After escaping the crowd of curious nobles, Zeke and Circe found themselves in the garden, walking along its gravel path, lit by the magical street lights along the sides. As they strolled alone under the twinkling sky, they chatted about their performance in the banquet hall. “I’m surprised you didn’t get nervous,” Circe mused as her eyes traced the stars, smiling softly to herself as she enjoyed the night’s view. “Seems like you’re used to faking our love story now.”

Zeke’s cheeks turned a faint red shade at her words, not welcoming the reminder in the slightest. His eyes averted to the pebbles below him and he irritatedly kicked one of them, the rock made silent clicks as it skidded across the ground. “It was fine up until…that…part…”

”You mean,” Circe’s gentle smile got replaced by a mischievous smirk. Casting a look at him from the corner of her eyes, she continued. “The part when you asked for my hand in marriage?”

Her unhesitant reply brought more heat to Zeke’s face as a frustrated frown darkened his expression. “…Just how long are we supposed to keep this up? Until marriage? After marriage? For the rest of our lives here?” Suddenly, he faced Circe with a serious look, and her smile faltered. “Am I the only one who feels that this is wrong?”

“Wrong?” Circe didn’t expect that of all things to come out of his mouth. By then, they’d halted their steps, and she eyed him with a look of disbelief, feeling her heartstrings tugging at her chest. “If you didn’t like the idea, why didn’t you say so? Instead of forcing yourself to do this, you should’ve backed down when I first proposed the idea.”

Now Zeke’s eyes widened with surprise, not foreseeing that Circe would get angry at him. “…You’re misunderstanding me, Circe. I just…” He bit his lips and continued a moment later. “Marriage is a big deal, you know? Wouldn’t it be better if you marry someone you love? I’m practically as horrible as the Peregrine House, forcing you into a loveless marriage.”

“…” Circe couldn’t find her words for a second. “Is this why you’re so awkward about it all the time? Because you were trying to consider my feelings? I thought you were just acting like a middle schooler.”

“That’s part of it—Hey!” Zeke glared at the sneaky remark, and it promptly earned him a chuckle from her.

Circe gave Zeke’s arm a light punch, her smile remaining on her lips. “You see, I’m not the type to ponder about the future, I just want to do the best I can in the present,” while she spoke, she began to walk towards the water fountain a few dozen steps from them. “Even if we have to fake this for the rest of our time here, I actually don’t mind that,” when she suddenly faced Zeke, she had the widest smirk plastered across her lips. “What about you? I had an impression that you didn’t seem to mind either, so I didn’t speak up about it…Was I wrong?”

It took Zeke a moment to register the meaning of her words, but after he realized that he’d fallen prey to her teasings once more, a deep crimson hue flushed across his bewildered face. “N-No…! I was only…worried…about…you.” His voice grew quieter with each word.

To that, Circe laughed. “Hey, we’re only lovers by name. I’m just glad we get along enough that at least my married life won’t be so tiresome, and even if I do suddenly fall in love with some other male-lead-quality men out there…Why bother thinking about something so far and uncertain in the future, right?”

By then, Zeke had calmed down somewhat, and he responded to Circe with a long sigh. “I noticed this earlier…But you’re way too carefree.”

Circe shrugged as she took a seat by the fountain’s edge. “And you’re way too anxious. Ease up, Zeke, we’ve got plenty more pressing matters to care about, it would be bad if you suddenly collapse due to high blood pressure.”

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For some reason, Zeke felt as if Circe had just insulted him just now, although he couldn’t exactly tell where she’d snuck the sassy comment in. Since he could only be suspicious, he flopped down next to Circe and decided to let it go. “Alright…What’s next on our agenda? After this ball…there’s one more at the royal palace for a victory celebration, right?”

“Yes, although I feel like there’s an event before that…” Circe tilted her head in deep thought. “…All I know is: after the royal banquet, our ‘future knowledge’ ends there.”

‘Rumble…’

Startled by the sudden tremors in the ground, they stared at each other in surprise. But before they could utter a word, a notification screen materialized in front of them each.

[Warning! An unexpected event has occurred in the storyline!]

”This…” Zeke’s face darkened with fear as his eyes fixated on those words. “How is this even possible? We’re not supposed to get this until—“

‘Rumble..’

As another vibration reverberated through the ground, a glaring blood red panel replaced the one before them.

[You feel the air shiver with unknown power.]

Like a candle snuffed out by the wind, a sharp, icy sensation trickled down their spines, stealing the warmth from their bodies and replacing it with nothing but frigid dread. A sudden burst of energy that pulsated through the air made it difficult to breathe as the world around them shattered like a fallen mirror. And within those fractured shards, glowing, wild eyes peered from the dark.

[The Special Event: ‘Broken Impairment’ has begun.]

Along with the announcement, several creatures emerged from the cracks before them, their yellow eyes shimmering with hunger as they stared deep into Zeke’s widened gaze. One of them let loose a fierce snarl as it leaped towards him, silver claws glistening like sharp daggers under the moonlight. Luckily, it didn’t get too close as a precise sword strike cleaved its head clean from its body.

[Killed x1 ]

[‘Ruelle Peregrine’ has leveled up! LVL: 9]

“…eke…Zeke!” Zeke’s attention snapped towards Circe as she frantically screamed his name, her hands clutching a bloodied sword. “What’s up with you and blanking out during a fight? C’mon, help me here!” As she spoke, the wolves eyed her with vigilance as they let out low growls in an attempt to intimidate their prey.

“I…” He tried to rise to his feet, but a piercing headache kept him anchored to his seat. While Circe dealt with another wolf that dashed towards her, Zeke continued to stagger, nausea spinning his vision.

[‘Silas Salvador’ is inflicted with ]

Realizing that her friend wasn’t in the condition to assist her, Circe steadied her stance and prepared for combat. The four remaining wolves circled around them, preventing all potential escape routes. Her eyes glided from one enemy to another, careful not to let nervousness show on her face. If the predator noticed fear in their prey, they’d surely pounce.

The wolf on her left moved first, rushing towards her with its maw opened wide to reveal the razor-sharp fangs within. Circe swiftly rolled to the side, avoiding the first enemy, then raised her sword to block a strike of another wolf. Her swift slash cleaved through its paws, eliciting a broken cry as it staggered to the ground.

Because Zeke became a stationary target, the other wolves decided to shift their aim towards him instead. Unfortunately for them, Circe had invested all of her previous stat points into Speed, and with another precise vertical slash, another wolf fell.

But no matter how fast she could move now, she could never engage both enemies simultaneously. The wolf that stood furthest from her already was inches away from snapping its jaws at Zeke’s arm, and Circe could only hope that his injuries wouldn’t be too severe as she fended off another wolf that pounced at her.

‘Slash!’

A familiar sound of blade cleaving through flesh rang through the air as Circe’s sword pierced the wolf’s chest. While she pulled her weapon out from the monster’s corpse, she turned to check on Zeke’s condition, only to find Sir Einar standing over a dead wolf with blood plastered across his sword and armor.

”Sir…Einar…” A nervous smile crept up Circe’s lips as she slowly called the knight’s name, though instead of paying her any mind, Einar shifted his cold eyes towards the remaining wolf. It squirmed in pain on the ground, unable to stand properly due to its missing front paws. But as he was about to kill the wolf, she beat him to it, stabbing her sword through its skull.

[Killed x1 ]

[‘Ruelle Peregrine’ has leveled up! LVL: 10]

”…” With no enemies remaining, Einar shook the blood from his sword and sheathed it on his hip. “Well, Lady Ruelle, care to explain what’s going on?”