Chapter 19
It was, in a sense, a gamble.
“……A game?”
“Yes, a game.”
Danbi repeated the words, meeting Hyun’s narrowed gaze head-on.
In that harrowing moment when the Royal Guards were about to behead her, the first thing that had flashed before her eyes was the [Game Over] screen flickering in the air.
In games, the situations that occur when one loses their life generally fall into two categories: either you restart from the point of death, or you are sent all the way back to the very beginning of the game.
Unfortunately, this game clearly belonged to the latter.
If she were to get a "Game Over" here, there was a high probability she would wake up back in the marketplace outside the palace, where everything had first begun.
She couldn't let that happen. She had to prevent it at all costs.
Her heart sank. A grim premonition washed over her that the time she had so desperately clawed back might turn to nothing in an instant.
But in truth, there was a far more decisive reason than that.
“Can you see that?”
Danbi gestured toward the empty air, flicking her finger. Hyun’s gaze shifted toward where she pointed, his expression one of displeasure.
After scanning the area for a long moment as if scrutinizing something, Hyun turned his head back to Danbi.
Still, there was no answer from him. But in that brief silence, Danbi was certain of one thing.
‘That guy, he can’t see the status window at all.’
The blue windows filled with detailed information to assist the player’s progress.
What users commonly called a "status window" was what had instructed Danbi to carry out quests and had ultimately led her to this very spot.
From what she had experienced so far, it seemed that everyone except herself was completely oblivious to the existence of these blue windows, let alone the status window.
That meant this status window was a privilege granted solely to the player.
‘But how does he remember the reset timeline?’
In a typical game, no one but the player driving the game should ever be able to remember a reset timeline.
This was especially true in RPGs like this, where the player becomes a virtual character and performs a role assigned by the world.
Under normal circumstances, NPCs other than the player should not retain even a shred of memory of the previous timeline. Just as Som hadn't.
But Hyun, standing right before her, was undeniably different.
“A few days ago, I had a very vivid dream. A dream so clear it lingered even after I woke—a dream that didn't feel like a dream at all.”
The dream he spoke of was no mere dream. It matched the events of the previous timeline exactly.
Even if it took the form of a dream, if memories were being transmitted to him, Danbi had no choice but to form a hypothesis.
‘Could it be that this guy is a player, too?’
Danbi immediately pointed at the blue window and asked Hyun.
Even if he couldn't see her status window, if he knew of its existence, he should be able to guess what she was pointing at.
However, Hyun’s gaze bypassed the status window. Whether he truly couldn't see it or not, he merely looked puzzled by Danbi’s actions.
With his brows slightly furrowed, Hyun watched her quietly before slowly opening his mouth.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking.”
“Checking?”
“Unfortunately, it wasn't the result I wanted.”
The fact that Hyun was not a player could only work to Danbi’s disadvantage. It didn't just mean she couldn't conspire with him to escape this game.
“In that place, I called you Lady Yeo, and…… I killed you.”
Hyun remembered the reset past with perfect clarity. That was the part that weighed most heavily on Danbi’s mind.
The place where she had first started the game was the marketplace outside the palace. And her first quest had been "Enter the Palace."
If the game were to reset to the beginning like this, Danbi might not even be able to set foot near the palace.
Because just as Hyun remembered the previous timeline, he would likely remember the events of this one, too.
No, the probability of that was extremely high.
Danbi glanced up at the status window. Above the text that read "Cannot terminate game," she saw the main quest that had appeared earlier.
The content was simple: she was an assassin who had infiltrated the palace to kill the King, and she had to kill him to leave this game.
Having already experienced death once, Danbi had reached a conclusion: she would only be able to leave this hellish game if she completed all the quests.
So, now that she knew he was a variant NPC who remembered the reset timeline, she couldn't just let the game reset.
Approaching Hyun was the beginning of every plan. If she couldn't close the distance between them, the chances of escape would be significantly lower.
And so, Danbi decided to make her move here.
“I said it before, but this is a game. So, it’s meaningless for us to fight over things like this.”
Hyun’s eyebrows twitched. He stared at Danbi intently before finally lowering his sword.
“Your Majesty!”
“Speak.”
“You must not listen! It is surely a ploy to bewitch Your Majesty with some bizarre, nonsensical drivel.”
What? Bizarre?
Danbi glared at Rang, who was shouting as if to stop Hyun, then turned her head back to Hyun.
His gaze was fixed solely on her. At his look, which seemed to tell her to speak, Danbi opened her mouth without hesitation.
“This is inside a game. In other words, a virtual world that does not exist in reality.”
“Virtual?”
“Yes, though it’s hard to believe.”
Seeming flustered by the mention that this wasn't reality, the surrounding Royal Guards began to whisper among themselves, stealing glances at one another.
But Hyun, as if such commotion were beneath his notice, watched Danbi for a long time before slowly speaking.
“You speak as if you have nothing to do with this world.”
“That’s right. Because I came from reality.”
“How insolent!”
Rang, standing beside Hyun, shouted as he pointed his sword at Danbi.
“How dare you attempt to deceive His Majesty with such lies!”
At the same time, the Royal Guards lined up on both sides simultaneously pointed their swords toward her.
It was a disciplined movement, yet their eyes were wavering with uncertainty.
Danbi stared at them quietly before shifting her gaze back to Hyun.
“You know it’s not a lie. Don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know. That dream you had—it wasn't just a dream.”
Hyun’s brow furrowed in discomfort. Danbi shrugged lightly.
“Are you saying that dream was real?”
“Yes. Isn't that why you came all the way here, thinking it might be?”
Hyun pressed his lips together. Danbi let out a sigh of relief inwardly at his silence.
Thank goodness. At this rate, she might be able to persuade him.
For now, preventing the reset was enough. Only then could she plan her next move.
But the joy was short-lived; another obstacle blocked Danbi’s path.
“That means, it is also true that you intended to harm me in the past?”
“That is……”
The moment she confessed that this was all a game, she was forced to admit that the events of the previous timeline were also her own doing.
She had considered making excuses—that it wasn't her will, that the game character had acted on its own.
But that was beyond risky; it was branding herself a ticking time bomb.
If her claim that this was a virtual world sounded absurd, who would believe the explanation that two souls inhabited one body?
And even if they did believe it, it was a bigger problem.
It would mean there was a murderer inside her body who could harm Hyun at any moment, and she would never be able to shed the label of a dangerous person.
That would become a fatal obstacle in carrying out future quests.
In that case, there was only one way.
To deny that she had intended to kill Hyun.
She had to make up an excuse that her actions, which looked like an attack, actually had a different intention.
‘What do I do? What should I say?’
But she lacked the information to come up with a plausible excuse.
Just as regret washed over her—wishing she had gathered more information about her surroundings—
“You already knew. That the Royal Seal was a fake.”
At the memory of the previous timeline flashing through her mind, Danbi smiled faintly.
She stared intensely at Hyun, who was watching her with furrowed brows.
“That’s right. Just as you said. I was trying to kill you.”
0 Comments