CHAPTER 51: THE CURSED BOND

[Evelina’s POV—Theo Vinter’s Private Wing—Continuation]

"...Thank you," I finally said.

The words tasted strange on my tongue—rare, reluctant, but genuine enough to be acceptable. Because refusing the gold would’ve been stupidity. And I am many things, but I am not stupid.

I accepted the bags—felt the weight of twenty thousand coins pull against my arms, my fate shifting with the metal.

Theo smiled.

Not a polite smile. Not a grateful one. A satisfied, possessive, wolfish smile.

"As expected," he murmured. "You know value when you see it."

I ignored the implication, but my pulse betrayed a treacherous skip.

"Alright," he said, stepping back toward the door with lazy confidence, "I’ll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast."

"Fine," I replied, keeping my tone flat.

He paused at the doorway, gave me one last unreadable look... And then the door clicked shut behind him.

Silence collapsed over the room.

Then—DING!!!

A bright, translucent screen snapped into existence in front of me, glowing with that familiar eerie blue tint.

My stomach tensed. Not out of fear. Out of anticipation.

[System: Would you like to unlock the Hidden Route? Difficulty: Unknown Risk: Unknown Cost to unlock: 10,000 gold coins]

[ YES ]  [ NO ]

A chill slid down my spine.

The hidden route... The one I was waiting for. The one no player ever fully reached. The one tied to the survival of the villainess—my survival.

Unknown difficulty.

Unknown risk.

Which, of course, means danger.

And danger means truth. I exhaled slowly, the weight of the gold behind me humming like a heartbeat.

"It’s time," I whispered. "Let’s see what you’ve been hiding from me."

My finger hovered for a second.

Only a second.

Then—TRING!!!

I pressed YES.

Coins vanished from my balance in a flash of light. The room pulsed once—twice—and the system whirred in a strange, distorted tone I had never heard before.

[System: Processing...Decrypting Hidden Route...Accessing Restricted Scenario Files...WARNING: Emotional Stability May Be Affected. WARNING: Major Storyline Deviation Expected. Hidden Route Unlocked.]

I held my breath.

"Come on," I murmured. "Show me the truth."

The system’s glow sharpened—no longer soft blue, but a deep, pulsing crimson threaded with gold.Like the heartbeat of something ancient.

Something forbidden.

The letters began to rearrange themselves across the floating screen, shifting and cracking until the final title carved itself into existence:

[Hidden Route Unlocked: THE CURSED BOND ROUTE]

Then, the text bled downward, forming new lines, one by one.My pulse stilled.

A chill crawled up my spine.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE—RESTRICTED FILE OPENED. This world was not originally designed for Kael Valtore. The primary male lead was removed from the storyline before official release.]

Removed?

By who?

Why?

The letters flickered violently, as if the system itself struggled to reveal the truth. Then the text stabbed across it:

[The fate of Evelina Hartgrave, the REAL female lead, was tied to the first male lead. When he was deleted... Evelina Hartgrave’s route collapsed. Her sanity, morality, and destiny became corrupted. Thus, she had to turn into the wicked villainess to survive in this game. Evelina Hartgrave’s death became inevitable.]

My breath hitched—shallow, sharp.

I was the original female lead?

No.

No, that didn’t make sense. The world hated me. The game punished me. My entire existence was designed to break.

So, I wasn’t meant to be the villainess at all at first?

"...Unbelievable," I whispered.

The system wasn’t finished. The crimson glow surged violently, expanding until it filled half the room with its pulse.

[WARNING: To END this game... To SURVIVE this storyline... Evelina Hartgrave MUST form a TRUE BOND with the Deleted Male Lead.]

My fingers went cold.

A deleted male lead?

"How...?" My voice cracked in disbelief. "How am I supposed to find someone who was deleted?!"

The system flickered again. As if irritated by my panic. I glared at the glowing red box. "At least tell me WHO the damn deleted male lead is."

The screen dissolved.

Reformed.

Glitched.

Then—

[IDENTITY OF DELETED MALE LEAD: Accessing...Decrypting...]

The letters trembled violently, like something inside the system was fighting to reveal itself.

And then—a harsh alarm shrieked.

The words splashed across the screen like scratches:

[NO IDENTITY OF THE DELETED MALE LEAD.NO NAME. NO DATA. NO FILES.HE DOES NOT EXIST IN THE JUNK BOX.]

My heartbeat dropped into a pit.

Not missing.

Not hidden.

Erased.

Completely.

Utterly.

Beyond recovery.

The system continued—its voice cold, mechanical, and merciless:

[He was removed because his presence broke the balance of the game. His affection overwrote ALL affection scores. His influence threatened the stability of the world.His very existence endangered Evelina Hartgrave—the TRUE female lead.]

A chill shot through my spine.

He endangered me?How?Why?

The next line sliced down like an execution:

[The developer REMOVED him as a male lead and downgraded him to a supporting character. To stabilize the world.]

Everything around me stilled.

My lungs... wouldn’t fill.

My thoughts... wouldn’t settle.

A man so powerful—so overwhelming—that developers had to DELETE him just so the game wouldn’t collapse? And THAT is who I’m supposed to find? THAT is who I need to form a bond with? THAT is who I must "end up with" to survive?

Impossible.

Suicidal.

Insane.

And then—

The system displayed the final nail in my coffin:

[To survive, Evelina must end up with the deleted male lead.]

"What...?" My voice splintered. "What kind of twisted joke is this...? No way I am choosing this route."

Silence answered me. The red glow dimmed—only for a new box to suddenly blink into existence.

Not red.

Not menacing.

Gold.

Shining like salvation.

[SYSTEM REWARD: —By selecting the hidden route, you may EXIT the world immediately after forming a true bond with him. Upon exit, you will receive:

• 500 million in your original world• A full memory reset in this world• Return to the exact day you were transported.]

[Would you like to choose this route?]

[YES] [NO] [SKIP FOR NOW]

I froze.

Not at the choices. Not at the reward.

But at the third option.

"...Skip for now?"

My heartbeat thudded once—loud, heavy.

That option...had NEVER appeared before. Never in any route. Never in any warning. Never in any death flag or mission.

It was new.

It was intentional.

As if—

I looked up slowly at the glowing interface.

—the system WANTED me to choose it.

A cold ripple slid down my spine.

Why? Why give me the safest exit button... disguised as a postponement?

I inhaled shakily.

Let’s be honest—this reward was outrageous. Obscene. Almost sinful.

500 million. A safe return home. A reset of all my ties in this world.

Just one true bond with a man who was deleted by the creator.

The only route that wasn’t mentioned:

• death• betrayal• corruption• blood• sacrifice• guaranteed destruction

In every route I’d faced so far, one wrong step meant death. Every day in this world was a fight to stay alive, to avoid fate’s noose tightening around my throat.

One mistake, and I’d be erased. One misstep, and I’d die here and die in my real world too.

But this route?

This one...

Promised no death flags. No danger markers. Just—a bond.

A connection.

With a deleted male lead whose identity was erased as the male lead.

A ghost.

A glitch.

A man powerful enough to break the game. A man who had once been meant for me.

My fingers hovered over the choices.

[YES][NO][SKIP FOR NOW]

My chest tightened painfully.

If I choose YES...

I would be bound to a stranger—someone erased for being too dangerous, too attached, or too powerful.

If I choose NO...

I’d be stuck navigating a world full of kill routes, betrayal, death flags, and unpredictable monsters.

Men like Kael Valtore. Men who could end me with a whim.

And if I choose—My eyes narrowed.

[SKIP FOR NOW]

It wasn’t a rejection.

It wasn’t acceptance.

It was a pause.

A chance to think carefully. The system rarely gave mercy.

This felt like one.

Or a trap disguised as one.

I swallowed hard.

"...I need to think," I whispered.

Not to the system—but to myself. Because this choice...could end everything.

Or save me.

A single breath escaped me, sharp and steady.

Then—

TRING!!!!!

My finger pressed [SKIP FOR NOW].

The screen blinked, dimmed, and folded into itself like a collapsing star. The hidden route was still there. Waiting. Sleeping. But no longer looming like a blade at my throat.

I sat on the edge of the bed as the last spark of the blue screen faded. The room was too quiet. Far too quiet. My thoughts echoed louder than the crackling fireplace.

"The deleted male lead..." I whispered into the dim air. "Who could that person be?"

My heartbeat stuttered.

Wait.

The system had said—He was not erased from existence. He was repurposed. Turned into a supporting character.

That means...

"...he’s someone around me?" I murmured.

That’s right...it makes sense; the deleted male lead is someone around me, and I...can guess it must be either Rowan or...Theo Vinter, who is destined by this damn game.