I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 282

Chapter 282: The Prophet of Wederos (1)

The event was over.

Having completed the four required events, the episode was also cleared. The message was clearly displayed before my eyes.

But,

My head was pounding.

This was just a game.

A game created with RPG Maker, with the added incentive of a cash prize for clearing it.

Yes, it was just a game.

The story, the characters, they had nothing to do with me.

It wasn't a game designed specifically for me.

And yet…

This message felt like it was directed at me.

【Your death brought despair to someone. This despair, spreading like a plague, has anchored their soul to this place.】

“Damn it! That’s impossible!”

-Crash!

Me, dead?

Don’t be ridiculous.

I had disappeared, just like that wretched family had wanted, leaving without a trace, paying them all the money I had saved as compensation for raising me.

I had just escaped that house.

And now I was dead? Just like that? After finally achieving the freedom I had longed for?

“Don’t make me laugh. I was just playing a game. There’s no way I could have died!”

How could I accept this?

I wouldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t believe it…!

【It’s not too late, Kim Min-hyeok.】

That next message stopped me in my tracks.

My hand, raised to strike the wall in frustration, froze.

“Damn it…! Why is this message appearing?!”

This shouldn't be happening.

This dialogue was unnecessary. No, it was more than unnecessary, it was out of place.

How could the game know my real name?

Even if, by some miracle, there was someone in Korea with the same name…

The very fact that my real name was appearing in the game was absurd.

And the fact that this message was only visible to me was a paradox.

To dismiss the appearance of my name, Kim Min-hyeok, as a mere coincidence…

“…Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Right. It didn't matter.

All I wanted was to return to my world.

What did this game message even mean?

I didn’t need it.

I didn't need to see it, or hear it.

It was all meaningless.

All I had to do was return to my world, alive and well.

-Thud!

“There he is!”

“We found two people! Get a medic and a healer!”

The episode ended shortly after.

I had raged, shouted, even broken things in my frustration…

But the unease lingered.

***

A dark mansion.

The ballroom, filled with cries of terror and the screams of the panicked guests.

The sounds of shattering glass, the monstrous roars of the beasts.

The main hall, once filled with people, was now in chaos.

But…

Suddenly, the commotion subsided.

“The monsters have been eliminated!”

“What about the other side?!”

“All clear! This is…!”

The sudden silence in the main hall.

The report confirmed that the monster attack had ended.

“…Did the advance team eliminate the source? Thank goodness.”

“I don’t even want to think about how much longer we could have held out…”

“That was close. We were completely surrounded… It’s a miracle we survived.”

Was it, though?

Harnie smiled faintly.

‘Considering the size of this mansion, it would have taken a considerable amount of time just to find the gate where the monsters were emerging from.’

And moving as a group would have only attracted the monsters’ attention, delaying them further.

Half a day just to reach the source.

Another half a day to eliminate the monsters in the dark.

And then, finally, destroying the gate. It would have taken a long time.

So it wasn’t the advance team.

It was the work of a single man, who had acted swiftly and decisively.

With the monsters gone, they had time to regroup and assess the situation.

They quickly organized themselves, leaving a small contingent behind, and set out, joining forces with the Imperial troops who had been separated from the participants, making the rescue efforts more efficient.

Many of the survivors emerged on their own.

They gathered in the main hall, slowly making their way out of the mansion.

“Please wait a moment. The hallway is blocked, so it will take some time to reach the others.”

“The entrance is blocked as well. We’ll have to transport everyone out one by one using magic. Please form a line.”

The entrance blocked, the hallway collapsed?

“Is Young Master Carsein with you?”

“Yes, he’s on the other side of the collapsed hallway.”

So he was safe, but…

It seemed it would take some time to reach him.

Harnie waited patiently for her turn, delaying it as much as possible.

Time passed.

More than half of the guests had been evacuated, and Harnie was now alone.

A hooded figure approached.

“…”

Harnie gulped.

Carsein wasn’t here, and she had given her Protection Gem to him.

This was the most dangerous situation she had ever been in.

But there were still guards around.

And many of the tournament participants were still here. Would anyone really try to harm her so openly?

‘No, I can’t be complacent.’

Being cornered like this was a clear warning sign.

The fact that this person wasn't even trying to hide their presence meant they had been sent by someone.

She hadn't known there was someone so loyal to the Marquis, willing to risk their own life, but she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

She reached for her magic, preparing to defend herself.

She had learned several self-defense spells.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, I suggest you don’t come any closer.”

But the hooded figure continued to approach.

Just as Harnie was about to unleash her magic…

‘What? Why…!’

Her magic wouldn't activate.

As she stood there, frozen in panic, the figure loomed over her.

She tried to use the self-defense spray she carried, but the figure spoke, stopping her.

“There’s no need for that. I’m not here to harm you.”

“…What?”

“Harnie Theresia. You were planning to escape the Theresia Marquisate, but now, your plans have changed. You’re trying to take it over.”

“H-how did you…?”

-Slide.

“…I can see it. I hear a… special sound.”

The hood fell away,

And Harnie gasped as the figure’s face was revealed.

“You’re…”

The one who was said to hear the voice of God.

The Prophet of Wederos, stood before her.

***

The after-party route was coming to an end.

The collapsed mansion.

The monster attack.

After eliminating the source, all that remained was recovery and escape.

“Young Master Carsein, it’s your turn. Let’s go.”

It was finally my turn.

I had been lost in thought, my head pounding, and it seemed I was the last one left.

“…Thank you for your assistance.”

“What? What do you—!”

-Thud!

“N-no… I can’t believe he jumped from this height…”

I left the distraught knight behind, ignoring the disappointed nobles, their excitement having turned to dismay at the anticlimactic ending.

As I made my way through the crowd,

I found the owner of the gem I had borrowed.

“Harnie.”

“Oh!”

Harnie turned around, startled.

“Ah… Carsein.”

She seemed surprised, as if she had been lost in thought as well.

I handed her the gem, and she smiled.

“You seem to be alright.”

Her words triggered a strange sense of déjà vu.

-You seem to be alright.

“After doing something so reckless… Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

-After doing something so reckless… Do you have any idea how worried I was?

The déjà vu intensified, and I saw another image superimposed over hers.

I saw someone else in her place.

…Damn it.

My mind was already a mess.

And now this…

“Carsein? What’s wrong? You look pale…”

“I’m just tired. After everything that happened… I should probably go back now, Harnie.”

“What? But…”

“I’ll walk you back.”

I needed time to think.

***

The time she had hoped to spend with Carsein had vanished.

It couldn’t be helped. With the monster attack, there hadn't been time for anything else. Harnie understood that.

But there was something else that bothered her.

“…”

As she boarded the carriage.

Before she boarded the carriage.

And as she dismounted, after he had walked her all the way back.

Harnie couldn’t hide her unease.

While Carsein’s expression had been carefully neutral, she could sense something was wrong.

She was used to hiding her own emotions.

And she knew Carsein well enough to recognize when he was troubled.

And that worried her.

“Carsein…”

S
She murmured, watching his carriage depart.

And then,

She remembered the Prophet’s words.

-Carsein Bagrand, your fiancé will be acting strangely today.

-What? What are you…

-Because he has a secret he’s been hiding from you. And that secret… will cause him great confusion.

She didn’t care about the malicious gossip about Carsein.

She had decided to ignore it, and her feelings for him had only grown stronger since then.

But the Prophet of Wederos…

He was said to foresee the future, his predictions always accurate.

And she had experienced it firsthand.

Carsein had been acting strangely.

“Do you… have a secret you haven’t told me?”

If… if that was the case…

Then…

-I shall tell you your fortune, Harnie Theresia.

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