“This is… PleaseShakeACarrot’s office.”

“Joshua was worried about you. Thought I’d show you around.”

I was wary of PleaseShakeACarrot now.

No matter how well he had treated me before, he was one of the angels who had stood by.

“Try having a conversation instead of just running away.”

It was the same advice I had heard from Davi and Kabir. Of course, it was about a different situation.

“You’re the last person who should be saying that.”

I gave Ian a look, but he ignored it and opened the door.

Inside, not only was PleaseShakeACarrot there but also OnlyFinley.

“Sister!”

PleaseShakeACarrot stood up as soon as he saw me, followed by OnlyFinley.

“Are you feeling better?”

“We were really worried when you just left!”

How should I take that? I sat down on a nearby chair and crossed my arms.

“Let’s just have a conversation. I have a lot of questions for both of you.”

“…….”

PleaseShakeACarrot and OnlyFinley exchanged a look, clearly uncomfortable.

I didn’t hesitate and asked straight away.

“You both knew, didn’t you?”

“…Yeah.”

“Since when?”

“We found out recently! The day you and Hans went on a date, that’s when Ian told us.”

“Didn’t you think you should tell me?”

“That is…”

OnlyFinley hesitated.

Before she could continue, PleaseShakeACarrot spoke up.

“We thought you would like it.”

It was ridiculous. I couldn’t help but stand up abruptly.

“Why would I like that? You should know if you think about it!”

“Well…”

PleaseShakeACarrot looked as if he couldn’t understand.

“You always liked anything that was good for the broadcast.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

I had been that obsessed with the broadcast. I had prioritized it over my own feelings.

“If you’re upset about it, we’re sorry. We didn’t know you’d hate it this much.”

“Sorry, Jiha…”

They both seemed genuinely sorry.

“…….”

But why? I didn’t feel like accepting their apologies. The anger hadn’t subsided.

“I’m leaving.”

Eventually, I chose to leave.

Ian and the other two didn’t try to stop me. It was more like they couldn’t.

As soon as I stepped out, I bumped into someone standing in front of the door.

‘Poppopo?’

She was looking at me with a slightly displeased expression, her head tilted.

“I knew you’d be here. Follow me.”

Poppopo said and walked away on her own.

Should I follow? I hesitated but ended up being drawn in by her unique charisma.

We arrived at a bench next to a vending machine.

Poppopo took out a beverage and handed it over to me as I sat quietly on the bench.

“Here.”

“Th-thank you.”

I took the drink can somewhat bewilderedly. Poppopo then sat down beside me.

A silence lingered between us. It was my first time being alone with Poppopo, so it was understandable.

Hesitantly, I started a conversation.

“Um, Poppopo… your name is…”

“Isabella.”

“What?”

“It’s Isabella, my name. You can just call me Unni.”

Like Ian, Poppopo seemed embarrassed to be called by her nickname.

“Did you know? About the identity of the assassin.”

“No.”

Poppopo spoke decisively.

“I just wish they wouldn’t equate me with those trash.”

It seemed Poppopo was totally unaware of it and quite resentful about the whole matter.

“That’s how the kids here usually are. Hans is the odd one out.”

“…You seem similar to Hans, Unni.”

“I suppose so.”

It seems not every angel is like Ian.

I took a sip of the drink and let out a long sigh.

“It’s complicated. The broadcast went on longer thanks to Ian, after all.”

If it weren’t for the incident of finding the assassin, the viewers might have dropped off already.

But Poppopo firmly dismissed such thoughts.

“It’s weird to like that kind of content.”

She wasn’t wrong. It’s quite abnormal to enjoy such things. I’ve even developed a bit of a trauma after going through all that.

Poppopo scratched her head awkwardly.

“Well, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it at all, getting caught up in the atmosphere. But there’s not a single normal viewer left because of it.”

“…”

“Me and the others are just here because we like you. So don’t get too obsessed over making it entertaining.”

Hearing that, my agitated emotions settled a bit.

Not every angel was like Ian, but I had been too absorbed in the negative emotions to see that.

Not all viewers were like that, so there was no need to generalize. I slowly nodded.

“Have you talked to Hans?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I thought it’d be chaotic with Hans as well at that time.”

“That’s unlikely. Hans was the one trying hardest to find out.”

I knew Hans was making a lot of efforts. He even genuinely got angry at Ian for trying to hide the identity of the assassin.

It was just an excuse. I didn’t have the courage to face Hans, using the excuse that he might be suspicious too.

“Talk to Hans first. He’s your manager before he’s your lover.”

It was indeed the person I should have talked to first in such a situation.

“I will.”

I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I decided to confront it.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, as expected, I was in the temple.

“You’re awake.”

Hans was there beside me. It had been a very long time since I last saw him.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Since you collapsed.”

I had lost consciousness right after I had called for Hans. He had no choice but to bring me to the temple.

“You should have come to the Celestial Realm with me.”

“Then…”

Hans hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“…I thought you might not like it.”

It seemed he was quite cautious of my feelings, given that I had been avoiding Hans.

His cautiousness made me laugh. It was rare to see Hans being overly considerate.

“I don’t hate it.”

“But you wouldn’t even meet me before.”

He had a point, but since it was true that I had been avoiding him, I remained quiet.

I looked into Hans’ eyes and asked earnestly.

“You didn’t know, right, Hans?”

“Yeah.”

Hans answered without hesitation, as if he was expecting the question.

“I had no idea. If I had, I would have settled things with Ian a long time ago.”

It seemed that in this matter, there were no friends or anything of the sort.

It was understandable for him to be angry as a manager. It was practically the same as harming the broadcast.

But the main reason must be that it had caused me harm.

“I’m thinking of going back to the Celestial Realm.”

“Are you going to fight with Ian?”

“I’m just going to express my anger.”

Ian wouldn’t have any excuse, and even if he did, an angry Hans wouldn’t listen to him.

Still, I kind of wanted to see Hans angry.

“I wish I could watch.”

“No.”

As expected, he firmly refused.

“Go back to the duke’s mansion. Don’t start any broadcasts for a while.”

“I was planning to do that anyway.”

I didn’t feel like broadcasting while I was feeling this way. I intended not to care about points or anything else and not start any broadcasts until my mood improved.

Escorted by Hans, I headed for the duke’s mansion. Due to losing the Resurrection Ticket points, I even felt reluctant to buy a Teleport Scroll and traveled by carriage instead. It took quite some time.

As I slumped in the carriage, I fell deep into thought.

‘No broadcasting, no Hans.’

So what should I do now?

Having lived focused solely on broadcasting, the sudden onset of free time made me feel uneasy.

Is it really okay to just be like this? Due to the Resurrection Ticket, my points are probably at rock bottom again. Is reincarnation even possible at this point?

‘This incident might make me overly sensitive, and it’s not impossible that some viewers have turned against me.’

They were basically human, and their mindset was different from mine. While there were sensible angels like Hans and Poppopo, most were likely to have a similar mindset to Ian.

It’s just a virtual world, after all. You can come back to life, after all. The value of life had become excessively light.

‘Is this really okay?’

I was worried that instead of being reincarnated, I might just continue to live as Anais.

“…But is this life really so bad?”

I could continue to meet Hans, and I had grown quite attached to the people around me. I was even becoming accustomed to being Anais.

But did I really have to be reincarnated?

As I considered settling into this life, I snapped back to reality.

“This isn’t my life.”

I was just temporarily living Anais’s life. It couldn’t truly be called mine.

I wanted to live my own life.

“But the broadcast has failed, and now there seems to be no way out.”

A wry smile crossed my face.

My thoughts were in turmoil.

* * *

As soon as I returned to the duke’s mansion, I flopped down on the bed. The softness enveloped my body.

“Lady.”

As soon as I entered the room, a maid approached as if she had been waiting.

“What is it?”

“You’ve received an invitation. They asked me to deliver it discreetly, so here it is.”

I took the invitation the maid handed to me.

“…?”

It was an invitation from the royal family.

Was it Irmin again? As that thought crossed my mind, I looked at the name written on it and my expression turned to one of confusion.

It wasn’t Irmin.

[Jamon jean Jekylhyde.]

“…Who is this?”

It was a name I had never heard before.

Jamon? The Jekylhyde surname made it clear that he was royal.

As I pondered seriously, the maid spoke up.

“It’s His Royal Highness, the prince.”

Ah, Irmin’s brother.

Irmin’s presence was so dominant that I had forgotten about his brother. They were even identical twins. Apparently, the brother takes care of all the work instead of Irmin.

He was someone who had nothing to do with me. Why would he invite me? I had a feeling that this would lead to another complicated situation.

But I couldn’t refuse an invitation from the prince.

I had nothing else to do anyway. Maybe I should go. It had been a while since I last visited the royal palace.

“Get ready.”

“Are you going now?”

“Yes.”

If I asked the Erpeso duke, I could probably get a teleportation scroll for free. I thought it might be nice to relax at the royal palace.

Unaware of the storm that this decision would bring, I headed to the royal palace without a second thought.