Chapter 184

“Your Highness, I’ve told you not to appear like a thief in the night…”

I trailed off as I turned around.

<Dante Ryuna Taikan / The 13th Ruin>

Dante cupped my cheek and asked.

“Why the long face? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Ah… It’s nothing… Just a little surprised.”

“That happy to see me?”

Dante smiled languidly and kissed my temple. The natural display of affection made the guild members startle and turn their heads away.

“Hmm, the Paladin and the Master of the Magic Tower are here, too. And the Young Duke Alex. You all must have some time on your hands.”

“…Your Highness, you’ve arrived.”

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

“You seem to be the one with the most time on your hands, Your Highness.”

Dante accepted the greetings from Johan, Kaiel, and Alex, then pulled me into an embrace as if to show off. He was as arrogant and composed as an animal marking its territory.

Alex’s expression soured instantly.

“Your Highness, could you please step back? There are many eyes watching.”

“It’s fine if they watch.”

“It’s not fine with my sister!”

“We do things far more intimate than this. Don’t make a fuss over a simple hug.”

“Aargh! Stop it! I don’t want to know about my sister’s love life!”

I remained quietly in Dante’s arms.

My mind was a tangled mess, and I couldn’t think of anything else.

What is ‘The 13th Ruin’? It’s not a title, either, which means it’s part of Dante’s essence.

My heart pounded with anxiety. I felt like I was missing something crucial.

I nibbled on my lip, then looked at Dante’s face and hastily pulled out a handkerchief.

“Your Highness, your nose is bleeding again!”

Black blood gushed from Dante’s nose, quickly soaking the handkerchief. I could hear gasps from those around us.

“Ah… I’m fine.”

“How can you be fine! You’re bleeding this much!”

It felt like a while had passed, but Dante’s nosebleed wouldn’t stop.

Dante seemed to be breathing heavily, then he suddenly clutched his forehead and staggered.

“Gasp!”

“Your Highness!”

“Bring a chair! Quickly!”

As soon as Dante was seated, Johan approached, intending to heal him with his divine power. I quickly stopped him.

“Johan, it’s just a nosebleed. Why would you use divine power?”

“What? Astell, His Highness’s condition is…”

“If it gets really urgent, I’ll ask you then.”

I had no choice but to refuse. A body that didn’t respond to healing potions was unlikely to accept a paladin’s treatment.

If Dante showed an adverse reaction to divine power in front of all these people, there’s no telling what rumors would spread. By tomorrow, whispers that the next emperor was a demon could be circulating.

“But…”

“Johan, please, step back.”

“…I understand.”

Though puzzled, Johan stepped back for now. It was a relief. Things could have gotten ugly if he had insisted on healing him.

“Zenia! The healer we were supposed to meet today, tell them to come immediately!”

“Yes, Guildmaster!”

Zenia rushed off. Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes. I had a feeling that even a healer would be of no use.

“Your Highness, just hold on a little longer. The healer will be here soon.”

“I told you, it’s useless.”

“Why would it be useless?”

“Because this isn’t happening because I’m sick.”

“…”

Why would a perfectly healthy person have a nosebleed like this? It has to be because something is wrong!

I think I finally understand how Duke Ruthius feels whenever I have a nosebleed. I was so worried I felt like my insides were about to burst.

I bit my lip, and then a thought struck me, causing me to lower my voice.

“Your Highness, by any chance, are you also collecting Memory Fragments?”

“Memory Fragments? What are those?”

If not that, then there’s no reason for the nosebleed…

Two handkerchiefs were discarded. Still, Dante’s nosebleed didn’t stop. His already pale face was turning blue.

The blood, which had a dark red tint just a few days ago, was now completely black and dead. Was this what the blood of a corpse looked like?

My own complexion grew paler. The atmosphere around us turned grave. It was clearly not a situation anyone could take lightly.

As everyone fretted helplessly, I heard Jean’s voice from behind me.

“Guildmaster, may I take a look at His Highness until the healer arrives? I’ve studied a little medicine, so I might be of some small help.”

“Jean! Really? Then could you come over here?”

Yes, someone who has studied medicine would be far more helpful than I, who knows nothing.

Jean came to my side and gently took the handkerchief from my hand.

“Guildmaster, please give me the handkerchief and step back a little.”

“Okay, I under—”

<Goddess Nute / Administrator>

I saw the text above Jean’s head and froze.

Why is Jean the Goddess Nute? Jean is… Jean, isn’t he?

Suddenly, a memory of my encounter with the Question Clown resurfaced.

“Alright, here’s the second question! What is your name?”

“…Jean Blanc.”

“Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! You’re wrong! Oh, how fun, how fun!”

I stumbled back. Jean, standing in my place, began pressing various points on Dante’s face and head.

On the surface, it looked like he was trying to stop the bleeding by pressing on pressure points.

But to my eyes, trained in Taekwondo to know the body’s pressure points and vital spots, Jean’s deception was clear. He was just pressing random places.

And yet, Dante’s nosebleed slowly began to stop.

‘He’s not a priest, nor did he use medicine like a healer… How could a mere patissier stop a nosebleed?’

An eerie chill ran down my spine. I wrapped my arms around myself without thinking. My entire body was covered in goosebumps.

I discreetly checked the chat window.

The chat window, which had been quiet ever since the constellations realized they were partly responsible for my death, was buzzing for the first time in a long while.

—Anonymous Constellation: ???Is that the Administrator we know???

—Anonymous Constellation: But isn’t that a little weird? If he’s the Administrator, he should know that Astell has the eye that sees through to one’s essence, right?

—Anonymous Constellation: And he still appeared in front of Astell? Why??? Did he make a mistake?

The Administrator doesn’t make mistakes. He appeared before me either because he didn’t care if his identity was revealed, or because he wanted me to know on purpose.

‘But why?’

The answer came quickly. To advance the scenario.

So, why is the Administrator intervening at this point? Could it be that he has been secretly manipulating me all along?

A thought occurred to me, and I selected the Administrator in the chat window to check his [Record]. Just like that, everything he had done so far was laid out before me.

◈[Administrator] — [Record] — [Chat]

XX/XX/XXXX 13:11:29

The Administrator said there was a Hunter he brought from Channel 32. Crap, that was Ryu Saan?

XX/XX/XXXX 14:52:48

Even an Administrator can’t bring a living human to another channel.

XX/XX/XXXX 19:18:34

Astell, collect the Memory Fragments.

XX/XX/XXXX 07:30:10

A critical error has occurred.

XX/XX/XXXX 07:30:11

Some functions, including the chat window, will be temporarily suspended.

XX/XX/XXXX 08:54:33

Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you, even if it gets the chat window blocked.

XX/XX/XXXX 08:54:34

Administrator official. Two humans were reincarnated from Channel 32.

XX/XX/XXXX 08:54:35

They’re the humans you’re thinking of.

The constellation who told me I was transmigrated and that Johan and Dante were reincarnated… it was all the Administrator.

He pretended to have heard it from the Administrator while telling me himself. What in the world is he thinking?

Next, I checked the sponsorship record.

◈[Administrator] — [Record] — [Sponsorship]

XX/XX/XXXX 07:58:21

<Jean Blanc’s Royal Dessert> Whole Cake Voucher

XX/XX/XXXX 13:27:19

<Jean Blanc’s Royal Dessert> Whole Cake Voucher

XX/XX/XXXX 08:43:07

<Jean Blanc’s Royal Dessert> Whole Cake Voucher

“Ha…”

A dry laugh escaped me. All the vouchers for Jean Blanc’s dessert cafe were sponsored by the Administrator?

‘No wonder.’

Yes, I had thought it was strange several times.

If the constellations could sponsor items valid in this world, why did they only give vouchers for Jean Blanc’s dessert cafe? There are dozens of dessert cafes in the capital alone.

So the vouchers sponsored by the Administrator were bait to move me. Bait to make me follow the scenario.

Thinking back, aside from the one I gave to Zenia’s brother, every time I used a voucher, I met Johan, Jean, and then Dante, in that order. So that was the order of the scenario.

‘He was completely playing me.’

I couldn’t stop laughing. I watched Jean—no, the Administrator wearing Jean’s mask—and then my gaze unintentionally shifted to Dante.

“…?”

Dante’s complexion was poor. It wasn’t just because he had lost so much blood.

Strangely, he was glaring at the Administrator with eyes that held a mixture of discomfort, fear, pleading, and resentment.

‘They did say Jean was the imperial patissier when Dante was a child…’

I had found it strange that their relationship didn’t seem close enough for them to be exchanging cafe vouchers. More importantly, Dante, who hated sweets, would never use a dessert cafe.

The rumor that Jean only gave cafe vouchers to Dante must have been a lie. There were probably never any cafe vouchers to begin with.

The cafe vouchers were just a device used by the Administrator to connect me and Dante.

It was then. I suddenly sensed an unbelievable emotion in Dante’s gaze toward the Administrator.

Fear.

A shiver went through me.

The back of my neck went cold. My mind raced before arriving at a single conclusion.

‘Dante knew the Administrator’s identity!’

At the same moment as this realization, a window appeared before my eyes.

[System: The conditions to generate a hidden track have been met.]

[The hidden track <■■’s Memory> will now be revealed.]

[System: Would you like to play <■■’s Memory>?]

[YES] / [NO]

Just then, the Administrator turned to look at me. With a strange smile, as if he knew what I had realized, he snapped his fingers.

With a crisp snap, everything froze.

Nothing moved. It was as if the very air had stopped.

Except for me and the Administrator.

On the Administrator’s face, the expressions of countless people appeared and vanished in quick succession, like a projector was playing on his skin.

A benevolent woman, an indifferent judge, a cruel criminal, a sorrowful child.

The Administrator, possessing countless faces, tilted his head.

“A bit strange to look at, isn’t it? In frozen time, the human body I’m wearing is also frozen. I must borrow the fleeting moments of humanity to converse with you, so please bear with me.”

His voice was gentler than anyone’s, yet my entire body grew cold, as if I had swallowed ice.

“So, my child, go ahead and see for yourself.”

“See… what?”

“His end.”

I met his pupils, so deep I couldn’t fathom their end, and moved my trembling lips.

“YES.”