Page 153 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
“Are you sure?” Gerda asked; there was a light tease in her voice. She straightened her dress from where his roaming hands had left things askew before addressing the loud kettle.
“We are sitting with a table between us so I can think straight,” he told her.
Julian moved to the tea cabinet and grabbed her favorite nettle brew, cups, honey, and a teapot. He grabbed two tiny spoons decorated with painted mushrooms and plopped one in each cup before putting everything onto the table.
“Alice was right.” Gerda brought over the hot water and filled the teapot, then stored the kettle. “There is a timeline where Henrietta would’ve been sent here as a potential political match. You would’ve grown close and fallen in love … and she would’ve helped you find the dungeon already.”
“But why bring it up when Her Viciousness is already in love with King Keith?” Julian asked. He couldn’t imagine falling for the sweet Dark Lady. Her naivety and joy would’ve made it hard to connect with her, and she was tooyoung.
Honestly, he couldn’t think of falling for anyone other than Gerda. His troll was strong—inside and out. She had a wicked sense of humor and enjoyed her peace and quiet. Her sense of justice was just as strong as the Heroine of Justice, but Gerda used her cunning to direct armies and guide nations. She was brilliant.
Gerda explained, “Because I interfered,younever went exploring with Henrietta, andshenever found a secret passageway into the heart of the underground caverns and the abandoned ancient home of the dragons. The same caves that opened up into the far side of the mountain range … and to the dungeon you’ve been searching for.”
“So you already knew where the hidden dungeon was?” he asked.
She looked away.
“But we are headed there now?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But even without Henrietta … you would’ve found the hidden dungeon. I’ve just been slowing you down.” She took a ragged breath. “Actually … I’ve been delaying you.”
“Why?”
Her deep brown eyes found him. They were full of pain and uncertainty … and something else.
“I like you, Julian. A lot.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Because the feeling is mutual.”
“And I don’t want this to end.” She waved a hand between them. “So I’m dragging you on dates and taking time away from searching.”
He didn’t understand. “This doesn’t need to end when I reach the dungeon. Unless I’m going to die?”
“No.” She shook her head. “No, you should be fine. You’re even stronger in this timeline, with your armor set.”
A small worry fell from his shoulders; it was reassuring to have the most powerful oracle on the continent tell him that he was going to find the dungeon he’d been searching foranddefeat it without suffering permanent death in the process.
It was less reassuring that she was hinting at the end of their relationship.
“So what’s the problem?” he demanded.
Gerda didn’t answer right away; she was warring with herself. Her pale freckles scrunched up with indecision and worry.
At last, she said, “I can see your future, Julian … and there is a timeline where I’m not in it.”
CHAPTER 83
I’m Not the Real Gerda Jones
Gerda
I didn’t know how else to say it.
How could I tell the half elf I was sleeping with that I might complete a secret bridge quest that could let me travel through the Void and return to my old world?
I wasn’t even certain I wanted to go back, but I felt driven to try. When I’d been dropped into Gerda five years ago, it’d seemed like the right course of action. There were wonderful things about living in a fantasy world … but waking up as a beaten-to-death troll housewife hadn’t exactly been theideal isekai.
Not that I’d want to be Henrietta. No. I didnotdungeon delve or enjoy battle or want to travel the world fixing everyone else’s problems. No, thank you. I was happy to do that from the comfort of my kitchen table with a Crystal Cast.
