Chapter 25: The Protagonist and the Great Escape!

The woman was looking at us with an absurdly judgmental expression. Her lips—painted a soft shade of pink—barely moved, as if they wanted to spit out something sweetly venomous.

“What the he— You know what? No. I don’t even wanna know what you two are doing.”

And just like that, she closed the door, leaving us alone again.

“…What the hell was that?” I whispered in disbelief.

“You’re right, that was super weird,” Maxi replied, backing me up.

No, seriously, what the hell was that? I totally thought she was about to start messing with us. I mean, she’s one of the villains, right? I couldn’t wrap my head around why she’d just leave us alone like that. No drama, no threats, nothing.

Wait… a thought clicked in my mind. Maybe it’s because Auren—the hero she’s obsessed with—isn’t around. Could it be that her crazy switch only flips when he’s nearby?

If that’s true… then I’m safe. For now. Damn, I wasn’t expecting her to show up this soon.

Anyway, no time to overthink it. I better take advantage of the fact that nothing happened and get the hell outta here before I run into another villain—or worse, the heroes.

“All right, Maxi,” I murmured, grabbing her by the wrist.

I opened the door carefully, poking my head out to check if anyone was around. Fisalia was nowhere to be seen. That little detail made me swallow hard.

Where the hell did she go? I tried to stay positive—maybe she wandered off somewhere else in the mall and, by some miracle, decided not to ruin my life today.

“Run!”

And just like that, we bolted, sprinting down aisles lined with clothing racks.

My heart pounded—not from fear, but from a weird rush of excitement. We were halfway through, and still no one had spotted us.

God… I hadn’t realized how huge this place was until I was desperately trying to run through it, I thought, doing my best not to trip over anything.

But of course… luck and I aren’t exactly besties.

Just as we rounded a corner, a familiar—and unfortunately recognizable—voice stopped us cold.

“My dear Kathryn… and our lovely friend Maxine. What a pleasant surprise. Truly delightful, if I do say so myself.”

Me and my damn mouth… I thought, suppressing a grimace. Every time I open it, something awful happens. Mental note: stop talking before bad luck hears you.

Kaelvarion was walking toward us with his usual arrogant smile. Curiously, Elion wasn’t with him. Where the hell was he? …You know what, doesn’t matter.

The only thing I cared about was not triggering another protagonist mission—especially one involving him.

C’mon, brain, this is your moment to shine. Think of something, anything!

And in a split second, my desperate little brain came up with a “brilliant” idea. Or well, brilliant by my current low standards.

“Don’t you think it’s wonderful how fate works—? Ugh!”

I cut him off mid-sentence with a swift punch to the gut, just like the one Maxi had given me earlier when I barged into the fitting room. …Does that count as assault?

Damn. If he tells the headmistress, could I get expelled? The thought crossed my mind, but I brushed it off a second later.

Meh. He’s too much of a dumbass to actually report it.

Though, putting that aside, something was starting to feel off.

I hadn’t noticed before, but… this place was empty.

Before this whole circus started, I was fangirling over cute outfits, then panicking about how to avoid the stupid mall event. But now that I looked around properly… there was no one else here.

Just the villains, the heroes, Maxi, and me.

Otome game logic, I guess. Probably too lazy to draw background NPCs, I thought, trying to make sense of the emptiness.

“Ryn, what the hell’s wrong with you?” Maxi’s voice snapped me back.

She sounded irritated, but also worried. Meanwhile, Kaelvarion was groaning, doubled over in surprise and pain.

“I’ll… explain later. Let’s just get outta here, okay?”

“…Remember that friendship score thing I told you about? Yeah. You’re at minus one hundred now.”

“…Right. Just move your legs, please.”

I pleaded, and after a sigh, Maxi reluctantly went along with me. Judging by her face, though, she clearly wanted to be as far away from me as possible.

Crap. Just when we were finally getting closer.

I’ll have to think of a good excuse later… and a way to earn back her trust. God, I hate this game.

We ran past a few more racks. We were so close to the exit—just had to pass the checkout area, and we’d be free, far away from this nightmare.

But just as I took another step, something slammed hard into my side, knocking me to the floor.

“Ow! I’m so—wait, huh?!”

My voice caught in my throat when I saw who it was.

A beauty straight out of the sun—or at least, that’s what I thought, seeing her radiant golden hair. She really was gorgeous. Would’ve been even more so if it weren’t for that bitter, furious look twisting her lips and brows.

“C-Carlotta?!”