Chapter 92

Chapter 92
“Who… passed away?”

I received the news while looking through the enrollment papers at the Cola Safe Zone Military Academy. Platon had run all the way over, struggling to catch his breath. Whether due to the intense sprint or the heavy news he brought—her passing—his eyes appeared bloodshot and swollen.

Eventually, he calmed himself and spoke softly.

“Lady Daphne… has departed.”

What kind of absurdity was this?

Since arriving in this world, nothing had ever shaken me to this degree, not even when Lieutenant General Radu had handed me that dangerous, venom-laced chocolate earlier.

Daphne… is dead?

My immediate thought was that someone had attempted to poison her once more. Following that came another realization—

“Meursault.”

“Pardon? Ah—yes, he is at Lady Daphne’s estate right now, but Director Meursault is… not entirely in his right mind either, so I—”

Platon must have assumed I was inquiring about Meursault’s state and began clarifying, but none of it registered. My mind was entirely fixed on the status window I had previously viewed for Daphne.

CHARACTER STATUS X
Name: Meursault’s Wife
Conquest Route: Merry Bad Ending (Heyden)

* Player using a different system version. Friend requests unavailable.

It had clearly designated the conquest route as Merry Bad Ending-Heyden. At the time, I had dismissed it as insignificant. Yet with this sudden tragedy, I instantly recalled a player who had met a strikingly similar fate: Anjeon8yeok.

Could she really have disregarded the route and married Meursault…?

There was a period when I believed my own mother had been erased for failing her designated route. Even so, Daphne had managed to carve out time—after walking away from her marriage to Heyden and departing the zone—to tend to the afflicted in the Slums. I had wanted players inhabiting otome-game characters to be different.

I hoped they could chart their own path. Because she had been thrust into an existence she never wanted, forced to endure Daphne’s unwanted path, I never wished for her entire life in this realm to remain shackled to an unwanted marriage. Unlike my mother, I wanted her to find happiness.

Then a remark Daphne had once shared with me flashed across my thoughts.

-I married Heyden because of the quest… but regrets followed almost immediately. So I told him that even if it cost me my life, I preferred to remain with Meursault, and begged him to help me secure a divorce from Heyden.

Surely not…

Had Daphne selected Meursault over Heyden with full awareness of the consequences? Yet with her already gone, I could no longer ask.

“Lord Haydam, are you well?”

Platon, who looked far from well himself, posed the question. I pulled my thoughts back to the present.

“Where is Anton?”

“Pardon? My father must be deeply shaken as well, naturally—”

“You. Seek out Anton.”

“To… Father?”

“Go immediately!”

I stood up from my seat and issued the command sharply. Platon flinched in confusion, then rushed out with a troubled expression.

In the game, whenever Daphne fell victim to poison, Anton invariably took his own life as well.

In the current situation, I could not let Anton perish too. Hoping Platon would reach him in time, I made my way toward Daphne’s Mansion.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◇ ◇

Upon arriving at Daphne’s Mansion, the sounds of servants weeping echoed through the hallways. The staff who usually subjected visitors to rigorous entry protocols at the gate were nowhere to be found—every single one of them had undoubtedly gathered near Daphne.

I hurried into the foyer and caught sight of her: Daphne, lying pale with her eyes closed. Beside her, Meursault held her tightly against his chest, weeping uncontrollably.

Inspect Character.

I instinctively attempted to open Daphne’s character window, but the system remained completely unresponsive. Curiously, a faint expression resembling a smile remained at the edges of her lips. The instant I noticed that smile, a profound emptiness hollowed me out inside.

She truly… understood, didn’t she?

Perhaps the reason she delayed confessing her feelings to Meursault until the very end was because she anticipated this outcome. Had my own words pushed her toward her end?

A chill rushed down my spine, making it difficult to draw breath. A wave of dizziness swept over me, and then a familiar voice called my name.

“Lord Haydam.”

Meursault, still cradling Daphne and crying, looked up at me as if snapping back to reality.

“Meursault.”

I stepped forward to offer comfort—and a strange smile touched Meursault’s lips. I froze in my tracks.

“You’ve arrived. Thank goodness.”

Thank… goodness?

“Lord Haydam, something is amiss. This is entirely wrong.”

Meursault gently laid Daphne down, then crawled across the floor in my direction.

“It is you, Lord Haydam, you will certainly discover some impossible method to save Daphne. Is that not right? Lord Haydam…”

He dragged himself forward and reached for my collar. Right before his fingers grasped the fabric, another hand shot out from behind and intercepted his wrist.

It was Commander Heyden.

“Get a grip, Meursault.”

The commander secured Meursault’s hand and lowered his posture until their eyes met.

“Clarify what occurred first.”

“Your Excellency…”

“I require the details of what happened before I can offer assistance.”

At those words, Meursault lowered his head.

“…It is my fault.”

“Your fault?”

“I dared to desire Lady Daphne… and that is why this tragedy befell us.”

On the surface, it sounded like standard self-blame for failing to protect her. But to anyone aware that a player failing their conquest route would be erased, it implied that Meursault understood far more than he let on. The commander would also recognize that a player like Daphne could not simply pass away without cause.

“Hold a moment. There are too many listeners present.”

As anticipated, the commander stood up and addressed the domestic staff.

“The family requires a moment in privacy. All of you, leave.”

Family.

Reflecting on it, he and Daphne had once been husband and wife, and I was the child born between them. Daphne and I genuinely constituted a family. This was the same man who had once beamed with brightness when he believed my regard for him mirrored friendship.

Even my mother had yielded Heyden to this individual…

The servants cast resentful glances toward the commander, reluctant to abandon their mistress, yet they could not defy his command. Only after they departed did the commander turn back to Meursault.

“Now speak. What transpired?”

After Daphne agreed to his proposal, Meursault had taken up residence in her mansion. While the servants remained suspicious of him, Daphne appeared so genuinely joyous that they limited their disapproval to minor remarks rather than blocking the remarriage itself. Having served her closely, they understood better than anyone that the commander and Daphne had never shared genuine affection. Some even felt a sense of relief that their mistress had finally found someone who cherished and loved her alone.

Daphne and Meursault spent hours leaning against one another, conversing in soft, wandering tones. In truth, Meursault had never spent extended periods with her previously; he anticipated a long adjustment period to truly understand one another. Yet Daphne already possessed an astonishing depth of knowledge about him—so much so that Meursault felt as though she had observed his entire life from afar.

Looking up at him with those dreamy violet eyes, Daphne asked,

“Why did we never converse in this manner before? Had I known how effortless it was, I would not have waited.”

“Sitting here conversing with you feels entirely like a dream, Lady Daphne.”

“Simply call me Daphne now.”

“Pardon? H-how could I possibly—”

When Meursault stammered in panic, Daphne grasped his hand firmly.

“Meursault. The divorce documents will arrive shortly. Once I endorse them, I am your wife. Marriage represents an equal partnership.”

“Even so…”

“Are you defying my command?”

“Pardon? Moments ago you stated marriage is equal… Never mind.”

The feigned annoyance vanished from Daphne’s face as she laughed softly.

“Very well. Give it a try.”

“Again. With more volume.”

“Da-Daphne!”

“Well done.”

He briefly wondered whether this constituted true matrimony or if he had simply been trained like a pet—yet Meursault realized he would not mind serving as Daphne’s loyal companion at all.

“Meursault, you have been smiling this entire time.”

“Because speaking with Lady Daphne… no, with Daphne, brings me immense joy. How do you possess such extensive knowledge regarding me?”

“Because I have observed you. For a very extended period.”

“R-really?”

Her words carried the weight of someone who had held him in her heart for years, quickening Meursault’s pulse. Then the reality of his true past flashed through his mind, prompting him to offer defensive explanations.

“Th-the rumors claiming I lost my sanity are false. They were fabricated by rivals who envied me. Among the actions I took, very few reflected my true desires. The incident involving Lieutenant General Batom—His Excellency commanded it; I had no alternative—”

“Meursault.”

Daphne calmed him with a gentle tone.

“I informed you previously. I understand Meursault thoroughly.”

As she spoke, her gaze seemed to penetrate straight through his defenses, making Meursault feel as though he might drown within those violet eyes.

“I accepted your proposal with full awareness of everything. Therefore, do not deceive me. What I valued in Meursault was his truthfulness.”

“…Then I shall be entirely truthful. I am not the individual Daphne envisions.”

“What kind of individual is that?”

“The honest, straightforward, earnest young man named Meursault.”

“Ah… mm…”

For a brief moment, Daphne wore a troubled expression before offering an awkward smile.

“Well… I never pictured Meursault in that exact light… but it matters little if you differ from my initial impression.”

“You differ from the person Meursault envisions as well.”

She lapsed into silence for a spell, then resumed with careful deliberation.

“This may sound completely irrational… but Meursault—what would your reaction be if I were not truly Daphne?”

“I find myself wondering who the woman I am marrying would be, if not Daphne.”

“If you can listen to my words… and subsequently put them out of your mind, I shall explain.”

Meursault sensed something unusual about her demeanor, yet an inexplicable certainty urged him to hear the tale immediately.

He nodded.

“Tell me your true identity.”

Granted permission, Daphne drew several deep breaths before speaking.

“The truth is, I originated outside this zone.”

“You arrived from a different zone?”

“My parents were not the commander. They were business leaders. Are you familiar with the term ‘chaebol’?”

“Chaebol?”

“It refers to a concept that vanished from this world ages ago.”

Meursault’s curiosity heightened upon learning that Daphne understood a long-extinct concept. Then her next words followed.

“Furthermore, I have a younger brother suffering from a fragile constitution.”