Chapter 151
Alice slowly called to him.
“…Kylus.”
“Yes.”
“First, I’d like you to understand that I can’t reveal everything to you completely.”
“…”
“I truly want to be honest about everything, but I can’t because it’s related to Lord Helios. The Deity has commanded me to remain silent.”
Kylus exhaled a low breath as if displeased, but answered as if understanding her predicament:
“I understand.”
“Thank you for understanding. In return, I won’t tell lies anymore to evade situations. I won’t be vague about anything either. I’ll tell you all the truth, within what I’m allowed to say.”
Alice looked at Kylus, putting strength in her eyes as if asking him to believe her.
She looked like a small rabbit clenching its fist and declaring determination, which made Kylus unable to suppress a smile.
After putting away his fleeting smile, he nodded to her.
“I will believe you too. That everything Alice says at this moment is the complete truth.”
This time, Kylus truly intended to take her words at face value.
Unlike before.
Yes. Kylus had previously sworn that he would believe anything she said and follow whatever she did, but that oath hadn’t been entirely sincere.
Only his oath to protect her had been genuine.
The more he watched over and helped her, the more questions arose, leaving him no choice but to doubt.
What was the true purpose hiding behind the lies Alice told to evade situations?
Whether what she was hiding might be dangerous.
Because he sincerely wanted to protect her, he couldn’t fully trust her.
He had been anxious that Alice might be targeted by an enemy he hadn’t anticipated.
Just like now, with the Deity and the Empress’s Palace intertwined.
Until now, he had been lucky enough to identify the veiled enemies targeting Alice through his deductions, but this time he truly couldn’t guess anything.
So honestly, whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to believe what she said completely.
Because the story she was about to tell would be the only clue to finding whatever was in the Empress’s Palace.
Yes. Despite answering Alice with apparent agreement, Kylus had no real intention of backing down.
Since she said she couldn’t speak because the Deity had commanded her to remain silent, he would simply find out himself. As he always had.
Especially this time, he absolutely had to find out.
She said she had withdrawn, but he instinctively felt it.
That the danger surrounding her hadn’t completely disappeared.
As Kylus concealed his true thoughts, Alice organized in her mind where to begin her story.
“Well, I’ll start with the story about me. The part you’ve always found puzzling.”
After some time, Alice began speaking to Kylus, who was quietly waiting.
“How I, coming from a small rural area in the west, knew about so many secrets that others didn’t.”
“…Wasn’t it because you were special to the Deity?”
Alice shook her head. And with slightly trembling hands clenched, she said softly:
“No. Regardless of the abilities given by the Deity…”
Alice took a deep breath, steadied her trembling hands, and continued:
“I was able to know because I came from a different dimension.”
“A different dimension…?”
Kylus’s eyes widened. Understandably so. Even someone as intelligent as he couldn’t have anticipated the sudden mention of dimensions.
“Yes. Kylus, I’m actually not the real Alice Dearrut.”
Alice calmly continued speaking to him, who had frozen like a statue, seemingly very surprised.
“I lived as a different person in a place very far from this world, a different dimension, and then entered Alice Fordley’s body. On the day she entered the Dearrut Duchy.”
“Then…”
“My real name was… not Alice Dearrut, but Han Soo-yeon.”
Saying she would tell the whole truth within what she could say truly meant she would no longer keep secrets from him.
Including everything about herself.
Honestly, revealing the tremendous fact of her possession to Kylus, which she had kept hidden all this time, was not an easy decision.
Nevertheless, the reason Alice made such a big decision was all because of Kylus.
A man who loved her more than his own life.
And now that Alice could no longer deny that she too loved Kylus, she decided to tell him everything.
Because she became confident that even if she wasn’t the real Alice Dearrut, Kylus would continue to trust and love her without change.
And Kylus didn’t betray her trust.
He was very surprised, but soon recovered from the shock. Then, with a neutral face, he whispered her name as if tasting it:
“Han Soo-yeon… A beautiful name that suits you well.”
“Yes. It was a beautiful name. Though it no longer exists.”
Alice smiled bitterly, briefly reminiscing about Han Soo-yeon’s life before getting to the main point.
“Anyway, the reason I knew many secrets was because I wasn’t a person of this world. It might be hard to believe, but in that world, I had… dreams about this world.”
“…Dreams?”
“Yes. Strangely, I dreamed about the imperial family. And I saw the Dearrut Duchy a few times too. That’s how I knew the secrets here and could adapt quickly.”
In truth, this wasn’t the truth. She had seen this world through a book.
But she couldn’t tell him that this world was inside a book, so she found another alternative.
Isn’t it cruel to tell someone that they lack free will and are merely characters in a book?
Moreover, Kylus had been a minor supporting character who died in the first part.
She didn’t want to tell him about such a trivial fate.
“I see. So that’s how you knew secrets even I didn’t know.”
Fortunately, Kylus didn’t dig deeper into it and accepted it.
“And the one who brought me to this world was Lord Helios, the Deity.”
“Are you saying the Deity personally guided your soul to this place, to that body?”
A gleam passed through Kylus’s eyes. This part seemed not just surprising but more intriguing to him.
“Yes. The Deity said my soul had good compatibility with him… and that I could do great things on his behalf in this world. That’s why I could use extraordinary holy power.”
“…And that great thing is related to the Empress’s Palace.”
Alice acknowledged his quick deduction with a faint smile.
“That’s right. That matter was related to the Empress’s Palace. I can’t tell you in detail, but the Deity told me to eliminate something in the Empress’s Palace.”
“…Something.”
Kylus murmured lowly.
Alice immediately continued, worried that his intensifying gaze might indicate growing anxiety:
“But when I actually saw that something, it wasn’t something I could eliminate with my power. After hearing this, the Deity ordered me not to do anything.”
Alice continued in a casual tone, as if telling him not to worry:
“That’s why I said I had already withdrawn from it. So the dangerous situations you’re worried about won’t happen to me.”
And if danger does arise… not only me but Kylus too will die together, so really, don’t worry.
Alice gently added these chilling words as she finished her long explanation.
To say that both you and I will die with a smile like this.
Have I been influenced by Sienna somehow?
Alice briefly thought of Sienna before focusing on Kylus.
On how he would react.
She had worried that he might not believe her words, but Kylus showed no particular sign.
No, just as she was feeling relieved that there was no sign, suddenly Kylus raised his eyebrows crookedly.
As if displeased about something.
He said:
“I don’t like it.”
“…What?”
Could it be that he doesn’t think I’ve been completely honest?
Just as Alice’s expression wavered slightly, Kylus carefully took her hands, which were still cupping his cheeks.
Soon, his low voice resonated in Alice’s ear:
“That both I die and you die. That cannot be. Even if I die, you must live.”
Alice’s heart raced at his voice, deeply penetrating.
Simultaneously, all the tension that had built up in Alice suddenly drained away.
Alice let out an exasperated sigh and lowered her hands that had been cupping Kylus’s cheeks.
Naturally, he also released her hands.
“I was so tense thinking you didn’t believe me.”
“Why? I just said I would truly believe you this time.”
“Well… these are stories that would be hard for ordinary people to believe.”
“I am not an ordinary person.”
Kylus spoke with his characteristic arrogant face.
At that, Alice let out a short laugh. She was so accustomed to him saying things like ‘I’m different from others,’ which could sound cheesy, without any hesitation.
He had returned to being the perfect Kylus she knew well—arrogant but irrefutable.
The anxiety is no longer visible.
Although there was a strange exhilaration in seeing him cling to her like a wolf with its ears down, his arrogant and confident demeanor was certainly more handsome.
Like a charismatic wolf looking down from a cliff.
Alice rolled her eyes just enough to not be offensive, relieved to see Kylus return to his original self.
“Still, don’t make jokes like that in this situation. I was really tense, even if it was just for a brief moment.”
Slight wrinkles appeared on Kylus’s smooth forehead.
“Jokes? What joke?”
“…What you said earlier. You know, that cringeworthy statement about how I should live even if you die…”
Kylus spoke to Alice, who was scratching her cheek as if embarrassed to say it herself, without even the slightest hint of a smile:
“That wasn’t a joke. I meant it sincerely.”
