“Shall we go around the lake?”
“Let’s go.”
As usual, Samuel and Killian suggested going around the lake on a yacht. She enjoyed a relaxed feeling and watched the blue water surface where the sunlight broke. Occasionally small fishes popped up on the surface.
“Look there, Killian! Uh! Also there!”
“Don’t stick out too much. It’s dangerous.”
But there was no wind, and the yacht did not tilt in the slightest. That’s why Killian didn’t actively stop her. There was no way one woman would tip the boat. She reached for the fish that jumped out of the boat. There was no way she could reach the fish, but just feeling the cool water felt good. Killian watched her with a smile, then wrapped up the rope hanging on the floor and tidied it up. And then it happened.
“Uh…?”
Sleep seemed to suddenly come before her eyes. It was only then that she realized that her body was tilted.
“Kyaaak!”
“Edith!”
She could hear Killian’s urgent voice from afar, but there’s no way she could defy gravity. Time seemed to pass so slowly that she wondered if this was real, and soon she fell into the cold lake.
“Puff! Coke, Coke! Key, Killian…!”
What kind of nonsense was this? Even back then, she was just worried about getting hurt by Killian. She had no idea how the hell she had fallen into the water, but she thought he might be nagging because she hadn’t properly listened to his caution not to pull herself out too far.
“Edith! Hold on to this!”
She saw Killian throwing a rope towards her. And the moment she reached out and swung her legs there, the hem of the dress caught on the heel of her shoe and got tangled.
“Omg!”
Suddenly the dress felt heavy and she sank. She struggled on her limbs, but the more she did, the more she got away from the yacht.
“Edith! Edith!”
The water kept blocking her view. The lake water ran over her nose and mouth, suffocating her, and a cold fear overtook her.
‘Let’s stay calm! I can’t die here. Killian is the one who will kill me, so there’s no way I’ll die here!’
She thought about it and tried not to panic. In the distance, Killian could be seen taking off his vest. It looked like he was about to jump into the water.
‘No! It’s dangerous!’
She had to stop Killian from coming. She remembered learning that when rescuing a drowning person, you shouldn’t rush into it. He had to throw the rope or tube towards her first… But why was the yacht so far away…? She barely took off her shoes and her feet were free, but she was getting more and more dazed, perhaps because the water was cold. She felt the strength drain from her struggling limbs and her body sinking. She was out of breath.
It must have been completely submerged in the water, so it was quiet all around. And it was also at that time that she heard the announcer’s voice.
[When Edith Ludwig dies as a villain, the story returns to its original trajectory. Three minutes until her death.]
She understood the words, but it was a beat late to grasp the meaning.
‘What? What the hell are you talking about! Where is this!’
It was an unfair game in the first place, but the rules themselves suddenly changed! She wanted to grab someone by the collar and argue.
‘Why did you suddenly change the rules? Was it originally a game without even rules?’
Was she complacent? She came to her senses and tried to swim, but the water-soaked clothes were heavier than she imagined, and her head, which couldn’t breathe, went paralyzed. And the water surface she was supposed to head for was getting farther and farther away.
‘If I were to die, I’d rather be killed by Killian…’
Even with her fading consciousness, she wanted to see Killian. And that kind of felt a little funny. If she died, would Killian take care of her empty seat? No, it couldn’t be. It couldn’t be…
* * *
[…is collapsing…]
What did it mean? She seemed to be hearing the voice of a TV announcer somewhere. Was it a bedroom? Did she fall asleep with the TV on? Why did her throat and nose hurt so much? Did she catch a cold?
As she blankly assessed her condition, she thought she had heard the announcer’s voice somewhere.
[Part of the flow of the original work has collapsed due to the original author’s excessive intervention. The original was further damaged. The original author’s dominance is weakening.]
A voice flowing indifferently. She realized the identity of that voice belatedly.
‘Ah! Didn’t I possess Edith after I died?’
With that thought, she became more and more conscious. Not only her nose and throat hurted, her speed hurted, her ribs hurted, and it felt like she had been beaten all over her body.
‘For sure… yacht… Yeah, I went yachting… I fell into the water…?’
Seeing that she was still able to think this way, it seemed fortunate that she hadn’t died. She blinked her stinging eyes little by little, trying to come to her senses. As her blurry vision became clearer, she was able to recognize who was looking at her next to her. But he was the first to reach her.
“Edith? Edith! Are you awake?”
“Kil…”
“Oh, thank you Hershan. Ha…”
Killian held her hand tightly and thanked God.
“How… how did…”
She wanted to ask what happened, but her voice didn’t come out properly. Perhaps it was her misunderstanding that she came to her senses, because her eyes quickly became dizzy.
“Shh… Get some more sleep. It’s okay now. Because it’s okay…”
Was it fine now? Ah, anyway, she survived and Killian seemed to be alright. She was very fortunate. She was relieved and fell asleep again.
* * *
She woke up from a sound sleep without dreaming, but it was midday again.
“Killian…”
She called out to him in a small way, but it was Anna who hurriedly approached her.
“My lady, are you awake?”
“Not… me…”
“Can I get you some water?”
“Huh…”
Unlike before, where she wasn’t sick, she was a little better now. She finished the glass of warm water Anna offered her and slowly looked around. She knew she had fallen into the water, but looking inside this peaceful bedroom, she couldn’t fathom what had happened.
“Anna… Me, what happened?”
Anna answered, sitting next to her bed and holding her hand.
“When the lady was at the boat, the yacht suddenly tipped over and she fell into the water. Master Killian saved her.”
“Killian…? You mean he jumped into the water after me?”
“Yes.”
“Stupid! Then what if something big happens…!”
She raised her voice a little, and her throat hurt. She coughed lightly and grabbed Anna’s sleeve again.
“Killian, is he okay? Is he not hurt?”
“Yes. Young master is fine, but… He was really surprised…”
“Ha… thank god. What kind of disgrace is this…? He will listen when I tell him not to stick out from the side of the boat.”
She wiped her face and mumbled. Then Anna brushed her shoulder and hesitated, then she said.
“You didn’t fall for it by mistake, lady.”
“Huh? Then?”
“It is said that the yacht’s steering wheel malfunctioned at that time. Suddenly it turned around and the boat tilted and moved in a strange direction.”
She didn’t swim much, but the reason the boat moved away must have been because the boat was moving. But it was strange. Apparently, Samuel said that he checked the yacht the day before, and there was nothing wrong…
“So where is Killian now?”
“That is… He is interrogating old Samuel.”
“What?”
“Old Samuel is not the kind of person who would make such a mistake. It has never been like this while managing the Duke’s yachts. Besides, he is a really nice person. He couldn’t have intentionally tried to hurt the lady.”
Even if Anna didn’t appeal to her, she believed Samuel had nothing to do with it. The man who shone with pride in his profession could not have tarnished his honor by intentionally causing the ship to malfunction. Besides, the voice in the dream told her what had happened.
[Part of the flow of the original work has collapsed due to the original author’s excessive intervention.]
The original author who played with her broke the rules of the game and tried to kill her by intervening in the original work. At first, she doubted that the rule itself had disappeared, but she was convinced after hearing that the original was destroyed by the intervention of the original author.
‘He must have been nervous because I met the second-level exception condition…’
The fact that he took the risk of weakening the authority of the original author probably means that he was cornered that much.
‘Then the exception condition for step 3 is highly likely to be the last condition.’
She almost died, but instead of being afraid, she tried to let out a laugh. She was very happy that she could go beyond the cursed setting of the original work as long as the three-step exception conditions were met. But this situation, which was pleasing to her, would be disastrous for Samuel. She had no intention of leaving Samuel, who was only used by the original author, to be unfairly punished.
“Anna. Go tell Killian I’m awake. Tell him I really want to meet him…”
“Yes!”
Anna seemed to be a personal acquaintance of Samuel, but she seemed urgent and businesslike about anything. And not long after Anna left, there was a sound of hasty footsteps outside the room, and Killians entered.
“Edith!”
“Killian…!”
Killian’s complexion was noticeably unwell. The bottom of his eyes were black, and he even had the glow in his eyes.
“Killian… are you okay?”
“Are you worried about me as soon as you open your eyes? Did you know you almost died?”
She knew very well. A voice started counting down for her death so she knew very well.
How do you feel?
