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Chapter -3-……………………………………………………………………………………..
Light flickered at Russell’s fingertips. It looked like he intended to start by treating her first, no matter what.
But that very behavior from Russell felt like pressure to me. No— it wasn’t just Russell; the duke’s and Gawen’s actions felt just as overwhelming.
I’ll say it again: I was a reader who supported Erina.
—Aren’t these people even a family? Why are they doing this to Lady Erina?
—If they’re family, shouldn’t they be comforting her a bit?!
Of course, it was a fairly common trope that a villain’s surroundings were miserable. But even so, Erina didn’t necessarily have to become a villain.
If even one of them—her brother or her father in the Marbas ducal family—had paid even a little attention to her, I thought she might not have fallen so completely into darkness even after what was practically a failed awakening.
After all, aside from her failed awakening, Erina had beauty that didn’t lose out to her prestigious ducal background.
That was the opinion not only of me, but of all readers who supported Erina.
So even though Gawen and Russell were considered male lead candidates, they were characters who were widely hated by Erina’s supporters.
But one of the very people who had driven Erina to that state was now approaching her with a face that looked like he was dying of worry—there was no way it could look like genuine concern.
I instinctively stood up and took several steps back. Russell froze in place.
“This isn’t that bad, I told you!”
I raised my voice without meaning to and immediately regretted it, but thinking about it, this reaction wasn’t that strange.
If it were the Erina I knew—based on her original character setting—this reaction was exactly like her.
“…I just need to rest a little. There’s no need for you to go out of your way to heal me, Russell brother.”
“Erina, healing magic has no effect when the body is already normal—”
“Why is everyone paying attention to me?”
Russell’s eyes wavered. Yes, why were you suddenly all acting out of character and paying attention to Erina? Was it because of the duchess’s funeral?
But in the original story, things only got worse after that, not better.
“It’s never been like this before. This… it feels unfamiliar.”
Please, don’t break character like in the original. Just ignore me. That way I can escape this house.
I meant it sincerely. Even though they were cruel to Erina in the original, I would have preferred it if they stayed that way.
At least then, my knowledge of the original would be an advantage. But now that they were suddenly acting out of character from the very beginning, it was disorienting and even nauseating.
It made me wonder if I had been reading the novel wrong the whole time.
I was already supposed to be walking a thorny path—at least let me survive first.
So just act the way I know you to act! You can change after I leave the ducal house for all I care!
Russell’s expression twisted. He looked almost like he was about to cry—but he quickly suppressed it.
Cry? Russell? No way. That must be my imagination. There was no way that guy, who had always been prickly and tried so hard not to even look at Erina, would make that face.
I quickly stepped backward. I could feel the gazes of the three men on me, but I no longer had any desire to stay in that suffocating place.
“…I’ll eat separately.”
Leaving only those words behind, I fled the dining room. Now that I had an excuse to escape, the fastest exit was the best option.
* * *
Russell slowly lowered his hand. In his field of vision was Erina’s figure quickly retreating as if she were running away.
—Why is everyone paying attention to me?
That question, asked with wide, genuinely confused eyes, was still painfully etched into his mind.
The sight of her stepping back in fear struck him like a wound.
“Russell.”
“…Father.”
Russell turned toward the duke. Gawen’s expression was the same.
“It seems… our sudden behavior is becoming a burden to Erina.”
At those words, Russell clenched his teeth. A truth he had vaguely sensed—no, had tried to deny—was now spoken aloud. It felt more miserable than he expected.
“Let’s not rush things.”
“But Father—”
“Rushing won’t change anything. And there is still time, is there not?”
At the duke’s calm but grounded words, Russell and Gawen lowered their heads.
“So let us not act in haste.”
“But Father. Even if there is time, we don’t know what might happen before then.”
At those words, the duke’s eyes sharpened as he looked at Gawen. Gawen met his gaze in return.
“…Are you saying you would let something like that happen?”
“Of course not.”
“Then do not speak as if you would.”
At the duke’s firm tone, Gawen clenched his fist.
“What we must do now is what we can do. If protecting Erina feels too difficult, then step aside.”
“…I have no intention of stepping away.”
“Then think about how to protect Erina properly. Shouldn’t we ensure that not even the slightest possibility arises?”
The duke’s gaze swept over his two sons. With a cold, unwavering light, he continued.
“I will assume there is no fool in the Marbas ducal family who would make the same grave mistake twice.”
Gawen and Russell’s eyes sharpened. A sense of resolve filled their gazes.
“Erina will not be assassinated.”
“Not this time.”
They murmured vows like oaths and clenched their fists tightly.
After successfully escaping the dining room, I received help from the maids and had a simple meal in my room.
“Phew, I can finally breathe.”
Thinking about how I barely tasted anything earlier because I was too busy being conscious of everything made me want to cry over the waste.
Sipping the fruit juice served for dessert, I thought about the novel’s setting.
“It was an interesting concept to read about.”
In I Never Wanted to Be Loved, there was only one nation: the Reglia Empire.
Because of that, the emperor’s power was absolute. Naturally, he was also one of the male lead candidates—no, maybe the true male lead.
Anyway, the most interesting element was dragons.
Dragons.
Powerful beings that crossed worlds. On the continent, not only humans but also animals and even plants could become dragons.
The reason there was only one nation and one ruler was because of a pact with dragons.
In exchange for protecting the birth of dragons and providing them with support and comfort, humans received glory and power.
The awakening ceremony that nobles underwent at the age of nineteen was also a ritual to become dragons.
…That didn’t mean beings comparable to gods were mass-produced like factory goods.
Usually, it only manifested as one of a dragon’s abilities or a partial transformation of the body.
In the novel, there was only one dragon ruling the southern region of the empire—the Grand Prince Shurandis. Ah, and one more: the future heroine.
As the story progressed, the heroine would eventually awaken as a dragon.
But that hadn’t happened yet, since Erina was only seventeen.
Those who awakened dragon abilities were close by as well: the Marbas duke had dragon blood, Gawen had the power of wind, and Russell had the dragon’s eye.
“Compared to that… Erina…”
Her awakening ability was considered the lowest rank: a change in appearance. Small dragon wings no bigger than a palm and scales on her arms—nothing else.
Because of that, she had been endlessly mocked by both her family and the nobility. “So even a ducal family can produce such useless awakenings,” they said.
On top of that, Gawen and Russell had awakened early, at fifteen instead of nineteen, making them even more celebrated.
“That kind of future is unacceptable.”
Of course, in the novel Erina didn’t care about her awakened form—but I did.
Why should I follow the original when I already know what’s going to happen?
“More importantly, what is wrong with everyone in that family?”
Weren’t they supposed to be indifferent to Erina—no, worse, intentionally ignoring her? Weren’t they the ones who would later humiliate her in front of the heroine?
“…The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Gawen, Russell, those bastards.”
No, that wasn’t the important part right now. The important question was why they were suddenly acting so differently from the original.
Maybe something had changed? It wasn’t unusual for hidden settings to suddenly appear after possession, but still…
But I didn’t remember anything that would cause this level of character distortion.
I pressed my hand to my forehead and sighed.
“Just follow a typical possession novel plot… please.”
At least that would be easier to handle. What kind of new form of torture was this?
But soon I shook my head.
Whatever they did, I had no intention of staying in this ducal estate anyway.
“Right. Once I leave, I’ll never have to see them again. Then I won’t need to worry about any of this.”
Why was I even worrying?
With that thought, I let out a light sigh.
…Yes. I just needed to get out of here as fast as possible. Before I turned nineteen, I’d find a way to survive on my own and disappear quietly.
The original story? Who cared. The best life was one without money worries or people to deal with. Disappearing completely so I never had to get involved with any of them was the best option.
Once I reached that conclusion, my mind felt strangely clear.
Right, what was I even worrying about? I could just run away.
…Just as I thought that, a knocking sound echoed at the door like thunder.
