Chapter 12

Ah, cute.

How is this man even cute on top of everything else.

I almost smiled without meaning to, but I turned my body to hide the corner of my mouth that kept twitching upward.

Today of all days, I really cannot answer his question.

Considering my unchanged circumstances, my father telling me to stay away from him, and the ominous rumor Rene mentioned, maybe I should draw a line with Linus.

But if I do that, then from now on, even if we run into each other by accident like today, he’d probably avoid me.

I don’t want that.

Just imagining Linus turning away from me didn’t just make me sad, it felt like it would seriously hurt.

Ha, heart. What am I supposed to do with you.

As I slowly walked forward, shaken by my confused feelings, Linus matched my pace and began walking right beside me.

I was worried he might try to confess again, but he changed the subject naturally.

“It’s a good night for a walk.”

As expected, Linus was as perceptive as his face was handsome.

I looked at him with a smile and answered.

“It is. It’s nice and cool now that the sun has set.”

At my smile, Linus grinned with honey dripping from his eyes.

What does it matter if he doesn’t confess.

It’s written all over his face that he likes me.

I shook my head helplessly as we walked, and for some reason my cheeks hurt.

Pressing down on the corners of my mouth that refused to behave, we began our third walk together.

I was thinking about how I could naturally bring up the vicious rumor that he was a murderer, when I heard movement beyond the bushes.

“Who’s there?”

The voice, edged with wariness, belonged to Crown Prince Heide and Larienne.

No wonder they weren’t in the banquet hall, they had come here.

I wondered if they were already enjoying a secret rendezvous, but for some reason Cheryl was with them too.

What kind of situation was this?

There was no scene in the original where Larienne, Heide, and Cheryl secretly met like this.

And all three of them looked serious.

I didn’t know what was going on, but since we had encountered the crown prince, I needed to show proper courtesy.

I lowered my head just as Ruby taught me.

“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Heide didn’t seem to recognize my face, but he did recognize Linus, who was bowing beside me.

“Duke Piction. What are you doing here.”

“I was taking a walk with the young lady of House Titanoa, Your Highness.”

“Ah, so you are the young lady of House Titanoa.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I am Ayrbet Titanoa.”

After exchanging awkward greetings with the crown prince, I found myself with nothing more to say.

Since I was not a character in the original novel, I planned to live without getting entangled with these people as much as possible.

I was quietly figuring out how to slip away when Cheryl muttered as she stared at a darkening corner of the garden.

“Why is that appearing again…”

I turned toward where Cheryl was looking and almost collapsed.

What kind of gate appears without warning and without any sign beforehand.

What is that Himong brat even doing right now?

He said he would tell me immediately when a gate appeared!

All that nyang-nyang talk about trusting him, and he turns out to be a useless cat aside from being cute.

On the verge of tears, I checked the state of the gate and, oh, come on.

Dark red sparks were shooting out of the gate, and the air around it was starting to distort.

A dungeon break was happening right in front of Heide, Larienne, and Cheryl.

“No, wait, waiiiit!!”

In an instant, Linus and I, along with the protagonists of this world, were all sucked straight into the gate.

* * *

Once again, I landed in the dungeon while held in Linus’s arms.

Inside a cave about two meters high, the dank smell drifting from the dark surroundings filled the air.

And then, a voice came from behind me.

“Goodness. Lady Toned, Count Sidonia, are you unharmed?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Are you well?”

“It seems to be a cave this time.”

It was the voices of Heide, Larienne, and Cheryl.

The first time I got dragged into a dungeon, it had been terrible, but today I truly wanted to cry.

I had decided to clear the dungeons alone not only because they were appearing because of me, but above all to stabilize this world.

If a dungeon burst and monsters poured out, the protagonists of this world might be put in danger.

And if anything happened to them, this world would never be able to stabilize.

So why were the three people who should be safest inside a dungeon right now.

This difficulty level for a transmigrator was insane. Should I just die at this point?

As I covered my face and whimpered helplessly, Linus’s gentle voice fell over my head.

“Ayrbet, are you all right?”

Linus was kind as always today, but I didn’t even have the energy to respond.

Being told to clear a dungeon while protecting four unawakened people… how was that supposed to make sense.

And of all things, this place… out of countless dungeons, did it really have to be an ant nest.

Status window.

I called the status window in my mind, and a transparent panel appeared before my eyes.

Ayrbet Titanoa

[Status]

Immortal Queen C 95%

□□■■□■□ ■□

Strength Enhancement C – Passive

Defense Enhancement C – Passive

Physical Ability Enhancement B – Passive

Swordsmanship A – Passive

I Will Block Everything A – Active

Mutual Destruction S – Active

It really was the ant nest.

At ninety-five percent, it meant all the worker ants were dead and only the soldier ants guarding the queen’s chamber were left, but in this dungeon the clear percentage didn’t matter.

Because the Ant Queen, the boss monster of the Immortal Queen dungeon, was literally immortal.

Back when I cleared this dungeon, I had learned the conditions for killing the Ant Queen, but soloing it made those conditions impossible to execute.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before I, Linus, and those people became ant food.

While I stared blankly at my status window, Linus gently set me down and met my eyes.

“Ayrbet, come to your senses.”

No. If I stay conscious, dying will hurt.

I want to let go of my senses and die painlessly.

As Linus fretted over me losing it, Larienne approached.

“Duke Piction, I am Larienne Toned. May I take a look?”

“She seems to be in shock.”

“I believe I can help.”

Larienne examined my condition with her clear eyes, then wrapped my hands in hers and spoke softly.

“Lady Titanoa, it’s small, but I will share my strength with you. You will feel better soon.”

Her silvery hair fluttered, and a faint glow spread from her entire body.

Larienne, the gentle and righteous heroine with healing power.

She was sending healing energy into me.

She shared her strength with me without hesitation even though it was our first meeting. Larienne was pure kindness without a twist.

My body had been perfectly fine from the start, so her healing power didn’t have much effect, but thanks to her, I regained my senses.

I tightened my grip around the hand she was holding and held hers in return.

“I’m fine now, Lady Toned. Thank you.”

Larienne let out a breath of relief and withdrew her power.

Then, with the graceful smile that had shaken Heide’s heart, she shook mine as well.

“I heard your health has not been good, Lady Titanoa. Please tell me anytime if things become difficult.”

Oh wow, look how impossibly sweet she is.

How could Heide not fall for her?

Even I might cling to her.

If I hadn’t transmigrated, this girl would have reached a happy ending. I couldn’t allow her to become ant food.

Maybe there was another way to defeat the Ant Queen.

Since I was finally thinking straight, I began working through possibilities, when suddenly a pair of red eyes, clouded with worry, came close to mine.

“Ayrbet, are you truly all right now?”

I only spaced out for a moment, so why did this man look like he was about to cry again.

Why was he so cute even when he looked like he was about to sob.

I let out a small laugh and answered Linus.

“Yes, thanks to Lady Toned’s healing, I’m all bett…”

Huh?

As I spoke, something that shouldn’t have been possible suddenly struck me.

I had overlooked it because Larienne was such a familiar healer.

The power of an unawakened person is nullified inside a dungeon.

Not only personal abilities but even nuclear weapons had been useless here.

But just now, didn’t Larienne use healing power?