—
“What I’m curious about is...” Lucifa leaned forward, her violet eyes gleaming with curiosity.
“Why, in your fear projection, was her left eye... covered by an eyepatch?”
To be honest, Lucifa didn’t even need to ask. When Will first saw Treya in his fear-induced vision, the sa question had crossed his mind.
But he had quickly realized the answer.
This was a representation of what he “feared” most—his deepest dread was the future where the three girls beca “losers.”
In... that future...
Treya looked exactly like that.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe ,” Will replied evasively.
“Huh? Then just say it! Stop leaving us hanging!” Lucifa huffed, stabbing her fork into Will’s salad and stealing a portion.
“Then you’re not getting this back,” she added smugly.
Shuna, however, remained calm. She cut a piece of lamb from her plate and placed it onto Will’s.
“Is it... a vision of the ‘future’ you saw in your dreams?” she asked, her tone steady.
Will felt flustered by the strange dynamic of one person taking his food and another giving it back.
“Yeah. As expected, Shuna, you understand best.”
“So, tell us,” Shuna encouraged.
Lucifa, perhaps feeling guilty, returned the stolen vegetables to Will’s plate as if to bribe him for an answer.
Will sighed and began recounting the mory from his mind—
This likely took place between the events of “Treya being defeated by the Undead Swordsman” and “the fall of the Entark Empire.”
“In the dream... after Emperor Edward’s death, the royal heirs began engaging in real ‘duels’—naturally, only those skilled in Entark swordsmanship participated.”
According to the original story, after the Fourth Prince’s death, the martial-skilled heirs divided his military power among themselves. But when the king passed away, this division led to a series of duels designed to eliminate competitors under the guise of “accidents.”
In the original tiline, driven by her desire for revenge against Eugenie, Treya stepped into the dueling arena.
“In that duel, she was injured by the Seventh Prince—her left eye was slashed, leaving her blind in that eye and forcing her to wear an eyepatch.”
Afterward, Treya withdrew from the power struggle to recover from her injuries. She left the capital and ended up being the only surviving royal mber when the revolutionary army stord the city.
Following this event, she beca part of a “Princess’s Revenge” subplot—a defeated figure who re-entered the main storyline under a new identity. Compared to the other two girls who had completely fallen off the map, Treya fared slightly better.
This entire sequence was written exceptionally well in the original story. It seamlessly depicted the ugliness of Entark’s royal family while adding depth to Treya’s battles and emotions.
But...
The problem was...
So parts of this storyline felt like they were written solely to justify the “cool aesthetic” of a pure white half-elf donning an eyepatch and embarking on a mission to restore her family’s honor.
Of course, the illustrations were stunning. Treya standing under moonlight with her silver hair billowing in the wind, her eyepatch adding both fragility and resilience to her beauty—it was undeniably captivating.
“I see. So she hasn’t reached the point where her eye gets injured yet—that’s why she doesn’t have an eyepatch now,” Lucifa concluded, nodding as if Will’s explanation made perfect sense. She accepted his words without hesitation or skepticism.
Ah, so this is what it’s like dealing with a dungeon Empress...
“So... you’re rushing to the capital...” Lucifa began.
“To save my own life,” Will admitted bluntly.
—From Leah’s situation, he had learned that being caught unprepared by a yandere was a death sentence.
—So now, he needed to act preemptively—to win Treya over with his actions.
—As long as he responded to her feelings and moved her heart, he wouldn’t end up like he did with Leah—bound and imprisoned.
“Huh?” Lucifa’s simple response carried layers of ‘Are you even listening to yourself?’
“Uh... I an... to save her. Or rather, to prevent her from becoming that version of herself—is that answer good enough?”
Still, Treya with an eyepatch was undoubtedly part of a “future that doesn’t exist.”
Although Will had calculated that by then, he would likely have already sacrificed himself and beco the story’s biggest tragicomic relief...
But...
He would teach her how to survive in such a royal family. He would teach the pure white princess how to darken herself—to avoid that dangerous “duel” entirely from the start.
The more he understood her life and experiences, the more pity he felt for her—that was probably it.
So he wouldn’t leave Treya as she was. He wouldn’t choose to run away. He would go to the capital and help this seemingly helpless and anxious princess who had been searching for him through notices and whispers.
“After all, she’s probably stuck in the royal family’s ss—desperately trying to climb out but only sinking deeper.”
Will stared at the light reflecting off the table—it reminded him of Treya’s shining left eye.
“If... if in that future she had a capable ‘strategist’ by her side to pull her up... things might’ve been different. If no one else will do it, then I will.”
“...Alright,” Lucifa said after taking a sip of her drink. Though it looked like wine, it was probably just grape juice—or maybe not even that. Knowing her, it could’ve been an illusionary red liquid she conjured up for effect.
“You know,” she continued, “at first I thought you weren’t a good person—that all your talk about feelings was just for show. But... in your ‘fear,’ your sincerity was clear. You’re genuine.”
“I’m so honored to receive recognition from a ntal-type Empress,” Will said sarcastically.
“Of course! And you’re equally genuine toward all three of them—what a scumbag,” Lucifa added with a teasing grin.
“Pfft.” Shuna couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Hey hey—”
“But for so reason,” Shuna interrupted, “I don’t think you’re going to save that princess.”
She paused for a mont as if searching for the right words. Placing her fork down, she glanced up at the chandelier hanging above them in Tenth Demon Castle’s dining hall.
“Shuna? Are you doubting my intentions? You should know how pure-hearted I am! Although... maybe too pure-hearted since I seem to want everything...” Will joked nervously.
“No,” Shuna replied thoughtfully. “It’s just... maybe because I’ve dealt with witches before—I feel like things won’t be that simple...”
Will felt a twinge of unease at Shuna’s vague response.
“So... it’s your intuition?”
“I just feel like... instead of being a savior and a princess waiting to be saved... you two seem more like...”
Shuna set down her fork as if bracing herself for sothing serious before finishing:
“...two chess players on opposite sides of a board.”
“Huh?”
“You know how so people describe certain relationships as feeling like evenly matched duels? That’s what your dynamic reminds of,” Shuna explained.
Will hadn’t expected such a description.
“A... duel?”
“It’s like both of you think you’ve set traps for each other and believe you’re in control. In the end... it’ll probably co down to who has more information and plays their hand better.”
After hearing Shuna’s analysis, Will couldn’t help but feel there was so truth to it.
After all, Treya wasn’t entirely the “pure white princess” she used to be—otherwise, she wouldn’t have resorted to putting up missing person notices.
Still, Will remained confident.
As soone who had personally guided them this far, as soone ard with knowledge from the “original story,” as soone who had kept everything ticulously organized...
He believed in his abilities.
Because they were what had brought him this far—step by step—with the power of foresight guiding him.
“Of course,” Shuna added casually, “if it were up to , I wouldn’t choose that kind of relationship. I’d prefer soone who could fight alongside as an equal—soone who shares my interests and understands better.”
She sipped from her glass while looking at Will—though whatever was in her glass looked more like black sludge than actual wine.
Her expression seed expectant, as if waiting for Will’s response.
“Shuna...”
“Huh? What did you guys talk about while I was gone?” Lucifa suddenly popped up from behind the counter with a curious expression.
“W-W-When did you get here?! No—when did you leave?!” Will stamred in surprise.
“I told you—I went to grab sothing... didn’t you return my heart?” Lucifa replied nonchalantly as she pushed sothing toward him.
“Here. Take this.”
On the table lay what looked like fabric—soft yet slightly rough on its surface.
“What is this?” Will asked curiously.
“Hmph! Consider it my acknowledgnt of you!” Lucifa declared proudly.
Will unfolded it and took a closer look.
Though it appeared to be just a piece of cloth, its surface was covered in dense writing inked in strange symbols and text.
“This is an ‘Accursed Cloth’ that has existed since Tenth Demon Castle was created. I can’t read what’s written on it... but since this dungeon is called ‘Tenth Dungeon,’ maybe it has so connection to the nine dungeons before it.”
“A legacy item?”
“Maybe. It might hold great power—but I never figured out how to use it. You adventurers might have better luck. After forging your sword, you could tear this into strips and wrap them around the hilt like bandages—it might even be better than using my heart.”
“T-Thank you...” Will stamred. He hadn’t expected... recognition from a dungeon Empress?
“You’re such a kind soul! If Treya ever ascends to the throne, I’ll make sure she grants you a noble title!”
“Are you insane?! Who wants a human title?!”
“Uh... how about we work on getting your dungeon rated A-Class by the Adventurer’s Guild instead?”
“You guys have rankings?!” Lucifa exclaid in surprise, her horns twitching slightly.
“It seems like just as humans don’t understand dungeons well enough, you demons don’t understand much about adventurers either,” Will teased lightly.
“So... does A-Class an I’m really strong?”
“Oh no—it just ans defeating you gives higher points.”
“You’re planning to rank high just so people can farm ?! That’s cruel!”
Lucifa puffed out her cheeks indignantly before suddenly looking toward the depths of the dining hall.
The little demons flying around serving food froze mid-action along with those preparing als in the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Will asked cautiously.
“The dungeon... The thirty-one floor just unlocked.”
“...What?!”
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