerfully. Since it will all end one day, fight with all your might. Time is limited, so the opportunity is always now. Leave the wailing to opera singers.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power
“Seraphina! Was that an insult to me just now?”
“Ah, no! That was Nietzsche’s words!”
As I hurriedly explained, everyone except Arkhangelo burst into laughter.
Watching them, I felt a sudden sense of certainty—like with them by my side, we could accomplish anything.
“But… what if Princess Eva just kills me outright?”
I voiced my sudden concern, and Aurora scoffed.
“Ha, Seraphina, do you really not get it?”
“Get what?”
“Come on, as if Princess Eva would ever kill you!”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
Aurora gave me an exasperated look, as if she was fed up with my obliviousness.
“Because she’s obsessed with you, of course!”
“W-What?!”
“Princess Eva is definitely in love with you. You should have seen the way she looks at you when you’re near her.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Regardless of your own past admiration for her, out of all the noble ladies in the world, Princess Eva has always treated you as someone special. If you had seen her eyes, you wouldn’t doubt it.”
Wait. Princess Eva is obsessed with me because she loves me?
In other stories, it’s always the male lead who’s the obsessive one. But I’m the one being pursued by the final boss, Princess Eva?
“Absolutely not! There’s no way I would ever accept that kind of love!”
“Well, I understand how you feel, but… at the very least, don’t be too afraid even if we lose. Because no matter what, Princess Eva would never kill you.”
“Now that you mention it, it was a bit strange.”
As I struggled to reject the idea, Ghieuspe chimed in.
“I happened to see Princess Eva with Seraphina before, and her eyes were… unusual. They looked downright obsessive, as if she were in love.”
“No way! That’s impossible!”
I grabbed my head in frustration, and Arkhangelo and Raffaelo patted my shoulders. Of course, that only made me feel even worse.
“Ugh, Simone, I really don’t want to deal with Princess Eva’s obsession….”
“Do you prefer men who aren’t obsessive?”
“No, I mean, I’d like just a moderate amount of possessiveness… Wait, why are you even asking that?!”
“Pfft! Aurora, isn’t this hilarious?”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect this situation either.”
Watching me and Simone, Raffaelo and Aurora burst into laughter.
There was a clear sense of affection in their laughter, so in the end, I had no choice but to laugh along with them.
