I Transmigrated as an Extra in a Trashy Dark Romance Game - Chapter 68

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※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

“Ngh…!”

An exuberant Perry was cutting down monsters one by two, throwing his weapon like a boomerang. As it returned, droplets of blood clinging to it splattered toward Edith.

Startled by the sudden, thick, warm feeling on her cheek, she let out a short scream. Kazan approached her.

Edith, still not used to the sight of blood no matter how many times she saw it, was about to wipe it off when she looked up at Kazan standing tall before her.

“?!”

The act of him carefully wiping the blood splattered on her cheek with his thumb left Edith stunned by the sudden skin contact, frozen like a stone.

‘What… did he just do…?’

Whether she was stunned or not, Kazan coolly turned and walked ahead. Edith stared at his retreating back with a bewildered expression.

After that, Kazan began acting strangely. He’d stick close to her side, catch her when she tripped over tree roots—uncharacteristic gestures.

Yet if Edith spoke to him, he’d still ignore her with that stoic expression and move away. But when she stayed quiet, he’d drift back to her side, helping her. This capricious behavior reminded Edith of a certain animal.

* * *

Kazan’s odd behavior. Perry, exhilarated from battling monsters.

Three days of camping with them, and they finally emerged from the vast forest—a journey that would have taken much longer by ship if they had stuck to the trade routes.

‘A desert… right in front of a dense forest?’

Just as they had told her before departing, beyond the forest lay an expansive desert. The sun was setting, dyeing the landscape red.

Ahead, a parched land of hot, sandy winds. Behind, a lush green earth. The stark contrast was surreal.

“From that point forward, we step into the kingdom’s territory, not the Empire’s. This is effectively the border.”

There seemed to be considerable distance from the forest’s edge to the desert. As they advanced through increasingly barren land and approached the border, the sun that had painted the sky red had already dipped beyond the horizon, spreading the veil of night.

Countless stars gathered one by one, as if becoming beacons for travelers, stretching long into the unknown like a glittering river.

‘I’m really leaving the Empire.’

Moved by the romantic scenery—the desert and the milky way night sky—Edith stepped onto the fine sand.

“Edie, your appearance…!”

Her ordinary features began to change from the edges, as if a curse were lifting.

Hair the color of the night sky where the galaxy unfolds, as if a fragment of the starry heavens had fallen to earth. Strange, transparent gray eyes that seemed see-through.

Startled by the sight, Kazan and Perry stared, eyes wide, unable to speak properly.

“Ah, this is um… I have my reasons. I had no choice but to hide my appearance.”

Perhaps because she had left the Empire, the appearance altered by the system window had expired, returning her to her original form.

“My goodness, is it magic? I did sense an aristocratic air in Edie’s mannerisms and speech, but seeing you now… my instincts were right?”

Just as she was agonizing over how to explain the situation, Perry correctly grasped her identity.

Edith nodded awkwardly. Watching her, Perry pressed a hand to his chin, quietly closing his eyes as if deducing something.

Seeing him silent, Edith grew nervous. What if he realized she was the woman the checkpoint had been searching for? Should she confess before being discovered? What if he misunderstood?

“The truth is…”

“A runaway noble lady escaping a suffocating household to find freedom! Am I right?”

Fortunately, Perry didn’t seem to recall the checkpoint incident. Instead, he appeared to have spun an entire novel in his head. He was already looking at her with sparkling eyes, as if she were a noble lady with a tragic past.

‘Well… it’s not entirely wrong…’

Rather than being interrogated, it seemed better to let them believe that story. Edith reluctantly nodded.

“Milky Way…”

Kazan approached her side, murmuring something unintelligible, and quietly toyed with her hair that had changed color.

The animal Kazan reminded her of was a cat. Ever since she’d made that connection, his silent gestures and subtle physical affection seemed almost endearing.

On sand that swallowed each misstep, they searched for a place to rest.

She knew deserts had wide temperature swings, but this was so cold she felt the forest nights had been warmer. Shivering, Edith finally asked Perry.

“How much further until we reach a village?”

Perry, understanding the intent behind her question, wore a sympathetic expression.

“The kingdom doesn’t have a feudal system like fiefdoms. There’s only one kingdom, situated in the heart of this desert. Still, it’s not that far—another two or three nights on foot, and we’ll arrive.”

According to him, the harsh environment meant the kingdom was built around a central oasis. The kingdom’s people lived together forming a community there.

Unlike the Empire, there were no nobles. Only the king and his immediate family ruled the kingdom.

The Empire had a feudal structure with the imperial family at its center in the capital, surrounded by nobles governing their territories. But the kingdom had no such structure—it was, simply put, autocratic.

‘So basically, I have to trek all the way to the capital, never mind a nearby village… Haa.’

“It’s quite different from the Empire.”