Chapter 56

Chapter 56

She also wanted to love someone for who she was. She wanted to be loved.

So, anyone would know how Irene feels. Because of that, it could be said that it was only natural that she did not overcome the temptation of a man who always left papercrafts with a smile for her. It was only then that she could survive.

She was able to spend sleepless nights under the fleeting sense of being loved…

It was a kind of escape.

An escape to avoid even for a moment the reality of driving Louise into her death, and the despair that permeated her despite this.

‘So, to be honest, I also used him as well…’

Otis did not force her, so if Irene wanted to, she could have pushed him away. Though she did not… It was also her choice to accept Otis.

Did she love him? Well, she was not sure about that.

At the very least, if she had known what the character Irene was like in the original, she would have been able to know a little more clearly. Unfortunately, Irene’s point of view was not revealed even for a moment in the original.

It was because she was not an important character.

So, in the story, there was only Otis, who gave Irene the temptation from the point of view of Louise. It was not revealed what Irene had chosen to do with the temptation.

Only one thing was certain—

—That Otis seduced her just to get Louise’s attention.

‘…Otherwise, I would not have been so coldly abandoned.’

Irene still vividly remembered the night she was cruelly abandoned.

It was a dark azure night like any other. Otis could not overcome his insomnia without her, so she was by his side that day as well.

…Under the same blanket, bare skin.

Getting used to things that were unfamiliar to her at first. Irene gently brushed the hair of a man who had buried his face within her. Quietly fearing the end of the day when her own wrong choice would come, she turned her eyes to this fleeting sense of satisfaction.

It was to arouse her strange satisfaction to see a beautiful man disheveled in her arms.

…No, it always has been like that, ever since Otis grabbed her just as she was about to tidy up the bedroom and leave.

“Irene. Tonight… Can you stay with me? There is no one I can ask but you, so I know it’s difficult… Please…”

It was the first experience in her repeated life as the maid, Irene, that was asked to do as an individual, not as an extra. The Otis right now needed confidence, which no one but herself could give. And, Irene, exhausted from the repeated life, needed just that very desire.

It was not that difficult to betray her shallow affection for Louise since she had already come this far.

‘I do not know how long this relationship will last…’

Irene knew the end of this life. Somehow, Otis would return to Louise, and face her death. It would be nice if she could go back to reality like that.

Would she ever be able to go back?

Would she be able to live her original life even if she went back…?

Now with the name Irene, she has become more accustomed to tying the ribbon of a maid outfit. She could not even remember what kind of life she had in the first place.

…Could she guarantee that she would be happy if she went back there?

Questions followed one another. The despair that was engulfed in the shadows grew deeper. Her hand stopped for a moment at that fact, and then the door was knocked.

“Otis.”

A familiar voice.

“…Louise?”

The person in her arms jumped up at the voice coming from behind the door.

“It’s, it’s me. Can… I talk to you for a second?”

“…I don’t understand. Are we going to talk at this hour?”

“I know… I know, but… I miss you.”

The moment she heard a voice from outside the door, she could see the joy on Otis’ face.

Irene suddenly realized that the time had come for her to let go of what she had coveted for a while. No, should she say that she has looked back on how their fate will flow in the future…?

Louise, who was trembling with a delicate voice outside the door, had long since left Otis. Rather, she wanted revenge on him, and she took the hand of the villain who had just reached out their hand. There was only one thing she had to do.

To seduce Otis by saying ‘I love you,’ and bring the information to the villain.

‘…But, the villain backstabbed Louise.’

They tried to kidnap Louise and attack Otis, who only then realized the truth and locked her up—imprisoning her and forcing his one-sided love.

…To death in the end.

So, if he was deceived by Louise’s voice, it was evident that everything would lead to catastrophe. However, Otis was already buttoning his shirt to leave.

Irene hesitated for a moment.

Even if she spoke up here, the relationship between the two would be disturbed.

Perhaps, it could interfere with the path to the ending.

Perhaps, they would end up with a different ending from the story.

She did not know what the outcome would be at that time, though at least, it would not be a foreordained tragedy. If that happened, she may not be able to see the ending and return to her original world, but still…

Still…

‘If Otis looks back at me once, I will hold onto him.’

Irene made a promise to herself.

…Even if this ending was really a breakthrough that could bring her back to reality.

….Even if she holds onto Otis herself, the ending would not change.

It did not matter.

It must be the moment when Irene, who had been playing the game as a bystander the whole time, had spoken out. It was proof that her own existence in this world was not meaningless.

And so, she waited.

Until Otis got his clothes on and walked out the door. She was confident, of course, he would look back at least once, to tell him to be quiet or to ask for forgiveness… He would look back at least once.

That was a given.

She would not be so meaningless in this world…

Thud.

The door opened, and silver hair could be seen through a gap.

“Louise.”

A voice like a sigh.

“I missed you.”

“Every day… to see you, Otis.”

“I missed you looking at me. You… Don’t turn away from me.”

Just before the door closed, she could see the lovers hugging each other. The man who had buried his face in her arms a while ago, whispered his love to his lover who had returned… Completely forgotten about the person who had given him comfort.

From the moment Louise appeared until now, he had never looked back to her.

Recognizing that fact, Irene sat blankly in the bedroom for a long time.

As she found out later, this game was designed so that the male and female protagonists would not recognize other characters other than each other in the main episode of the route.

In other words, from the moment Louise came to visit, Irene was not there.

However, that day was the day she first appeared as a supporting actor in the main episode. The day Irene, who had always overheard the conversation of the episode by chance, was sitting next to the main character for the first time.

So, there was no way for Irene at the time to know that fact.

She simply contemplated for a long time on the back of a person who had never looked back at her.

* * *

Since then, Irene had given up on being meaningful in this world.

Rather, she was more comfortable thinking of herself as a tool. After all, the servants were educated as tools for their masters, and in reality, her position in this world was just a tool, so there was nothing wrong with treating herself like that.

She was just tired of even that now.

Now, she really did not want to get involved with the male protagonists like this.

“Don’t do this.”

Irene took Otis’s hand that was on her face and lowered it slowly.

“You’re not even serious.”

“…Can I not mean it?”

“Of course, it would be fine if there was a mutual agreement, but there’s not.”

Otis looked a little stunned.

“Obviously, I have no intention of forcing you on it. Though the experience of being rejected is refreshing.”

“Do they usually accept it?”

“I don’t think I’ll have to say it with my mouth for you to know?”

Of course, it was. She just pretended not to know. When Otis was in the midst of socializing in order to form connections with the nobles, there were people who came to the mansion and asked where he was, so did he need to explain more?

‘…And, I also fell for his temptations.’

From a position that had been through this twice, Otis had a natural talent for seduction.

“It’s not bad to experience rejection at least once.”

Of course, it could not always be one hundred percent out of a hundred all the time.