"Did you talk to your father-in-law about it?" I asked John, watching his reaction carefully.
His expression froze at the ntion of his father-in-law, like his brain had montarily short-circuited. But after a mont, he understood—and his face twisted into sothing between annoyance and disgust.
"He would never believe ," John retorted. "If anything, he'd just use it as an excuse to call insane and push away from Alia."
I scoffed. "Who cares? You should at least tell him what's happening with Alia. Maybe he has a way to help her."
John shook his head. "No, he doesn't. If you think it's such a great idea, why don't you ask him yourself?"
I let out a snort. "Your dear father-in-law was one of the first to vote for my banishnt. He could drop dead for all I care."
John's eyes flicked to at the ntion of my exile, but he said nothing at first. A silence hung between us before he finally spoke.
"You brought that on yourself," he muttered.
I shrugged. "I don't care about the banishnt itself. What annoys is the sheer ingratitude. I was the one who defeated Durathiel, and yet they acted like it ant nothing."
John's glare hardened. "You handed them the damn seed and married that princess," he said through gritted teeth. "What was that for? Do you have so convenient excuse ready for that, too?"
I smirked. "I do. Want to hear it?"
His teeth clenched at my insolent tone, but I simply turned my gaze ahead, brushing past his gaze.
"I have my reasons, and I stand by them, John," I said taking a serious tone. "Instead of digging up the past, let's focus on Behemoth."
John groaned through his nose, reigning in his irritation. "Fine. What do you want to do?"
"Rodolf and Cylien. They were my friends in my past life," I said.
John halted mid-step, his eyes widening in shock. "W–What?"
I gave him a knowing look. "It's complicated, but the important part is that Rodolf is an ally. I can ask him to warn his family about Behemoth. What do you think?"
John frowned, mulling it over. "If they interfere, won't it change Behemoth's plans? How are we supposed to predict their movents then?"
That was the main reason John and I had kept our intervention to a minimum until now.
But things were different now.
"I think it's necessary, especially since we're reaching the end of the ga," I said.
John gave a sharp look, suspicion flickering in his eyes. "Funny hearing that from you. Weren't you the one who insisted we shouldn't intervene? Your whole plan was to let things play out so we could predict their actions better during the ga's events."
I shrugged. "I told you, we have to take risks if we want to reach that damn happy ending."
It was a half-truth.
I didn't tell him the real reason.
I hadn't even ntioned the prophecy of my death—and I wasn't planning to, either.
But deep down, I wondered… maybe if I did things differently, if I strayed from the usual path, I could change the prophecy. Maybe I could rewrite my fate.
It was the only option I had.
From now on, I'd have to be careful with every move I made.
Because no matter what, I wasn't planning to die.
I sighed, shaking off those thoughts, and shot John a look. "Instead of questioning , you should be supporting . Or do you actually want Alia to beco that madwoman? You know she'll dissect you alive right after sex."
John glared at . "Do you want to die?"
I grinned. "The truth hurts."
He scoffed and turned to leave.
"Are you going to tell Alia?" I asked.
"No. She's better off not knowing."
I frowned. "Wouldn't it be safer to have her sit this trip out?"
Keeping her as far away from Behemoth as possible seed like the smarter move.
John, however, shook his head. "No. She's safer with ."
I couldn't completely disagree.
Without another word, he hurried off—probably eager to see Alia again.
I watched him go, a small pang of jealousy twisting in my chest.
Lately, I'd been surrounded by couples. Victor and Rodolf both had their girlfriends. I could talk to them, sure, but I'd just feel like a third wheel.
Especially with Rodolf and Cylien, who had only recently recovered their mories. I wasn't about to force them to recall things they clearly wanted to forget.
I sighed. Maybe I was lonelier than I wanted to admit.
Alvara left, taking Annabelle and Samara with her, just as I had entrusted them to her care.
[]
I shook my head. "No. If I really am going to die, I won't let them die with ."
Both Annabelle and Samara were bound to by contract. If I died, they would too. The only way to break that fate was to resurrect them fully, severing the contract in the process.
I had already spoken to Freyja about it, and fortunately, she knew how to make it happen. With the Tree of Ymir's power, there wouldn't be any complications.
She was the one who suggested sending Alvara to help nurture the tree and accelerate the process. I agreed and asked Alvara to take on that responsibility.
She didn't hesitate. She accepted the task and left right away.
Neither Annabelle nor Samara wanted to go. They outright refused to leave my side.
But I didn't give them a choice.
During the process, they would be in a deep slumber, unaware of what was happening. They wouldn't be able to help , and in truth, that was for the best.
I reassured them it would only take a week.
A lie since I had no idea but a necessary one.
I wasn't about to drag them to doom alongside .
Letting out a breath, I pushed those thoughts aside. "Well, it's not like I'm completely alone."
With that, I made my way to the library, heading straight for the top floor.
I stepped inside. "Good morning, Junior," I greeted.
Silence.
I glanced around and found her seated in a chair, book in hand. But she wasn't reading. She had dozed off.
Quietly, I approached and leaned in to take a peek at the book she was holding.
Another book about the Vampire Witch.
She had been reading about the Blood Moon War and the vampire witches every ti I ca here.
Likely because of Elizabeth's situation.
Alicia's quiet breathing, which I had been hearing until now, suddenly stopped.
Curious, I glanced up from the book in my hands and t her piercing crimson eyes. She was staring at , her gaze quite questioning, as if demanding to know what the hell I was doing.
"You're reading about that witch again," I said, flipping through the pages. "Are you her fan or sothing?"
Alicia's expression remained impassive, but I noticed the way her fingers twitched slightly. Without a word, she reached out, attempting to snatch the book back.
I dodged easily, raising it higher. "Answer first," I said, smirking.
She shot a glare but quickly realized there was no way she could reach it—after all, she was much shorter than . With a shake of her head, she finally relented.
"I'm not a fan… I'm just curious," she muttered after a pause.
I tilted my head, scrutinizing her reaction. "Junior, can you answer sothing for ? Honestly."
Her crimson eyes flickered with suspicion. "What is it?"
I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice. "Are you in love with Elizabeth?"
The mont the words left my mouth, Alicia's entire expression darkened. A flush of red blood across her pale cheeks—not out of embarrassnt, but out of anger at an umpteenth teasing of mine.
Without hesitation, she clenched her fist and swung at . I stepped back just in ti, narrowly avoiding the hit.
Without giving up, she lunged forward again, her next punch aid straight at . I sidestepped smoothly, watching her with amusent.
"Are you angry, Junior?" I asked, laughing.
"I am not!" She snapped, closing the distance between us.
I kept retreating, flipping through the book as if I were actually reading it—though, in reality, I was too busy dodging her to focus on the words.
"Or maybe…" I muttered, casting her a teasing glance, "you're in love with the Vampire Witch? Maybe you see her as your idol—soone you admire. You want to be like her, don't you? Strong, independent, charismatic… Soone people respect and fear."
Each word seed to strike a nerve, sending visible waves of embarrassnt through Alicia.
Bingo.
She might not have approved of everything that Vampire Witch had done, but that wasn't the point. She was drawn to the idea of the Vampire Witch—the kind of person who instilled both fear and admiration.
"Well, I guess it's normal for soone your age to have idols," I said with a small smile.
Alicia's glare could have cut through steel at this point.
[]
Shaddap!
Nyr's words flashed in my mind, sounding disturbingly similar to mine when I was on Earth. A deep wave of secondhand embarrassnt washed over .
Damn it.
Why the hell was I the one getting teased now?
-Thud!
My back collided with a bookshelf as I took another step back, the impact rattling the shelves.
Alicia, quick to seize the opportunity, lunged forward and shoved , trying to reach for the book. Unfortunately, she pushed a little too hard—hard enough that the books stacked precariously on the top shelf lost their balance.
Before I could react, a cascade of books ca crashing down.
Instinctively, I pulled Alicia against my chest, shielding her as the hardcovers rained down on . A dull pain throbbed across my skull, but I barely registered it.
Alicia stiffened in my arms, montarily startled by our sudden proximity. But I ignored her, waiting until the last book landed with a final thump.
With a sigh, I loosened my hold on her, prepared to let go—until my eyes caught sothing on the ground.
A book had fallen open to a specific page.
"Huh?"
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