CHAPTER 52: CURSED BOND—ACTIVATED

[Evelina’s POV—Vinter Mansion—Continuation]

Theo and Rowan.

Those two names circled in my mind like wolves dragging their teeth along the bars of a cage. Because they were the only ones who made sense.

It could never be Kael Valtore—the so-called "original male lead." Kael was weak. Predictable. A decorative puppet wearing a stolen crown.

And I wondered why the male lead was so dumb. Right now, he was tied to a chair in a warehouse, coughing blood and being drowned by Rowan every two minutes...probably dead by now.

That alone proved he could never have been the true male lead.

My thoughts sharpened.

The system’s words echoed again:

"His presence broke the balance. His affection overshadowed all others. He became a threat to Evelina Hartgrave—the original female lead."

A threat.

Not because he hated me.

But because he loved me too much. Too deeply. Too violently. So dangerously that the developers panicked and deleted him before the world collapsed.

My fingers curled into the sheets.

"So... someone whose affection is too strong... someone whose attachment is a danger..."

I swallowed.

Theo.

His affection climbed with every breath I took. Every glare I threw. Every insult I spat. He was a man who dismantled an entire police station for me without blinking. A man whose eyes followed me like I was gravity itself—the center of his orbit, the thing he was built to protect or destroy.

The thought made my pulse skip—not in fear.

In recognition.

But then—My mind shifted.

"Rowan..."

His affection score was lower—for now. But Rowan wasn’t a man who felt affection like others. He was a shadow. A blade. An absolute force.

And the way he held Kael underwater earlier...steady, obedient, unflinching...like nothing in this world frightened him except the thought of disappointing me...

What would happen if his affection surpassed Theo’s? What would that unlock? What would that unleash?

My breath stilled.

Both men fit the profile. Both strong. Both feared. Both orbiting me like twin stars caught in my gravitational pull.

"It makes sense," I whispered. "Arden and Lucien are blood relatives. They were never options."

But Theo or Rowan...

One of them —one of them —had been designed as my true partner.

My destined male lead.

Until the developers grew terrified of him. Until they deleted him and forced my route to collapse.

I pressed a trembling hand to my forehead.

"...I can’t decide who it can be."

Theo Vinter—the hurricane wrapped in silk? Or Rowan — the shadow with devotion sharper than knives?

Who had been erased for loving me too dangerously?

No answer came.

Just silence.

Cold, suffocating silence.

But then —something shifted inside me. A realization sharp enough to cut bone.

This wasn’t random. None of this was random. This wasn’t a game gone haywire. Not a glitch. Not a malfunction.

I lifted my eyes to the air where the system screen usually hovered—always just a thought away.

And I felt it.

Presence.

Not visible. Not audible. But undeniably there. Something—someone—was steering this world.

The rewards were too perfect. The timing is too sharp. The routes were too conveniently placed in front of me at the exact moment they mattered.

This system...is being controlled.

Not by AI.

Not by code.

By a hand.

By someone watching me. Correcting me. Pushing me. Forcing certain routes open and others shut.

A player? A hacker? A fan obsessed with the villainess route? Or...My blood froze. ...The original creator?

Because who else could delete a male lead? Rewrite a heroine into a villainess? Change my destiny? Who else would know every trigger, every consequence, every twist?

Who else would smile behind the screen while my life unraveled?

The thought sank its claws into my spine.

If the creator is still here — still watching — still intervening...Then this isn’t survival. It’s a story someone refuses to let end.

And wants to see how far I’ll go before I break or...that person has some other motive.

I stared at the empty air where the system screen had just been. A shiver scraped down my back.

For the first time since entering this cursed world, I wasn’t afraid of Kael. Or Theo. Or Rowan. Or my treacherous family.

No.

I was afraid of the unseen hand controlling my fate.

"Who are you?" I whispered into the quiet.

No answer.

Only the crackle of the fireplace. And the chilling certainty...That somewhere—in a place I couldn’t see—someone was watching me.

Watching.

Waiting.

And smiling.

I clenched my fist so tightly my nails bit into my palm.

Alright...Let’s confirm if someone is really pulling strings.

I stared into the empty air where the system screen had hovered moments ago.

If someone wanted me to choose that route—if someone was baiting me—if someone wanted to see whether I would obey... Then they would respond the moment I took the bait.

"Fine," I murmured. "I guess I need to choose the hidden route."

And right on cue—

DING!!!!!!!

The air in front of me burst open with light.

The system window didn’t just appear —it snapped into existence like something waiting for the cue.

[System: Would you like to choose the CURSED BOND ROUTE? . Reward: Exit the world immediately once the bond is formed. Bonus Rewards:• 500 million in your original world• Full memory reset in this world• Return to the exact day you were transported]

Would you like to confirm this route?

[ YES ]  [ NO ]

My breath stilled.

No third option.

No Skip for Now.

Not this time.

The system wasn’t offering mercy anymore. The unseen puppeteer wasn’t giving me space to think. They gave me one chance to hesitate.

One pause.

And now?

They wanted an answer.

A real answer.

My eyes narrowed, heat rising in my chest.

"...I knew it," I whispered. "That damn ’skip’ button was bait."

There was no strategy behind the options. Someone wanted to watch how I reacted. Wanted to see how long I hesitated. Wanted to push me into the corner they built.

"Oh, I swear," I muttered, glaring at the glowing red screen. "Once I get out of this stupid dating game, whoever you are—you’re dead meat."

The crackle of the fireplace almost sounded like laughter.

But the truth was...this route was the safest.

No death flags.No guaranteed tragedy.No betrayal triggers.

Just one goal: Form a true bond with the Deleted Male Lead..

And I could leave this fabricated world behind forever.

Return home.

With money.

With time reset.

With my life.

I exhaled, slow and steady, then lifted my hand. My finger hovered only a fraction of a second.

Then—

TRING!!!!!

I pressed YES.

The moment the command registered, the fireplace flickered violently—the room dimmed —and the system vibrated with a crackling, unstable hum.

The glowing letters twisted, stretched, and warped—then exploded into bold red:

[ SYSTEM: FINAL MODE ACTIVATED — THE CURSED BOND ROUTE. YOU ARE FREE TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN ROUTE. NO DEATH FLAGS FROM THE CHARACTERS]

A shudder ripped through the air.

A rush of cold wind burst from nowhere, slamming into me as though the room itself had taken a breath—then exhaled straight into my bones.

But still—the world felt more dangerous than ever and now there’s no turning back.

Then—KNOCK. KNOCK.

The sharp, cold rhythm snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts.

"Miss... it’s me."

Rowan’s voice.Calm.Flat.Deadly.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened silently. Rowan stepped inside—drenched from head to toe, water dripping from his sleeves, hair plastered to his forehead, boots soaked. He looked like a shadow pulled from a storm.

But what unsettled me wasn’t the rain. It was the expression. Rowan’s face was emotionless.

"I have a news, Miss," he said.

His voice held no tremor. Not even a ripple.

My eyes narrowed. "Is Kael Valtore dead?"

Rowan bowed his head slightly, "Yes, Miss. He is dead."

The words were delivered so simply. So plainly. As if stating the weather.

"I dumped his body in the river," Rowan continued, removing his gloves with slow precision. "He won’t resurface. Not alive. Not at all."

"And the evidence?" I asked.

Rowan didn’t blink.

"Theo Vinter’s men have personally handled that matter," he replied. "There will be no trace. No investigation. No noise."

Of course.

Theo’s methods may be theatrical, but his executions were always perfect. Rowan’s methods...quiet, clinical, precise.

Sometimes, I genuinely didn’t know which one was more terrifying.

Theo burned the world for me. Rowan drowned it silently.

And now?

One of them was the deleted male lead.

Two monsters.Two kings.Two routes.

And the cursed bond would tie me to only one.

"Is there anything else you need me to do, Miss?" he asked softly.

His voice...was too soft. Too gentle for a man who had just murdered someone for me.

A chill bit at my spine. Because as I watched him—his affection meter flickered faintly in the corner of my vision.

Rising.

Growing.

Awakening.

Just like Theo’s.

Just like the system warned.

"I will call if I need anything," I said.

"Yes, Miss."

He left without another word. The moment the door closed... I let out a slow breath.

Sometimes, I couldn’t tell the difference between them—except for one thing:

their affection. Their obsession. Their clinginess.

One was chaotic and consuming. The other was quiet and absolute. And now, the cursed bond wanted me to bind myself to one of them.

Whoever the deleted male lead is...His bond with me had just awakened. And it was only a matter of time before he felt it.