Chapter 5
âYou Confessed to Me?â
âI confessed to you, Senior. I mean⊠I asked you to go out with me.â
Whatâwhat did he just say?
A confession?
There was⊠a knight who actually confessed to Rosebellia?
I stood frozen, my lips parting soundlessly. Simonâs face flushed crimson, realizing what heâd just blurted out.
âAh⊠You mean, you confessed to me?â
He nodded, rubbing his red cheeks in embarrassment.
âYes.â
âBut⊠I donât even know you that well. And honestly, Iâm not in the right state of mind to date anyone right now.â
âThen⊠when you do have the time or the will to, would you reconsider me?â
For someone who couldnât even look me in the eye, he sure knew how to ask boldly.
â…Maybe someday Iâll have that kind of room in my heart. But who knows when thatâll be? It might never happen.â
âBecause of the upcoming subjugation of the demon beasts, right?â
Oh. Right. The subjugation campaign.
There had been mention of the White Knightsâ expedition against the demon beasts in the early chapters of the original story. Meaningâit was about to happen soon.
âItâs not just because of thatâŠâ
I bit my lip, the words I couldnât say choking me. Iâm not the Rosebellia you fell for.
â…â
âI appreciate your feelings, but Iâll have to decline.â
âThen⊠itâs fine if I like you on my own, right?â
If things went as they did in the original, whoever loved me would only find unhappiness.
And if that affection ever deepened into a real relationship, that unhappiness would grow beyond repair.
âI wouldnât recommend that either. Iâm sure there are better people out there for you.â
âI havenât been in the Order for long, but Iâve admired you ever since I heard of you. To me, youâre the perfect woman, Senior.â
âUh, Simonââ
âIâll keep these feelings to myself then. Thatâs fine, isnât it?â
Before I could respond, Simon bowed his head and rushed out of the training hall.
The original story. The ending. Death.
The same tangled mess that had been tormenting me since yesterday started swirling in my head again.
âSenior.â
A deep, low voice cut through the air, tugging at my nerves.
I didnât even have to turn around to know who it was.
Ian.
âWhen did you get here?â
âDonât tell me you mistook him for me, did you?â
So, he heard everything.
âWellâŠâ
âYou really donât have an eye for people, do you?â
Simon and Ian couldnât have been more different. Simon looked like a boyâinnocent, almost naĂŻve. Ian, thoughâŠ
Our eyes met. He frowned slightly, then let out a small, incredulous laugh.
Apparently, the idea that Iâd confuse him with Simon was so absurd he couldnât help himself.
âI-It could happen!â
âHardly. We donât look anything alike.â
âThat was the night of the festival! I mightâve been drunk!â
Ian tilted his head, stepping closerâclose enough that his breath brushed my skin.
He leaned in until our faces were only inches apart.
âWhat are you doing?â
âWhen we crossed swords at the gladiator tournament, we were about this close. Close enough to tell if someoneâs drunk.â
â…â
âYou werenât drunk that night, Senior. Iâm certain of it.â
He straightened, and the flickering ocean-blue of his eyes withdrew, leaving only distance between us again.
âThatâs strange. Then why canât I remember that night? I thought it was because Iâd been drinking.â
I tilted my head and forced a laugh, hoping my clumsy act would be enough. If I just insisted I didnât remember, maybe heâd drop it.
The question wasâwould Ian buy it?
âIf thatâs why you thought you were drunk⊠then I suppose that makes sense.â
Oh. He actually accepted it easily.
Youâre more reasonable than I expected, huh?
âAnyway, sorry for mixing things up.â
âIt wasnât exactly pleasant.â
âHuh?â
âIt means I didnât leave much of an impression on you, Senior.â
Well. That was quite the leap in logic.
It wasnât that his impression was faintâhow could I forget someone like him when I knew how his story ended?
But in Rosebelliaâs memories, Ian had just been one of many new recruits.
âItâs just that there were a lot of new faces this yearâŠâ
âDo you at least know my name?â
âYour⊠name?â
I knew his full name from the novel, but there was no way it was identical here.
When I hesitated, Ian smirked knowingly and shrugged.
âIâll make sure you remember it after our duel.â
âRemember what?â
âMy existence.â
His eyes curved, and I couldnât tell whether it was a smile or a challenge.
âYou sound almost threatening. Is it because weâre about to spar?â
I tossed him a wooden sword. He caught it with effortless precision, lips curling upward.
âMy name is Ian⊠Klein.â
âKlein, huh? Alright thenâletâs begin.â
The duel began as our blades crossed.
At first, I let him take the lead, parrying and deflecting his relentless strikes.
His movements were steady, precise. For a newcomer, he was goodâvery good. But not enough.
I shifted my stance, gripped my sword tighter, and went on the offensive.
Our blades clashed, sharp and fluid, echoing through the training hall.
He went for my wristâI stepped back, twisted my body, and brought my sword up to his throat.
âThatâs enough for today.â
Ian was talented, without question. Far above an average recruit. But compared to Rosebelliaâs former self⊠he still had a long way to go.
âYou held back a lot, didnât you?â
His breathing was rough, but his eyes gleamed.
âNot really. That was a fun match.â
Unlike his ragged breaths, mine stayed even. Yet something in me had changed.
The tension weighing down my body had eased. My mind felt clearer than it had in days.
So this was why Rosebellia had been a swordmaster. Her movements had been sharp, impossibly light, her body as quick as wind even with a sword three times heavier than a fencing blade.
âCan we spar again next time?â
âAnytime.â
Wait. Was that a mistake?
Rosebellia had stopped sparring entirely after she accidentally injured Edwin.
Too late for regrets now. The exhilaration of battle was still buzzing through my veins.
âThank you, Senior.â
Ian smiledâa pure, unguarded smile.
And for the first time, guilt pricked at my chest.
In the original, I hadnât cared about Ian at all. Iâd rooted for Daisy, Edwin, and Rosebellia instead.
When Ian died, Iâd even thought, Good. Now Daisy and Edwin can finally be happy.
But this Ianâthe one standing before meâwasnât some cold-hearted âmale lead.â
He was simply⊠human. Honest. Earnest.
Perhaps this was the Ian Daisy had fallen for in the first place.
âCan you sense aura yet?â
âI can only detect it, not control it.â
Rosebellia had sensed aura after only a year of training. Soon after, sheâd mastered it completely and become a Swordmaster. A true prodigy.
âWhen did it start?â
âNot long ago.â
It took most knights decades to reach that pointâif they ever did at all.
In the original, Ianâs transformation into a tyrant happened within a year.
There was no way he couldâve become a Swordmaster in that time. Not naturally.
Which meant somethingâor someoneâhad forced the change.
A curse.
âSenior?â
âAh⊠yeah?â
âWe should probably go.â
I sheathed the wooden sword and grabbed the cloak he handed me.
âRight.â
âWhenâs our next spar?â
âFour days from now. Same time.â
âUnderstood.â
Can I change the ending?
Can I stop the shadow of death that looms over us both?
If only we could liveâjust liveâas ordinary people.
A soft wind stirred as we stepped out of the hall, brushing against my chest in a strangely stirring way.
âHave you thought about it?â
âYeah. Iâll have to decline the duel.â
âWhy? Because Iâm not skilled enough?â
âNo. Youâre skilledâvery skilled. I even considered it for a moment.â
âThen why refuse me?â
âItâs just⊠my principle. I swore I wouldnât duel anyone in the Order, and I wonât break that vowânot even for you.â
My eyes flew open.
Dim light seeped through the curtains.
A dream?
It had felt so vivid, like Rosebellia and Ian had been right there in front of me.
âThe training hall⊠it was the same place.â
The same one where Ian had approached me after the festival.
âWhat⊠was that?â
It felt too real to dismiss as just a random dream.
If that conversation had actually taken place in the original storyâoff-screen, between Rosebellia and IanâthenâŠ
âHas the original timeline already started changing? Can I really⊠change it?â
A shiver raced down my spine.
My heart pounded, wild with hope.
No, calm down. It was just a dream.
Iâd know for sure soon enough. On the day the original heroine, Daisy, and the original male lead, Ian, were meant to meet.
If I could change thatâthen Iâd know everything.
But sleep refused to come again.
So I changed clothes, slipped out of the mansion, and headed into the forest that bordered the estate.
A quiet place. One that Rosebellia had often used for aura training.
âI wonder⊠if I can use aura too.â
Maybe it would come as naturally as her swordsmanshipâsomething my body already knew how to do.
In the subjugation ahead, Rosebellia had used aura in a moment of desperation.
If Iâd be there too, Iâd need to be ready.
I drew my sword. Pale dawnlight washed over the blade.
Slowly, following Rosebelliaâs muscle memory, I let the flow of energy gather in my armâchanneling it into the sword.
A faint, white glow wrapped around the blade.
I gave a single, light swingâ
âand the nearby tree split cleanly in two.
âI did it. Itâs actually that easyââ
The words died in my throat.
Suddenly, a burning pain clawed up my neck.
My hands flew to my throat, choking, gasping.
âWh-what⊠is happeningâŠ?â
A cough burst from meâwet, metallic.
When I finally looked down, I sawâ
âWhyâŠâ
âblood.
Pooling in my trembling palms.