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Silence stretched on.

We were aboard the carriage summoned by the Count, transformed into Song Ah Rin’s father, heading somewhere unknown.

I turned my gaze towards the window, but the curtains were drawn, blocking any view.

I tried to pull the curtains back with some effort, but they wouldn’t budge at all.

Quickly, I devised a plan.

This carriage ride must be a kind of ‘theater’ as well.

The outside world was probably just an illusion.

“…”

I looked at Song Ah Rin.

After the earlier incident, perhaps she was in shock, as she sat there deep in thought, her serious expression showing no sign of speaking.

“A-Rin.”

“…”

“A-Rin.”

“…Ah, yes… Ah, Father.”

Though her voice trembled slightly at the end of her sentence, the Count seemingly took no notice, looking at her with a voice full of concern.

“You don’t look well. What are you worrying about?”

“…”

Song Ah Rin bit her lower lip tightly before looking at the Count as if nothing was amiss.

“Nothing. I just haven’t been feeling well today…”

“Oh dear. You’ve been through a lot.”

The Count turned to me with a gesture.

It was as if he wanted me to say something.

Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth.

“It seems the night air was a bit chilly.”

“Really?”

The Count frowned and looked at me in curiosity.

“Interesting. Normally, Jae Heon, you quickly grasp A-Rin’s condition and make considerations for her well-being.”

So, I was that type of person, huh?

“You both look a bit out of it; nothing’s wrong, is it?”

The Count looked at me and Song Ah Rin with concern.

“…No, Father. Nothing’s wrong.”

After a brief silence, Song Ah Rin finally managed to speak.

“I think I might be a bit tired, like Jae Heon said.”

“I see. Karl went to see you, only to return alone, so I thought that might be the case.”

The Count nodded.

“Go inside and rest. Jae Heon, you can take care of A-Rin today and go to your room early.”

“Thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude, rubbing my temples.

*

Scene 3: Song Ah Rin’s Room

“…”

As soon as we got off the carriage, we found ourselves in a large room.

It felt as if the process of entering the mansion and going upstairs was completely skipped.

Song Ah Rin also looked around before exhausting herself and plopping down on her enormous bed.

“…Hah.”

She sighed deeply and flopped onto the bed.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

Song Ah Rin answered while tossing her heels aside.

“Not even a bit okay.”

She gritted her teeth.

“I thought I’d seen all sorts of terrible things in my life, but to think there are people who do worse than death.”

“…That’s true. We need to resolve this quickly.”

“Yeah.”

She sat up again and looked at me.

“Let’s first sort out the characters.”

“Up until now, there are a total of four characters.”

I leaned against the wall, looking at her.

“First, there’s Song Ah Rin. She’s the heroine or the main character.”

“Then that makes you the male lead.”

“I don’t think that’s the case, though.”

Why would I be the male lead? I couldn’t pinpoint what made me fit that role.

“Karl would be the male lead, I suppose.”

At my words, Song Ah Rin’s expression deteriorated sharply.

“Isn’t he a victim too?”

“That’s correct.”

“…I can’t treat him poorly either.”

She sighed deeply.

“And lastly, there’s our Count.”

After a moment of silence, Song Ah Rin opened her mouth again.

“…First, let’s think about our objective.”

“We should consider how this play differs from the last one.”

The differences compared to the previous play.

“First, the genre is different.”

The play I fell into before was a complete horror thriller, featuring a mysterious woman appearing to kill me.

“And then there are the characters.”

There were no connections to the characters. Song Ah Rin and I were using the trick of aligning our thoughts, but this time everyone was becoming characters.

“…And one thing is bothering me.”

I touched the throbbing pain in my temples as I looked at Song Ah Rin.

“Ever since we got here, my temple has been throbbing violently without fail.”

“…That means a mental attack is occurring in real time.”

Song Ah Rin replied with her arms crossed.

“Do you feel anything, A-Rin?”

“…I’ve placed a suggestion on myself for now.”

Suggestion?

Seemingly reading the confusion on my face, she spoke.

“A suggestion that I’m ‘Song Ah Rin.'”

“Can you really do that?”

“There’s nothing preventing it.”

Song Ah Rin looked out the window.

The moonlight shone brightly on both of us, but everything else outside was frozen, moving like a picture.

“Alright. So what should we do?”

“First, let’s think about the title of the play.”

<A Midsummer Night's Dream>

“…Based on the title alone, it sounds like a romance.”

“Of course, just going by the title.”

“Should I avoid getting involved with anyone to prevent this play from happening?”

“Let’s go with that for now.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“…Are we going back?”

Song Ah Rin sat on the bed, looking at me.

“That’s the plan.”

“…Got it.”

She nodded her head.

“Alright. Go in and rest.”

“You’re not scared and can’t sleep alone, are you?”

“Do you really want to die? If you fall asleep here and get caught by the Count, what will you say?”

“I don’t want to sleep, though.”

“Get lost.”

Song Ah Rin waved her fist, and with a chuckle, I stood up to prepare to leave.

In that instant, the world went dark.

Scene 5: Song Ah Rin’s Room

When I opened my eyes,

“…Huh?”

I was standing in front of Song Ah Rin, dressed in her nightgown.

“…”

What just happened?

I had clearly risen, intending to head to what I presumed was my room.

And somehow, I found myself back in Song Ah Rin’s room.

Without even the realization that I had slept, my body felt strangely refreshed, and the outfit fitting me better than the previous day sent a chill down my spine.

The bright morning sunlight illuminated her face, and she was looking at me with her brows furrowed.

“It’s no fun, you see?”

“Song Ah Rin.”

I stared at her with a serious expression, and she also seemed to understand the situation, meeting my gaze earnestly.

“What’s wrong?”

“How did I go out yesterday?”

“How did you go out, you say—”

“Hurry.”

As I looked at her seriously, she mumbled and began to explain.

“…You just went out, right? Isn’t there only one door?”

She pointed to the door.

“…I don’t remember.”

“What?”

Explaining my situation to Song Ah Rin, her expression turned serious as she processed my story.

“What? I didn’t do that.”

“You didn’t?”

“After you left, the maids came to change my clothes and I went to sleep right away. I didn’t dream, but I was fully aware that I had slept.”

“And me coming in?”

“You just greeted me and came in.”

After getting that far, Song Ah Rin’s face turned pale.

“Miss, good morning! …And then you came in.”

“…”

I locked eyes with her.

“Don’t remember, huh?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re not being possessed or…?”

With a face even paler, Song Ah Rin started to touch my body, checking for broken bones or signs of someone else taking over.

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

The headache was still there. There were no signs of anything being wrong.

“At least, it doesn’t seem to be a mental influence.”

Unless perhaps there’s something worse at play here.

“If my hypothesis is correct…”

I was missing time, while Song Ah Rin wasn’t.

Why might that be?

There was no need to even open the manual.

Anyone familiar with reading would know the story.

“Song Ah Rin is the main character here.”

She’s the protagonist, and I’m the supporting character.

The stage revolves around her, crafted by her, while everyone else acts like machines, doing only what they must.

To put it simply, it’s like the back of the stage.

“…Yeah. You don’t look any different to me either.”

Still with her pale face, she mumbled as she swallowed.

“If anything happens, let me know. I’ll help you.”

“Don’t worry too much.”

“…Not that I’m worrying.”

Though her expression screamed otherwise.

“Alright, let’s stir things up starting today.”

“How?”

“Well… First—”

Just as I was about to continue, suddenly, with a bang, the door burst open, and a woman entered.

“My goodness, Butler! You can’t just come in here without the young lady even dressed yet! Even if you two have known each other since childhood! She’s a grown adult now!”

She was an older woman.

I quickly scanned above her head.

[Name: Maid]

[Age: 46]

[Specialty: Actress]

[Talent: Actor]

[Background: She is just a maid now.]

[Weakness: She needs to be alive when the play ends.]

She was also someone consumed by the play.

“…I’m sorry.”

“My, my!

She placed her hands on her hips and playfully looked at me before pointing at the door.

“Then, out you go—”

“No.”

“Young lady?”

Song Ah Rin interrupted her.

“Let me stay. I can just turn my back, right?”

“But young lady, you’ve never acted this way before…”

“I said I want to do it.”

She spoke clearly and turned her gaze to the maid.

“I won’t hear any other opinions.”

“…I’m sorry, young lady.”

Song Ah Rin signaled me, and I turned my back.

This was probably her way of looking out for me.

Staying as close to her as possible while not losing my sense of self.

The sound of her changing clothes rustled in the air, followed by a gentle tap on my shoulder.

“All done.”

“…”

I turned to face her.

In contrast to yesterday’s dress, she wore a fairly normal white dress.

She met my gaze and grabbed the doorknob.

“Let’s go.”

“Understood.”

The moment she opened the door,

Scene 7: Cathedral

We stood in front of a cathedral.

Suddenly?

Wasn’t the usual skipping of scenes not supposed to happen when I was with Song Ah Rin?

I hastily scanned the surroundings.

“…A-Rin!”

“Karl.”

What had happened?

Karl was kneeling in front of her.

I naturally scanned the top of the man’s head again.

[Name: Karl?]

[Age: 20s]

[Specialty: Actor]

[Talent: Actor]

[Background: If it’s not love, he would choose death instead.]

[Weakness: He needs to be alive when the play ends.]

“You’re not the one; I can only die if it’s not you!”

He brought a knife to his throat and dragged it sideways.

A fountain of blood erupted.