I’d Rather Abandon Than Be Abandoned - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

1. It is said that skinship is a special medicine for curses.

The ending of this game was always like this.

I won the fight and my step-sister, Claudia, who was lying down under the guillotine’s blade, pleaded for my forgiveness…

There has never been a time when our destiny was different from this.

“Naila….no, my little sister. Just this once….please forgive your unnie.”
“Oho, why only now you call me sister, unnie.”

Scum, rubbish, loser, parasite…

Those were other names Claudia had given me so far.

I felt nauseous.

She was so arrogant when she abused me, who was adopted, and then she became so submissive in the face of her death.

Far from developing sympathy, only disgust intensified.

I guess I wasn’t the only one who felt intense disgust.

Regis, who was standing next to me, also clicked his tongue.

Then, as the Crown Prince, he ordered the executioner.

“Execute.”

The shining blade came down and cut off Claudia’s neck in an instant.

Duk-!

As her severed head fell, the horrendous sound made my hair stand on its end.

Still, I didn’t take my eyes off her.

It was my last courtesy toward the enemy who drove me to the brink of death.

[The End]

I stretched myself while looking at the ending credits that appeared on my phone screen.

A proud sense of accomplishment and freedom poured in at the same time.

I just killed Claudia, the villainess in this game, and that was how I confirmed the 200th ending of the mobile game ‘Naila’ with my own two eyes.

‘Ughh It’s stiff…but I feel so refreshed.’

Simply put, it was a game to experience the life of a medieval noblewoman.

At the start of the game, the player became a girl named ‘Naila’.

And then completed her life by falling in love, fighting, and parting ways.

There were 100 jobs to choose from at the start of the game.

After choosing a job, there were also 200 endings depending on how you live.

As a result, it was rumored that the game owned great degrees of freedom.

For example, even if you choose the same job as a thief, your action would determine whether you become a righteous outlaw or just remain as a petty thief.

‘I’ve been playing this game for a long time.’

I had a troublesome habit of never quitting any game until I saw the ending.

Therefore, I cleared all 199 of the endings in this game.

The only ending I didn’t see was the 200th ending, “Naila Became a Happy Empress”, which is what I completed recently.

In other words, this game was completely conquered by me.

‘It’s really over….’

But why am I feeling uncomfortable?

Claudia’s eyes, which were looking at me and pleaded earnestly before her death, kept coming to my mind.

Killing the evil woman was the requirement to clear the game, even though I witnessed her death 200 times…

[Neila…no, my little sister. Just this once…please spare your older sister.]

I was wondering about the mental state of the developers, who depicted the death scene in such a realistic way.

Thanks to that, I felt like I was going to see Claudia’s ghost in my dream today.

‘…I have to sleep.’

Looking at the mobile window absent-mindedly, the time was already 3 a.m.

I wondered whether I might run late for tomorrow’s lecture if I sleep now.

I felt uneasy, so I tried to fall asleep in a hurry.

Until a strange sentence suddenly appeared on the phone screen.

I lifted my body immediately.

‘There’s only 200 ending in this game. Are you saying there’s a 201st ending?’

It was a story I never heard of before.

It seemed like it was a closed ending, which was specifically revealed to players who unlocked all 200 endings.

Besides, the character I’m going to play this time wasn’t Naila.

It was Claudia, the villainess.

I saw that ‘Claudia’ was written on top of my character’s head.

‘This time I’m evil…’

Maybe I’m the first player to play as Claudia.

My heart pounded at the thought of it.

When asked if I would challenge, I immediately pressed the “YES” button.

Merchant, politician, founder of the religion, scammer, etc.

There are many other jobs to choose from.

However, I wasn’t interested in a common job.

Out of the 100 jobs, this was the one that caught my heart the most.

This was a job I hadn’t seen when I was playing as Naila.

When I saw this, I couldn’t look at any other trivial jobs.

I decided to take it as my job immediately.

<you, who=”” have=”” decided=”” to=”” become=”” a=”” contractor=”” of=”” spirits,=”” should=”” awaken=”” the=”” five=”” spirits=”” that=”” exist=”” throughout=”” velquinus=”” empire.=”” and=”” sign=”” contract=”” with=”” all=”” them.=”” if=”” you=”” fail,=”” will=”” be=”” killed=”” under=”” scheme=”” your=”” step-sister,=”” naila.=”” would=”” like=”” proceed=”” as=”” it=”” is?=””></you,>

I tilted my head at the sentence that came up.

As far as I know, Naila wasn’t the kind of person who would scheme.

‘Naila, who isn’t the villainess, schemed…? Did the whole story change because the main character has changed?’

Anyway, I pressed the “YES” button to start the game.

Soon, the opening music came out.

Unlike Naila’s bright and cheerful opening song, it was a gentle classic.

At the same time, an image of a fairytale and the dreamlike atmosphere appeared on the screen.

‘Is it….a battlefield?’

At the center of the image was an emperor who seemed to have fought a fierce battle.

In front of the emperor, a knight was swearing allegiance.

The white letters passed under the picture.

After reading that much, the image changed.

This time, it was a picture of a sick girl lying on the bed.

Claudia, who was more mature than before, was depicted in the newly changed image.

However, for some reason, she looked healthy.

There was no sign of illness when she was walking around the ballroom in a fancy dress.

<claudia, who=”” thought=”” she=”” was=”” going=”” to=”” die=”” before=”” ten-year-old,=”” recovered=”” her=”” health.=”” claudia=”” gradually=”” lost=”” sickly=”” appearance=”” and=”” bloomed=”” into=”” a=”” beautiful=”” woman,=”” because=”” of=”” that,=”” naila=”” trapped=”” in=”” the=”” middle=”” harmonious=”” family.=”” there=”” only=”” one=”” option=”” left=”” for=”” naila,=”” driven=”” edge=”” cliff…=””></claudia,>

Ambiguously, that was the end of the prologue.

Instead of a picture, what came next was a question.

‘YES’ and ‘NO’ appeared under the question.

I pressed the ‘YES’ button without hesitation.

***

A month had passed since I entered the game.

Still, I was regretting it.

Why did I press the “YES” button?

If I had chosen “NO”, I would have been worried about my grades peacefully by now…

…So, I tore my hair out everyday, regretting my decision.

The day when I fell asleep after watching the prologue, I woke up under a strange ceiling.

It was a ceiling painted in a medieval European style.

I was pacing around in confusion and looked at the full-body mirror in one corner,

[Arrrrrgh!!]

It was only natural for me to scream frantically.

My original self was nowhere to be found, and a woman with a foreign appearance was reflected in the mirror.

She had vivid blonde hair that almost looked like cream and sky blue eyes…

My appearance in the mirror was the same as Claudia that I saw in the game illustration.

Thanks to this, I could easily figure it out.

The crazy reality that I came into the game and possessed Claudia’s body.

Honestly, now that I have almost adjusted, I’m still shocked to see my figure in the mirror from time to time.

Who is that?

While I was tilting my head in bewilderment, I belatedly remembered my new appearance.

Again, this morning, I couldn’t break away from the mirror for a long time.

“I can’t adapt…”

She was certainly a great beauty.

If she was a real person, I’m certain that she would become a model or an actress.

There were no clothes that didn’t suit her because of her fair-skin and pretty body.

Even my eyesight improved, so I didn’t need glasses anymore.

However…the problem was that I literally couldn’t adapt.

“Miss, it’s time for tea.”

It was when I was in the middle of looking at my face.

Mary, Claudia’s maid, came into the room with such notice.