Chapter 149
That teddy bear.
Segleninde was also aware of the existence of that teddy bear. It was something left behind by ‘Mage’ Cynthia. By that point, even those memories had resurfaced.
Even so, the reason he hadn’t completely destroyed that teddy bear was because what resided within it was also a part of Cynthia. He didn’t want to erase the only trace she’d left behind, so he brought it to his private space.
However, Mage Cynthia was thorough.
Not only did she implant a piece of her consciousness with magic, she approached her current self in this round by infiltrating none other than the quest system itself.
Moreover, in preparation for the possibility of Segleninde tracking her down, she’d even set aside a separate core mana crystal containing her consciousness.
And as Mage Cynthia had declared in her final moments, she ultimately succeeded in helping her next self escape. Not just once, but twice.
The first time, he’d managed to catch her as she tried to escape using Melissa.
At this point, with all his memories returned, Segleninde didn’t care that she had only pretended to be his fiancée. At first, he was angry at her deception, but upon reflection, he realized he’d deceived her as well, so in the end, it didn’t really matter.
He just had to make Cynthia his real fiancée.
He gave Cynthia only good things, protected her safely, and sat her on his lap to feed her delicious food. He created an environment where she could always smile joyfully and happily, granting her a happiness she had never once enjoyed since coming to this world.
He greatly enjoyed becoming one with her, but he also liked simply holding hands and kissing her. As long as it was Cynthia, he loved anything. When she hugged him or kissed him, he felt even happier than when he reached climax.
Even without s*x, just meeting her gaze and talking with her made him feel as full as when he consumed his nourishment. He found his own smile in Cynthia’s, his own happiness in hers. He wished only that the two of them could laugh and live together like that forever.
He set aside the teddy bear and let Cynthia enjoy a happy life, planning to solidify their relationship through marriage. At first, she was awkward, but as she gradually adapted to the mansion and enjoyed each day, he felt as if he, too, had become human.
Soft, fragile, easily swayed by shallow and simple emotions—such insignificant little creatures. Segleninde wanted to become such a being himself. When he was with Cynthia, he truly became endlessly weak and delicate, so he was, in fact, not much different from a human.
And so, he truly tried to play at being human.
He personally tended to his duties as a duke. It was work that he had neglected for years, half-heartedly relying on illusions to deceive others. He cared for his own fief, which had remained stagnant for years without notable growth or decline.
There were things he did without Cynthia’s knowledge. Hadn’t he promised to find the real parents of ‘Cynthia Obel’? In fact, he had already gathered considerable information about her biological parents.
There were just some minor problems. For instance, the Count Obel, who he had set as her parent, was in reality a stranger with no relation at all.
He erased that man’s existence altogether. In terms of the ‘game’ Cynthia was familiar with, he was nothing but a ‘bug’.
In fact, Segleninde thought of Count Obel’s existence as an error that arose while he was altering some settings in this world. He intended to give Cynthia ample time to calm down and explain things to her step by step.
But that error became the trigger.
Come to think of it, Cynthia always had a tendency to ruminate deeply even when there wasn’t enough explanation. So it was only natural that she would eventually find the teddy bear herself and discover the hints hidden by Mage Cynthia—hints even Segleninde hadn’t known about.
Every error stemmed from his having overlooked something, blinded by his love for Cynthia. The fact that she was capable of thinking and making judgments on her own, and therefore possessed free will as a sentient being.
And so, she finally escaped completely.
To her true reality, where Segleninde could never reach her again.
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