‘It’s ruined. Totally ruined. Really ruined!’

I ran aimlessly between the bookshelves.

I didn’t know exactly what that guy was doing to the diary, but I couldn’t let the current state of the diary be discovered.

Why?

I don’t know!

I wasn’t sure what had happened, but the current state of the diary was definitely abnormal.

And if that guy finds out? I was certain nothing good would come of it.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Damn it. I wasn’t sure about anything else, but one thing was certain.

This isn’t some damn romance fantasy novel!

In what romance fantasy would you find a scene where you’re being threatened by a tentacled squid monster?!

“Aah!”

I clutched my head and rolled forward.

The back of my neck felt chilly.

Crack! With the sound of wood breaking, a translucent blue tentacle pierced through the bookshelf.

I glanced at the tentacle moving around as if searching for me, while I retreated silently.

The one fortunate thing was that there were so many books, providing plenty of hiding spots.

“I have no intention of harming you. But if you continue to be uncooperative, wouldn’t it be reasonable to take action?”

That crazy bastard!

My legs trembled.

“Repay Lord Morisias’s grace! Your life belongs to us!”

There’s something that guy overlooked – if I’m someone who can change fate, then I alone am enough to change Calix’s ending.

He said Duke Tianel eventually kills Calix.

‘I need to find the female protagonist right now, right this instant.’

I had to somehow resolve this situation.

And I needed to get out of the palace as soon as possible.

There was no benefit in me staying by Calix’s side.

Especially not in this situation where Morisias is determined to break free from his seal.

I pulled out the dagger Calix had given me from my bag.

‘Get a grip.’

I needed to find an escape route. Where is it?

“It’s useless trying to escape from me, the librarian and priest of this place!”

Suddenly, his tentacles came crashing down towards my head like spears.

I threw myself forward and swung the dagger.

With a slicing sound, a scream filled the interior of the temple.

“…How dare a mere human cut my arm!”

Suddenly, the entire temple began to rumble.

‘What’s this? The bookshelves seem to be getting a bit transparent?’

As I squinted and looked closely, the bookshelves were indeed becoming translucent. Damn it.

“I’ll make you a slave of Isis!”

With a cracking sound, his arm burst through the bookshelf I was watching.

“Slave? Just shut up and go away! Please!”

When I get back, I’ll have to thank Calix first thing.

The performance of the knife must be extraordinary, as even a slight touch sliced through the tentacles like tofu.

“How dare a mere human to the high priest of fate-!”

As his legs were cut off one by one, the temple began to shake as if it would collapse.

As this happened, the walls forming the temple also began to fade in color.

‘What? For a high priest of fate, he’s pretty weak.’

Seeing him helplessly succumb after acting like he was going to kill me, I gained confidence.

“Let me out!”

“No! The temple of Isis! Arghhhh!”

That’s when it happened.

Just as he screamed, the interior of the temple blurred, and someone grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me.

“Aaak!”

For a moment, feeling nauseous as if my insides were turning, I covered my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut.

And then I felt someone’s strong arm around my waist.

“Rose, hello.”

I opened my eyes wide at the familiar voice.

“Aaron?”

“What is it, Rose?”

My thoughts stopped for a moment.

So, the one holding my waist right now is Aaron?

I quickly turned my head to look at the face of the person holding me.

It was indeed Aaron.

“Huh? Rose, are you crying?”

I clenched my fists and glared at Aaron.

That nonchalant expression.

“Rose?”

“…Mom, waaah!”

***

“I’m so glad, sniff, that you’re alive.”

“Rose, you look ugly. Stop crying.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Why are you hitting me!”

My head was spinning. Seeing Aaron’s face made all my pent-up emotions burst out.

Unlike me, with my scraped knees and elbows from running away, Aaron was surprisingly unscathed.

I wanted to ask how he survived among those undead, but that wasn’t important right now.

The main thing was that we had escaped from that damned Temple of Fate or whatever it was.

“If we walk for about an hour, we’ll reach Prongsis.”

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked at Aaron.

“How do you know that?”

“I talked to the coachman while you were sleeping?”

Aaron then glanced at my legs, bent down, and blew off the dust stuck to my knees.

“Did you roll on the ground while running away, Rose?”

Then he continued with a sad expression.

“Maybe I should have just told you to stay by my side?”

He scratched his cheek, then grabbed my hand and started walking ahead.

As I followed closely behind Aaron, I thought to myself.

‘But how did he get me out of there?’

I hadn’t been able to think about it until now because of the chaos.

It was strange.

I understand that the temple started to fade after I struck that high priest or whatever, but how did he get me out from there?

“Aaron, how did you find me anyway?”

“Oh, that? I was looking around for you when I came across some kind of barrier.”

Aaron made a gesture of putting his hand into thin air as he continued.

“When I put my hand in like this, you just popped out!”

And then he grinned broadly.

I was bewildered. Is that supposed to make sense?

“Well, I did have to break the barrier a bit… But I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Aaron muttered something incomprehensible and then shrugged as if to say not to worry about it.

“It’s a shame you hurt your knee, but anyway, now that it’s resolved, all we need to do is rest in Prongsis!”

I thought quietly.

What should I do now?

“No, we need to look for a carriage as soon as we get to Prongsis.”

“Yeah, yeah. Since our coachman ran away.”

“I think we need to head to the capital right away.”

At my words, Aaron’s expression went blank for a moment.

“Huh? Why? Why go to the capital? Aren’t we going on a trip?”

I looked at Aaron seriously and shook my head.

“Aaron, you said the illegitimate child of Duke Tianel went to the duke’s house, right?”

“Yeah… But why?”

“I need to meet her.”

“Huh?”

“The duke’s illegitimate child, I mean.”

Aaron’s expression twisted at my words.

“Rose, what’s with you and the duke’s illegitimate child? Why are you so obsessed?”

Aaron leaned in suspiciously with half-closed eyes.

“Don’t tell me, a hidden family member?”

I grabbed Aaron’s wrist and pulled him forward.

There was no time for nonsense.

“Ah, why, Rose! You have to answer! Is it a hidden blood relative? Or a childhood friend you got separated from? First love? Huh?”

“Yeah, she’s my girlfriend, so let’s hurry to Prongsis territory.”

“Eek, no! I’ve already called dibs on being Rose’s girlfriend.”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at Aaron quietly, ignoring his nonsense.

I don’t know how my feelings can change so quickly in an instant when just a moment ago I was grateful to be alive.

“I’m joking, Rose. Don’t look at me like that. It’s scary. Hehe.”

“I’m feeling extremely troubled and serious right now, you know?”

Even though I had calmed down a bit, my whole body ached as if my muscles were still in shock.

That person calling himself the High Priest of Fate, or rather, not even a person?

The image of that unknown creature’s undulating, translucent tentacles kept flashing in my mind.

If Aaron hadn’t saved me, would I have died?

“Aaron. You’re the grandson of an information broker, so you know a lot, right?”

“Of course. There’s almost nothing I don’t know.”

Aaron replied proudly to my question.

I moistened my dry lips and pondered for a moment.

Should I ask? What the hell was that damned Temple of Fate?

What is Morisias, and what is the meaning of my existence?

“You said before that fate is predetermined, right?”

I swallowed hard.

“Yeah. It’s predetermined.”

“How can you change that fate?”

Aaron stopped walking at my question.

And he stared ahead silently.

“Aaron?”

“You need a being from another dimension.”

Aaron’s voice lowered.

“A soul not bound to this world can change even the grandest of fates.”

Aaron’s gaze turned towards me.

Soon, he smiled gently and continued.

“Why? Is there a fate you want to change?”