Suddenly, fear overwhelmed me. My eyes and nose stung due to the smoke. Dang, dung, dung... The clock was ringing so regularly that it felt cruel.
I retraced my steps in the chaotic hallway and returned to the room. Then, I closed the door firmly and locked it. My hands were trembling slightly. I had a feeling that this explosion somehow had a connection to the note I had received.
Shortly after, that prediction proved to be accurate.
"If you're hurt, take a rest. Why did you study? That's amazing"
A low and affectionate voice sent shivers down my spine from behind. I turned around as if pricked by a thorn. There stood a man wearing a black cloak, only revealing his eyes. He was sitting on the desk, twisting his waist, and flipping through the magical potion book I had been reading. He lifted his head, and the eyes revealed outside the mask were a beautiful shade of pink.
"...Seems like you're not a real knight."
I wondered how the real Del Narcissus would have responded in this situation. Despite my efforts to casually speak, the unmistakable deep voice came out.
Andrea chuckled at my words. His deep and gentle eyes softened and then found their shape. He pulled down the mask below his chin, revealing his whole face. When I saw his handsome face filled with good energy, even his appearance wrapped in all black felt like a model from a fashion magazine.
The beauty world is no joke. I need to snap out of it.
I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists, and spoke sharply.
"You sent the note and detonated the bomb, right? How did you put that strange capsule in my mouth?"
"Haha. I'm glad you noticed."
He scratched his cheek lightly with his index finger, wearing a shy smile. That gesture was so unsettling.
"Isn't that a compliment?"
He quickly stiffened his expression, suppressing his laughter. That made it even more infuriating. Anger was growing stronger than fear. Why on earth would someone, who used to be so reserved, suddenly become suspicious and carry out stalking and bomb attacks? Is this normal?
The more I thought about it, the more puzzled I became. As my chest rose and fell more prominently, and my breathing became uneven, Andrea pitifully furrowed his eyebrows.
"Whatever you say, I am Del Narcissus. Well, I did I say thank you more politely than before? So what? People can change their ways. Why not! What's it to you!"
Whether the fuse in my head had blown or the unconscious calculation that pushing confidently would make me less suspicious, I found myself speaking loudly. I approached Andrea, held my chin firmly, and sent him a hostile gaze. It was a confident expression that said there was nothing to fear.
Andrea calmly looked at me as I came close to him. His lips as if ready to burst into a broad smile at any moment, slowly parted.
"Like freshly baked bread."
"...What?"
"This was the password Narcissus gave when he came to request Cruel, that was the code."
'Your hand feels like freshly baked bread. Warm and soft."
I remembered Andrea whispering those words in my ear out of the blue in the cabin.
"You didn't understand it at all. Then and now, right?"
Speaking like a teacher patiently explaining to a clueless student, he raised an eyebrow and asked, folding the corner of his eyes.
"Have you remembered who Max is?"
Looking into Andrea's eyes, I decided to take a gamble. Avoiding this unanswered quiz would undoubtedly put my life at risk. It's a 50-50 chance anyway. I replied while staring at him.
"Don't test me. Max, the person. He doesn't really exist, right?"
Andrea blinked awkwardly and then chuckled. "That's right. Max... doesn't exist."
A momentary release of tension swept through my body. To prevent a sigh of relief, I deliberately clenched my lips. Alright. I won the 50-50 probability battle.
However, when Andrea calmly spoke next,
"Max is just a nickname, her real name is Maxine."
A chilling sensation, as if all the blood in my body had rushed to my head, engulfed me. My hands and feet turned as cold as ice, and my legs felt jittery. Maxin, Maxin. That name sounded familiar somehow.
"Maxine Narcissus. She's your sister."
Del Narcissus's sister, is said to be on the verge of death after eating poison. The reason I was driven out to the ice prison. I couldn't see a mirror, but it was obvious that my eyes were shaking severely right now. Andrea's calm face in front of me felt colder than before.
"He came to request our guild for a mission. To assassinate his sister, the successor. Hand it over, like freshly baked bread. He directly told me the code."
Andrea's voice resonated as if underwater. I thought Del Narcissus never met face-to-face with Andrea. He introduced himself as a knight when I first saw him. Wasn't it because he didn't want to be revealed as an assassin, and I thought he didn't know him? As if understanding my doubt, Andrea added.
"Of course, I had a different face back then."
He tapped my smooth cheek lightly with his index finger.
"We have many masks in our guild. Still, we're an assassination guild by name."
Now he was freely using terms like 'our guild,' and 'assassination guild.' It seemed he had judged that there was no longer a reason to hide his identity. It felt like he had concluded that I was a completely different person from Del Narcissus. So now, he didn't need to make a good impression on me, pretending to be a knight, and... My mouth was extremely dry, and saliva gathered in my throat, making it difficult to swallow. I coughed softly and forced myself to swallow the saliva.
It's common sense not to look at the kidnapper's face when you're abducted. On the contrary, if the culprit shows their face without hesitation or reveals their personal information, it means they have no intention of letting the hostage go alive.
I looked at the man in front of me, who had clearly exposed his handsome face and freely disclosed his identity. Instead of having more thoughts, I opened my mouth without much consideration.
"Ardeo."
Andrea made a sound of confusion, tilting his head to the side.
"Huh?"
"Flama."
My teeth chattered. My upper and lower teeth collided at an astonishing speed as if it were a midwinter event.
"I- Ignis."
As my eyes heated up, tears streamed down my cheeks and chin. It felt like enduring an unbearable pain as if someone was stabbing all the hair roots under my scalp with needles. Sweat dripped down my forehead.
"Pherio."
That was the extent of the spells I knew. I desperately repeated the incantations as if wanting to cry out loud.
"Pherio, Pherio, Pherio...!"
But I wasn't a protagonist or a genius. Just an ordinary human. Even in a simple 50-50 probability game where the loser faced death, I couldn't unleash any hidden superpowers. Without a wand, I couldn't use magic. If Cain didn't help, there was nothing I could do. I had no power. Just like being dragged into this game without any say, dying also wouldn't be a choice or will be permitted.
"Um... Narcissus, do you think I'm going to kill you?"
He spoke in a voice full of intent, trying to reassure me as if dealing with a pitiful dog or cat.
"I promised not to do anything harmful."
His large hand covered one side of my cheek. The warmth quickly seeped into my cold skin.
"Of course, assuming you really are the real Daffodil."
While saying that, Andrea suddenly scratched my chin underneath with his nails.
"Ah!"
If I were torn by a beast's claws, this might be what it feels like. Below the jaw joint felt hot, and then a sharp pain engulfed me.
"Huh... It wasn't a mask, but your real face."
Andrea spoke forcefully. He looked genuinely surprised, his eyes wide open. I hurriedly covered the left side of my jaw with my hand and rushed towards the door. Underneath my palm, I felt something hot and moist. That made sense. It felt as if I had been bitten by a Woofu, not a person. Even if blood spurted out like a fountain, it wasn't particularly surprising. For now, I needed to get out of here. However, before I could grab the doorknob, Andrea grabbed onto my body.
"What happened to the real Del Narcissus?"
[Andrea Sloane's favorability decreases by -10!]
"It's not a mask, not magic, so if this is the real body of Del Narcissus, you're not that person."
[Andrea Sloane's favorability decreases by -10!]
"You tell me where my Daffodil went."
[Andrea Sloane's favorability decreases by -10!]
[*Warning* If the male protagonist's favorability falls below 0, you will receive the "Death ending"!]