IBRIP l CH 03

Chapter 3 

“Izana?”

Boris mumbled when he saw me.
The room instantly turned cold and quiet.

Duke Bern Rohia and Duchess Judith Rohia were clearly shocked and at a loss for words.

‘Yeah, I get it. This is how they treat me.’

I looked at their not-so-welcoming expressions and sighed quietly.

I could see it clearly…

What?

‘The thorny path ahead…’

The name “Rohia” at the end of mine — Izana Rohia — confirmed it.
I had somehow possessed a character in the old fantasy series Chronicles of Libya, which once ranked #1 in Dalpia.

I clenched my teeth.

‘This isn’t a romance fantasy!’

Chronicles of Libya was a grim, ultra-realistic fantasy set on the continent of Libya.
It even had a gore tag — like playing a video game on the hardest difficulty mode.

‘Rohia appears in Part 5, The White Dragon’s Wings, the final arc.’

And with that, I remembered the fate of this body — Izana Rohia.

A worthless illegitimate child of the Rohia family.
If I remembered right, I’d die soon — from a plague.

I wasn’t even a side character. Not really. More like a background extra.

The main Rohia characters in The White Dragon’s Wings were my half-brothers — especially the second son Josef and the fourth, Yubel.

As you can probably tell from how this family acts, they weren’t the good guys.

In fact, they were part of the darkness that pushed the story’s hero — Grand Duke Winter Orsus of the Northern Empire — into despair.

***

“Hey! You shouldn’t be here!”

Boris finally broke the silence, glaring at me.

He looked at the Duke, then stood up quickly.

“Father, I’ll take care of it.”

Then he stomped over and shoved me hard.

“Ugh…”

I fell to the floor. I felt a bit hopeless.

This body was too young, too weak.

Boris was only two years older than me, but already two heads taller.

The Rohias weren’t a family of knights — they were wealthy scholars who lived off land taxes for hundreds of years.

Even Duke Bern himself was a weak, nearsighted man.
But Boris? For some reason, he was already built like a soldier.

It made sense, though…

“This isn’t a place for a bastard like you!”

Because Boris wasn’t Bern Rohia’s son.

Yes — the word “bastard” that Boris always used to insult me was actually the truth about himself.

But there was something wrong with that.

I, Izana Rohia, wasn’t a bastard.

The prophecy had said Bern Rohia would have three children.

And the secret in the original story was that those three were:
Second son Josef, third child Izana (me), and newborn Yubel.

So how did I get labeled the bastard?

Before the [Materia] prophecy was made, Judith had already been engaged to Bern.
But she had a crush on someone else…

That person was — the Emperor of the Western Empire.

They were childhood friends, and Judith had loved him for a long time.

But she wasn’t the type to throw everything away for love.
So, one night while drunk, she had a fling with the Emperor and moved on.

After that, she married Bern Rohia.

Then the [Materia] prophecy came to the Rohia family.

Overjoyed, Bern visited her often to conceive this perfect, noble savior child — and Judith soon became pregnant.

She wondered if the child might be the Emperor’s…
But she couldn’t get rid of a child who might be [Materia].

Thankfully, Boris’s hair and eye color could be blamed on her side of the family.
Otherwise, one look at his muscular build and no one would believe he was Bern’s child.

***

“Enough! This is a sacred place where [Materia] has just been born!”

The Duke shouted angrily.

“Waaah!”

My newborn brother started crying at the loud noise.

The Duke scowled at first, but when he looked at Yubel, his face softened again.
Still, his voice stayed cold.

“Boris, control yourself! If you cause a scandal, it’ll ruin Yubel’s reputation!”

“F-Father…”

Boris had tried to win favor by bullying me, but now he was getting scolded.

He looked up at the Duke in disbelief.

The Duke ignored him and gently rocked baby Yubel.

“Yubel will become the savior of the continent. He can’t learn trashy street behavior from someone like you!”

Though he smiled at Yubel, his tone toward Boris was icy.

Bern had never liked Boris, who only cared about swordplay — not academics.

In this world, magic existed.
And knights were only impressive if they became swordmasters or aura users.
Otherwise, they couldn’t compare to mages.

Boris’s head drooped in shock.

Then his eyes turned to me — and he glared as if he wanted to kill me.

“This is all your fault.”

That’s what his eyes said.

‘And what do you want me to do about it?’

I mouthed the words just for him to see.

Maybe he understood, or maybe he was just mad that I dared talk back.
Either way, his face twisted with rage.

****

“Don’t raise your voice at Boris. He was just thinking of you.”

That was my mother — Judith Rohia — finally speaking.

Usually, when I was the topic, she stayed quiet and let Bern speak.

But when it came to Boris, she was quick to defend him.

****

“I’ll take care of it.”

Suddenly, Josef — who had been silently observing — rushed to my side and pulled me to my feet.

“Let’s go, Izana. I’ll walk you back to your room.”

“Well done, Josef. I’m proud of you. Be a good example for Yubel too.”

Josef blushed and answered politely.

“It’s nothing, Father. Boris was just surprised. I’ll make sure Izana doesn’t scare him again.”

***

I hadn’t come here to start something.
I just wanted to clearly understand the situation I was in — while I still had my mind.

‘Even if I wanted to change anything… I can’t. Not yet.’

When a protagonist gets possessed in a novel, they usually get to be all cool and powerful right away.
But not me.

I was barely standing upright.

So, I quietly followed Josef.

***

“Wait.”

The voice that stopped me came from behind.

Duchess Judith Rohia, leaning on the bed, frowned.

“Call Lottie.”

Lottie — the maid who brought me food after my nanny died.

A moment later, Lottie walked in nervously.

“Y-Yes, Your Grace?”

“I told you to keep that thing under control so it wouldn’t cause trouble.
And yet… here she is.”

“I—I’m sorry, but—”

“I can’t lay a hand on you myself.
So slap your own face until you reflect.”

No one could argue with a woman who had just given birth to [Materia].

Lottie looked at Duke Bern, silently begging for help.

But he avoided her eyes, still smiling at Yubel.

Tears welled in Lottie’s eyes as she knelt down and began slapping her own cheeks.

Smack. Smack.

As I followed Josef out, Lottie glared at me with pure hatred.

She’d probably have to keep slapping herself until she fainted.

This was how Judith punished servants.

And by punishing Lottie, she was punishing me too.

If Lottie didn’t come back, I wouldn’t get food.
I’d have to wear the same dirty clothes.
I couldn’t wash.

****

Josef walked me back to my dusty room and smiled kindly.

“Izana, you shouldn’t wander out of your room like that.”

“…Okay.”

When I answered immediately, he looked surprised.

“You’re speaking a bit more clearly now, huh?”