WICE 10

#10.

“Huh? Then that means Allen and I are a married couple. And Sasha’s our kid? Ahaha. That’s hilarious.”

At the word “married couple,” Allen jumped in surprise and hugged Sasha tightly in his arms.

“As if. Even if we’re engaged now, who knows when it’ll be broken off…”

“Right. Let’s just be married during the engagement period. Give me Sasha—I want to pet her too.”

“Only during the engagement period?”

Allen’s face stiffened, clearly displeased by my words. I held out both arms, gesturing for him to give Sasha to me.

Reluctantly, Allen handed Sasha over. I gently stroked her soft fur, humming a tune as I did.

It was a peaceful afternoon, and the weather was warm and cozy, making me feel drowsy. Caught up in the tranquil atmosphere, I started dozing off without realizing it.

Allen quietly read a book in front of me. Sasha was curled up in my arms, purring softly in deep sleep.

Then, Sasha’s ears twitched as she opened her eyes and stared intently at something.

Above her gaze, a small red bird had perched on a tree branch, watching us.

As Sasha’s gaze met the red bird’s, her eyes wavered slightly. Allen noticed the direction of Sasha’s stare and turned his head.

“What is it?”

Meow.

By the time Allen looked, the red bird had already flown away.

Chapter 3. I Met a Suspicious Wizard

It’s been five years since I came here, and I’m still dreaming.

No—strictly speaking, I’m living as a character in the comic I once worked on as an assistant. And I’m doing it my way. If this world is the comic, then I’m basically a setting-breaking character.

The more I live in this world, the less I understand what the other characters are thinking.

When I was outside the story, I could observe everything. But now, I’m stuck with the limited perspective of “Roni,” so it’s only natural that I don’t know what Allen is thinking or how he feels about me.

One thing’s for sure: Allen is still kind to me. So I suppose I’m still useful to him in some way.

Maybe my operation to get closer to him worked.

Over the past five years, I’ve supported Allen’s swordsmanship training and asked him to escort me whenever I snuck out into the city. Leo doesn’t allow me to roam freely without a guard, so Allen was my secret weapon in case we were caught.

Thanks to that, I got to spend a lot of time alone with Allen—killing two birds with one stone. Although I created this world, there’s still so much I don’t know about it, and I’m endlessly curious.

As long as Leo doesn’t catch on, everything will be fine. Besides, Allen is now strong enough to pull off a stealthy outing even if Leo tried to stop him.

After countless efforts on my part, Allen finally seemed to accept that I had changed. He no longer overreacted or looked fearful every time I did something.

Sasha, too, is alive and well at Allen’s side. One big surprise after five years is that Sasha isn’t just a cat—she’s a rare divine beast.

Even I was caught off guard since this wasn’t in the original comic. In the story, Sasha died before she could ever show her powers. But here, I managed to save her, and now I get to witness her hidden abilities.

Sasha usually looks like a black cat, but her true form is that of a massive black panther—twice the size of a strong man—with water attributes.

I still laugh when I think about the first time she activated her powers and splashed water everywhere.

Since Sasha was supposed to die, everything that came after her survival has been unpredictable.

Everything is changing. Of course it is—these characters have new souls inside them, so they can’t act the same. And I don’t want them to.

Gale, now fifteen, still acts spoiled sometimes, but he’s much more mature than before.

He’s finally accepted that I don’t want to be the heir and is doing his part with surprising dedication.

Thanks to him, preparing for my entrance into art school has gone smoothly. Since enrollment happens later in the year, I plan to start around early summer—right after Allen enters the magic academy.

The story originally begins in the spring, so Allen should be revealing his abilities and entering the academy around now.

If it were up to me, I’d follow him like a doting mom and help him get closer to the heroine. But Roni isn’t allowed in the magic academy.

So my plan was to attend the neighboring school and help the two connect from there. And now, spring is nearly over.

So why hasn’t Allen entered the magic academy yet?

“Do you have something to say?”

Allen asked, smiling softly when he noticed my sulky expression. Even after five years, I still wasn’t used to that smile.

He’s way too handsome. It feels amazing watching my favorite character grow up before my eyes like this.

I smiled as I looked at Allen, whose boyish features had matured into a lean, tall young man.

It had taken so much effort to bring out that smile from him. Every time I saw it, I felt proud and emotional.

Roni wasn’t particularly short, but next to Allen’s sturdy build, she looked tiny.

If I were the female lead, I’d fit perfectly in his arms. I’ve sighed over that thought more than once.

But since I’m living in a body that might vanish at any moment, I’ve settled for enjoying the fun of raising my favorite from a safe distance.

“Allen, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Do you… not want to go to the magic academy?”

Up until now, I kept thinking “It’s still spring,” and let it slide, but early summer was fast approaching, and I was starting to panic.

“If we keep dragging this out, the male lead might fall for someone else before the heroine even enters!”

According to the original plot, Allen was supposed to meet Viana shortly after enrolling.

But now, we were way past the entry point, and nothing had happened. I couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong with the story—like it had gone off course.

Allen looked at me with a complicated expression, like he was tired of this topic. He even seemed a little upset, though I didn’t know why.

He had talent, he had me as a strong backer—so what was keeping him from going?

“Do you want me to go to the magic academy?”

“Well… You’re incredibly skilled, Allen. You could definitely become a great knight captain.”

“Even though I’d have to live in the dorms if I go?”

“Sure, it’d be sad not having you around here, but we could still meet up sometimes and talk about school. And I think it’d be good for you to have other friends besides me.”

“Then…”

—Bang!

Just as Allen looked like he was about to say something important, the door flew open and Gale stormed in.

Allen’s face immediately showed his irritation. Lately, Gale just couldn’t stand seeing the two of us together. He constantly followed us around and interrupted, making it hard to have a proper conversation.

“Allen! I challenge you to a duel!”

Not this again…

Thanks to five years of effort, Gale no longer called Allen a mutt. But in an ironic twist, he now constantly followed Allen around, challenging him to duels.

Allen found him incredibly annoying. Watching my little brother keep losing and still coming back for more made even me feel sorry for him.

“Why do you keep challenging him when you can’t even win, Gale?”

“Stay out of this, sis! This is a battle between men!”

Oh please.

Having raised him since he was ten, I could confidently say that Gale was just a big kid. He tried to act all mature and noble in front of others, but in front of me, he was always like this.

Just then, Allen mumbled something and got up from his seat. With a serious expression, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

I stared at him, confused, and he mouthed the words, “Let’s run.”

Ah, Allen was asking for help.

Grinning, I ruffled Gale’s hair and said,

“Allen and I have somewhere to go. You finish all your homework and wait. I’ll check it later.”

“Where are you going?!”

“It’s a secret.”

* * *

As always, we dressed in simple clothes and slipped into the city. Sasha came with us in her cat form.

Strangely, Sasha liked me more than Allen. At first, she was wary and growled at me for bothering her master.

But ever since the day I saved her, she’s been weirdly affectionate toward me instead of Allen. Even Allen found it odd.

Allen and I would sometimes patrol the city like this to check on public safety. Officially, Gale was the heir to the Sharligane family, but since he was still only fifteen, I handled most of the real work as his older sister.

In this world, once you reach adulthood, you choose whether to become the heir or get married. Until then, the oldest child assumes the role.

So as the eldest daughter of the Sharligane Dukedom, I was used to sneaking around the capital like this with Allen to monitor the citizens’ welfare.

Of course, we wore disguises, so no one recognized me as a noble.

But lately, Allen’s been acting strange. He brings me into town and just feeds me delicious food and shows me great performances.

This isn’t the time for this. While he’s goofing off, Viana might be out there getting close to Ian already!

I skeptically stabbed the brownie he’d placed in front of me with a fork and popped it into my mouth, watching him closely.

Allen started acting weird this spring. More precisely, ever since the comic’s plot began, he’s been strange.