If even one of them went awry, Ethan would merely be branded a criminal who assassinated royalty.
If Ethan killed this body right here and now, he would be dragged away on charges of high treason.
The god of this world would not stand idly by and watch the protagonist die—just as Fel could not die no matter what means he tried.
What would happen then?
Would it start all over from the beginning?
No, what if he became trapped here forever?
What if the storyline of the novel became twisted?
Was there any guarantee that being stabbed by the current Ethan would send him back to reality?
“Haha… ha…”
A hollow laugh spilled out automatically.
His trembling legs felt as though they would buckle under the weight of his upper body.
His head spun, and his stomach churned with nausea.
He wanted to spew out all the curses he had bottled up inside.
“Your Highness!”
Fel pushed away Philip, who was trying to support him, and pressed hard against his throbbing head.
‘Right.’
The child before his eyes did not deserve to be called the “protagonist” just yet.
Before the novel began, Ethan was merely one of many beggar brats passing by on the street.
A lowly existence whom no one would care about even if he were killed somewhere.
Fel thought: ‘Ah, I can’t die this time either.’
‘Until I die according to the set ending, nothing will lead me to death.’
‘I have no choice but to powerlessly wait out a few years.’
Fel let out a dry, bitter laugh at the painful realization sweeping through his mind.
Ah… now he finally understood what it meant to die “definitively.”
[ On the day Ethan came of age, he thrust a sword into the heart of Emperor Felio. Upon the emperor’s bed, stained crimson with blood, only a cold corpse remained. He was the hero who killed the demon. ]
There was only one single, definitive death in this world.
Dying at Ethan’s hands on the day he came of age.
Which meant… drawing his life to a close as the perfect villain, exactly as written in the novel.
That was truly the only way.
Fel ‘s body swayed.
“A-Are you alright?”
He saw Ethan’s face, filled with worry.
A tiny boy who had not yet developed the strength to become a hero—the protagonist who would come to kill him only after several years had passed—was worrying about his well-being.
“God wants me to be the villain, and you to be the hero. Without a single hair’s breadth of error, just like that…”
God would never take Fel’s side, so Fel couldn’t die.
Because if the villain of this world vanished, Ethan would lose his path.
Because Ethan had to become the good man, the hero, the protagonist.
‘My corpse in your hands will serve as a stepping stone for you to climb even higher.’
Even now was overwhelming enough, yet he had to keep living and breathing here until the novel officially began.
As the loner of the imperial family, as the bloodthirsty monster, as the mad crown prince.
He had to be called a villain until the day he died, ending his life in misery.
It was agonizing. Knowing he couldn’t die even through his agony made it all the more painful.
“…What a truly cruel god.”
Fel stared intently at Ethan for a moment before turning around.
The red cape stamped with the imperial seal fluttered, creating a gentle gust of wind.
Mounting his horse, Fel looked back at Ethan once more.
He thought he should at least know how much time he had left until the day of his death.
“How old are you now?”
“E-Eighteen.”
The small body trembled like an aspen leaf. It differed somewhat from the “robust build” described in the novel, but in any case, it was a relief amidst misfortune that the bastard was eighteen.
Two years.
Exactly two years. Everything will be fine after that.
Fel repeated the words of self-consolation like a s Fel l as he slowly set his horse in motion.
Yet at that very moment, Ethan called out to Fel and came running up once again.
“…What is it?”
When Fel wore an unenthusiastic expression, Ethan swallowed hard.
It was a face holding a hint of expectation.
“By any chance, Your Highness… do you need me?”
‘Need, huh…’
Strictly speaking, it was true.
Since he had realized just moments ago that his death could only be brought about through Ethan.
Of course, that referred to the Ethan after the novel began, not the current Ethan.
Fel cast a slanted gaze down at Ethan. When no answer came from him, Ethan tried frantically to catch his attention with awkward hand gestures.
“I-If I am useful, I’ll do anything. Please help me, Your Highness. My mother is very ill, so I need money! I need money!”
No matter how tragic Ethan’s story was, the knights could no longer stand by and watch this procession be ruined because of him.
Dismounting one by one, the knights drew their swords and headed toward Ethan.
“What do you think you’re doing? Out of the way!”
Fel quietly watched Ethan get grabbed by a knight’s hand and thrown to the ground.
His eyes were hollow, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.
Before long, a sneer of incomprehensible origin floated onto Fel’s lips.
“Help you?”
Hearing the plea for help made Fel angry.
‘God is on your side anyway. Since God is on your side, this world must be on your side too. So don’t demand your happiness from me, the villain.’
“Yes, you said you needed me just now…”
“Why should I?”
Ethan’s face was stained with bewilderment.
After all, the crown prince, who had been acting as if he had forgotten all royal dignity just moments ago, had suddenly turned ice-cold.
“Your mother is going to die anyway.”
A thoroughly shocking statement burst from Fel’s mouth.
Even the knights pulling Ethan away gasped, rendered completely speechless.
They thought it was far too cruel a thing to say to an eighteen-year-old child.
However, Fel, the party in question, felt not the slightest shred of remorse.
Neither regret over the mother’s death nor sympathy for the child who would be left behind.
Not a single facial muscle of his twitched, looking terrifyingly still.
“Ethan, understand this well. There is nothing this body can do.”
Neither the opportunity to kill himself nor the opportunity to save someone was granted to Fel.
It was Fel’s fate to merely be dragged along in whatever direction the novel desired.
Acting the part of the villain to perfection so that Ethan would hold a grudge and kill him, right up until the end of his life.
The role of the outsider possessed within Felio’s body ended right there.
“And shall I tell you one more thing? Soon enough, you’ll be all alone.”
“…”
