There were two young ladies to whom the emperor gave epithets.
âŠâŠSylvia Evanail, daughter of Baron EvanailâŠâŠ
âŠâŠA golden thread blooms in a yellow flower gardenâŠâŠ
âŠâŠFrom now on, people will call you like soâŠâŠ
The Lady of the Golden Silk.
The heroine of this world.
âŠâŠRaviel Ivansia, daughter of Duke IvansiaâŠâŠ
âŠâŠA flower gilded in silver so as to not drop its headâŠâŠ
âŠâŠ.Child. From now on, the subjects of the empire will call youâŠâŠ
The Lady of the Silver Lily.
The villainess of this Apocalypse.
Noble ladies usually receive an epithet when they have their debutant ball and enter aristocratic society. The royal family or high nobility who open their debutant balls give them their new names.
The noble ladyâs epithet differed based on how high up in society the presenter was. A name given by a baron and a name given by a count were of different classes.
The greatest epithet was, of course, a name bestowed by the emperor. It was the pride of oneâs family to be given a name by His Majesty.
Since these two young ladies attended the same academy, the huge storm that brewed was inevitableâŠâŠ.
âBut even so.â
I looked at the prince. The crown prince was holding my colleague, the Heretic Questioner, who had taken on the role of the Lady of the Golden Silk. He was holding the Heretic Questioner so tightly that the dress rippled around his fingertips like scales.
âIsnât he too superficial to be the crown prince of a country?â
Strangely, I didnât like him.
The prince met my eyes. He was looking at me a little distastefully, so I had to lower my gaze. But his gaze was also unusual.
Contempt. Fury. Disdain.
Negative emotions were lurking in his eyes.
ââŠâŠYou also survived.â
Uhm.
Was that directed to me? Probably, since I was the only one in his gaze right now. However, his voice sounded like that of someone who ate spinach three days after its expiration date. It kind of pissed me off.
âYes, Your Highness.â
I imitated the way people in historical dramas spoke.
âI safely managed to survive.â
âYouâre lucky.â
âHow can it be due to the luck of this humble child? Your Highnessâs grace must have been crazy good.â
ââŠâŠ.â
The princeâs lovely eyebrows slipped. Just now, I more or less implied [you set up the raid on your own]. If he had a guilty conscience, then even an ordinary greeting should put him on edge.
âYour words are too much. Do you mean to say that my royal grace is embedded in everything that happens in the world? Saving your own life and saving Sylvia from the assassins and ruffians are all due to your own fortune. I thank you.â
Wow.
He seemed to retreat and praised me, but listening carefully, that wasnât the case. It wasnât because of my âskills,â but rather because of âfortune.â No way. Iâd like to think this wasnât true, but was the prince trying to keep me in check right now?
âThe Lady of the Golden Silk is my master.â
At that moment.
âAnd I belong to her.â
My mouth moved without my intent.
âYour Highness. How can we say that it is luck that a sword protects its owner? The tool has just been used as a tool should. Your Highness praises me excessively.â
It was embarrassing. Really, truly, I had planned to step back after saying something vague. What good would it be if the prince and a butler got into a fight? Nevertheless, my tongue moved agilely.
âHuh? Have I finally gone nuts?â
When my head became a bit hazy, I heard a voice.
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
What?
[Currently, your immersion rate is 1%.]
What the heck?
ââŠâŠReally, youâre so eloquent that I want to sew your lips together.â
While I was going mad in my head, the princeâs face became distorted. Outrage. Humiliation. It was really a face trying to hold back from cursing.
If possible, I also wanted to yell out a bucket of swears. It was because seeing the princeâs face crumpled up was strangely refreshing for a corner of my heart. Rather than thinking I should stop, I felt that his look was quite good. Crazy. This was insane.
âThese days, barons and such nobility seem to select servants based on their tongue rather than their personality. If His Majesty knew the situation, he would surely lament it.â
Wait a moment.
Just wait. He was supposed to be the prince of this world, but he was just a blond ramen noodle. Donât provoke me anymore. Please, donât irritate [my] emotions. This is, this stage isâŠâŠ.
âHow could that be? How dare there be a day when His Majestyâs eyes are blurred? Your Highness the Crown Prince is so mature that you accumulate virtues in our school every day. I am sure that His Majesty is pleased.â
In other words, I was sarcastically saying his father sure would be pleased if he knew the prince hired an assassin. But that wasnât the important part.
I realized the trap of this stage.
And I realized why Count and Crusader, the two Hunters who dealt with the economy and safety of our Tower, became so weak and failed to attack.
âAs time passed, those two people were eaten up by the concept!â
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
Oh no.
[Currently, your immersion rate is 2%.]
This was something crazy.
âHmph. Thatâs enough. Itâs beneath me to compete with you through words. As for what happened tonight, I will thoroughly investigate the truth.â
âIs there anyone in our school who is as reliable as the prince? I sincerely request this. Please find who is behind the attack and punish them a hundredfold.â
âOf course.â
Aaah.
Was it âthisâ?
Was this the special feature of this stage?
The prince glanced at me and said,
âLady Sylvia must have been very surprised. Perhaps others are lurking and may attack tonight. Know that I will protect the lady tonight.â
âYour Highness.â
My tongue was evolving into an answering machine.
âPlease forgive this childâs rudeness. The more times things like this happen, the more one has to relieve oneâs fatigue where one feels most comfortable. My mistress will want to stay in her private room, as usual.â
ââŠâŠAre you saying that she canât be at ease by my side?â
âI apologize. This child is simply telling the truth to Your Highness.â
Save me.
Please save me!
[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]
[Currently, your immersion rate is 3%.]
SOS! Help me!
-Hey, youâŠâŠ What are you doing?
Sword Emperor! No, Sword Emperor-nim!
-Eh. Did this brat go around the bend?
I really think Iâm going around the bend now, so please do something!
-UhâŠâŠ What do you want me to do?
I donât know. Anyway, help me control myself!
-Hmm. Can I really talk shit to you?
I donât care what you say, so please just help me get a hold of myself!
-Ah, then.
Bae Hu-ryeong grinned.
-Zombie. You seem to dislike Venomous Snake. But actually, whenever you get the change, you act more or less like the protagonist in the Venomous Snakeâs delusionsâŠâŠ.
Ah.
âThatâs enough. I came to my senses. Donât say another word.â
-Come on.
My mind seemed to flash to awareness as Bae Hu-ryeong masterfully dared to compare me to the Venomous Snake. Has anyone ever seen a nastier ghost? It didnât matter what he said, but he had to throw a nonsense festival. But thanks to this, the rate of immersion that rose like crazy came to a sudden stop.
ââŠâŠ.â
Meanwhile.
The Heretic Questioner, who buried his face in the princeâs embrace, was also acting abnormally.
ââŠâŠ? Huh?âŠâŠâ
The Heretic Questioner was tilting his head back and forth. For the first time ever, I saw the Heretic Questionerâs âconfusedâ expression. That universally acknowledged leader of the nutjobs. The pure natural-born psycho didnât understand the feelings he was feeling right now.
Guilt.
Perhaps thatâs why the Heretic Questioner pushed away from the princeâs chest. He slithered out of his arms. The prince who was fighting with me with his eyes was bewildered. He looked at the Lady of the Golden Silk, no, the Heretic Questioner.
âSylvia, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?â
âHuh? âŠâŠHmm? Oohhh?â The Heretic Questioner tilted his head once more. âHow fascinating.â
âWhatâs fascinating, Sylvia?â
âIâm feeling some unfamiliar emotion. Itâs the first time Iâve felt this since I was born.â The Heretic Questioner laughed. âMy heart is pounding!â
ââŠâŠ.â
âMy heart is beating so violently. Oho. Aha. Indeed! Itâs really mysteriousâŠ.â
The Heretic Questioner closed his eyes. Then, he touched his chest with both hands. The Heretic Questioner, no, the Lady of the Golden Silk, was smiling. She looked like she was listening to beautiful classical music.
âThe owner of this body seems to really like you!â
âSy-SylviaâŠ.â The princeâs face looked like he had eaten the soup called âemotionâ with the rice called âtouched.â
If I hadnât been in a hurry to stop the immersion, I might have felt envious of the timing, but fortunately, thankfully, that wasnât the case. Even though I was late, I had come to my senses.
âMilady,â I said forcefully. The Heretic Questioner opened his closed eyes and looked at me. âLetâs return to the dormitory. His Highness the Crown Prince declared that he would personally uncover who was behind the attack. Since itâs late, milady should go back to your room and rest. From tomorrow, donât we have to continue miladyâs life again?â
We had a âpurposeâ as well as a ârole.â
The goal of clearing the stage.
We couldnât forget it.
âOh, yes. Youâre right.â
The Heretic Questioner blinked. He understood what I meant right away. The Heretic Questioner grabbed his skirt and greeted the prince.
âThank you for your consideration. But I will go back with my butler.â
âAh?â
âGood night, Your Highness. I will now go back!â
The Heretic Questioner easily turned his back, abandoning the prince whose face turned blank. He lightly stepped out of the warehouse.
From behind, the prince shouted, âSylvia! Sy-Sylvia?!â However, the Heretic Questioner only walked away with a smile. He didnât even turn his head.
ââŠâŠThe task has become difficult.â
I muttered, following close behind the Heretic Questioner.
âI didnât think there would be a trap like immersion. Damn it.â
I wondered why the Count and the Crusader failed, but now I understood.
âAhaha.â
The Heretic Questioner smiled mysteriously. Click. Click. Our footsteps echoed in the corridor, and our shoes were shaded white by the moon. The sound of human feet resembled the beating of a heart.
âItâs definitely something we didnât expect. Death King, how much has your immersion rate increased just now?â
âIt went up to 3 percent like mad. I barely managed to stop it.â
âYouâre outstanding. Mine shot up to 10 percent right away!â
I was speechless.
â10 percent? 10?!â
It was devastating. He had only spent a short time with that prince character, but one-tenth of his ego had been infected.
The situation was more serious than I thought.
Only then, even living a normal life was like walking through a poison fog. Little by little, you became poisoned, and once you came to your senses, you couldnât escape.
When you let go of your hold on your mind.
In an instant, the mind would be eaten by the [romance] of this world.
ââŠâŠThis canât go on.â
I opened my mouth. My voice was slow. Well, I was nervous.
Losing myself. That I might lose myself.
It was always the thing I feared most.
âLetâs prepare safeguards for ourselves.â
âSafeguards?â
âYes.â
I carefully touched the handle of my dagger. I felt the texture of the green tape around my finger. That familiar texture brought me a sense of stability.
âChoose a keyword. So that we can come to our senses whatever the situation, no matter how serious things are, when we say this keyword. For example, when I say [peach], you can say [carrot].â
âAha. Itâs a secret code for the two of us!â
The Heretic Questioner smiled.
âI agree! I saw something similar in a drama before. Then what should the secret code beâŠâŠâ
Click.
At that time, we heard the sound of a heel from across the corridor. The heel of a shoe was pressing dangerously to the floor of the corridor. Dull footsteps followed. A person was approaching with several servants.
The moon shined.
A sharp shoe trampled over the moon reflected on the hallway floor.
Hair as silver as the moonlight. The Lady of the Silver Lily.
The duchyâs young lady led several followers and walked this way. The villainous young lady frowned like she was angry. She glowered at us.
âAh.â
The Heretic Questioner let out a small moan.
âDeath King.â
The Heretic Questioner stood on his tiptoes.
Then, he opened his lips and murmured into my ear.
âI think I really do hate her.â
Whisper.
At first, it sounded like the same voice as always.
ââŠâŠ.â
Slowly, I turned my head and looked at the Heretic Questioner.
âMhm.â
The Heretic Questioner spun round and round. The hem of the long dress swirled, causing a small whirlwind to rise. The wind containing his weight pressed on my chest.
âIâm curious, Death King.â
The Heretic Questioner stopped, then splayed open his hands. He curled his fingers other than his index fingers, which revealed his bare skin.
âAh, Iâm really curious.â
Pressing both index fingers to his lips, he was smiling like always.
âRight now, what kind of expression am I making?â