The Villain's Ending is Only Death Chapter 78
Staring blankly at Calisto's head, I belatedly asked what had happened.
“We... what happened? We fell off a cliff.”
“There was a waterfall at the bottom of the cliff. Thanks to the river, we didn't die and managed to survive.”
The crown prince, poking at the campfire with a twig, replied in an indifferent tone.
“When I carried you out, unconscious, I found this cave nearby.”
Only then did I look around more carefully.
We had built a campfire not far from the entrance.
The rain seemed to have stopped, but outside the entrance, the sky had darkened, making it impossible to see even a foot ahead.
The occasional refreshing sound of water was the only proof that there was a waterfall.
I turned my head again to look deeper into the cave.
It was quite deep, and the darkness beyond was pitch black.
‘What if this is the territory of a wild beast? Or snakes...’
Quite realistic thoughts flashed through my mind.
I fumbled for the crossbow lying beside me, but soon remembered that I had used up all the bolts to kill the assassins.
“It's not an animal's den.”
Noticing my anxious face, the crown prince added bluntly.
“I checked it out while you were asleep, and it was strangely empty.”
“...Do you know where we are?”
I asked the most important question first.
Even if we couldn't move because it was dark, we needed to get back as soon as possible when it was light.
I had hoped the crown prince, who came from the palace, would know, but he shook his head pitifully.
“We always held the hunting competition in the northern forest, but I didn't even know a place like this existed.”
‘There must be chaos by now.’
Thinking about the turmoil outside the forest caused by my and the crown prince's disappearance, I looked at him with a troubled expression.
I saw a dried bloodstain on his shoulder, where he had been hit by an arrow.
At the same time, I recalled him being stabbed by the assassin's sword just before we fell off the cliff.
Even though I was almost killed by the assassin because of him...
I was still concerned that he had been injured in my place.
“Are you asking now? You're quite late. I'm touched to tears.”
His sarcastic remark made me feel a bit embarrassed.
Actually, I wasn't particularly worried because I knew the main character wouldn't die.
“Did you get badly hurt? Let me see.”
The crown prince coldly stopped me from getting up to check his wound.
“The armor prevented it from going in too deep. I just lost a bit of blood.”
I was relieved, but I couldn't help frowning at the mention of blood.
“We need to get back and get you treated...”
I replied sternly. Of course, I wasn't worried about him.
“Don't die in front of me.”
I was only worried about myself.
‘If you're going to die, do it somewhere else. Don't die in front of me...’
Muttering to myself, I raised my gaze.
He was looking at me with a strange expression.
Realizing that my words might have sounded odd to him, my face suddenly felt hot.
‘It sounded like I was telling him not to die at all!’
Feeling flustered, I quickly changed the subject.
“Thank you for saving me, even though it's late.”
I had to acknowledge it, regardless of the damn quest.
I had to acknowledge that Calisto had been injured in my place.
Moreover, he hadn't abandoned me after we fell off the cliff and had carried me all the way here.
‘...Have we moved past the point where meeting him would be a disaster?’
Despite his insane behavior, like threatening to kill me and demanding a final farewell, his obsession had reached a new level.
The crown prince looked even more incredulous at my question.
“I waited for weeks for that poison to wear off just to hear that reason, and now you suddenly change your attitude and dislike me. Wouldn't any princess feel wronged?”
I wanted to retort that he had only been poisoned because of me.
But I didn't want to relive that terrible memory.
So I only corrected his excessive criticism.
“...I didn't say I disliked you.”
“Then do you still like me?”
I shuddered and changed my words again.
“Then why don't you tell me why you suddenly started to dislike me?”
‘I could talk about that reason all day with you!’
But the crown prince grinned like a ghost, revealing his teeth.
“Insulting the royal family is a good topic for a private conversation in the palace's underground torture chamber, isn't it?”
I was speechless and closed my mouth.
A chilling silence settled in the cave.
Staring blankly at the flickering campfire, I pondered how I ended up in this situation.
“...Why did you start to dislike me?”
The quiet crown prince suddenly asked.
“Why did your feelings change so suddenly?”
“You said it was insulting the royal family.”
“I'll let it slide this time, so tell me.”
I looked at him in bewilderment and then scowled.
‘Does he really not know why?’
If so, he was the worst person in the world.
Since he said he would let it slide, I boldly stated the reason.
I had marked 'X' countless times in the game because of that.
No sane woman would like a madman who tried to kill her.
But the crown prince looked completely puzzled by my answer.
I couldn't believe how absurd this was. After a moment of stammering, I shouted.
“That day, the day of the second prince's birthday party! In the maze garden, you tried to cut my throat with a knife! Because of that, I...!”
I had suffered for days, plagued by nightmares.
I had looked so sick with bandages wrapped around my neck that even the duke and Derrick let it slide without much scolding.
The crown prince, rarely looking flustered, said.
“...I didn't really mean to kill you.”
I couldn't say it out loud, so I just looked at him with my thoughts clearly visible in my eyes.
When playing the game, I had died so many times in the maze garden that I couldn't progress in the crown prince's route.
“That was a really bad day. I was so angry that I would have drawn my sword at anyone who appeared in front of me.”
The crown prince, unaware of my thoughts, muttered as if making an excuse.
“But I found your declaration of love interesting, so I saved you, didn't I?”
“...I'm really flattered, Your Highness. My hands and feet were trembling, and I was in tears.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
I turned my head and replied curtly.
But the crown prince, undeterred by my attempt to end the conversation, continued.
“Then tell me why you fell in love with me.”
“Ha... I already told you.”
I sighed deeply and mumbled in a tired voice.
“Because you are handsome, brave, and skilled with a sword...”
“Don't spout lies. Do you think I'm blind?”
The crown prince's red eyes flashed at my insincere attitude.
“Every time you see my face, you make that expression, and now you expect me to believe this?”
“What's wrong with my expression?”
“You look like you've eaten dog poop.”
He saw it so clearly that I had nothing to say.
Seeing me at a loss for words, the crown prince's voice softened slightly as he tried to persuade me.
“Tell me the truth. Did someone threaten to kill you if you didn't confess to me?”
‘It would be better if that were the case...’
I had no idea why I had said such things back then, and I didn't know what to answer even if he kept pressing me.
I met the crown prince's intense gaze, which seemed ready to shoot me, and finally confessed in a resigned tone.
“...Your hair color was beautiful.”