‘So, you mean you turned down all those offers for Killian’s sake?’
Considering the context, it was only possible to come to that conclusion, but if so, K helped Edith to meet the second stage exception condition. Because it was K who encouraged Killian through Lise. If she had left it alone, Killian wouldn’t have made the offer 10 times in a row, and if that was the case, Edith, who was relaxed in the middle, might have accepted the offer at least once. Encouraging Killian to strengthen the flow of the original story turned into a reverse blade. It was useless to regret it now.
‘Shit! If it’s down to level 2, that means Killian won’t listen to me!’
It was the second step that had never been met before. Killian, whose K’s dominance had been lowered to about 30%, would be more difficult to control in the future, and the dominance of characters other than Killian was also lowered to about 70%.
But K had never experienced what that situation was like.
‘If the three-step exception condition is met… What will become of this world?’
An unprecedented fear came over her. As far as K knew, if the 3rd stage conditions were broken, she would not be able to intervene in anything in this world, and this world would move according to the probability created by the characters. But what kind of world that would be, K couldn’t imagine. She used to think she was the god of this world, but when she was put into this situation, she felt so helpless.
‘I created this world! Why can’t I go my way!’
A bigger problem was that time would continue to flow if the law of following the original work disappeared. When Lise became the Duchess and the Sinclair family members felt intense regret at the end of the story, everything gradually faded away and then returned to the beginning of the story, unlike until now, time continues to flow after that. However, apart from being bored with the repetitive life, K was not curious about what happened after the original work.
‘I lived happily ever after, I don’t want to know the story after that! I don’t want to see Lise grow old!’
K wanted the story to stop at the pinnacle of happiness. How could she have seen the layer of time sinking down on the beautiful Lise face? Lise has to be perfect. She should be stuffed in that moment when she was young, beautiful, happy and loved by everyone.
‘In order to do that, Edith must die as a villainess.’
K grinded her teeth. Unfortunately, K couldn’t kill Edith directly. It was only after this situation that she realized more clearly, but K was an existence trapped in the great flow of the original work along with everything else, only able to dominate the character she created. And in the flow of the original work, only Killian was set up as the person who would kill Edith.
‘Of course, since the second stage exception conditions have been met, the rule of following the original has weakened. If that’s the case, I could use probability to kill Edith, but… The penalty given to me won’t be easy.’
If Killian fell in love with Lise again, things would be easier, but anyway, the most powerful weapon K could wield was ‘exception conditions’. If the last exceptional condition was not met, there was a high probability that Killian would eventually kill Edith by the flow of the original work no matter what unexpected situation occurred.
‘So, the exception condition for step 3 must be set to something that Edith will never be able to satisfy. I should try to kill Edith as much as possible.’
K was no longer in the mood to enjoy a game. After much thought, she finally decided on a third-level exception. And the system of this world accepted K’s decision.
[Step 3 exception conditions have been set.]
Maybe it’s because it’s the first sentence she had heard, but the voice she had always heard felt cold today.
* * *
“Oh my God, have you ever been to a place like this?”
At the opera house where she came out with Killian to prove she wasn’t treating him like a stallion, she couldn’t help but look around and open her mouth. The high ceiling, wide stage, private rooms around the walls on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and luxurious seats spread out on the 1st floor seemed like they wouldn’t be missed at all in any modern theater. Perhaps it was because she had only been to a movie theater in her previous life, but it seemed that the author had conceived the opera theater in a luxurious way, probably for Cliff and Lise’s date at the opera house.
“Have you never been here?”
“Yes. No.”
Searching through Edith’s memories, she didn’t remember ever being in a place like this. The only places where Count Rigelhoff presented his daughter were parties and gatherings. Even when she seduced a man, he never sent her to a place where surveillance was difficult. It seemed that he knew that she would probably run away if she was sent out to a place out of his surveillance.
“It can’t be. I think I’ve seen Count Rigelhoff and his wife and their successors a few times in the theater…”
She just smiled bitterly.
Killian only slightly frowned at her, but he didn’t ask her for details.
“What is the title of the opera?”
“It’s <Odelette>.”
“What is it about?”
He answered indifferently about the title, but looked at her incredulously when she asked for the content.
“Don’t you know <Odelette>?”
“Is it a famous piece?”
She searched through Edith’s memories, but strangely enough, she had no knowledge of opera, theater, or painting. Then, a vague memory came to her mind.
“You don’t have to know that! You are ignorant because no one knows. Don’t be unnecessarily interested in entertainment, do what you’re told!”
It was the day when she went to a social gathering for young ladies and returned home in disgrace because she did not know the contents of a popular play at the time. She asked for even a simple explanation, but Count Rigelhoff ignored her as if she were annoying.
‘That man was afraid that his daughter would know more. He would have wanted a dog that was good at telling him ‘yes’ to all.’
No matter how much it was set up to create Edith’s distorted view of love, it was a family relationship that she really wanted to ignore. When she showed signs of not knowing anything about Odelette, Killian thought about something and explained it with a nonchalant face.
“Odelette, the daughter of a viscount with a strong Gasse, went into the woods to pick her raspberries and found an injured man. Odelette helps the man out of her pity and falls in love with him. The man says he has lost his memory, but in reality he was Laslo, a prince from a neighboring country who was being hunted by an assassin sent by his political opponent.”
“Oh my, my! So?”
Killian let out a small sigh and spoke again.
“The two grow in love, but Odelette’s father wants to marry her off to a man for his wealth to raise the family. Upon learning of this, Laslo begs Odelite to escape with him.”
“But I suppose she made a different choice.”
“You’re right. Odelette, after all her troubles, is married to a rich man, and Laslo, in his despair, returns to his own country. And a year later, Odelette sees Laslo, the prince of the neighboring country, marrying a princess, and she is shocked and regrets it, and then she commits suicide.”
“It is a tragedy.”
It was like the European version of <Eternal Love of Su-il and Sun-ae>. How many love stories with similar sad endings were there? While they were talking, the lights in the theater turned off and the stage lit up. As the spotlights poured onto the stage and the beautifully decorated singers began to sing, she immediately fell in love with the opera.
At first, Odelette and Laslo developed a fresh love while singing bright songs. However, their love was quickly jeopardized. Odelette’s father introduces the wealthy baron Hubert to Odelette for the sake of the family.
[Oh, my God! What should I do! Please tell me the answer.]
Odelite agonizes between the wealthy man Hubert and the man she loved, Laszlo, and Laslo earnestly asks Odelite to believe in him and come to him. And Hubert, who seduces Odelette with money, even though he knows that she has another man she loves.
[Oh, forgive me, Laslo. My heart will always be yours, but I must leave you.]
A terrifyingly clear soprano sang of Odelette’s feelings about choosing another man over Laslo. They said that the human body was the best instrument in the world and… Suddenly, a handkerchief appeared in front of her.
“Uh…?”
When she turned around in embarrassment, Killian was looking at her. Then he pressed his handkerchief lightly on her cheek. It seemed that she was shedding tears without even realizing it.
“Thank you.”
She whispered a little and took a handkerchief from him to wipe away her tears. And the play ended with Odelette stabbing herself in the chest with a dagger behind Laslo’s wedding, which was celebrated by everyone. When the actors came to the stage and greeted the public, she jumped up and applauded enthusiastically, along with the others. It was so touching that her heart skipped a beat.
“Was it fun?”
“Yes! I never imagined that opera would be like this. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it for a while.”
She put her hand on her still pounding heart and thanked Killian for bringing her along. Then, while Killian was thinking about something, he asked out of the blue.
“If you were Odelette, who would you choose?”
She finished wiping away her tears and answered coldly.
“Hubert. And I’m not going to kill myself.”
Killian stared at her with a slightly surprised face before asking again.
How do you feel?
