The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 13



12 – The Sleepless Night of the Princess

The ultimate villainess.

The third princess, Iris Hyserion.

There is much to say about her.

The final boss and the mastermind behind the scenes in the sixth act of the Flaming Butterfly arc.

The evil incarnate.

She is destined to become the vessel for such evil.

Perhaps because of this.

The aura emanating from Iris is strangely decadent.

Even though she has risen to the second rank among the candidates to lead the empire.

The aura she exudes is clearly one of gloom and darkness.

But apart from that, there is a force within her that makes it hard to look away.

First, there is her innate appearance.

Black hair and excessively pale skin.

And eyes imbued with ruby-like magic.

Anyone who faces her sighs at her beauty and wishes for her to look at them.

It is not for nothing that she competes with Nikita for the top spot in the empire’s beauty rankings.

If Nikita’s appearance is cold and honest.

Iris’s appearance is decadent and alluring.

Every time her cherry-red lips part, people’s hearts waver, and they listen intently.

And they find themselves wanting to grant whatever she whispers.

This is clearly due to the seductive nature of the evil incarnate.

But the unique decadent atmosphere she possesses also plays a significant role.

And now, she is here.

In front of me.

‘A visit.’

She wouldn’t come for such a trivial reason.

After all, since I entered Jerion Academy, I haven’t had a single conversation with her.

So, what is the reason for her visit?

‘The Hannon Airei I borrowed the appearance of is, for now, of the same bloodline as her.’

Though it is from her mother’s side, not her father’s.

For now, they are cousins.

Iris would be thinking of Hannon’s existence in this way.

‘Her maternal grandfather, the Duke of Robliaju.’

He is the one who sent this person with some purpose.

‘It seems she still suffers from insomnia.’

You can see the dark circles under Iris’s eyes.

Iris, who has to strive to ascend to the emperor’s throne due to her grandfather’s ambition.

Living under such pressure, Iris originally suffered from insomnia.

If you look at it this way, it is not much different from Isabel’s insomnia.

But there is something fundamentally different about Iris’s insomnia.

‘Evil spirits are involved in Iris’s insomnia.’

Her nightmares are tinged with the whispers of evil spirits.

To completely corrupt her one day.

The evil spirits are constantly tightening Iris with nightmares.

‘The more she dreams, the weaker Iris becomes.’

In fact, by this point, Iris’s insomnia should have shown some improvement.

The flames of Lucas’s willpower drive away her nightmares.

Thanks to this, she would have been able to get rid of her insomnia and sleep peacefully.

This is also the reason why Iris gradually started visiting Lucas more often.

Various incidents related to this occur, and solving them.

That is the relationship between Lucas and Iris.

But Lucas is no longer in this world.

Naturally, Iris’s insomnia remains unresolved and is ongoing.

And this was also a task I had to solve.

The day she completely falls into her nightmares.

That day will be the resurrection of the evil spirits.

“Third Princess, Iris Hyserion, is here to see you.”

But solving insomnia is not something that can be done recklessly.

The important thing is the procedure.

It comes after establishing a relationship of trust as a person.

When I knelt down and paid my respects to the royalty, Iris looked down at me blankly.

Then she waved her hand once.

“This is Jerion Academy. Just because we’re alone, there’s no need for students to be so formal with each other.”

That’s true.

I was merely recalling Hanon’s position and acting as he might.

Iris leaned her head against the wall.

Then her black hair naturally flowed down her white skin.

Even upon seeing her again, her appearance certainly had an allure steeped in decadence.

“I have one question.”

The delicate voice that flowed from her cherry-red lips had a captivating power.

My ears instinctively perked up at her voice.

“Are you someone sent by the Duke of Roblia?”

I had guessed she would ask something like this since she approached me.

‘If I get involved with the Duke of Roblia now.’

It would be a direct route to a bad ending for me, not Lucas.

The Duke of Roblia is a greedy man who even uses the power of evil to place Iris on the throne.

If someone he didn’t send approached Iris.

Nine times out of ten, he would assume the first prince’s side was up to something and try to cut my throat.

‘Actually, if you think about it, that’s true.’

As mentioned earlier, Hanon is a hidden character that appears when certain conditions are met.

The specific condition for Hanon to transfer.

It is when Lucas achieves a certain level of fame at the academy.

‘A character that transfers when all fame-related events are achieved perfectly.’

So, little is known about Hanon.

However, one thing is certain.

‘Hanon is someone sent by the first prince to scout talents under Lucas to his side.’

A battle for the throne between the first prince and the third princess.

For this, the first prince is naturally gathering power.

The world’s most talented individuals are gathered at the time the Third Princess enrolled.

Due to the machinations of the Duke of Roblia, the First Prince is in a situation where he cannot interfere with Jerion Academy.

He does not interfere with Jerion Academy to avoid a full-scale war with the Duke of Roblia.

When Lucas made his name known to the extent that it reached the ears of the royal family,

It was judged that such talent could all shift to the Third Princess, and a person was transferred.

That person is none other than Hannon Aire, who had secretly transferred under the First Prince’s faction.

‘If the conditions are not met, Hannon will not transfer anyway.’

If the conditions are not met, the First Prince judges that there is no need to care about Jerion Academy to that extent.

So, to avoid a direct confrontation with Roblia, he chooses not to transfer.

But the fact that Hannon transferred means

The First Prince judged it dangerous enough to confront Roblia directly.

‘And I transferred under the identity of Hannon.’

Jerion Academy has ears.

Even the First Prince’s side would be astonished to see Hannon transfer without his permission.

But it takes about half a year to accurately grasp the news.

‘Now is the time when the First Prince is very busy.’

He, who has already taken his eyes off the academy, has no time to care about it.

‘And during that period, I planned to somehow establish myself.’

I was not idle until I entered Jerion Academy.

I made quite a meticulous plan in my own way.

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A tightrope walking strategy between the First Prince and the Duke of Roblia.

But there is just one person.

Someone who can cut this tightrope immediately.

‘Iris, who can deliver information to the Duke of Roblia at any time.’

Iris, who is right in front of me, is that variable.

She can convey her story to the Duke even without meeting him directly.

This is the same for the Duke of Roblia’s side.

So if they ask the Duke about me,

Whether it’s Roblia or the First Prince, they will send someone to cut my tightrope.

‘The only fortunate thing is.’

Iris does not contact Robliaju first.

She does not particularly like participating in the emperor’s struggle because of Robliaju.

During the gameplay, she subtly expressed her aversion to the Duke of Robliaju several times.

As such, she would not bother to ask me first.

‘The problem is, that’s just an assumption.’

This is not a game, but reality.

A world after the bad ending where the protagonist died, and no one knows how things will flow.

A world where only variables exist.

I don’t know how Iris’s feelings have changed.

“That depends on what the Third Princess thinks.”

So, I have to assume both cases.

A world where Robliaju sent Hanon.

A world where the First Prince sent Hanon.

I have to consider both plans to navigate the variables and lead to the right path.

Iris stared at me after hearing my answer.

Her gaze is burdensome.

It feels like a long-haired cat giving a human an incomprehensible look.

“Yes, so.”

Iris did not ask further.

She seems to have decided to think and conclude on her own.

It’s not good for my heart.

Talking to someone who could be the final boss.

It’s only natural.

“By the way, it’s better to refrain from making derogatory remarks about Lucas Fernando.”

Iris had quite a few connections with Lucas.

The flame of will was the only lullaby for Iris, who couldn’t sleep due to nightmares.

“There are still many who remember him.”

He only attended Jerion Academy for a year.

But the impact Lucas had during that year was not small.

As expected of the protagonist.

Roots were firmly planted here and there.

‘And I have to replace that role.’

My gaze once again falls on Iris.

What must I do for Iris to replace the protagonist Lucas?

“Are you still unable to sleep these days?”

Indeed, it must be to solve the insomnia that torments Iris the most.

“There is honey called Hurnia in the southern loess region. If you boil it and drink it before bed, it will help a little.”

It is honey that, instead of putting you to sleep, has a restorative effect.

Even if it can’t solve the fundamental problem of insomnia, it might help her sleep a little.

Iris’s gaze met mine.

In her ruby-like vivid red eyes, a flicker of light passed by.

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Since she gave advice, did she think she was giving advice in return?

Without asking further, Iris opened the door and left.

I sighed as I watched her black hair flutter away.

“We still have a long way to go.”

Isabel Luna’s suicide.

Nikita Cynthia’s ancient dragon.

Iris Hyserion’s insomnia.

All of these are critical issues that lead directly to bad endings.

I must be able to solve all of these.

I quickly opened the door and stepped out.

I can no longer just lie down.

For the upcoming mock battle, personal training is necessary.

I need to repeat actions and master them to raise my stats even a little.

And in addition to my steel skin, there are other preparations to be made.

For the future, I must achieve top ranks in the mock battle.

I will prepare everything I can.

‘My body just won’t hold up.’

Shaking off the remaining fatigue, I walked down the corridor.

The sun is setting, but I cannot rest yet to replace the sun.