Chapter 52
Time left until Park Yeon-jeong enters body modification.
Just 55 minutes.
Currently, I was in none other than the ‘Groom’s Waiting Room.’
Fortunately, I was able to avoid eating that maggot steak, but…
The groom-to-be ‘Park Yeon-jeong’ was sitting on a chair, lost in numerous thoughts.
The Bloody Queen wasn’t here right now.
But it doesn’t make much difference.
As long as I’m within this queen’s space, my entire body will be torn apart and reassembled anew by her hands at any time.
And.
54 minutes.
Ah…
In that brief moment of explaining this story, another precious minute of mine has passed.
‘…Damn.’
This won’t do.
Why do situations keep flowing one after another like this?
Now I truly wondered if I was emitting some pheromone that attracts ghost stories.
It couldn’t be otherwise.
Otherwise, such unfair things couldn’t happen to me.
A man fallen into ‘frustration’ nonetheless looked around to see if there was anything useful in the groom’s waiting room.
Besides the basic full-length mirror.
The first things that came into view were the queen’s other grooms dressed in black suits, holding bouquets and rings.
Seeing the queen using her grooms like furniture.
Park Yeon-jeong became even more depressed at the fact that this would soon be his future.
Gulp.
?
Upon raising my head at the mysterious sound brushing my ear, what immediately entered my sight was.
In the mirror that until just now had been reflecting Park Yeon-jeong’s face, the queen wearing a black veil was staring at me.
Flinch!
I was startled the moment I saw the black veil reflected in the mirror.
But by now, this type of appearance wasn’t something I couldn’t handle rather easily.
Still…
‘Please, use a turn signal before appearing!’
“Have you finished preparing?”
…Your Majesty.
It hasn’t even been 10 minutes since we parted, has it?
But now was the time to stall as much as possible, if I could stall at all.
Soon, I composed my voice and once again tidied my expression.
“I’m still nervous at the thought of meeting Your Majesty. I think the preparation will take a little longer.”
To my cunning tongue play, the queen’s response was.
“…Your mindset is excellent. But you don’t need to be so nervous.”
The queen who was looking at me from beyond the mirror gently placed her palm on the mirror’s surface and whispered softly.
“You just need to bring your body.”
“I will prepare everything else. You just need to love me as I am.”
Hearing the queen’s words ‘as I am,’ I involuntarily recalled the image of her face with skin stuck to it.
‘Ah… this will definitely appear in my dreams tonight.’
No, more than that.
Will I even be able to return alive from here?
Coming back to a more primal perspective, I felt my energy draining.
Not knowing my feelings, the queen looked at me with a faint smile shining through her veil.
“It might have been a while since I’ve had such a heart-pounding wedding… But don’t make the bride wait alone for too long.”
“A man who makes his loved one wait will not die peacefully, even after death.”
As she trailed off, she cursed me and suddenly disappeared from the mirror, our queen.
…
Honestly, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was watching me even at this moment. And the fact that the queen personally came here meant.
That there wasn’t much time left for me.
The situation is very bad.
Not many items left to use either.
-Top of the Class Glasses.
-Employee ID.
-Quill Pen.
-Little Friends (damaged).
-Thousands of Eyes.
-Final Trigger.
-Wristwatch (damaged).
Excluding the glasses and employee ID that I’m currently wearing.
Our teddy bear with the name ‘Little Friends’ is currently in a state where proper use is impossible.
That’s not all.
‘Thousands of Eyes’ could also be considered a non-existent item now, and the lie detector wristwatch received from Noise sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t after the Judge touched it.
And among Park Yeon-jeong’s items, what could be called the core, the “Final Trigger,” is currently.
———=
/Item List.
The Final Trigger.
(Check your fortune for today!)
.
.
.
When used: Provides a random bullet. (Can only be used once per day. Based on midnight.)
.
.
———=
…Has midnight passed yet?
Should I try using it once?
This space didn’t have windows or such to properly check the outside time.
But the time when facing the princess was definitely night.
Of course, there was a statement specifying that time flows differently in ghost stories compared to the present world.
But by any chance if the outside time had passed midnight…
Click.
It’s worth trying.
Park Yeon-jeong took out a revolver from his employee ID at some point, and earnestly praying that the outside time had passed midnight.
Click.
Park Yeon-jeong pulled the trigger of the revolver.
Tick.
With the sound of air being released, his gaze turned to the muzzle, and there was… no flag.
Only emptiness remained at the end of the muzzle.
‘As expected…’
I wasn’t overly disappointed.
Nor did I have no expectations at all.
To be honest, I had hoped something would come out.
But the result was.
Just air that came out weakly.
Park Yeon-jeong, with disappointment in his eyes, put the revolver back into his employee ID.
The situation becomes more hopeless.
There seemed to be no more breakthroughs in sight.
“Is there really no other option left now?” The thought flashed through my mind.
Park Yeon-jeong had no choice but to pick up something from inside his employee ID card that he had vowed never to take out again.
‘I promised myself I would never use this, and yet…’
*****
Thud.
His footsteps in the hallway were too heavy.
Beyond heavy. He truly wished the ground would collapse beneath his next step.
Though if the ground actually did collapse, he would desperately cling to something else.
It just meant he didn’t want to reach his destination that badly.
Thud.
When his footsteps, which had been focused only on the floor, came to a halt.
He noticed the back of a woman standing in front of a door that had not yet opened, waiting for someone.
“…You’ve come.”
A sharp voice penetrated his ears.
The Queen had already arrived at the destination and was waiting for him. Unlike the black dress she had been wearing until just now, the first thing that caught his eye was a dazzlingly bright pure white.
A mermaid dress made of shimmering silk was softly glowing.
With each small movement of the Queen, the hem of the dress swayed gently like ocean waves, and the white veil covering her face suited her perfectly.
That appearance truly resembled a beautiful bride entering the wedding hall.
“Does it suit me?”
There it was again.
That pattern of demanding compliments.
Suddenly, I wanted to say:
‘It would be perfect if you just didn’t lift that veil, Your Majesty.’
But if I said something that would upset the Queen’s mood…
Probably without further ado.
This place would immediately become an experimental table for replacing my limbs.
So what I needed to say here was essentially predetermined.
With a subtle smile.
I whispered softly:
“…You look extremely beautiful. Of course, only Your Majesty could pull this off.”
“…I’m embarrassed.”
Oh my.
She’s being quite shameless.
With such a seductive voice and that figure, how many men’s lives has she taken after enchanting them?
But I won’t be fooled.
While Park Yeon-jeong was inwardly unleashing a torrent of curses about the Queen.
Rustle.
The Queen soon extended her palm to me and said:
“Let’s go. Into the wedding hall where our 211th wedding will take place.”
“For a bright future for you and me.”
“…Yes, let’s do that.”
While trying my best to hide the involuntary trembling of my hand.
Slip.
I carefully placed my hand on the Queen’s palm.
And so our steps moved forward.
Clank!
The massive door opened, and the scene before my eyes was accompanied by the deafening sound of applause from hundreds of people.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!!!
It was a grand welcoming ceremony.
In an atmosphere that truly created the illusion that there were people here celebrating our marriage.
Park Yeon-jeong, at least, knew.
The source of this sound was definitely not voluntary, but rather an artificial production by the Queen, forced by external means.
“Everyone is celebrating our marriage!”
“Aren’t you happy!!”
The Queen’s high voice shook the entire space.
And I, as if matching the mood of this situation.
Opened my cunning mouth again.
“I am satisfied by the mere fact of being by Your Majesty’s side.”
Tatter-tatter!
Once again, with the bizarre sound of seams tearing, a drooping tongue appeared through the white veil, catching my gaze.
“Tonight, I will create unforgettable memories for you.”
Squeeze-
“I’ll make it so you can never escape from my existence… so you have no choice but to stay by my side forever.”
There’s really no need for you to try so hard…
But her voice began to intensify.
“Tell me your desired body type, size, position. I’ll specially accommodate you. I feel like if I lose you, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“You would… accept my true appearance…”
This Queen suddenly had a severe emotional spike.
Moreover,
Squeeze!
!
The grip on my hand was getting stronger.
Squeeeeeze-!
Crack!!
Unable to bear the pain that felt like my bones would be crushed if I remained held any longer.
Crack!!!
This was truly my limit.
“Your Majesty!”
Slap!
At that moment, I unknowingly shouted loudly and shook off the hand that was holding me.
“…”
!
I raised my voice involuntarily due to the sudden pain.
…
The applause that had been echoing throughout the wedding hall until just now simultaneously subsided.
And the silence given by that emptiness made me feel an indescribable terror with my whole body.
My slightly trembling gaze slowly turned toward the Bloody Queen.
“Y-Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I momentarily didn’t know what I was…”
“Men who use violence against women…”
The Queen cut off my words and muttered quietly.
“They say such men cannot be reformed.”
…Damn, I made a mistake.
An unknown calmness permeated the Queen’s voice.
The dissonance coming from that calmness was felt throughout Park Yeon-jeong’s body, who alone stood in this place.
“But… don’t worry.”
“I like you, so this once, I will overlook your rudeness.”
At the Queen’s words that she would overlook my sin, I unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
Momentarily forgetting what kind of being was standing before me.
Whoosh!
The Queen, who had somehow acquired a fan, whispered softly:
“But there’s no need to have two hands for wearing a ring, is there?”
…What?
Swish-!
In that moment, like slow motion, I saw the fan extending precisely toward my hand.
And why did that happen?
The moment I saw that fan.
Instinctively, this thought very quickly flashed through my mind.
-My hand… will be cut off.
Unconsciously, very calmly.
And just as that sense of calmness and the numb reaction that accompanied it crossed my mind.
Slash!
The blade of the fan quickly sliced past a man’s wrist.
The Queen slowly parted her lips regarding what she had done.
“…Is it luck? Or have you been hiding your skills from me all this time?”
“……”
Thud.
As Park Yeon-jeong witnessed the mirage of his wrist flying off, his gaze hurriedly moved to his wrist.
The wrist he surely thought would be severed.
It was still attached.
And before his eyes, a black phrase revealed its presence.
“Lucky Day”
The ‘Lucky Day’ effect of the skull mark activated at a golden timing.
Just now, through the power of the skull mark, Park Yeon-jeong had protected his wrist.
And inwardly, he shouted loudly.
‘…Th-thank you! Judge!’
As his favorability toward the Judge was rising.
The Queen’s voice, looking down at me, was conveyed to my ears even more deeply.
“Don’t run away this time. If you want to keep that neck of yours.”
But such luck.
Wouldn’t come twice.
In this situation, he felt he had no choice but to use that item.
The item he wanted to avoid using if possible.
-Thousands of Eyes.
Even before entering this wedding hall.
The cursed item tucked in his coat pocket.
This was no time to be picky.
‘Let’s survive first!’
Park Yeon-jeong immediately reached into his coat, grabbed the object in his hand, and threw it toward the floor with all his might.
Crack!
With the precise sound of something breaking.
What was shattered miserably on the floor was…
A quill pen with feathers as black as ebony.
?
Not an artificial construct.
The ghost-capturing quill pen given by Noise was broken in two.
……huh?
And soon, amid the ink spilled on the floor, a woman’s voice echoing throughout the space.
Rose from the floor along with a phrase.
【Once… she was a princess loved by all.】
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