104. Goodbye, Female Protagonist

「So here you are.」

Sylphid’s voice reached her. Of course, while she could hide from the eyes of everyone in the castle, she couldn’t escape Sylphid’s eyes. Because he wasn’t human.

“What should I do now?”

Sylphid, who could read her mind, would clearly see her current confusion.

“If Evangeline isn’t here, who will save the world? Who will stop the demon king who will resurrect at the end of this novel?”

「There’s Darius. The descendant of Inkheart who will kill the demon king.」

“Darius’s success depends on Evangeline’s help! Who will heal him when he gets hurt? Who will neutralize the demon army’s dense demonic energy!”

「You.」

Sylphid said calmly.

「You’re here, you whom Darius wants.」

“I can’t do it.”

「Why do you deny it so much? You can also disrupt demonic energy by controlling wind spirits.」

“Because I don’t have a mission.”

Arshama, who wasn’t afraid to recklessly go back to the past, had a mission to ‘correct his people’s mistakes,’ and the Inkheart family had a mission that their descendant would defeat the demon king.

I’m just an extra. An incompetent extra who couldn’t even preserve the original work I knew.

「You’re crying.」

“With Evangeline, Darius can defeat the demon king. I saw it in the original work, so it will definitely happen that way. But I……”

With Evangeline missing, in a situation where no one can replace her role, who can guarantee a happy ending? Like this, can Darius even defeat the demon king?

Perhaps, by my choice, will this world be forever plunged into darkness?

「Anette, the one Darius risked his life to save wasn’t Evangeline, but you. Don’t be consumed by or run away from the shadow of “Evangeline” you created. Now you must do it.」

Sylphid was resolute.

「The original work isn’t messed up. Darius loved you. He chose a future with you.」

“That future doesn’t exist!”

Sylphid caught my staggering body. His materialized arm lifted me up and rose onto a tree trunk. Floating, my body soared upward, but my mood sank.

「Shh, shh, shh, Anette. I knew you would be sad, but do you think I would grant Darius’s wish without any countermeasures?」

My eyes, which had been fixed on the ground, now captured Sylphid’s kind face.

「There’s no need to cry like that. The lifespan issue can be solved somehow. It’s tricky, but if it can be shortened, it can also be extended.」

“Can he be saved?”

「He wasn’t going to die in the first place. Let’s see, there must be rare treasures that haven’t appeared in the world yet. I’ll need to think a bit to recall them.」

Sylphid clicked his tongue. Regardless, his words were a ray of light shining in the pitch-black darkness for me.

“If I can save Darius, I can do anything.”

「I said he’s not dead. You really don’t listen.」

“I want to return what he should have originally enjoyed, what he should have had.”

「Anette, destiny and mission aren’t such big deals. Don’t wait to be chosen; you choose.」

Sylphid wiped my tear-stained face.

「Why do you think you have nothing? You have love. This world is a story completed by the love of two people. So that’s the most important thing.」

“Then what should I do?”

* * *

“Good work. I’ll be by the lord’s side now, so you can go. No one else is needed, so no one needs to come until morning.”

Everyone knew I stayed up all night by Darius’s bedside every night. The maid who had been helping with chores wished me strength and withdrew.

From now on, it was time for just Darius and me.

Earlier, Sylphid advised me to let go of my obsession with the original work. Saying that if you believe there’s only one path, that’s all you’ll see.

〈There are many undiscovered treasures in the world. What Darius needs is a sacred object that extends lifespan.〉

A sacred object that extends lifespan. This was something that never appeared in the original work, even though Evangeline was from the temple.

〈Anette, my child, this is no longer Evangeline’s story but your story. It’s natural that stories that didn’t appear in Evangeline’s story would appear.〉

He also reassured me that there wasn’t just one sacred object.

But still.

“Ah……”

No matter how much I thought I should be composed, that I should strengthen my resolve first, all those determined thoughts vanished the moment I saw Darius lying on the bed.

Was this how Darius felt? All along, it was always me who got into accidents and collapsed before his eyes, and it was he who took care of me.

His firmly closed lips under his black hair looked peacefully at odds with the current situation.

Why don’t you wake up? Both the doctor and Sylphid said you were fine.

Even knowing you’re fine, my heart isn’t at ease watching over you. I wish you would open your eyes and hold my hand. I’ll endure however much scolding you give me.

Perhaps you’re doing this now because you want me to feel how difficult it was for you to watch over me?

〈Since my lady disappeared, the Grand Duke couldn’t sleep properly.〉

〈He seemed like a different person. He skipped meals, as if he couldn’t hear anyone’s words.〉

The stories people told me about you strike my heart.

Ah, Darius.

You didn’t need to suffer like that.

I was fine. It was very dangerous and difficult, but I came back alive after all.

If only I could have told you that.

If only I could have told the you who worried alone then that I would be fine, and I sincerely hoped your body would remain well, how wonderful that would have been.

All I could do now was firmly grasp his hand as he lay in a sleep with no promise of waking.

I didn’t want to let go of this hand. I hoped my hand would be a guide from the labyrinth of his dreams so he could return quickly.

“Please, please……”

That’s when it happened.

“Ane……tte.”

He called my name. It was the moment my prayer miraculously reached him.

At my name, uttered through his cracked vocal cords, tears finally burst forth.

Bad person, you wicked person. How can you look for me first thing when you wake up?

Though I had longed so much to see his face, tears overflowed and I couldn’t see anything.

“My Anette.”

“Hueeeng.”

“Did I…… protect Anette? Anette, you’ve…… come back…… to me, right?”

“Hic, do, don’t talk. You don’t even have strength, hic! I’ll, I’ll call the doctor. Waaah. You, you shouldn’t fall asleep again……”

“Is this a dream?”

“Who says it’s a dream! What nonsense are you talking about! It’s not!”

I protested and grabbed Darius’s arm. I was afraid that this moment might be a dream. Only after clinging to his warm arm, rubbing my cheek against his hand, did I finally believe it wasn’t a dream.

“So it’s not a dream. Then you, you’re really by my side, right?”

Darius chuckled even in this situation at how much my voice trembled.

“Thank goodness.”

“What?”

“Our Anette…… seems to have no injuries.”

While all I could see was his sharpened jaw and sunken cheeks, he only seemed to see my well-being.

“What does it matter if I’m not injured, you fool……”

“Show me your face. I’ve wanted to see it all this time.”

“Me too, I wanted to see you too.”

“But why are you crying? I can’t even see your pretty face properly.”

Darius carefully rubbed my tear-stained eyes.

“I thought you would be by my side when I opened my eyes. So I wasn’t afraid even when I collapsed. Because I knew you wouldn’t abandon me.”

He couldn’t even eat because he was sleeping. Before that, he stayed up for nights worried about me. Even gave up half his lifespan……

“How can I not cry?”

“Why? Who upset you?”

“You…… You upset me.”

Why do you only worry about me getting hurt? Don’t you think I worry about you getting hurt?

“Why are you upset? We’re looking at each other’s faces just fine now.”

There was a fool here, crying and clinging to a patient who had just woken up. Even though I knew I shouldn’t do this, that I should pull myself together, tears kept flowing when I looked at Darius.

“I, I will definitely restore your lifespan. Hic, sob. Sylphid said that by using a sacred object, we can extend your lifespan. So……”

So don’t ever do such a foolish thing again. That’s what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.

“In any future, without you, I would never be happy.”

Because with this one sentence, he covered my lips with his pale lips.

Fear and sadness were swallowed into his mouth. His parched mouth sweetly swallowed the fallen tears.

The warmth of his body against mine reassured me more than anything that he was alive.

“It’s okay.”

My fingertips wrapped around his back were still trembling. Darius took my hand and pressed it down on the bed.

My world was confined within his two arms.

When I raised my head, all I could see was his crow-black hair and eyes with a hint of satisfaction.

“Everything will be fine.”

Yes, fill my world completely with you.

I closed my eyes.

* * *

The dawn light was dim. The bluish light just before sunrise touched my body. Like the touch of a hand now playing with my earlobe.

There were no spare clothes for me in the bedroom that had been used as Darius’s sickroom all this time. Hiding my naked body under the sheet to escape the cool dawn air, I thought.

‘He was healthy after all…..’

Everyone said…… that Darius was just sleeping because his tension had eased, and there was nothing wrong with his body. Really…… there was nothing to worry about.

Somehow everyone told me to take care of my own body.

Really.