Chapter 128: The Scenario Never Stops

Escape from the Dramatic Underworld.
I let out a sigh of relief, grateful to have barely made it back alive.

‘Lucas.’

With a knot still lingering in my chest, I stared at the sealed door to the underworld.
It was not yet time to stand proudly before him.
That could wait until after the world was truly safe.

Burying the thought deep inside, I felt a light touch on my cheek.
There stood Sharin, tilting her head.

“Why the face, husband?”

“I guess it just hasn’t sunk in that I made it back alive.”

“Want me to make it feel real?”

With that, Sharin raised her hand and pinched my cheek.
She gave a drowsy, amused smile.

“How about now?”

“Ow.”

“I saved you.”

Why was she so smug about it?

As I set Sharin down and turned my gaze, I saw that everyone else looked just as exhausted as I did.
But Act 4, Scene 5 wasn’t over yet.

My eyes found Vinesha and Grantoni.
The two hadn’t exchanged many words.
It was still uncertain what had become of Musica.

‘It seems like things worked out, judging by the atmosphere.’

Yet I couldn’t be sure.

“Vinesha.”

Grantoni called out to her.
Hearing his voice, Vinesha met his gaze.

After a brief moment, she slowly nodded.
Then, she tightly clenched the pendant in her hand.

A gentle, warm light began to seep from the pendant.
As the light enveloped her, Vinesha’s violet eyes transformed into a clear blue, reminiscent of the sky.

I immediately sensed that the air around her had shifted.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for what would come next.

Vinesha’s lips slowly parted, and she raised her arms.

“Uuuuuuugh!”

Without warning, she stretched her body with a dramatic yawn.
Then, placing her hands on her hips, she smiled brightly.

“Grantoni, you’ve aged quite a bit.”

Before I knew it, Grantoni had dashed forward.
He pulled Vinesha into a tight embrace, tears welling up from deep within him.

Musica, reclaimed from the monstrous entity, had taken hold of Vinesha’s body.
She wrapped her arms around Grantoni’s back, patting him gently.

“Grantoni, was it that hard to manage without me?”

Her playful words only made him struggle harder to hold back his tears.
But he wasn’t the only one crying.

Tears flowed from Vinesha’s eyes as well.
She wept, overwhelmed with joy that Musica had returned safely.

A faint silhouette appeared beside the three.
And then, she wrapped her arms around them all.

Beyond the sky, light began to break through.
The dawn had ended, and the sun was rising.

A new sun was rising.

It was a bright light that untangled the threads of tragedy for the four people who had suffered at the hands of Gwaejon.

“Hey, Airei.”

At that moment, Eve approached me.
Looking just as battered and worn out as I was, she let out a deep sigh before raising her hand and giving my arm a light smack.

“You owe me one.”

Eve’s help had been invaluable this time.
I willingly accepted the debt.

“But I won’t keep track of it.”

That was unexpected.

“That was enough.”

Eve, with a faint smile, gazed at the four people.
It was almost painfully romantic — as expected of someone who could easily be mistaken for the protagonist of a side story.

“Eve, with a smile like that, even the kids won’t be scared of you.”

Her shoulders flinched.
It was still upsetting to her that children often ran away at the sight of her.

“While we’re at it, there’s one more person who needs your help.”

“You’re unbelievably shameless.”

Well, without shamelessness, I’d be nothing but a corpse.

“Fine, as long as it’s not you.”

Fortunately, I was excluded from her offer of help.

“That’s okay. I’m doing perfectly fine without it.”

When I grinned slyly, Eve scowled at me.

“Says the one who clearly needs it most. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Eve still treated me like a walking disaster.
With that, she said she needed to rest and left.
But before she did, she told me to let her know who needed her help.

In the end, she really was the kind of person who couldn’t refuse to lend a hand.

‘I should probably get some rest too.’

Act 4, Scene 5 had concluded without incident.
The problem was that Act 4, Scene 4 hadn’t even happened yet.
But the more pressing issue was that school was starting soon.

“Grantoni, Vinesha. You both have school and work to get to, don’t you? Time to wrap it up and go.”

“Ha, you’re right.”

Grantoni responded first when I called them.

“You’re the one who helped me the most to get her back.”

Just then, Musica, who was still possessing Vinesha’s body, spoke up.

“Thank you. Because of you, my sister, Grantoni, and I all made it through safely.”

She beamed confidently.

Hearing those words, I found myself smiling too.
After all, this was why I had worked so hard.
It was the most valuable reward I could have received.

“I’ve got a few things I’d like to talk to you about.”

I had a vague idea of what she meant.
And whatever it was, it would likely have a major impact on the next scenario.

“Let’s talk tomorrow, after the academy’s over, together with Vinesha.”

With that, Musica handed control of the body back to Vinesha.
Her eyes soon returned to their familiar violet hue.

It seemed I would need to wait until tomorrow to speak with Musica again.

“Husband~.”

Suddenly, I heard Sharin’s voice beside me.
She was slumped on the ground, arms outstretched toward me.

“Carry me.”

With an utterly exhausted expression, Sharin made her request.

I adapted to the magic of the underworld and faced Gwaejon directly.
Even for Sharin, the amount of mana she consumed was immense.
It was no surprise that she was exhausted.

But the problem was, Sharin wasn’t the only one here.

With a growing sense of unease, I turned my gaze toward Vinesha.
She blinked, saying nothing.

Normally, her overwhelming lack of affection would spiral out of control, and she’d act as if she wanted to kill Sharin on the spot.
But now, there wasn’t a trace of such emotion.
Instead, her reaction was indifferent, as if none of it mattered.

Soon, Vinesha seemed to realize this herself.

“Ah.”

She let out a small sound, her face clouded with thought for a moment.
Then, she slowly turned to face me.

“My lord.”

Vinesha clutched her pendant tightly.
With a sorrowful smile, she spoke.

“I must have been using you for my own selfish needs all this time. I just needed somewhere to pour my emotions.”

Hearing her words, I understood.

Vinesha had regained her memories.
And in doing so, she also realized what was truly precious to her.

Musica, her mentor, and Grantoni.
She had finally reclaimed what mattered most.

She no longer had any reason to cling to me.
Her heart belonged elsewhere.

What Vinesha had felt for me wasn’t love.
It was merely a temporary escape.

“I’m sorry. I must have caused you a lot of trouble, making you deal with my whims.”

For the first time, her face looked truly at peace.
A sense of tranquility had finally settled within her.

“Vinesha, just as you used me, I used you too.”

I smiled as I said this.
Vinesha mirrored my smile, her eyes calm.

“Thank you.”

A word of gratitude — not an apology — was what she chose to offer.
From now on, she would no longer seek to pour her emotions onto others.

Scars, after all, heal with time.

I had no doubt that Vinesha would move on from her past and live brightly once more.

“Sharin, hop on.”

With nothing left to worry about, I could finally carry Sharin without hesitation.

As I crouched down, she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her chin on my shoulder.

“I got rejected.”

So that’s how it is.
Just like with Nikita, I hadn’t even confessed, yet I somehow ended up rejected again.

“Husband.”

Sharin, now on my back, whined softly.

“What is love?”

That was an out-of-the-blue question.
Though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell she was deep in thought.

“Who knows.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t know the answer either.
Love had long since disappeared from my world.

Hearing my response, Sharin buried her face deeper into my shoulder.

She quietly took a breath in and out.

“…It feels peaceful.”

That last remark was rather cryptic.

* * *

We made it back safely.

Although the commotion in the underworld caused quite a stir among the spirit masters, our story wasn’t included in the reports.
The only consequence was Iris glaring at me with an incredibly sour expression.

“Why didn’t you come last night? And you skipped morning training too.”

I’d been living as Iris’s personal comfort toy, helping her with her nightmares every night.
At this point, even Hania had grown used to wandering around in my form.

“I thought you might need some time alone, Lady Iris.”

“I’ve had more than enough of that.”

That stung a little.
Aside from Hania and me, Iris didn’t have many people she was close to.

Only after I promised to be there tonight did she relent.

“By the way, Lady Iris, I think someone else will be joining us soon.”

This time, I wasn’t planning to face her nightmares alone.
Eve was with me now.
The time had come to put an end to Iris’s nightmares for good.

Iris looked puzzled but didn’t object.
She knew I genuinely cared about her.

“You were injured, weren’t you?”

As soon as I wrapped things up with Iris, Isabel approached me.
I had stopped by the infirmary for treatment earlier before school.
The nurse bought my excuse that I’d overdone it during morning training.

But just now, Iris had exposed the fact that I didn’t attend training at all.

“What? The prince got hurt?”

And now Seron had joined the conversation, staring at me intently.

“Why are you always getting hurt? It worries me!”

“You realize you’re getting rougher with your body every day, right?”

Can’t a guy get hurt once in a while without this much attention?

“I mean, you do seem to be pushing yourself harder lately.”

Even Hania chimed in.

“Maybe you should get a mental health evaluation.”

“No way! Then everyone will find out the prince is an idiot!”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

Wait. One of them wasn’t worried about me at all.

I reached out and pulled at Seron’s cheek in retaliation.

Meanwhile, Hania and Isabel were locked in a serious conversation, exchanging ideas with disturbingly earnest expressions.
They actually seemed like they might drag me in for an evaluation.

“Calm down, both of you. I’m fine.”

They glanced at me, then went right back to their hushed discussion.
Since when did those two get so close?

Creak-

Just then, Professor Beganon entered the room.
The students quickly wrapped up their conversations and returned to their seats.

As an alcoholic, Beganon always looked exhausted.
But today, her expression was different — more rigid and tense.

The moment the students saw her face, they knew.

“Sorry to start your morning like this, but there’s news about the Demonic Palace.”

At the mention of the Demonic Palace, the atmosphere shifted.

Every student here had gathered for one purpose — to protect the world from the Demonic Palace.
It was their top priority.

“There are signs it will open earlier than expected. You’ll deploy tomorrow morning. Today’s classes will focus on forming your teams.”

Just like that, Act 4, Scene 4 was set to begin — right on the heels of finishing Act 4, Scene 5.