The Terminally-Ill Rejects the Approach (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5

An instinctive alarm echoed in my head.

‘This is bad! He won’t listen to reason!’

The man truly seemed ready to kill me right here and now.

“Since I’m going to die anyway, dying a little earlier won’t matter.”

He hummed a tune under his breath while looking down at me.

“If I get involved unnecessarily and end up reset, it’ll just be a bit annoying…”

His muttered, incomprehensible monologue made him seem utterly insane.

‘Wh-what do I do?’

Am I really going to die so suddenly like this?

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Meanwhile, the white orb swirling around the man elongated into the shape of a spear.

He picked up the spear and slowly approached me.

“Then, die well.”

It was the exact moment he raised the spear toward me with a faint smile.

“No… I don’t want to…!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed.

And at that instant—

Everything around me abruptly fell silent.

The presence of the man who had just tried to kill me was no longer audible.

I cracked one eye open and saw him staring blankly at something.

My own eyes followed his gaze and widened instantly.

“…!”

A red light emanating from the pendant around my neck had formed a protective barrier around me.

‘What is this…?’

The white spear in the man’s hand dissolved into shimmering particles and scattered away.

“How did you do that?”

This man, who until now had shown not even a speck of interest in talking, finally tried to speak to me.

“How come you have that power…?”

Just as I stood bewildered by his sudden, almost possessed reaction—grabbing my arm and demanding answers—

Ding-dong!

A cheerful chime sounded in my ears.

I whipped my head toward the source of the sound.

[Quest in Progress]

……Increase ’s affection……

“Damn it.”

A curse slipped out involuntarily.

The cursed system window was drifting closer.

Hezen was coming this way.

‘Of all times, it has to be now…’

Slowly…

At that moment, the man’s eyes rolled toward the system window darkening in the air.

Then, almost immediately, he turned back to me, his eyes narrowing sharply.

“You can see that thing, right?”

[This is the timeline separator]

Hezen had grown utterly despondent over a recent incident.

He’d been caught by Louise Belle just as he was about to kiss Clara, causing him to lose all the affection he’d painstakingly accumulated with her.

And that wasn’t all—he’d also lost several precious teeth.

[SYSTEM] ’s anger is rising. [SYSTEM] ’s anger: @%#$^%

This numeric display of his target’s emotions was the effect of his conquest skill.

Thanks to it, he could monitor Louise Belle’s escalating fury in real time—but unfortunately, he had no way to stop it.

That day, right after Louise Belle—her anger maxed out and her strength temporarily amplified—struck him,

his swollen cheek throbbed and felt rough. A metallic taste rose in his throat; it felt like his mouth had split open.

“Damn this game. There’s no need to simulate this level of realism!”

At least he’d managed to protect his groin from her strike—that small mercy was his only consolation.

He’d hastily used a [Skill] to escape the scene, and later, while spitting out something small and hard from his mouth, out came a white fragment.

At first, he didn’t know what it was.

He’d assumed a stone had gotten into his mouth when he hit the ground after being struck by Louise Belle.

Only after returning home and standing before the mirror did he realize—the white fragment he’d spat out was his own tooth.

“No wonder my mouth felt so hollow!”

Hezen raged and dashed back out to retrieve his tooth.

But his shattered tooth had already been swept away by palace servants during their cleanup, making it impossible to recover.

He even scoured filthy trash bins, but of course, found nothing.

Back at his estate, Hezen furiously scrubbed his stinking hands—after rummaging through the trash—and ground his hollow teeth in frustration.

The next day, Hezen used an item to restore his battered face.

But the broken teeth were beyond repair.

In the end, he had to summon a craftsman to fashion dentures.

Until they were properly fitted, he couldn’t even step outside.

After all, he couldn’t let people see him toothless.

Once he finally had prosthetic teeth and regained a decent appearance, he headed straight for the imperial palace.

Seira claimed she didn’t know where Louise Belle was, but after gently coaxing her with the affection indicator, she revealed that the princess was in the western garden of the Imperial Palace.

“Lulu!”

Hezen quickly located Louise Belle—but she wasn’t alone.

She was with another man.

‘Who the hell is that guy?’

The man had silvery-white hair and eyes red as fresh blood.

Prince of the Luhenhart Kingdom

His title and name hovered clearly above his head.

This man looked even more handsome than Hezen himself—adorned with all sorts of premium cash-shop items—and was even slightly taller.

This was absurd. Hezen was supposed to be the most exceptional person in this world.

Burning jealousy flared inside him.

“Who the hell are you!”

He shouted furiously—

“Who are *you*?”

came Louise Belle’s icy voice.

“L-Lulu…?”

Startled by her unfamiliar cold tone, Hezen turned cautiously—and froze instantly in place.

‘Huh!’

Louise Belle’s affection rating still read 999.

Third Imperial Princess of the Azester Empire

Affection: -999

But now with a minus sign attached.

[This is the timeline separator]

Hezen, who had barged in so abruptly, froze in shock upon seeing me.

He must have noticed the floating affection value above my head.

My affection toward Hezen was -999.

In other words, I currently couldn’t stand the sight of him.

‘No, that’s far too tame a description.’

More accurately, I loathed him enough to want him dead.

“Hezen Einshan.”

I fixed him with a cold, direct stare and spoke in a chilling voice.

“Now that I think about it, I never actually told you this.”

“……?”

“If you show up in front of me again, I’ll go straight for your groin this time—not just knock out a few teeth.”

“……!”

Hezen’s mouth dropped open in sheer disbelief.

Until now, I’d only ever shown him the gentle, refined side of an imperial princess.

Because I’d loved him.

I’d first realized I was reincarnated at the age of six.

At first, I assumed I’d been reborn as the heroine of some romance fantasy novel—Louise Belle was just that beautiful.

Amidst those peaceful days, I gradually began to suspect I might not be the protagonist after all.

Then, in the palace’s Hall of History, I discovered a statue of God of Light Luce standing over the Mad Dragon Helheim.

‘Mad Dragon Helheim…? If that’s Helheim, then he’s the very antagonist the heroes of must defeat!’

In that moment, I understood—I had been reincarnated into .

Was I disappointed upon realizing I wasn’t the protagonist?

Not at all.

I was actually thrilled.

The mere thought of being reborn into the very novel that had carried me through my youth filled me with excitement.

From then on, I eagerly awaited my meeting with Hezen.

Our first encounter had been three years ago, at the Imperial Autumn Tournament.

“Your Highness! A commoner knight has entered this year’s tournament!”

The one who brought me the gossip was none other than Seira.

“And his name is…?”

“Hezen Einshan?”

I asked, unable to hide my racing heartbeat.

“Huh? How did you know? Did you already hear the rumors?”

“……”

Instead of answering, I simply smiled faintly and blushed.

Yes. I’d already fallen for him before we’d even met.

It was only natural—I’d loved him because he was the shining star of my favorite story.

“A commoner entering the tournament is unprecedented in Azester history. Usually, they’re eliminated even before the preliminaries.”

Seira explained, her eyes sparkling.

Indeed, just participating in the tournament was considered a great honor—even among established knights.

Yet Hezen had done it.

And he’d defeated Prince Orent, the second imperial prince and heavy favorite, to claim victory that year.

He received a sword from the Emperor and was formally knighted.

At the celebratory banquet held in his honor, I watched him from afar, sipping champagne quietly.

Though a commoner, his dazzling beauty, kind demeanor, and exceptional skill made him wildly popular.

I’d longed for our meeting—but never dared hope we’d actually stand face-to-face and exchange names and greetings.

I’d assumed a mere extra like myself could never be destined for him, and that admiring him from a distance would be enough.

But then—he approached me first.

“Greetings, Your Highness Princess Louise Belle. I have long wished to meet you.”

“M-me…?”

The moment he spoke to me, my face flushed crimson, and I stammered, unable to utter a coherent word.

He then gave me a gentle smile.

“Are you alright? The drink must be quite strong—you’ve turned as red as those flowers over there.”

I’d actually been drinking non-alcoholic champagne.

Too embarrassed and ashamed to speak, I pressed my lips tightly shut—

“Like a flower, you are beautiful, Your Highness,”

he said with a smile.

My heart leapt.

Looking back now, those lines were embarrassingly cheesy—but at the time, his sweet whispers always left me dazed.

We gradually grew closer, and naturally, I fell in love with him.

Never once suspecting that the man I loved was actually a player controlling a character in that damn game.

Even at that very moment, a system message like “[SYSTEM] ’s affection is rising.” probably floated before his eyes.

The sting of betrayal I’d felt when I saw him with the Saintess of Taal Kingdom slowly resurfaced.

To think that every word and action that made me fall for him had all been part of his calculated ‘conquest’…

“L-Lulu… you’re really… really angry…”

As Hezen stammered in shock, a system window popped up before him.

[SYSTEM] Emergency! [SYSTEM] Emergency! [SYSTEM] The moment sees your shameless face, she feels intense murderous intent! [SYSTEM] ’s murderous intent is rising. [SYSTEM] ’s murderous intent: 13/999 [SYSTEM] ’s murderous intent: 94/999 [SYSTEM] ’s murderous intent: 215/999

.

.

.

[SYSTEM] ’s murderous intent: 999/999 [DISASTER! , reacting to your face, is now targeting your groin!

If this continues, you’ll fail your awakening and trigger the route!

Quickly flee from ’s murderous intent ⌒(o＾▽＾o)ノﾟ]

‘Eunuch route…?’

For a moment, my eyes glinted—and a meaningful smile curled at the corners of my lips.