Chapter 246: Error, Error, Error

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Why… why is she wearing an eyepatch?

The moment Will saw Treya’s eyepatch, his mind went into overdrive.

Treya’s left eye being covered wasn’t an “unknown” event. On the contrary, its appearance carried a significant narrative weight, a clear “indicator” with profound importance in the story.

Treya’s eyepatch…

She wore it because she was injured during a duel.

Could it be that she’s already participated in a duel and gotten hurt?

No, no, no, no…

Impossible.

Something that major—how could Will not have heard even a whisper of it?

Or… had something already happened, and he was just too late…?

No, no. That couldn’t be it. If Treya had been injured, there was no way he wouldn’t know about it.

Then what was it…?

Error, error, error.

Will’s mind, spinning through relentless calculations and reanalyzing the series of events he remembered from the story, reached this conclusion after repeatedly examining all the hints and foreshadowing surrounding Treya.

It was like a game running into a bug—an error message popping up mid-execution.

In his mind, Will dismissed the “error.”

It’s fine.

He reassured himself.

As long as he sincerely confessed to Treya.

As long as he handed her the sword.

As long as he said all the words he had prepared.

With determination, he stepped toward Treya.

And Treya stepped toward him.

It was like two long-distance lovers finally closing the gap between them, each carrying their own expectations as they walked the last few meters to meet.

Finally, he stopped in front of her and looked into her face.

He reached out gently and touched her cold cheek—half-elf that she was, her body temperature was always slightly lower than average. Even her flushed cheeks carried that same chill.

Treya didn’t flinch. She smiled calmly.

“I’m sorry, Treya. I’m late,” Will said softly.

An apology—he felt it was necessary no matter what had happened between them.

Treya didn’t speak. Hearing his words, she slowly placed her slender fingers over his hand.

“I won’t make excuses because I know no explanation can undo what’s already happened,” Will continued.

He didn’t want to bring up how Shuna had accidentally taken him away or how he had been preoccupied with other important matters involving Shuna—this wasn’t the time to mention a third person in their reunion.

Treya nodded slightly. Her uncovered eye—the pale blue one—looked at Will with an earnest, gentle gaze. It was the same look she often gave him during their lessons, attentive and pure.

“So first, this is a gift I prepared for you on my journey.”

Even Carver, as terrible a father as he was, knew how to use gifts to appease someone.

Will understood this too—Treya’s heart, childlike in many ways, would appreciate a carefully crafted gift she could hold in her hands.

He presented her with the sword—not beautiful by conventional standards but unmistakably made for her.

The black scabbard contrasted with Treya’s silver hair, which reflected beautifully against its surface.

“This… this is…” Treya spoke for the first time since their reunion. She took a deep breath, and Will thought he could hear a faint tremble in her voice.

“I’ve named it the Shadow Wraith Sword. It’s a gift for you. It carries some demonic curses but should be able to handle demonic power…” Will explained as he gently placed the sword into Treya’s outstretched hands.

Treya’s right eye widened in surprise. She seemed genuinely taken aback that Will had prepared a gift for her.

She carefully and solemnly accepted the precious gift with both hands before clutching it tightly to her chest.

“…Will… you really haven’t changed at all,” she murmured softly.

“Exactly! I haven’t changed,” Will replied quickly.

Step by step, observing Treya’s reactions, Will felt he had found his breakthrough. He believed his actions so far had moved her deeply.

She wasn’t someone who expressed much emotion on her face.

But her small gestures often betrayed her true feelings.

Will placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

When he opened his mouth to speak again, he realized how emotional he had become—his voice might even tremble. It wasn’t like him to be so unsteady.

But looking at Treya—wearing an eyepatch that gave her an air of melancholy and vulnerability—he felt an overwhelming desire to help her rise within him.

“Treya, I’m still your ‘Professor Will.’ I’ll help you solve whatever problems you’re facing,” he began earnestly.

“Just like… just like that night three years ago.”

“You can rely on me just like you did back then…”

“Even though I’m late… I’m here now…”

“Don’t worry anymore, Treya. From now on, you won’t have to suffer like this again.”

“I know more about this world now—about dungeons too.”

“And especially—I won’t let you face dangerous people like my father alone anymore…”

“The throne that belongs to you—I’ll take your hand and guide you to it.”

“So please… trust me again, just like you did three years ago.”

Will finished his speech in one breath, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. It was the first time he had spoken so passionately and openly…

Treya held the sword tightly. Her pale blue eye trembled slightly before a single tear slid down from its corner.

“Treya…?”

Will barely managed to say her name before she suddenly pulled him into an embrace.

“What are you…”

She hugged him even tighter.

It seemed as though she was using this gesture—rather than words—to release all the emotions she had been holding back.

“Thank you, Will…”

“Thank you…”

“It’s… it’s nothing, Treya. We’ll have plenty of time later…” Will stammered awkwardly.

She truly trusted him; her reaction matched his expectations; she seemed genuinely moved by him.

But…

Deep down, Will couldn’t shake a faint sense of “wrongness.”

“Hmm… I’m so glad, Will…” Treya whispered softly.

For instance—why hadn’t she called him “Professor Will” even once?

For instance—why didn’t she seem surprised at all by his arrival?

For instance—why did her excitement feel disconnected from anything he had said?

And then…

He heard voices coming from behind him—

“Princess Treya! Princess Treya! His Majesty… His Majesty has…”

Not just voices—there was chaos erupting behind him as people rushed out from deeper within the palace.

Wait…

The Near-God Palace?

Who else would dare reside in a palace with such a name?

Error, error, error, error.

The panic spreading among the people—did it mean…

Error, error, error, error.

Everything he thought was “fate,” everything he believed must happen—was unraveling before his eyes in this moment of chaos.

Error, error, error, error.

At that moment…

Will’s eyes widened in realization as Treya gently released him from her embrace.

Then she removed her eyepatch.

Beneath it wasn’t an injured eye as Will had imagined but a deep violet one—a stark contrast to the clear pale blue of her other eye.

That violet…

That violet color—he’d seen it before!

“How wonderful.”

“You’re still the colorful one I love.”

Her violet eye—identical to Lucifa’s—locked onto him with an intense gaze that seemed to envelop him entirely.

“Professor Will,” she said with a sly smile. “You fell right into my trap.”