Looking around, I noticed that not just me, but everyone gathered had forgotten to breathe as they watched them.

It was a situation where all eyes were on who Yuria would choose among the three men.

At that moment, expressions of excitement and anticipation could be seen on people’s faces.

Well, who was Yuria after all?

Wasn’t she the true Saint of this era who stood against Jella Shunaibel, the villain of the century?

And what about the three men courting her?

They were all exceptional men, each considered among the finest in the continent.

Although there was one whose mental state was a bit off right now, with Yuria’s return, Yupheon would surely return to normal too.

‘A happy ending.’

Something stirred strangely in a corner of my heart.

Was I happy?

Well… rather than happy… why did it feel somehow empty, like something was missing?

I had always wished for this world’s happy ending.

Although the plot had deviated a bit in the middle, somehow peace was achieved just like in the original story, and miraculously, after dying, I came back to life and became an ordinary citizen, enjoying that peace from a distance from the protagonists.

However, the three men who were the original protagonists weren’t able to enjoy that peace.

Niel, who became Emperor but had no heir and frequented the underworld.

Yupheon, who seemed mentally unstable and kept causing incidents.

Cail, who looked like a lost puppy and showed no hesitation in physical contact with strange women.

The reunited men seemed unstable in many ways.

That was surely due to Yuria’s absence.

Setting aside the inevitably bad relationship between me, the villain, and the protagonists, I wished for their happiness.

And now that Yuria had reappeared to soothe their hearts, I should surely feel happy and excited too.

‘My feelings are strange…’

I suppressed my inexplicable emotions while staring blankly at Yuria and the three men.

‘In the original story, Yuria ended up choosing all three men.’

In the original “Three Heroes Visit the Saint’s Bedroom,” Niel was the one who ultimately succeeded in marrying Yuria.

That’s why people considered Niel the true male protagonist, but that didn’t mean Yupheon and Cail were rejected by her.

They too remained with her until the end and beyond as ‘Yuria’s men.’

‘I love all three of you. If you truly love me, please support my choice!’ – wasn’t that what she had said?

‘I wonder what choice she’ll make this time.’

Just as everyone was waiting for Yuria’s choice-

“La-Lady Yuria!”

A group of people suddenly rushed forward and called out to her.

Those who had been anticipating Yuria’s choice frowned at these unexpected interrupters.

“We-we have been waiting only for Lady Yuria’s resurrection.”

“Please give us the chance to be chosen to serve you too, Lady Yuria!”

Among those calling out to Yuria with fervent voices, I saw some familiar faces.

‘Huh? Those people…’

Although I had only seen them briefly, I had quite good eye for faces.

‘What about Count Pluna’s daughter?’

‘I think we can recruit her into our order soon.’

The very same suspicious men who had approached young Lord Amets!

‘The Master highly values your contributions. When Lady Yuria returns…’

‘The Saint’s return is not far off.’

Without a doubt, they were that strange religious group that had been talking about Yuria.

At their appearance, hairline cracks appeared on the faces of the three men.

In contrast, Yuria’s face brightened as if she had found her saviors, and she jumped up to grasp their hands.

“You say you’ve been waiting for my resurrection? Then of course I must go with you!”

Yuria disappeared swiftly with them.

“……”

“……”

“……”

A profound silence fell over the scene.

The three men stared blankly at Yuria’s retreating figure.

None of their expressions revealed what they were thinking.

Amid the silence, occasional sympathetic sighs could be heard.

Words like ‘Oh dear, the Saint…’, ‘All three of them seem hurt’, and ‘But it must have been difficult to choose just one’ were exchanged along with the sighs.

Suddenly, I remembered having felt something similar to this before.

So, long ago… when I was still known as Jella Shunaibel.

After Yuria appeared, when Niel requested to break off our engagement.

When Yupheon, who had appointed himself as Yuria’s protector, turned away from me with cold eyes.

And that night, when I witnessed Cail and Yuria’s secret meeting.

That is, when I felt the three men who had perhaps been closest to me suddenly grow distant…

‘Ah…’

At that moment, I think I understood the reason for the empty and lonely feeling I’d been having.

‘I must have been mistaken again.’

I must have been deluding myself.

Recently, they kept approaching me and talking to me, so I misunderstood.

I thought that maybe, unlike in my previous life, I could build a better relationship with them…

Even though I had kept telling myself I didn’t want to get involved with them.

Deep in my heart, it seems I had been harboring a desire to start a different kind of relationship with them than in my previous life.

It wasn’t that I wanted to steal Yuria’s place or become the female protagonist.

I just wanted to maintain the good friendship we had before Yuria appeared in the last life.

But look at this.

With just one appearance from Yuria, I’ve been relegated to an ordinary extra.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

‘The interesting show is over. Time to head back.’

Just as I was quietly trying to leave-

“Miss Jella…”

“Pretty one…?”

“Jella…!”

Suddenly, all three men grabbed me at once. Unexpectedly confronted with their faces simultaneously, I blinked in surprise.

‘What’s this? Why do their expressions look like…’

Niel, unlike his usual gentle smile, had slightly hardened eyes.

Yupheon’s eyes, which usually curved playfully, were trembling anxiously.

Cail was biting his lower lip hard, looking lost.

‘It’s like they’re watching my reaction?’

No way, surely not.

***

Meanwhile, Yuria, who had fled with the strangers, was internally screaming while pulling at her hair.

‘Damn it, what’s going on? Why have I been summoned back to this cursed world again?’

Yuria remembered. What those crazy original male protagonists―Niel Alpenhayer, Yupheon Arne, and Cail Aleret―had tried to do to her!

‘After I managed to escape this damned world!’

When the three men reached out to her earlier, Yuria instinctively felt it.

The moment she grabbed any of those hands, the most horrific hell would unfold.

So she had grabbed the hands of those strangers who said they had been waiting for her and followed them to their base, but as soon as they arrived, they all disappeared saying they would bring their Master.

‘Could those people from earlier be the ones who summoned me back here?’

Yuria glared at the altar where her portrait was placed. Seeing the suspicious magic circle and candles, it seemed like a reasonable deduction.

‘I need to ask this Master or whoever to send me back immediately.’

Just as Yuria was gnawing on her lower lip in thought a sound of rustling curtains came from the space behind the altar.

Yuria turned her head reflexively toward the sound and froze in place.

A man wrapped in white robes from head to toe appeared, pushing aside the curtain.

“Ah…”

Yuria’s body trembled.

This atmosphere. This aura. This man must be…!

“Welcome, Yuria. My child. I’ve been waiting.”

As the man walked toward Yuria, he lowered the white cloth covering his head.

Long golden hair cascaded down as he did so.

“Gasp…!”

Upon seeing the man’s face, Yuria unconsciously collapsed to the floor.

“Y-you are…”

Golden hair and purple eyes. He was a holy-looking man who bore a slight resemblance to Yuria.

Step, step.

The man who stopped in front of Yuria bent down toward her, then suddenly grabbed her throat with crushing force.

“Kuh, kugh…”

“You ran away without fulfilling the mission given to you, you insolent child.”

“Hnngh…”

Yuria’s eyes reddened and filled with tears.

“I’m… sorry… please… spare me…”

Yuria pleaded while choking.

The man looked down at Yuria with cold eyes.

“Do you want to live?”

Yuria nodded frantically at his question.

At this, the corners of his mouth curved up crookedly.

“Very well, I’ll let you live.”

The man slammed Yuria’s body to the floor and smiled slyly.

“But this time, you must not fail.”