The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

133 – 133. Death’s Omen (2)

I can’t sleep.

It’s impossible to sleep well.

Elizabeth gazed at Eitan’s tense face, which was lying beside her.

Kkong-kkong-kkong-.

My heart raced as if it would burst at any moment.

Could he hear my heartbeat?

Eda Nante, being a being that transcended human limits, surely could hear the sound of my heart, echoing like a woodpecker tapping on a tree. So, I tried to calm my heart, desperately suppressing the emotions that surged within me.

“Can’t you sleep?”

“W-well, I guess…! Maybe I drank too much black tea!”

In the quiet stillness of the bedroom.

As the adorable Louis snored softly,

Eda Nante’s low voice reached Elizabeta, who was tossing and turning under the covers.

“It must be your first time sleeping with a stranger. Or perhaps you have some experience sleeping with the opposite s*x?”

“Of course not! You don’t think… I’m some kind of loose woman, do you?!”

It was hard to believe that the notorious villainess, known for her stubbornness and sharp tongue, would have any romantic experience.

Eda Nante smiled faintly at Elizabeta’s sharp retort.

“Surely not. I merely thought you were a divorced woman whose engagement had fallen through before marriage.”

“Eek!!”

Without a hint of hesitation, he had touched the villainess’s sore spot.

In response, Elizabeta kicked out at Eda Nante, throwing off the covers and extending her long legs.

Thud!

Puff-!

The sound of the covers being thumped echoed repeatedly.

As the bed shook from Elizabeta’s reckless movements, the sleeping Rue frowned. Meanwhile, Eda Nante, on the receiving end of the kick, burst into laughter.

The atmosphere, once tense and awkward, transformed in an instant into a raucous school trip.

Eventually, Elizabeta, perhaps exhausted from kicking, roughly covered herself with the blanket. It seemed that his playful teasing had struck a chord with the villainess.

“I apologize. It was just a simple joke.”

“Shut up!”

“Surely, I wouldn’t dare to slander the renowned Princess Elizabeta, known as the Empire’s greatest beauty? Your stunning looks could rival the dazzling sun and the gentle full moon.”

“Ahem…! You know your stuff!”

Elizabeta was just like her sister, Ludmila.

She hated flattery.

She didn’t like sweet talk either.

It was the genuine praise from a man she truly loved that made her feel like a child, filled with joy. As Eda Nante mixed flowery language into his compliments, Elizabeta, half-covered by the blanket, broke into a bashful smile.

“Looks like you’ve relaxed now.”

“W-Well, I wasn’t really tense or anything.”

Elizaveta hurriedly stammered, worried that her foolish grin might have been noticed.

Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t been caught.

Only the soft glow from the lamp on the desk illuminated the bedroom.

Elizaveta turned towards Edanant, seemingly completely at ease, rolling her shoulders. The sight of her hugging a fluffy pillow with both hands and giggling was incredibly cute.

“So, Edanant, what do you like about my sister?”

“Hmm… Well, at first, I was captivated by her dignified and earnest demeanor. As I gradually fell for Her Highness Ludmila’s charm, at some point, it became all about Her Highness Ludmila.”

“But Edanant likes the saintess too.”

“I have several types I admire.”

Her voice was confident, without a hint of hesitation.

To speak so boldly about having two loves… What would she do if her sister found out?

Elizaveta sighed at Edanant’s brazen response, yet a faint smile crept onto her face.

The fact that she had multiple types meant there was still a chance for me. With a glimmer of hope, she gazed longingly at Edanant. The way Edanant was bathed in the gentle light of the lamp was enough to make her heart race.

“Ugh…!”

Edanant reached out, gently stroking Elizaveta’s luscious hair. It was a touch as if soothing a whimpering child.

The warmth contained in that soft touch was transmitted to her. With each slow stroke through her hair, Elizaveta felt her eyelids growing heavier.

“Edanant… will you be having a wedding with my sister next spring?”

“That seems likely.”

“Yeah… Edanant and my sister truly love each other… I know that. So I sincerely hope that you and my sister can bear fruit together.”

“Thank you.”

Was it the drowsiness washing over her?

Or perhaps the comfort that felt like her whole body was sinking into sleep?

Elizaveta blinked her eyes, bringing forth the emotions she had kept bottled up inside.

“But strangely… every time I see Edanant and my sister happy together, my heart aches.”

“…….”

“It’s joyful, yet painful. Isn’t that strange? I should be happy, but my heart feels heavy. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“…Your Highness.”

She felt a lump formed from the mix of various emotions. It was surely a sadness that had been suppressed for a long time, a burden she had carried within.

Eda-nant, sensing him, let out a heavy sigh. Slowly lowering the hand that had been caressing her luscious hair, it brushed against Elizabetta’s snow-white cheek.

Her eyes were half-closed.

Accepting the warm touch, Elizabetta gradually slipped into slumber.

* * *

A hand caressing her cheek.

A plush pillow and bed sheets.

And the soft scent of gunpowder that gently stimulated her senses.

Elizabetta surrendered her mind to sleep, experiencing a sweetness of happiness that felt almost excessive.

.

.

.

.

A space stained in red unfolded.

Upon witnessing him, Elizabetta instantly discerned it was a dream.

There was no way this could be reality.

She found herself stepping into a place that seemed to embody the most horrific nightmare imaginable.

‘What on earth… what is this?’

A massive pool of blood formed like a reservoir.

And countless skulls lay abandoned, half-submerged in the blood.

Butterflies fluttered about.

As if indulging in a sweet fragrance from a flower garden, they danced over the blood-soaked river.

Is this what hell is like for the most heinous of sinners?

This was no mere nightmare.

It was closer to hell.

As she fell into sleep, drawn by a powerful magic, she reached a realm overflowing with wicked foreboding. Feeling fear, Elizabetta desperately struggled to awaken.

‘Not… not budging at all….’

But it was impossible.

Her will to wake from the horrific nightmare was devoured by the lucid dream.

As if to comfort her, countless butterflies, speckled in black and red, fluttered around. When Elizabetta raised her snow-white hand, a single red butterfly gently landed upon it.

Swoosh-.

At last, as if entranced by something, I stepped into the pool of blood.

And following the fluttering butterflies, I crossed the pool, moving deeper within.

‘A person?’

How long had I walked,

when I caught sight of a slender silhouette sitting in the sticky pool of blood.

Luxurious blonde hair submerged in the crimson liquid.

A petite frame with alluring curves that stood out.

Dressed in a black evening gown, like a widow mourning her lost husband. The contrast between her snow-white skin and the dark gown created a striking allure. As Elizabetha slowly gazed at her back, she continued to step forward, approaching the silhouette.

‘……!’

I stumbled.

Because I had seen the true identity of the silhouette with my own eyes.

– Welcome to my garden, beautiful maiden.

Skin so pale it seemed almost ghostly.

Red eyes that shone like will-o’-the-wisps.

And an extreme chill that could freeze even the soul.

The ‘Death’ reflecting the image of a beautiful villainess reached out to Elizabetha through the medium of a dream.

* * *

It was the sound of a child’s cry and an agitated shout that pulled Elizabetha from her reverie.

It was Rue and Edanant’s voices.

How diligent they are.

To be so full of energy from the morning.

The villainess, with her luxurious blonde hair let loose, languidly stretched and slowly rose.

“See, I told you to go to the bathroom beforehand! You’ve drawn a world map with your pee!”

“Ugh…! Ugh! B-but…!”

“Go to the next town and fetch some salt!”

“Waaah!!”

The blankets and bed sheets hanging on the drying rack.

That alone was enough to grasp the situation.

Elizabetha, confirming that the blankets and sheets she had shared with Edanant last night had been changed, hurriedly got up. She anxiously checked her pajamas, worried that perhaps Louisnon’s lemonade had stained them.

“Rue drew a map on the blanket!”

“Pohang Port! Louis Nong has already graduated from being a bedwetter long ago!”

Hearing the commotion, the Louis Nong siblings clasped each other’s hands and spun around the laundry rack draped with blankets and bed sheets. As a result, Rue’s cries grew even more intense.

Surely, it must have been the ghost story they heard last night that made them hesitate to go to the bathroom, leading to this disaster.

Elizabeta let out a deep sigh as she looked at Edanant and Rue.

‘It feels like I’ve experienced some bizarre nightmare…. My memory is hazy. Could it be that Edanant was having a dream about throwing me aside because he didn’t want a used market divorcee?! Execution! No matter how much of a dream it is, it’s execution!’

The villainess, gazing out the window, moved her steps.

She was there to mediate the fight between her carefree fiancé and her foolish daughter.