Kabir came? A man who seldom leaves his own domain had come all the way here. It was unexpected, especially since he often declined even royal invitations.

I had resolved not to meet anyone, but it seemed rude to just send Kabir away after he had made the effort to come here.

I got up slowly and opened the door. The maid discreetly exited upon seeing the door open.

“Anais.”

It was indeed Kabir. He seemed momentarily startled upon seeing me.

“…You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

“I’m the same as always.”

“Have you looked in a mirror?”

“…….”

I must look worse than I thought. It’s inevitable, considering the betrayal I felt from those I trusted.

“Come in.”

I couldn’t just have a conversation with a guest standing in the doorway.

The room was surprisingly clean for being unused for several days, thanks to the maid’s diligent care.

I naturally lay down on the bed. Kabir looked at me as if I was out of my mind.

“You wanted to talk.”

“You can talk while lying down.”

Kabir, whether convinced or resigned, sat down on a nearby chair.

I lay there listlessly on the bed, looking at Kabir.

“How did you know to come?”

“Irmin suggested I should visit. Seeing your state, it seems it was the right decision.”

Irmin must have conveyed my condition to Kabir. Really an unnecessary consideration.

“I heard you were dumped by your fiancé.”

The message seemed to have been significantly distorted. I got irritated and sat up.

“That’s not true.”

“Then it’s unfortunate.”

“Don’t be annoying.”

Although Hans and I were in a cold war, we hadn’t broken up. I promised myself I wouldn’t let Irmin get away with this if I ever saw him again.

“Then why do you look so down?”

“I was backstabbed by people I trusted.”

And by quite a number of them whom I had known for a long time.

Kabir asked sharply,

“Does that include your fiancé?”

“…….”

I couldn’t answer that. Nothing had been clearly proven yet, and we hadn’t even had a proper conversation.

Seeing my silence, Kabir seemed to understand.

“On my way here, I met your fiancé.”

“……?”

I looked at Kabir, surprised.

I thought Hans would surely be in the Celestial Realm since I hadn’t seen him, but it seemed he had stayed at the mansion.

“What did you talk about?”

“He asked me to check if you were okay.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really.”

I thought he might have given Kabir some message for me since we hadn’t met for a while. But apparently not.

Was that enough for him? Hans’s voice asking to talk a few days ago came to mind.

Should I have properly talked it out? But I just couldn’t bring myself to face Hans. Right now, anything he’d say would just sound like excuses.

“What should I do, Kabir?”

“I don’t know the details of your situation, so I don’t have much to say.”

Kabir pondered before speaking,

“Regardless, it’s clear that you’re not in a good place to make objective decisions right now.”

“…….”

Even to others, my distress was apparent. Avoiding the issue was only making things worse.

“Think about it. You care about him a lot, don’t you? Your fiancé.”

“…Yes.”

Despite everything, I still cared for Hans. Even if he too was part of the deceit. I couldn’t help but still like him.

It was evident I was utterly lost. Love was a terrifying emotion, more overwhelming than I had ever anticipated.

Kabir smiled, seeing my silence.

“I’m glad you’re not physically ill. That’s enough for me.”

With those words, he stood up.

“Leaving already?”

“Yes. I’ve seen you’re okay. Have a good talk.”

Kabir left the room without any hesitation. He probably just came to check on me.

After Kabir left, I sank into deep thought.

‘Yeah, staying like this won’t solve anything.’

Whether it ends in reconciliation or conflict, I had to face it without fear.

I wandered to places where Hans might be. His room, the garden he frequented. But Hans was nowhere to be found.

During my search, I unexpectedly bumped into a familiar face.

“Finley!”

“What.”

Finley looked surprised to see me.

“Left your room?”

“Where’s Hans?”

“How would I know?”

Finley responded as if it was odd for me to ask her.

Typically unhelpful sibling. I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Just then, I heard the sound of someone running behind me. Before Finley and I could turn around, someone embraced me tightly.

“Sister―!”

It was Selena.

Selena hugged me tightly, tears streaming down her face. It was almost suffocating.

“Selena, calm down and…”

“Are you okay now? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

Compared to Finley, it was an intense greeting.

If only she could take a leaf out of Selena’s book. I gave Finley a meaningful look, but she just shamelessly stared back. I wondered if all redheads were like this.

“I’m not hurt. I’m fine. There’s no need to stay in my room anymore, so don’t worry.”

“Really…?”

“Yes, yes.”

I stroked Selena’s hair to calm her down. She looked up at me with teary eyes and managed a watery smile.

“Your fiancé was really worried too! You should’ve seen how upset he looked today…”

“Did you see him?”

“Yes?”

“Hans, did you see him?”

When I asked earnestly, Selena nodded.

“Where is he?”

“He was in front of the dining hall until a while ago.”

That was one place I hadn’t checked. I immediately turned and started walking.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon!”

“Uh? Oh… okay!”

Selena seemed puzzled but bade me farewell.

It was likely that Hans had moved from the dining hall by now, but still, my feet moved.

* * *

Hans wasn’t in the dining hall, as expected. I quickly headed towards places Hans might have gone.

While heading towards Hans’s room, I spotted his figure in the corridor.

I was about to call out to him with a bright expression,

“Han…!”

Suddenly, everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a familiar office.

“Hello.”

Ian greeted me from behind the desk with a smile, a greeting I would usually expect from Gabriela.

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

So now, he wasn’t even disguising these interruptions as deaths. He was blatantly using Venecia’s powers.

“Why are you here?”

“I borrowed the place.”

Borrowed by Ian, lent by Gabriela. It was all so absurd.

After all that frustrating behavior, I couldn’t fathom why he would shamelessly summon me here, especially when I hadn’t even turned on the broadcast.

“Why did you call me here?”

“Would you be angry if I said I just wanted to see you?”

“…….”

Such a typical response. It was infuriating that Ian had called me here, and that I was about to lose 160,000 points. And just before I could talk to Hans.

Seeing my displeased expression, Ian said,

“I’ll send you the Resurrection Ticket points right away.”

“You have 160,000 points?”

“More than that.”

How did this person have so many points? At this point, I was curious. What kind of work did he do to accumulate so many?

“I don’t need it.”

I spoke coldly and turned to leave the room, but Ian grabbed my wrist.

“Where are you going?”

“To see Gabriela. I need to reincarnate.”

“Why don’t you stay and hang out for a bit? It’s not often you come here.”

Hang out, in this situation? I glared at Ian silently. He just kept smiling, regardless of my stare.

I shook off Ian’s hand. The whole situation was making me uncomfortable.

“Jiha.”

Ian called my name in a deep tone.

I met his gaze as if to challenge him to speak. Ian wore a leisurely smile.

“I can summon you anytime I want. Because I’m Venecia.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“It would be sad if you see it that way.”

It felt like a threat, no matter how I looked at it. But since Ian had brought me here, perhaps spending 160,000 points, I decided to hear him out.

“What do you want?”

I asked, irritation lacing my voice.

Ian smiled, his eyes crinkling beneath dark circles.

“I want to take you somewhere.”

* * *

I wanted to refuse, but what was the point? Ian would just summon me again, and next time it would cost 320,000 points. I didn’t want to lose that much.

Throughout the journey, I shoved my hands into my pockets and grumbled, following Ian.

“It’s a rare outing, you could at least look a bit happier.”

“You’re expecting too much. From an assassin, no less.”

“If you talk like that, will it hurt me?”

“It’s not like I’m wrong.”

Ian’s attitude was the same as before, but I was distinctly frosty towards him. Ian, who showed not even a shred of guilt for all the trouble he’d caused over time, was simply irritating.

“I don’t get it. Why are you so obsessed with the entertainment value of the broadcast?”

To me, it made no sense. Ian was just another viewer. Logically, there was no reason for him to care so much about the broadcast.

“Of course, I have to be obsessed.”

Ian grinned at me.

“I’m a devoted fan.”

“……?”

It was a response I couldn’t make sense of.

As I looked puzzled, Ian continued,

“I wanted your broadcast to continue for a long time. In a way, it was my only source of enjoyment.”

Was that why Ian was so obsessed with my broadcast?

Hans had mentioned once, after my broadcast started, Ian seemed to regain some of his spirit. Ian considered his own life mundane until he encountered my broadcast.

I knew my broadcast was important to Ian.

‘But this is too much.’

No matter the reason, it didn’t justify his actions.

I couldn’t understand Ian. And it seemed I never would.

“Here we are.”

We had reached our destination, and Ian stopped.

“……?”

I looked around, my expression filled with confusion.