Chapter 1317 1317: 1317: Divine Game: Graveyard of Bones 39

District 21 of Thorn Royal City was the most unusual area in the entire capital.

It had the smallest population, yet it was also the liveliest place in the city.

Most of the kingdom's Postmen lived here. In fact, 95% of all Postmen in the Hittel Kingdom came from District 21.

It was a strange profession.

In this kingdom, every letter was cursed the moment it was created. It would constantly attract creatures lurking in the darkness.

That meant the longer you held onto an unopened letter, the more dangerous it became.

And yet, sealed letters were one of the most important methods of communication.

Because in this world, lies could be written on paper—

But they could not exist within a letter.

If the contents of a letter ever became false in the future, the words that had turned into lies would simply scatter into the wind.

Love, secrets, oaths, loyalty—

As long as lies existed, Postmen and letters would never disappear from the Hittel Kingdom.

Writing a letter.

Sealing it with wax.

Delivering it across long distances through a Postman.

That was the complete life cycle of a letter.

Hiring a Postman was expensive. No Postman ever lacked money.

But no one would choose this profession if they had another option.

Unless they were born into it.

Generations of Postmen, accustomed to a life with no guarantees, always on the road, carrying letters through shadows and death.

Rita… was one of them.

She lived on 99th Street in District 21, together with her aunt. After her parents died, the two of them relied on each other.

Now, back in the body of a 15-year-old, Rita sat at the table holding a spoon, staring at the woman at the head—

Her aunt.

Deceitful Bloom.

Even though she had already processed all this information in her mind and prepared herself,

The moment she saw Deceitful Bloom looking at her with such gentle, maternal affection—

She almost lost it.

"Finish eating and go play," Deceitful Bloom said softly.

Rita stiffened, put down her spoon, gave a vague response, and quickly got up to leave.

Behind her, Deceitful Bloom watched her with a warm smile.

"She's grown up. Getting rebellious."

Rita: "…"

A prompt appeared in her mind—

Dark Fairy Tale Progress: 1%

Before entering this story, she had already learned the rules.

She had to follow her assigned role.

Postman Rita's role wasn't complicated.

Her parents had both been Postmen—and both had died delivering letters.

Just like letters carried a curse, so did Postmen.

Their descendants almost always became Postmen as well. Even if they were pushed into other careers or districts, they would eventually return to District 21.

Over time, people accepted it.

They earned money, enjoyed life, and never thought about the future.

That was why District 21 felt empty, lively, and chaotic all at once—like a pirate port.

In this story, Rita was shaped by that fate.

Depressed. Quiet. Withdrawn.

She desperately wanted to gain power from the curse of letters—

Because that was the only way Postmen survived.

And their only form of luck.

Yet despite all that, she treated her aunt with deep respect.

After her parents died, it was Deceitful Bloom who held everything together. At just eight years old, she had become a Postman and raised Rita from infancy.

That wasn't just about money.

It was about survival.

If Deceitful Bloom hadn't become a Postman, they would have quietly disappeared from District 21, their home taken over by strangers.

But once she delivered her first letter, the kingdom's system would protect them.

Postmen were… special.

Even if they offended nobles, they wouldn't be killed outright. Instead, they would be assigned a letter with an extremely distant destination.

Which, in most cases, was the same as a death sentence.

The longest any Postman had ever survived while holding a letter… was six days.

Rita didn't yet know the core theme of this fairy tale.

But one thing was obvious—

This world, and this profession she was about to enter, was dangerous.

Worse, she currently had none of her abilities.

Her stats, skills, equipment—all gone.

Only her combat experience remained.

She was basically someone who knew how to fight…

But didn't have the body to match.

Even though this version of Rita had been trained in martial arts since childhood, her current physical state couldn't keep up with her instincts.

If the Dark Fairy Tale progress passed 50%, the world would begin twisting.

Simple things would gain dark interpretations.

For example, Deceitful Bloom raising her might turn into something sinister.

At 100%, the story would fully collapse into darkness.

No positive emotions would remain.

Since there was a choice, Rita had no intention of playing on hard mode.

According to the story, she had just turned fifteen.

Tomorrow, she would deliver her first letter alone.

If she succeeded, she would officially become a Postman.

Rita suddenly stopped and turned back.

"Aunt, I'm heading out."

Deceitful Bloom smiled gently. "Alright. Bring back a bottle of soy sauce when you return."

"…."

Rita paused.

Never in her life had she imagined Deceitful Bloom telling her to buy soy sauce.

Then she continued walking.

But the Dark Fairy Tale progress didn't decrease.

So breaking character couldn't be undone.

She stepped into the shadows of 99th Street, quietly observing her surroundings and gathering information.

Even without her abilities, she had been trained by top-tier assassins. She knew how to blend in.

It was close to sunset, yet District 21 was already coming alive.

Rita listened carefully to the murmurs carried by the wind.

Postmen chatted casually about the strange letters they had delivered.

"One started singing halfway through. Scared me half to death."

"…Mine suddenly grew thorns."

"It tried to make a deal with me. Said if I opened it, I could set it free…"

Rita listened, and for a moment it felt like they weren't talking about letters—

But about something far more disturbing.

Yet none of them ever mentioned what abilities they gained from these letters, or how they dealt with the danger.

Rita bought an ice cream and sat on the steps at a street corner.

She listened to the stories drifting out of a nearby tavern while thinking about the fairy tale.

Lynx Duke said she would teach her a skill.

So… was the ability a Postman gained from their first delivery the "skill" she needed to comprehend?

But how did that relate to understanding?

Or did she need to figure out the name of the fairy tale first before unlocking anything?

Why did every Postman avoid talking about the real dangers?

Even when drunk, they only shared meaningless details.

Even Deceitful Bloom, when giving advice, did the same.

Vague. Avoidant.

Always circling back to one single line—

Never open your letter.