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IBLC 05

IBLC

Chapter 5

“You Confessed to Me?”

“I confessed to you, Senior. I mean
 I asked you to go out with me.”

What—what did he just say?

A confession?

There was
 a knight who actually confessed to Rosebellia?

I stood frozen, my lips parting soundlessly. Simon’s face flushed crimson, realizing what he’d just blurted out.

“Ah
 You mean, you confessed to me?”

He nodded, rubbing his red cheeks in embarrassment.

“Yes.”

“But
 I don’t even know you that well. And honestly, I’m not in the right state of mind to date anyone right now.”

“Then
 when you do have the time or the will to, would you reconsider me?”

For someone who couldn’t even look me in the eye, he sure knew how to ask boldly.

“…Maybe someday I’ll have that kind of room in my heart. But who knows when that’ll be? It might never happen.”

“Because of the upcoming subjugation of the demon beasts, right?”

Oh. Right. The subjugation campaign.

There had been mention of the White Knights’ expedition against the demon beasts in the early chapters of the original story. Meaning—it was about to happen soon.

“It’s not just because of that
”

I bit my lip, the words I couldn’t say choking me. I’m not the Rosebellia you fell for.

“…”

“I appreciate your feelings, but I’ll have to decline.”

“Then
 it’s fine if I like you on my own, right?”

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.

“I wouldn’t recommend that either. I’m sure there are better people out there for you.”

“I haven’t been in the Order for long, but I’ve admired you ever since I heard of you. To me, you’re the perfect woman, Senior.”

“Uh, Simon—”

“I’ll keep these feelings to myself then. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

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.

“Senior.”

A deep, low voice cut through the air, tugging at my nerves.

I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was.

Ian.

“When did you get here?”

“Don’t tell me you mistook him for me, did you?”

So, he heard everything.

“Well
”

“You really don’t have an eye for people, do you?”

Simon and Ian couldn’t have been more different. Simon looked like a boy—innocent, almost naïve. Ian, though


Our eyes met. He frowned slightly, then let out a small, incredulous laugh.

Apparently, the idea that I’d confuse him with Simon was so absurd he couldn’t help himself.

“I-It could happen!”

“Hardly. We don’t look anything alike.”

“That was the night of the festival! I might’ve been drunk!”

Ian tilted his head, stepping closer—close enough that his breath brushed my skin.

He leaned in until our faces were only inches apart.

“What are you doing?”

“When we crossed swords at the gladiator tournament, we were about this close. Close enough to tell if someone’s drunk.”

“…”

“You weren’t drunk that night, Senior. I’m certain of it.”

He straightened, and the flickering ocean-blue of his eyes withdrew, leaving only distance between us again.

“That’s strange. Then why can’t I remember that night? I thought it was because I’d been drinking.”

I tilted my head and forced a laugh, hoping my clumsy act would be enough. If I just insisted I didn’t remember, maybe he’d drop it.

The question was—would Ian buy it?

“If that’s why you thought you were drunk
 then I suppose that makes sense.”

Oh. He actually accepted it easily.

You’re more reasonable than I expected, huh?

“Anyway, sorry for mixing things up.”

“It wasn’t exactly pleasant.”

“Huh?”

“It means I didn’t leave much of an impression on you, Senior.”

Well. That was quite the leap in logic.

It wasn’t that his impression was faint—how could I forget someone like him when I knew how his story ended?

But in Rosebellia’s memories, Ian had just been one of many new recruits.

“It’s just that there were a lot of new faces this year
”

“Do you at least know my name?”

“Your
 name?”

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.

“I’ll make sure you remember it after our duel.”

“Remember what?”

“My existence.”

His eyes curved, and I couldn’t tell whether it was a smile or a challenge.

“You sound almost threatening. Is it because we’re about to spar?”

I tossed him a wooden sword. He caught it with effortless precision, lips curling upward.

“My name is Ian
 Klein.”

“Klein, huh? Alright then—let’s begin.”

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 good—very 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 wrist—I stepped back, twisted my body, and brought my sword up to his throat.

“That’s enough for today.”

Ian was talented, without question. Far above an average recruit. But compared to Rosebellia’s former self
 he still had a long way to go.

“You held back a lot, didn’t you?”

His breathing was rough, but his eyes gleamed.

“Not really. That was a fun match.”

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.

“Can we spar again next time?”

“Anytime.”

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.

“Thank you, Senior.”

Ian smiled—a pure, unguarded smile.

And for the first time, guilt pricked at my chest.

In the original, I hadn’t cared about Ian at all. I’d rooted for Daisy, Edwin, and Rosebellia instead.

When Ian died, I’d even thought, Good. Now Daisy and Edwin can finally be happy.

But this Ian—the one standing before me—wasn’t some cold-hearted “male lead.”

He was simply
 human. Honest. Earnest.

Perhaps this was the Ian Daisy had fallen for in the first place.

“Can you sense aura yet?”

“I can only detect it, not control it.”

Rosebellia had sensed aura after only a year of training. Soon after, she’d mastered it completely and become a Swordmaster. A true prodigy.

“When did it start?”

“Not long ago.”

It took most knights decades to reach that point—if they ever did at all.

In the original, Ian’s transformation into a tyrant happened within a year.

There was no way he could’ve become a Swordmaster in that time. Not naturally.

Which meant something—or someone—had forced the change.

A curse.

“Senior?”

“Ah
 yeah?”

“We should probably go.”

I sheathed the wooden sword and grabbed the cloak he handed me.

“Right.”

“When’s our next spar?”

“Four days from now. Same time.”

“Understood.”

Can I change the ending?

Can I stop the shadow of death that looms over us both?

If only we could live—just live—as ordinary people.

A soft wind stirred as we stepped out of the hall, brushing against my chest in a strangely stirring way.


“Have you thought about it?”
“Yeah. I’ll have to decline the duel.”
“Why? Because I’m not skilled enough?”
“No. You’re skilled—very skilled. I even considered it for a moment.”
“Then why refuse me?”
“It’s just
 my principle. I swore I wouldn’t duel anyone in the Order, and I won’t break that vow—not even for you.”

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.

“The training hall
 it was the same place.”

The same one where Ian had approached me after the festival.

“What
 was that?”

It felt too real to dismiss as just a random dream.

If that conversation had actually taken place in the original story—off-screen, between Rosebellia and Ian—then


“Has the original timeline already started changing? Can I really
 change it?”

A shiver raced down my spine.

My heart pounded, wild with hope.

No, calm down. It was just a dream.

I’d 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 that—then I’d 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.

“I wonder
 if I can use aura too.”

Maybe it would come as naturally as her swordsmanship—something my body already knew how to do.

In the subjugation ahead, Rosebellia had used aura in a moment of desperation.

If I’d be there too, I’d need to be ready.

I drew my sword. Pale dawnlight washed over the blade.

Slowly, following Rosebellia’s muscle memory, I let the flow of energy gather in my arm—channeling it into the sword.

A faint, white glow wrapped around the blade.

I gave a single, light swing—

—and the nearby tree split cleanly in two.

“I did it. It’s actually that easy—”

The words died in my throat.

Suddenly, a burning pain clawed up my neck.

My hands flew to my throat, choking, gasping.

“Wh-what
 is happening
?”

A cough burst from me—wet, metallic.

When I finally looked down, I saw—

“Why
”

—blood.
Pooling in my trembling palms.

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It seems like I Became the first Love of the Iron-Clad Male Protagonist.

It seems like I Became the first Love of the Iron-Clad Male Protagonist.

ìČ ëČœ ë‚šìŁŒì˜ ìČ«ì‚Źëž‘ìŽ 된 ëȘšì–‘입니닀
Score 10.0
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: , Released: 2024 Native Language: korean

I thought I was dead—
but when I opened my eyes, I had become the male lead’s senior in the knight order.


Except, something’s wrong.

The cold, stoic male lead who never accepted the dying heroine’s feelings in the original story—
is acting very strange.

“Do you act like this with just anyone?”
“Huh?”
“Or is it because I’m just a blurry-faced junior that you’re being so casual with me?”

Maybe trying to befriend him, just to avoid dying like in the original ending, was a mistake.

“You don’t know, Senior.”
“What don’t I know?”
“How I look at you

how many filthy, base desires are running wild in my head.”

Wait—what?
Desires? What kind of—

“...You don’t know, do you?”

Hold on.
You’re not supposed to be this kind of character, right?!

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