MPBAGS Chapter 7

If that were truly his purpose, then the man had certainly chosen the wrong victim. A sacrifice must be innocent. How foolish of him not to realize the magnitude of the sins Kanna carried. Even if he killed Kanna, his wish would never be granted.

The man drew the blade across Kanna's throat. She could hear him humming. Once again, Kanna supplied lyrics to the man's tuneless melody—lyrics wishing for his most miserable death.

If that was too much to ask, then at least let Kanna's death bring him no benefit whatsoever. Let whatever he summoned grant him nothing.

And then, salvation appeared before Kanna once more.

The door exploded inward with a deafening crash. Moonlight crept through the gaping entrance like something alive. The door had opened. Even if it wasn't the window her sister had spoken of, it was hope—unmistakable hope.

The pure white woman who appeared, draped entirely in moonlight, looked no different from the angel the man had spoken of.

'Sister!'

And when her sister emerged from behind the woman, Kanna's heart nearly stopped. The mere sight of her sister brought such relief that all strength drained from her body.

The woman was Evangeline Rohanson—the one who had given the holy water to her sister.

Kanna paled as she realized this fact. 'Had I really felt inferior to that person?' No, was she even human to begin with? The man called Donau believed without question that he had summoned Evangeline Rohanson. In truth, Kanna herself could believe nothing else given the scene unfolding before her eyes.

"Kanna, wasn't it? What should I do with Donau?"

As Evangeline looked at Kanna, other eyes fixed on her as well. Dozens of eyes bloomed in the surrounding space. A clustered mass of spherical forms blinked in unison.

The sight of countless eyeballs simultaneously covered and uncovered by lids made them feel like a single living organism. Eyelids? No—they were pulsating, so they were closer to masses of living flesh than mere lids.

And it seemed only Kanna and the man could see them.

The man, suspended in midair with his throat constricted by invisible force behind Evangeline, convulsed as if choking to death when the eyes blinked right before his face. Her sister seemed to see only the man. If she could see the dozens of clustered eyes, she couldn't possibly remain so calm.

"Should I imprison him forever?"

The Evangeline that the man had summoned was asking Kanna for her decision. She shook her head.

"What about the throat?"

"Perfect!"

The eyes fixed on the man's throat. When Kanna gave her approval, Evangeline nodded. The eyes curved brightly with what seemed like joy.

The man's body began moving with a creaking sound. He tried desperately to resist the formless pressure controlling his movements.

He'd seemed so gleeful when holding the knife to someone else's throat, but now that the blade he held pointed toward himself, he looked ready to soil himself.

His arm bent inward while he tried to extend it outward—unable to overcome the opposing directions, his bones twisted with a crack. As his resistance weakened from the pain, the knife moved smoothly.

The man pierced his own throat. It may not have been his will, but at least it appeared that way. Many spectators watched this scene—everyone except Evangeline herself.

'More, more!'

At Kanna's encouragement, the act repeated like an encore performance.

"Did you see?"

"Yes. He stabbed his own throat."

It continued until the man could endure no more.

"Sorry. He died."

Evangeline reproached the man for failing to satisfy Kanna. Kanna decided to be modest.

"It's fine. This is enough for me."

More than enough.

Kanna understood perfectly well why Evangeline had made the man stab his own throat. Suicide is the gravest sin. No mercy is permitted for those who reject the life God has given them.

The man abandoned by Evangeline would be abandoned by God as well. Only one place would claim his soul.

Fire erupted behind them. Hellfire had come to collect the man. The scorching heat washed over Kanna's face. It felt as warm as her sister's embrace, as warm as midday sunlight.

Donau stood in brilliant light.

'Our house was never this bright.'

All we had was a single candle. That alone couldn't produce such radiant light. Come to think of it, the chandeliers at the Rohanson estate had been this brilliant. Multiple candles sat atop those resplendent branches.

Yes. This is chandelier light. Evangeline Rohanson. The demon Donau had summoned was granting his wish! His wish had come true, and now he stood beneath the estate's chandelier. What an excellent bargain—all this wealth and glory for just one girl's life.

Donau considered what he would do now. There were countless things he'd wanted to do if he became a noble. But one thought rose above all others.

He would visit Count Rohanson, who had stolen the count's title from him. And he would beat the count just as he himself had been beaten, and look down on him with contempt. Donau hummed as he followed the chandelier's light.

The sphere that had been floating in the air blinked its eyes, watching Donau's retreating figure. If Donau had turned around, he could have seen the eyes watching him—but that never happened.

While we were watching Donau's house burn down pathetically, the surroundings grew noisy. It seemed the neighbors had evacuated after noticing the smoke. Or had they? Seeing everyone just watching it burn, maybe they'd just come out to watch the spectacle?

Still, whether someone with a conscience had reported it or the knights had found the smoke while on patrol, they arrived quickly and began clearing the area.

As expected of a fantasy romance world, instead of armor they wore splendid white uniforms with white cloaks. The most resplendent man among them approached me. Henna moved to block my way, so I patted her shoulder reassuringly.

"Excuse me."

The man bowed in greeting, his jet-black hair flowing smoothly down. When he raised his head, blue eyes and handsome features were revealed.

Holy shit? Why is he so good-looking? His voice was curt and his impression seemed cold, but he was insanely handsome—handsome enough to create memories that never existed.

Wait... I'm feeling a bit anxious here.

A handsome, cold black-haired knight? If the crown prince is middle-aged and there's no northern grand duke in this world, then the next candidate for male lead would be the knight commander, wouldn't it...? No, wait. I don't know if he's the knight commander or not, so let's not jump to conclusions.

"I am Gabriel, Commander of the Pharalos Knights."

Damn, he says he's the knight commander. He must be the male lead!

"May I ask why you are here, my lady? This doesn't seem like a suitable place for a stroll."

My lady? We're not already acquainted, are we? I trembled internally while briefly considering, then realized he'd just introduced himself. Phew... So we don't know each other yet. Since I have a maid with me and anyone can see Evangeline looks like nobility, he must have called me "my lady."

Besides, if he knew Evangeline, he wouldn't be this polite. Male leads typically loathe villainess characters. As a rule, villainesses in regression novels get their heads cut off routinely.

The only villainesses male leads like are possessed heroines on redemption routes. Wait, does that include me?

I am possessed, and I am on a redemption route. Do I just need to say "Why do you like me when the heroine exists!" and that's it? The fantasy romance possession is finally starting to feel real. Now that I think of him as the male lead, even that cold impression seems to have a story behind it. But no matter how handsome he is, since he came from text, I don't really feel any romantic tension. Does that disqualify me from fantasy romance?

The male lead furrowed his brow. Oh, right, I should answer. What did he ask again? Why am I here?

This is the first impression, so I should answer as sincerely as possible. Whether my neck gets cut off or not hinges on this moment. Let's escape the villainess route!

"I didn't come for a stroll. I came looking for someone."

"Someone?"

"The owner of that burning house was my servant."

"Then did you find this servant?"

"Ah. He's inside there."

Speaking formally after so long felt awkward enough to give me chills. I pointed at the blazing house while pretending to be unfazed.

The building was completely collapsing—surely he wouldn't go charging in with excessive heroism to rescue someone? Worried, I hastily added:

"He's already dead, so don't worry about it."

At those words, the male lead's expression soured further. Did I sound too calm talking about someone's death? But Donau deserved to die anyway!

"You'll need to explain how you know that, my lady."

Explain? Well, to write a report for his superiors, he'd need to know who died and what caused the fire. But where should I start? If I tell him Donau committed suicide and then summoned a fire spirit before dying, making the house end up like that, would he even understand?

What if, because of Evangeline's infamy, he decides I killed Donau and set the fire to destroy evidence? That seems way too plausible. Has escaping the villainess route already failed?

While I was agonizing over what to say, Kanna stepped forward.

"Sir Knight! I'll explain!"

Watching the smaller girl step forward as if to protect me, her back looked so stalwart I nearly shed tears of emotion. Is she repaying me for saving her? As expected, what you give comes back to you.

The male lead nodded as if telling her to proceed.

"A man named Donau, this young lady's servant, kidnapped me."

"Kidnapped? Are you injured anywhere?"

"I'm fine. The young lady came to rescue me. My sister called for help, so the young lady came along. When we said we'd called the knights, Donau panicked and ran away, setting the fire."

"And what about him being dead?"

"With flames shooting up like that, he couldn't possibly be alive. The young lady and my sister were busy escaping with me—we had no time to worry about Donau."

It sounded far more plausible than saying the spirit summoned by the suicidal Donau had set the fire.

The male lead easily believed Kanna's words. He even expressed concern for her wellbeing after hearing about the kidnapping. He seemed far more comfortable with her than with me. Wait, could it be?

In an instant, all the fantasy romance novel covers I'd read flashed through my mind. A red-haired wavy-haired heroine and a black-haired male lead?

'Holy shit. Kanna is the heroine!'