"How... did you do it?"

Isa still couldn't fully believe that she had been so effortlessly eliminated by Leon.

"When we ran into each other in the hallway earlier, there was no way you or Little Ros were holding a kill card. If you had one, you wouldn't have turned around and run the other way."

"And now, it's only been about ten or so minutes—not enough time for either of you to complete a task that would grant a kill card..."

"So how exactly... did you pull this off?"

Instead of focusing on how her father had managed to eliminate her aunt, Noa was even more concerned about one pressing question:

Where was her mom?

According to what Isa had just said, her parents should have been together. But why was it only her dad who swooped in to save the day?

Noa lifted her small face to gaze up at Leon.

Leon simply began, speaking slowly, "You're right—indeed, I don't have any item that allows me to directly eliminate another player. But I do have one card... [Avenger]."

Isa raised an eyebrow. "[Avenger]?"

"Yes. If I witness a murder happened in front of me, I would gain a temporary ability to eliminate another player."

Even after hearing about Leon's [Avenger] card, Isa still couldn't piece the whole puzzle together.

"But when I took out Muen and Claudia, you weren’t present—you didn’t witness either kill, so there’s no way [Avenger] would have been triggered. Then how did you—"

Mid-sentence, Isa suddenly froze. Her crimson dragon eyes widened slightly as she looked at the partially eaten piece of cake in Leon's hand.

She had managed to deduce some of the characters' abilities over the course of the game.

For instance, Little Ros's character, [Royal Pastry Chef], allowed her to inflict specific negative effects—or even deliver poison—through baked goods.

In that moment, Isa was struck with an epiphany.

"Little Ros ate a piece of her own poisoned cake in front of you, sacrificing herself to trigger your [Avenger] ability, didn’t she?"

Leon nodded.

There was no expression on his face.

He also didn't appear to be overcome by negative emotions over having "sacrificed" his wife.

It was just that the immersive nature of this game added a layer of solemnity to the dramatic gesture of "self-sacrifice." As a result, Leon simply couldn’t bring himself to relay the whole tale with a cheeky grin to his sister-in-law.

Upon learning the full context, Isa sighed before shaking her head with a rueful smile.

"As expected, the two of you working together makes for an insanely powerful duo. Honestly, I should’ve targeted one of you and taken you out earlier in the game."

Hearing this, Leon had his own question to raise.

"I think I have a decent guess about your elimination strategy—infecting players with diseases using the ability tied to the [Alchemy Lab], then timing their deaths with your antidote. That way, you get a guaranteed elimination after each round."

"But even if you wanted to hold off on taking out me or Roswitha and save us for later, why’d you target Aurora as your first victim?"

"If it were me in your shoes, I'd have eliminated Claudia right off the bat. She posed a way bigger threat to you in the later stages."

In response, Isa let out a helpless laugh as she shrugged.

"I didn’t get to pick my target."

"You couldn’t choose?"

"No. Players who consume my specially crafted antidote are set to die after the ends of meetings —but the elimination is random. I have no control over it."

Isa explained further, "In gameplay terms, the card’s description puts it like this: Every player has a different resistance to poison, so the time it takes for the poison to take full effect also varies."

"I see..."

"But I’ll give you credit where it’s due, Leon—you’re seriously clever. To figure out my elimination method under that level of stress is very impressive."

Isa didn’t hold back on her praise for her brother-in-law. "Even that bit you came up with earlier to clear your name—saying you'd stockpile kill cards and only use them once you had enough for a decisive strike. That inspired me to plan on ending the game this round."

"Oh, by the way, your luck is pretty remarkable too—managing to avoid the random eliminations."

If Leon had been "randomly" taken out during one of the earlier rounds, Isa would likely already be the winner by now.

"I was never going to fall victim to your random eliminations," Leon declared, his tone calm and resolute.

Intrigued, Isa raised an brow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because when the disease outbreak hit, I didn’t take your antidote to remove the negative effect. I used a [Mint Tea] card that Roswitha had given me earlier."

"Oh, you were that cautious from the start. Well, I really can't say anything—I lost fair and square."

Isa chuckled before adding, "Congratulations, brother-in-law. I guess you managed to claw back some pride this time."

Leon turned his gaze to the piece of cake in his hand, faintly imprinted with the hint of Roswitha's lipstick.

After a moment, he softly murmured, "But if I had just been more observant, maybe Roswitha wouldn’t have had to resort to this method."

Tilting her head, Isa suddenly spoke again. "Brother-in-law, just one more question for you."

"Sure, go ahead."

"When Little Ros ate her poisoned cake in front of you, her ‘corpse’ would have appeared there in the room, right? So you could’ve just called an [Emergency Meeting] immediately and, with Noa’s help, voted me out. Why did you bother using [Avenger] if you didn’t need to?"

By this point in the game, Noa had already pieced together enough clues to identify Isa's suspicious role.

Especially after Isa had just spent the last several minutes relentlessly "pursuing" her—it would’ve been almost guaranteed that Noa would vote for her.

If Leon had called a meeting right then and there, Isa would have almost certainly been ejected without the need for [Avenger].

Isa suspected her brother-in-law may have taken various game mechanics into consideration.

Perhaps he wasn't sure if she had other cards with unknown effects—like a vote-nullifying or vote-redirecting item.

Or maybe he was worried Noa might hesitate. After all, when Leon made his way to the scene, he didn’t yet know that Isa had been actively chasing Noa.

So... what could possibly have motivated her brother-in-law to skip voting and directly confront her?

The answer was clear—

"Because it looks cooler that way," Leon admitted.

Isa: "..."

Noa: Yep, that’s my dad. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was hiding behind the door this whole time, just waiting for the most dramatic moment to step out.

Isa let out a helpless laugh. Truly, two peas in a pod.

If the roles were reversed and Leon had been the one to self-sacrifice, Little Ros likely would’ve made the exact same choice—not calling a meeting but going straight for Isa.

***

With the game’s events finally laid bare, the staff members waiting nearby stepped forward and put hands on Isa's shoulders.

Isa turned back to Leon and Noa with a playful smirk.

"Well, congratulations to you two for beating me. Now it’s down to just the two of you—father and daughter. I’ll head to the observation room to watch the finale unfold."

"Aurora, Muen, Auntie’s on her way~"

Isa was escorted out by the staff.

The top-floor hallway of the ancient castle was now eerily quiet.

Only Leon and Noa remained.

After staring at her father for a few seconds, Noa cautiously retreated a few steps.

Leon blinked. He chuckled and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"If you were with the Good Side, the game should’ve ended immediately after Auntie Isa was eliminated—unless... you’re the final wolf left standing."

At this point in the game, Leon didn’t see the point in keeping any secrets.

"That’s right," he admitted. "But I don’t have any kill cards left."

What Leon still had, however, was a [Super Influence] card that would multiply his votes from 1 to 5.

And since only he and his eldest daughter were left in the game, it meant that should Leon call an [Emergency Meeting], he could use the card to secure a decisive 5-1 victory.

But he had already promised Roswitha that he would let Noa win.

Leon was definitely not going to play that card.

He also understood his daughter’s personality—she’d never accept a win gifted to her.

With that in mind, Leon was curious. How would his sharp-witted little girl fight for her hard-earned victory in this final round?

"It’s finally come to this, Dad. Just the two of us."

Noa’s tone was serious.

But in her seriousness, there was also a glimmer of excitement.

"What?"

That tone, that expression—was she... challenging him to a duel?

Huh?

She wants to fight me?

Come on, I couldn’t even beat Aurora. And now I’m supposed to take on Noa?!

Leon wailed inwardly as only a doting dad could.

But Noa didn’t wait for her father to process his inner turmoil. She slowly pulled a card from her pocket and held it up.

"[Desperation Deathmatch]—when only two players remain, this card forces a one-on-one minigame between them."

"The winner of the minigame becomes the ultimate victor of the entire game."

"So, Dad—"

"Let’s duel. Just you and me."