Ch.217[Chapter 217] Dungeon Floor 4/3

When Jane Doe opened the door, Sir Dominic arrived at a new place, not the chaotic street.

However, unlike the ornate door, it was an extremely modest and worn-out… narrow single room.

“…I’m sorry. Actually, this was the door to my boss room.”

Jane Doe apologized to Sir Dominic again.

“I just wanted to look at Sir Dominic a little longer.”

“…Why did you do this?”

Sir Dominic asked Jane Doe for an explanation.

It was clearly Jane Doe who had proposed to Sir Dominic to save her, and it was also Jane Doe who guided him here in return.

But suddenly she changed her mind and appeared as the boss.

Sir Dominic couldn’t understand this situation at all.

“That’s…”

“That’s?”

Jane Doe hesitantly spoke to Sir Dominic.

In a voice smaller than a mosquito’s.

“Because I… love you.”

An unimaginable reason.

Sir Dominic was speechless at Jane Doe’s words.

“…I know. It’s really out of nowhere. But… I can’t help it. That’s just who I am.”

Jane Doe stood by the window covered in cobwebs and wiped her face.

The action was full of self-pity and self-loathing.

“Do you know? Both John Doe and Jane Doe are artists.”

Sir Dominic nodded.

When he first met John Doe, he was told he was an artist sponsored by the king, so he thought Jane Doe, based on John Doe, would also be an artist.

She had also said herself that she made a living by writing.

“Being an artist is a tiring profession. You get frustrated when things don’t go as you want, and you roll around and bark just to draw a single line. Not all artists are like that—”

Jane Doe took a big swig from a green bottle, as if seeking courage from alcohol.

“Ugh. At least one thing is certain. I’m too embarrassed to call myself an artist, but at least my personality is worse than an artist’s.”

“I fall in love easily. It’s emotional deprivation. Sir Dominic isn’t the first. In fact, I’ve probably had three thousand lovers so far. But none of them could tolerate my personality.”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve fallen in love again. With you, Sir Dominic.”

“It might have been just a few hours for you, but for me, Sir Dominic is someone who walked with me on this street for dozens of days. Of course I couldn’t help falling in love, right?”

After spitting out her words like a machine gun, Jane Doe gasped for breath.

Then, as if trying to calm herself, she took out a pipe and lit it.

Cheap tobacco powder slowly burned.

“I know. That I’m strange. But… this is me. A woman who writes stories that won’t sell, craving love from everyone. That’s who I am.”

Jane Doe slumped down at the desk with a typewriter.

Sir Dominic just silently looked at Jane Doe.

“…I’m sorry. I don’t intend to kill you. But you’ve already entered the boss room. That means—”

Jane Doe frantically ruffled her hair with her hands.

“Either I kill you, or you kill me. We have to choose one of the two.”

After saying that, Jane Doe remained silent for a moment.

Then she corrected what she had said.

“I’m sorry. I won’t kill you. So, to leave this place, you’ll have to kill me and go.”

Jane Doe took a deep drag from her cigarette.

Her hands were trembling.

“Because that’s the only way I can get your attention.”

Jane Doe squeezed her eyes shut.

How did it come to this situation now?

To understand this, one needed to know the setting of Jane Doe as a boss.

John Doe and Jane Doe were bosses created based on the characteristic of being artists.

As there were two of them, their gimmicks were distinctly different. While John Doe showed the bright, glamorous, and positive aspects of an artist, Jane Doe was a boss full of the negative aspects of an artist, such as anguish and anxiety.

Falling in love easily, taking extreme actions, and pushing herself to the limit.

That was the essence of Jane Doe.

This was how Jane Doe felt right now.

Just before, while walking, Jane Doe was already in love with Sir Dominic.

She couldn’t help it.

Sir Dominic was a knight, with a fairly tall stature and decent looks.

Missing an eye was a flaw, but scars on a knight’s body were no different from medals showing how hard he had fought on the battlefield.

Moreover, though taciturn, he showed a determination to follow his own rules, and judging by his attempt to break through the dungeon, he seemed like someone who forged his own destiny rather than waiting for fate.

There were enough elements to capture the heart of Jane Doe, who had seriously low standards.

However, Jane Doe was hurt on her own accord.

It was because of Sir Dominic’s answer to Jane Doe’s question.

Whether he had a girlfriend.

Indeed, Sir Dominic had a “girlfriend” around him, perhaps thanks to his wonderful charm.

But Jane Doe was a woman already accustomed to twisted love.

She wanted to receive Sir Dominic’s love, even if it meant being a mistress or having an affair.

Jane Doe tried to make a literary confession to Sir Dominic about how beautiful the moon was, but Sir Dominic only responded without looking at her.

Sir Dominic seemed to have no interest in Jane Doe at all.

Jane Doe was discouraged.

She loved Sir Dominic so much, so why wouldn’t he look at her?

How could she turn Sir Dominic’s heart toward her?

No, could she even catch Sir Dominic’s attention once?

Jane Doe began to obsess over Sir Dominic more and more.

For Sir Dominic, it might have been just a few hours, but for Jane Doe, who belonged to this dungeon, months had passed, and this twisted love began to rot and sicken more and more.

And… finally Jane Doe thought.

If she couldn’t receive love from Sir Dominic, at least she could remain in a corner of his heart.

Her miserable death might leave at least a stain on Sir Dominic’s heart.

With that thought, Jane Doe finally… led Sir Dominic to an unexpected place.

Her own boss room.

That’s how the situation has come to this point.

“So, Sir Dominic. Stab me. Please, remember me. Kill me so that even if you don’t look at me, I’ll never leave your mind.”

Now Jane Doe began to wail beyond pleading.

It was a desperate cry from Jane Doe, who had a sick heart that could only love more and more the more she loved.

…However, Sir Dominic had no intention of killing Jane Doe.

When Sir Dominic first made a promise with Jane Doe, he said he would spare her, and that promise was still valid.

That promise tied Sir Dominic’s hands.

“We made a promise. To keep you alive. And in return, you agreed to take me to the boss on the third floor.”

Sir Dominic tried to persuade Jane Doe logically.

But Jane Doe was adamant.

“…Kill me and go to the third floor.”

Jane Doe took out a rusty key from an old drawer.

“With this key, you can go directly to the boss room on the third floor. It’s actually the room right next door. You can pass through by opening that door.”

“We don’t usually use it though,” Jane Doe added.

“So, if you don’t love me, you can kill me resolutely. And if you love me, please grant my request. Please kill me and remember me. It’s not difficult, is it? There’s only one option. There’s nothing to decide.”

Jane Doe pressured Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic’s head began to throb.

Although Sir Dominic had seen many enemies and many gimmicks so far, this was the first time he had encountered such a case.

“That’s selfish.”

It was then.

Mary appeared as the door opened.

“Wanting to die by the hands of the person you love… isn’t that quite selfish? Claiming to love someone while burdening them with emotional baggage. That’s not love. It’s being a nuisance.”

As soon as Mary entered the room, she said something that would hurt Jane Doe.

“If you really love someone… isn’t the right answer to give up so that the person you love can have a lighter heart?”

“…What do you know?”

Jane Doe bristled at Mary’s words.

But Mary shouted at Jane Doe as if she was confident.

“What do you know to keep burdening Sir Dominic? If you want to die so badly, why don’t you take your own life! Why do you beg for death when you know that in this place, even if you die, you don’t really die?”

“Ah.”

Sir Dominic made a dumbfounded sound at Mary’s words.

He had hesitated due to the atmosphere, but in Gacha Land, one could be revived as long as they had enough value.

Given Jane Doe’s position as a boss, her value wouldn’t be lacking, so she would certainly be revived.

“…You’re right. This was too selfish of me.”

Jane Doe sniffled after hearing Mary’s words.

With her head bowed and face pressed against the desk, Jane Doe handed the key she was holding to Sir Dominic.

“Go. Go right now. Before I love you more, defeat John Doe and get out to the second floor. Don’t think about me again, don’t pity me. So that I can forget you.”

Sir Dominic received the key.

“That’s good. Let’s go now. We should go through that door.”

Mary snatched the key from Sir Dominic and headed for the back door.

As Sir Dominic followed Mary, he suddenly looked back at Jane Doe.

“…Thank you.”

Sir Dominic said that to Jane Doe one last time, then left for the next room through the door Mary had opened.

Only Jane Doe remained in the room, sniffling as she received the moonlight coming in.