The Protagonists of the Novel Escaped

I can’t sleep.

There was no way I could.

Elizaveta looked at Edanant, who was lying next to her with a tense expression.

Thump thump-.

Her heart was pounding like it could burst at any moment.

Could he hear the beat?

Being a being that transcended human limits, Edanant could undoubtedly hear her heart as clearly as a woodpecker tapping on a tree. So she kept trying to suppress the overwhelming emotions bubbling up within her to calm her heart.

“Can’t sleep?”

“W-well… I think I drank too much black tea!”

In the quiet stillness of the bedroom.

As the only sound was the adorable Rue’s gentle snoring, Elizaveta, fidgeting under the blanket, heard Edanant’s soft voice.

“This must be your first time sleeping next to a strange man. Or do you perhaps have experience sleeping with the opposite sex?”

“Of course not! You don’t think… I’m a loose woman, do you?!”

The infamous, headstrong Villainous Princess would obviously have no romantic experience.

At the sharpness of Elizaveta’s voice, Edanant smiled lightly.

“How could that be? I only thought of you as a single woman who had her engagement broken off before her wedding.”

“Yikes!!”

Without any hesitation, he poked at the sensitive spot of the Villainous Princess.

With that, Elizaveta kicked the blanket away and stretched her slender leg to kick Edanant.

Thud!

Thwack-!

The sound of the blanket being hit echoed again.

As the bed shook from Elizaveta’s aggressive movements, the peacefully sleeping Rue scrunched her face in displeasure, while Edanant, on the receiving end of the kick, burst into laughter.

The tense and awkward atmosphere instantly transformed into the raucousness of a school trip.

Elizaveta, who had been kicking away, seemed to tire out and roughly pulled the blanket back over her. It seemed Edanant’s playful teasing had hit the mark with the Villainous Princess.

“I’m sorry. It was just a little joke.”

“Shut up!”

“Could I possibly slander the Empire’s most beautiful Elizaveta? Your beautiful appearance rivals that of the dazzling sun and the gentle full moon.”

“Cough…! Yeah, you do know how to compliment!”

Elizaveta was just like her sister, Ludmilla.

She hated flattery.

Sweet talk wasn’t her style either.

It was just genuine praise from a man she truly loved, which made her delightfully happy like a child. As Edanant mixed in flowery words to praise her beauty, Elizaveta shyly smiled, half-hidden under the blanket.

“It seems you’ve relaxed now.”

“I-I wasn’t really tense!”

Did she inadvertently give away her foolishly happy grin? Elizaveta hurriedly stammered.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem so.

Only the soft glow from the lamp on the desk illuminated the bedroom.

Elizaveta, seemingly fully relaxed, turned her shoulders toward Edanant. Cuddling a fluffy pillow in both hands, her giggling was incredibly cute.

“So, what do you like about my sister, Edanant?”

“Well… Honestly, I was first attracted to her dignified and sincere nature. As I gradually fell for Prince Ludmilla’s charm, there was a moment I could only see her.”

“But you like the Saintess too, right?”

“I have several ideal types.”

He said so without a hint of hesitation.

How bold to admit to having many ideal types like that.

What would happen if his sister found out…?

With a sigh at Edanant’s shameless answer, Elizaveta still smiled faintly.

His answer about having multiple ideal types meant there was still hope for her. So, feeling a flicker of hope, she gazed at Edanant helplessly. The soft light from the lamp cast a beautiful glow on him that made her heart flutter.

“Ugh…!”

Edanant reached out to gently stroke Elizaveta’s luscious hair, as if soothing a whiny child.

The warmth in his gentle touch seeped into her. With each slow caress, Elizaveta felt her eyelids grow heavier.

“So, Edanant… will you be marrying my sister in the spring of next year?”

“I suppose so.”

“Yeah… you and my sister truly love each other… I know that. So I genuinely hope that you two can find happiness together.”

“Thank you.”

Maybe it was the drowsiness that was creeping in.

Or perhaps it was the comfortable feeling that enveloped her like a blanket.

As Elizaveta blinked slowly, she began to release the feelings she had kept bottled up inside.

“But it’s strange… every time I see you and my sister happy together, my heart aches.”

“……”

“I’m happy, but it hurts. Isn’t that odd? I should be glad, but my chest feels heavy. So I don’t know what to do.”

“…Your Highness.”

She could feel a knot of mixed emotions form, undoubtedly the sadness she’d repressed for a long time.

Sensing this, Edanant sighed heavily. He slowly brought his hand down from her hair to gently caress Elizaveta’s pale cheek.

Her eyes were half-closed.

As Elizaveta accepted his warm touch, she slowly fell into a deep sleep.

*

The touch that caressed her cheek.

The fluffy pillow and bed sheets.

And the gentle scent of gunpowder wafting through the air.

Elizaveta surrendered to the sweet happiness that felt beyond what she deserved and drifted off into slumber.

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A space stained in red unfolded.

Upon witnessing this, Elizaveta immediately realized it was a dreamlike illusion.

There was no way this could be real.

She stepped into a scene that seemed to be the nightmarish embodiment of horror.

‘What the… what is this?’

A pool of blood had formed like a massive reservoir.

And countless skulls were left half-submerged in the blood.

Butterflies were fluttering about.

Dancing in a blood river that pulsed with the stench of death, as if relishing its sweet scent.

Was this truly how hell judged the wicked?

This wasn’t simply a nightmare.

It was closer to hell.

As she fell asleep, drawn by a powerful magical power, she arrived in a realm overflowing with wicked malevolence. Edanant sensed her fear and desperately tried to wake up.

‘It won’t budge….’

But it was futile.

Her determination to wake from this horrific nightmare was swallowed by the lucid dream.

To comfort Elizaveta, countless black and red butterflies fluttered all around. As she raised her alabaster hand, a single red butterfly gently landed on it.

Flap-.

Then, as if entranced, she stepped into the blood pool.

Following the butterflies, she crossed over the blood pool, moving deeper into the abyss.

‘Someone?’

After a while,

She spotted a slender silhouette sitting in the sticky blood pool.

Hair drenched in the crimson liquid.

A small frame with an alluring body that drew the eye.

Dressed in a black evening gown, like a widow who had lost her husband. The contrast between her fair skin and the black dress created a captivating allure. As Elizaveta continued to gaze at the silhouette from behind, she took a few more steps closer.

‘…!’

She stumbled.

It was because she finally saw the silhouette clearly.

– Welcome to my garden, beautiful maiden.

Skin so white it felt gaunt.

Eyes glowing red like will-o’-the-wisps.

And an extreme coldness that could freeze one’s very soul.

The ‘Death’ that mirrored the beautiful Villainous Princess reached out to Elizaveta through the medium of the dream.

*

What pulled Elizaveta from this nightmarish illusion were the cries of a child and agitated shouts.

It was the voices of Rue and Edanant.

How diligent of them.

To be so lively from the morning.

The Villainous Princess, her gorgeous blonde hair tousled, yawned and slowly sat up.

“I told you to go to the bathroom in advance! You’ve painted a world map with your pee!”

“Whaa…! But…!”

“Go to the next town and get some salt!”

“Waaaaah!!”

The neatly hung bed sheets and blankets spoke volumes of the chaotic situation.

Elizaveta, realizing the blankets she had shared with Edanant last night had been changed, hurriedly got up. She worried if Rue’s lemonade had spilled on her pajamas.

“Rue drew a map on the blanket!”

“Pohang Port! Little Burger Luinong graduated from being a bedwetter ages ago!”

The bustling Rue and Luinong spun around the clothesline with their hands clasped together, causing Rue’s wails to grow even louder.

She must have hesitated to go to the bathroom due to the ghost stories she heard last night, leading to this catastrophe.

Elizaveta sighed deeply as she gazed at Edanant and Rue.

‘What a bizarre nightmare I just had… The details are hazy. Could it be that Edanant was abandoning me for a used market divorcee in my dream?! Execution! Even if it’s just a dream, that’s an execution!’

Elizaveta, standing by the window looking outside, moved her steps.

She needed to mediate the battle between her carefree fiancé and her childish daughter.

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