Chapter 192

I shuddered, shocked to see the mirror looming over us. It was in the center of Winter’s secret chamber, but this mirror...

It looks the same as the one I saw in my dream. I slowly came to stand in front of it.

“This... is the Mirror of Truth? Why is it here?” I slowly reached out a hand to touch it, but my fingers passed straight through it to the other side. I jerked my hand back.

“This is an illusion I created based on some ancient records I have. With the recent reappearance of the Laila, I’ve been trying to figure out if it can be created once more.” Winter plunged his arm into the mirror, then pulled it free again.

I felt like an idiot. Frowning as I tried to curb my disappointment, I looked around. “But what about the children?”

“I sent them to take refuge in a safe house,” Winter explained briefly.

I was puzzled.

This isn’t the safe house? It wasn’t really my business either way, so I turned my attention back to the mirror.

“What is this?” Something grabbed my attention. The right corner of the mirror was missing, as if it had been broken off and there were cracks sprawling out from that point.

“When the ancient mages created the mirror, the Laila did not sit idly by and watch. They attacked it with all their considerable might and succeeded in damaging it,” Winter answered, eyes following my gaze to where I was looking. “But they were only able to break off part of the mirror. It still worked as intended and the Laila were sealed away in Valta.”

“Was the fragment they broke off destroyed, then?”

“The records say that it was divided into sixteen pieces and they were scattered throughout the world...” Winter trailed off, his stare suddenly dark. “I’ve received information that the followers of the Laila have been misusing these fragments.”

“The followers? How are they able to use the mirror that the mages created?”

“They’ve been manipulating the mirror’s abilities in order to show people their greatest fears and consequently brainwash them.”

“Oh.” I’d experienced this firsthand, so I immediately understood what he meant. I now had all the information I needed. Turning away from the illusion, I said, “Thank you for telling me all this. Now give me my money and the mirror fragment.”

Winter stared uncertainly at the hand I was holding out, then shook his head. “As I told you, the fragments that the Laila have been using are extremely dangerous. They’re not something you should just be carrying around—”

Seeing that the conversation was getting nowhere, I sighed and reached into my bag, producing something from its depths.

“Wait, that’s...” His navy eyes dilated.

I was holding another fragment, the one I’d taken from Ivonne after Emily had tied her up.

“Did you... bring this from Solael as well?”

“No. I took it from a Laila recently.”

“I don’t understand—”

“One of them attempted to brainwash me at the manor. I only barely managed to fight it off and escape.”

Winter stopped breathing. Stiff as a board, his eyes filled with pain. “Ah... what have I done...” His dark blue gaze quivered. He slowly reached for me, taking my face in his hands. “I dragged you into this mess... and in the end...”

I could feel his fingers trembling against my skin. He was a good male protagonist and he’d felt guilty before when he had not been able to help others. He seemed to think he was to blame for the Laila attempting to brainwash me. It wasn’t exactly his fault, since everything had merely unfolded according to the game’s predetermined plot.

Perhaps resentment for him had built up inside me without my realizing it after he’d refused to trust me. I couldn’t seem to bring myself to reassure him that he wasn’t to blame. Instead, I simply stared at him as he stood there, shaking.

“Who is it?” he asked in an intimidating voice after he was able to recover his composure somewhat. “Who dared to sneak into the manor and—” he suddenly stopped short, his eyes out of focus. “It can’t be... Lady Ivonne? Ivonne, that child, is a Laila...”

“Her reflection doesn’t appear in water or a mirror. Of course, whether you trust my word or not is your choice.”

“Ah.”

Winter’s face fell once more. He seemed to regret all the times he’d treated me with suspicion in the past. Would he have believed me if I’d told him sooner when things weren’t as dire as they were now? Seeing him drowning in guilt made me contemplate pointless musings.

Shaking the thought off, I said calmly, “It would be safer for me to flee with the fragments. You have much more you need to protect than just the fragments.”

“I... I will take care of everything. I will fix this—”

“I can’t trust you,” I interrupted coldly. “The Laila are capable of brainwashing people and you believed Ivonne to be nothing more than a kind-hearted little girl.’

And if normal mode’s story played out, Winter would eventually fall in love with the female protagonist even though it was his duty to oppose the Laila. I’d only entrusted the fragment to him temporarily because I needed to get it out of the manor—I hadn’t trusted Winter from the very beginning.

The hand cupping my cheek fell away as if he no longer had the strength to hold it there. His head tipped forward, chin against his chest as he tried to breathe through ragged gasps. Eventually, I felt him cautiously taking my wrist.

“Come with me.”

He pulled me past the large mirror, leading me deeper inside the enormous room. It didn’t take him long to arrive at his intended destination, the very center of the vast chamber. Among the many glass cages containing artifacts and documents was a pot, the only object that was left exposed to the air. It was quite large, but there was only a single plant growing inside. It was a tiny, frail purple flower bud.

“What is this?” I asked, puzzled.

He grabbed the plant by the stem and firmly pulled it free from the soil, roots and all.

“What—” I said, confused. The question died on my lips when I saw what was attached to the roots of the flower. It was the mirror fragment I’d given him.

“This whole chamber is linked to my subconscious.”

“Your subconscious?”

“If I am brainwashed or someone kills me... everything within this space will vanish entirely.”

Winter untangled the fragment from the flower’s roots and tossed it back into the pot. Turning to me, he pressed the purple flower bud into my hand.

“Take it.”

I accepted hesitantly, and something strange happened. The bud suddenly unfurled, blooming into a beautiful purple rose. I asked him to give me the fragment, not a rose. Perplexed, I stared between him and the flower in turns.

His stare fixed on the rose, he explained, “When I brought you back from Solael and returned to this place... I found this rose blooming right here.”

I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but slowly my mind supplied me with a potential reason.

He said his subconscious was linked to this place. For what reason was he suddenly telling me this, though?

“I couldn’t figure out why a flower had suddenly appeared. A rose usually signifies love, doesn’t it? A purple rose carries a second meaning that made the conundrum even more confusing—it can signify both requited and unrequited love. I was foolish enough to not understand why the flower had appeared, nor which one those feelings it represented.”

At that moment the rose began slowly shedding its petals. I glanced above his head blankly. Even though hard mode was over, the affection score bar was still visible above his head.

“I realized something after the last time we met at the manor. I... had ruined everything.”

The purple petals kept fluttering to the ground. Winter let go of my hand and reached for the rabbit mask, pulling it off his face. Glistening trails of light shimmered down his exposed cheeks. The man, no longer wearing his mask, was crying tears that dripped to the ground just like the flower petals.

“Marquis...” I struggled to find words. My heart felt heavy at the sight of his handsome face drenched in tears. How had we ended up like this?

“Even if you don’t trust me... leave the fragment you gave me in my care,” he said quietly, voice steady despite his tears. “She’s going to try and find the fragments in order to complete the artifact again. It would be wise of us to make it harder for her to do so. And... I will start looking for ways to stop her and go on the offensive. I’ll keep her occupied to prevent her from chasing you.”

I thought for a moment, then nodded. This sounded reasonable, provided he believed my claim that Ivonne was a Laila.

He’s saying we should do everything we can to stop her from completing the artifact...

At my agreement, he said, “Will you tell me where you’re going?”

“I’m heading north for now.”

“Why north, all of a sudden— Oh.” Winter gritted his teeth, coming to his own assumptions about my reasons for choosing north.

I felt really sorry for him, but also couldn’t tell him the truth. Ivonne might yet get to him, and if I was to complete my quest, I couldn’t tell anyone I was planning on going to Valta. I would only go north after my mission was complete. I need to clear my mind of her brainwashing first.

I was worried about Callisto, but he was still a male protagonist. It was unlikely he would die. Though I now knew that everything I’d seen had been a hallucination, I couldn’t be sure Ivonne hadn’t done anything else to my mind. I decided to do as the system asked, however, regardless of what was waiting for me at the end of it all.

“I suppose you will refuse any offer to take you there.”

“I have a request for you, Marquis.” Regaining my composure, I changed the subject instead of refusing him outright. “My personal maid placed herself in great danger in order to help me escape. Please protect her.”

“I’ll have her moved to my safe house. Please don’t worry.”

“Thank you. And... I’m sorry.”

Winter understood what I was saying and merely smiled through his tears. The flower, still clutched in my hand, had wilted entirely. Seeing this, Winter pulled his mask down over his face and then waved his staff through the air. A small pouch appeared.

“This contains money and a few teleportation scrolls. I exchanged the money into gold coins for ease of use.” Winter handed the pouch to me. “The magical pouch isn’t capable of holding your entire fortune, but this should be enough to buy a small island, at least.”

“Thank you.”

Since he had donned his mask once more, I returned to treating him as just a merchant. “I’ll be leaving now. Be careful,” I said quietly, turning away.

He didn’t respond to my goodbye. Leaving him standing there alone, I had made it to the exit of the secret chamber when a message appeared.

<SYSTEM>

Hidden quest complete!

You have gained the [Mage’s Trust].

As your reward, you receive [One Purple Rose], [teleportation scrolls], and [999,999,999+ gold].

He had given me his trust, but I’d lost his love. Trying to curb the bitter feeling swelling in my heart, I carefully tucked the wilted purple rose into my bag.