“Hah!”

But before I could get close to the window, Sir Chalmonte caught me. He violently grabbed my hair, and before I knew it, he’d drawn a dagger and pointed it at my throat.

I had no choice but to stop resisting. Only then did Sir Chalmonte lower his blade and light a candle in the dark room. He seemed to want to talk with me.

Huh? Does he really not intend to kill me?

After watching Sir Chalmonte for a moment, I signaled with my eyes that I wouldn’t resist anymore, and he nodded.

“I still want to kill you, but I have no intention of doing so right now.”

“Why, why not?”

“Because right before you died, this world nearly collapsed.”

It didn’t make sense that the game world would collapse just because a player died.

It was such an absurd statement that I didn’t want to believe it, but since Sir Chalmonte truly seemed to have no intention of k*lling me, I felt I should believe him.

Of course, remembering his track record, I shouldn’t let my guard down. But I felt something off about what Sir Chalmonte had just said. How could an NPC like him sense the world collapsing?

“Who are you?”

I tried to move away from Sir Chalmonte by scooting my bottom backward. Each time I did, he took a step closer.

“You don’t need to be afraid.”

“D-don’t come closer!”

I couldn’t trust his words about not needing to be afraid when he was cornering me. So I stopped moving and held out both hands, signaling him to stop approaching.

Sir Chalmonte stopped walking as well and said:

“I’m on your side, my lady.”

On my side? He tried to kill me and expects me to believe that? When I looked at him with confused eyes, he asked me with a reassuring gaze.

“Count Lindsey proposed to you, didn’t he?”

“How did you…”

I hadn’t told anyone about that. Count Lindsey wasn’t the type to spread rumors either.

“What I know isn’t important. Your choice is what matters. Did you accept the proposal?”

“Not yet. But I’m planning to accept soon.”

“Fortunately, it’s not too late.”

Sir Chalmonte showed a gentle smile.

“Let me be clear. You absolutely must not accept Count Lindsey’s proposal.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s difficult for me to explain in detail right now.”

What could possibly make it so hard to talk about? Just when I felt frustrated by the lack of a proper answer, he continued.

“We’re being moved by an invisible force. The same goes for you.”

“An invisible force? Then was someone ordering you to kill me too?”

So the System used Sir Chalmonte to eliminate me after all? My gaze at Sir Chalmonte narrowed. He shook his head and answered.

“No. That’s not it.”

“Then what is this invisible force?”

“…You have something you need to do right now, don’t you?”

Finding it difficult to answer, Sir Chalmonte asked me a question instead.

“Yes.”

“It would be best to move according to orders as quickly as possible.”

Sir Chalmonte seemed to want me to take the ring to the temple. From his words, I could tell that the invisible force meant the System.

He told me to move according to the System’s orders even though he hadn’t moved according to the System himself, so I couldn’t help but remain wary of Sir Chalmonte.

“Why do you think that?”

“You’re an unwelcome existence in this world. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer immediately. I needed to be careful since I didn’t know what Sir Chalmonte’s intentions were in bringing this up. After a brief silence, he spoke again.

“I’m the same way. Something is wrong with this world. And you’re at the center of it.”

“How do you know that?”

“To me, you appear to be an alien existence.”

“What are you?”

Neither Count and Countess Richmond, nor Count Lindsey, nor anyone at the mansion had looked at me that way. So how could I appear alien only to Sir Chalmonte’s eyes?

“Didn’t you see me in the garden that day?”

Instead of answering my question, Sir Chalmonte asked me one.

Recalling the sight of Sir Chalmonte kissing a man made my face flush involuntarily. Sir Chalmonte’s expression immediately hardened.

“As I thought.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t try to see it on purpose. I just happened to see it by chance.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t do it willingly either.”

What was he talking about when I’d seen him with a man before?

“Don’t you like men? I clearly saw it that day.”

Sir Chalmonte shook his head vigorously. His expression looked insulted.

“What you saw me do was beyond my control.”

I couldn’t understand his words. The nuance that someone forced him to do it seemed suspicious.

“Do I seem strange to you? I suppose I would. I’m also an unwelcome existence here, so I must be different from other people.”

“Why do you think you’re unwelcome?”

“Because I gained a will.”

Acting according to his will? I couldn’t understand Sir Chalmonte’s words. Wasn’t he an NPC? So how could he have a will?

“I also can’t understand my body moving against my will. However, I learned that a special event allowed me to act according to my own will.”

“A special event?”

“When you tried to escape from it.”

Ah…

I thought I understood what Sir Chalmonte was talking about. 

Last time when I struggled to escape from the System, didn’t it feel like my head was being torn apart? Did a small gap appear at that moment?

“At that time, a small crack formed in the invisible force. As a result, I became able to act according to my own will for a while.”

Sir Chalmonte elaborated, confirming my guess. Since the time he gained a will was after I left the palace, what I witnessed was…

I’d thought Sir Chalmonte was being moved by the System all along. But that wasn’t it.

Does this situation even make sense?

I looked around anxiously. If Sir Chalmonte’s words were true, a System window should have appeared by now, shouting warnings. Or someone should have appeared to interrupt our conversation. But wasn’t it too quiet?

I continued my conversation with Sir Chalmonte with a puzzled expression.

“Are you really saying that having relations with men isn’t your will?”

“Yes, my actual feelings are the opposite. I like women.”

“Then can you embrace women now?”

“There are still limitations, but I think it’s possible.”

“If you really gained a will, then let me out of here.”

If Sir Chalmonte had gained a will, he might be able to help me. I desperately hoped to receive his help and return to my original life.

“That’s impossible with my power. All I can do is eliminate you. That’s why I tried to kill you.”

But only despairing words flowed from Sir Chalmonte’s mouth. He tried to kill me because he couldn’t send me back? I couldn’t understand how the situation was unfolding, and the more I talked with him, the more confused I felt.

“Will things change if you eliminate me?”

“You’re an unwelcome guest in this world. This world’s order will be restored once you disappear.”

“What does that mean?”

What did a player disappearing have to do with the world’s order being restored? The more I talked with Sir Chalmonte, the more absurd it became.

I’d never come here of my own will. Hadn’t the old woman put the game pack in my bag without my knowledge?

Of course, turning on the gaming device was my choice, but I had no intention of playing the game. Rather, I was forced to participate in the game because the power wouldn’t turn off.

Yet Sir Chalmonte was calling my existence a nuisance.

“Who are you to say that to me?”

“I can’t tell you everything truthfully because of the invisible force. But I’m one of the people who wants the world to return to its original state.”

“The original world?”

“Yes. The world right now is twisted.”

Sir Chalmonte kept saying things I didn’t understand, but strangely enough, I did understand. The situation hadn’t made sense from the start, with the logout button not being activated.

“As the world twisted, bugs came to exist. I’m one of those bugs. That’s why I can talk with you, even if only briefly.”

Ah, I see.

Only then did I understand why the Status Window remained quiet while I had this important conversation with Sir Chalmonte, and why no one interrupted our conversation.

As I nodded, unexpected words flowed from Sir Chalmonte’s mouth.

“And you’re the same.”

“I’m a bug?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected statement. I was a game player—how could I be a bug? When I looked at Sir Chalmonte with bewildered eyes, he nodded.

“I became a bug through someone’s mistake, but you’re different. You absolutely should not exist here.”

“So to fix that, you’re telling me to obtain the ring from Count Lindsey and take it to the temple?”

“Yes. That’s correct. You must clean up the mess before he ruins everything.”

“He?”

Sir Chalmonte, who’d been referring to it as an “invisible force,” suddenly specified the opponent. Thinking I might finally learn the System’s identity, I tensed up and perked my ears.

“Yes, everything is his scheme.”

“His scheme? Who are you talking about?”

“He is…”

The moment he tried to say the name, Sir Chalmonte’s face contorted in pain. He clutched his throat, seemingly unable to breathe. Then suddenly his face twisted grotesquely, like it was lagging.

His limbs also bent like they’d malfunctioned. Just watching made goosebumps rise all over my body.