I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 179

Theodore’s emotions appeared to swing wildly, consumed by madness. Just moments ago, he had been smiling twistedly, but now tears were streaming down his face as he screamed.

‘It’s just a matter of being at cross purposes.’

‘…’ 

‘It’s all your fault. You were the one who interfered.’

‘Do you really think it’s my fault? Brother is the one who…’ 

‘I love Illein.’ 

‘…’ 

‘She does too.’

There was no reasoning with him. Edwin could tell that Theodore had lost his mind.

With a haunted expression, Theodore continued speaking about things only he understood. What was his vacant gaze looking at?

Edwin realized that there was no way to get through to him. There was no way to reason with someone who wasn’t even listening.

Only Theodore himself knew what his wandering gaze was focused on.

‘I’m sorry, Brother.’

Edwin could no longer just watch Theodore’s unstable state. After all, Theodore had already committed murder. Worse, it was patricide—a horrible crime.

Determined to stop him by force, Edwin quickly released his magic before Theodore could defend himself.

– Crack!

But Edwin’s attempt was in vain. The moment he attacked, Theodore, who had been lost in his thoughts, immediately came to his senses. He cast a counter-magic spell as if he had been waiting for this moment.

At the same time, Edwin screamed inside. This was something he had not anticipated. When had Theodore, a master of Earth magic, learned such a powerful counter-reflection spell?

‘Ugh!’

Edwin’s failure, due to his lack of knowledge about Theodore’s power, came at a painful cost. The immense magic Edwin had poured out was immediately reflected back at him.

In the blink of an eye, Edwin was defenseless against his own magic.

The attack was unavoidable.

Just as Edwin struggled against the backlash of his own magic, Theodore spoke again.

‘Die in peace. I’ll take Illein. And I’ll love her more than anyone.’

With that, the fight between Edwin and Theodore ended abruptly, with Edwin’s complete defeat.

In the distant, fading memory, Edwin’s nightmare continued relentlessly. And that torturous nightmare felt as if it would never end.

However…

At the end of the long, dark nightmare, something was different this time.

When the magic from Theodore hit him, Edwin should have lost his memory, but for the first time, something changed. There was a cracking sound, and the space that had bound Edwin began to crumble.

“Ugh!”

With a groan, Edwin’s eyes that had been closed shut, snapped open, and his body jerked up.

Now fully conscious, Edwin began to assess his surroundings and gradually come to grips with reality. 

It had been a terrifying nightmare. After a long and tumultuous dream, he was finally back in the real world, and a sense of relief washed over him.

“Edwin!”

At that moment, Illein’s voice reached his ears, and he felt an overwhelming sense of comfort. Of course, it was because he recognized her as Illenas, from the familiar magic and the energy of the control device she shared with him.

“How did I get here…?”

Despite that, Edwin was still confused. The place he found himself in was unmistakably his own bedroom.

He couldn’t understand why Illenas was here. He wanted to ask her more, but before he could, another voice interrupted.

“Your Highness!”

The voice of the weeping steward reached his ears, and he saw the familiar figure hurrying toward him.

“Edwin, are you alright? I’m so glad.” 

“Thank goodness you’re awake, Your Highness.”

Edwin noticed Damon and Melias who looked slightly uneasy. He gave a slight nod toward them.

The reason Damon and Melias looked uneasy was that they couldn’t hide their surprise. To be honest, they never expected that Illein’s magic would wake Edwin up.

The steward, seeing that Edwin had regained consciousness, quickly excused himself and left to summon the palace doctor and priests. 

Once the steward had left, the group fell into a brief silence. 

Illein was thankful that Edwin was awake, but she couldn’t find the words to speak. Damon and Melias were still reeling from the unexpected turn of events, and Edwin, focused on fully grasping his surroundings.

The atmosphere grew more awkward, and it felt like the silence would continue unless someone broke it.

“What are you doing here in the palace?”

Edwin broke the silence first. Damon chuckled softly at the dry question. It felt very much like something Edwin would say.

“We actually made a bet in class.” 

Damon responded.

“A bet?” 

“Yes, a bet on finding the culprit.”

“…What?”

Damon shrugged and continued. 

“Honestly, Class 1 is better than the city guards at this. So, we’re going to investigate ourselves. So, cooperate with us, Edwin.”

Damon said this with a playful grin. Edwin took a moment to choose his words.