Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 208

“Well, regardless, even in the novel, you became Emperor, so you would have married someone,” Adeline said.

It just wouldn’t have been the female lead. Edwin gave a self-deprecating laugh as though he had expected such a response.

“I suppose I would have lingered around her forever, unable to give up.”

“Perhaps that’s just your karma,” Adeline replied with a shrug. “The price for a lifetime of making women cry and loving your friend’s lover. But at least that’s just in the novel. In reality, you didn’t end up with an endless one-sided love for Genevieve. Isn’t that fortunate?”

Adeline nodded to herself.

In the novel, the second male lead—after realizing his feelings—had seized every opportunity to appeal to the heroine whenever cracks appeared in her relationship with the male lead.

The female lead quickly understood his feelings but, unable to accept them, rejected him, apologized, and wished him happiness as a friend.

Genevieve, being the kind person she was, would have felt sorry for Edwin upon realizing his feelings.

How fortunate that such a scenario didn’t happen—for Genevieve’s sake.

Genevieve and Edwin’s gazes briefly met in the air. Edwin caught the pity in Genevieve’s eyes and responded with a smooth smile.

“Exactly. How fortunate.”

“Yes… I’m fortunate too,” Genevieve replied in a trembling voice.

The more Adeline explained, the paler Genevieve became, her face losing all color. She looked so shaken that Adeline wondered if she might actually throw up. Several times, Adeline stopped her explanation to ask if she was okay.

Genevieve had initially found it amusing that Adeline’s role in the novel had been to torment her. She had even laughed, agreeing that it made sense.

But as Adeline spoke of her ‘purpose’ in the story, Genevieve’s expression hardened.

“If someone has to die for an ability to awaken, wouldn’t it be better not to have it at all?” Genevieve said, her tone grim.

And to think that such a fate would lead to Shane Blanchard.

“So everything—everything—was actually…”

“Shane, Edwin, Lucian, even the dead sorcerer… they all fell for you.”

“……”

“Genevieve?”

“I-I’m gonna throw up…”

“What! Did you eat something bad? Are you feeling sick?”

“Hiic, I’m sorry, Lady Adeline…”

“Why are you apologizing to me? For what?”

“How could all of that… all of it… have been aimed at you!”

“……”

“I feel so sorry for you, I don’t know what to do…”

For a moment, Adeline was confused, wondering if Genevieve was joking.

But then Genevieve actually gagged a few times, her eyes welling with tears as she repeatedly apologized.

“Even in a novel, how could the female lead have such bad taste…?”

“Huh?”

“Or maybe she was so battered that even her sense of fear got paralyzed?”

“……”

“That can’t be. From experience, I can tell you—people develop a sense of crisis the more they get hit. Just looking at someone, you know. Oh, this is someone who could kill me. Or, this person will beat me but stop short of killing me…”

“Don’t say such sad things so matter-of-factly, Genevieve…”

“Maybe she hit her head after being hit too hard by her father.”

“That… that’s not it, Genevieve.”

“Otherwise, how could someone fall for someone like Duke Blanchard at first sight? And then Crown Prince Edwin? His Highness wouldn’t even be interested in someone like me.”

Edwin tilted his head with a mocking smirk.

“My taste is as broad as the sea, Genevieve. There’s no one I couldn’t love.”

“Blegh…”

Adeline quickly cupped her hand under Genevieve’s chin. Of course, it was just dry heaving, but Genevieve looked genuinely moved as she sniffled and said,

“Lucian, too! The boss of a criminal organization who kills people at the slightest provocation! In the novel, I wasn’t blessed by the Goddess—I was cursed, wasn’t I?”

“That’s true. Poor female lead… Lucian isn’t someone you should accept anything from.”

“And then there’s the sorcerer…”

“The sorcerer in the novel was probably her twin. And yes, he fell for you too.”

“What a mess…”

Genevieve let out a short, cynical remark and then clasped Adeline’s hands tightly.

“If you had told me earlier, I would have protected you with my life so no one could curse you, Lady Adeline.”

Adeline was on the verge of falling for her.

Watching the tearful Genevieve and Adeline trying to comfort her, Edwin shook his head in exasperation.

If the curse in the novel had been Genevieve’s burden, then what Adeline bore now could only be described as something else entirely.

In the end, unlike the novel’s male lead, Adeline married the properly deranged Shane. Meanwhile, Edwin harbored a quiet one-sided affection for Adeline. As for Lucian, while his exact feelings were unclear, he seemed to hold some sort of fondness or friendship for her.

If not, why would someone so obsessed with money help her multiple times without asking for anything in return?

‘The sorcerer in the novel and the twin sorcerer…’

Edwin thought of Kaitlyn, who had looked as though she had lost her mind.

Kaitlyn was currently locked up.