EBCP 26

Chapter : 26

Ken’s mother, and the headmistress of this school.

She was the one who swapped Helsen and Ken’s documents to submit the application.

“Everything started with Helsen failing the knighthood because of Ken.”

Because of that, Helsen ended up staying in the system and got involved in the affairs of the heroine and Lysis.

When he was taken as a hostage in place of the heroine, he ended up fighting with his sword.

“Heroine’s older brothers always have innocent faces but extraordinary strength.”

Thus, Helsen decimated the royal army and became the prime contributor to Lysis’s successful rebellion.

A single swapped document caused a butterfly effect.

“Are you deaf? I told you to go to the admissions office immediately and cancel your application.”

“I’ll go cancel it right away! Please, just don’t let Duke Perzen hear about this!”

Ken ran off, dragging his trembling legs behind him.

‘Isn’t he going to call his mother now?’

The other kids watching the scene looked genuinely scared.

They had been giggling around Dine just moments ago, but now one by one they tried to quietly sneak away.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to take your laundry with you?”

Since they weren’t my concern, it didn’t matter if they ran off.

“Remember, the gods are watching, listening, and recording everything. Try to live honestly and kindly.”

At any rate, I sincerely gave my advice to their backs.

At the very least, don’t live as a freeloader, kids.

‘I have no idea how the story will change from here.’

At that moment, Dine came over to my side.

“Um… thank you for helping me.”

She bowed slightly while speaking.

“Are you… someone from Duke Perzen’s castle?”

I quietly looked into Dine’s eyes in that moment.

They didn’t have the insane look typical of a possessed person.

‘So am I the only one possessed after all?’

But thinking about it, calling myself a possessed person didn’t feel quite right.

I didn’t possess her in the usual way—I ended up here while the dimension was collapsing and being restored.

So, does that make me just a character who originally existed in this world?

‘Ah, I don’t know.’

Who cares, really?

A controller and a possessor. What a horrifying hybrid.

“Who are you?”

However, my gaze toward the heroine was cut off.

A man stepped in front of me, hiding Dine behind him.

[Helsen, C-Rank, Future Swordmaster]

[Unlock Condition: Raise Helsen’s ‘Courage’ to 25%.]

I admired Helsen’s control panel appearing before me.

‘And he shows up at exactly the right time.’

This was the heroine’s older brother, Helsen, who would eventually become a Swordmaster.

I watched the siblings standing side by side in front of me and thought:

‘Hmm, even from inside the magic carriage, I can tell they’re the heroine and her older brother.’

Is this what protagonist buffs feel like?

Despite all the hardships, their natural beauty could not be hidden.

“Don’t, Onii-sama. This person saved me.”

Dine said, stopping Helsen.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

But Helsen’s gaze toward me was still strange.

It didn’t seem like suspicion or caution.

I checked the control panel to see what it meant.

[Helsen’s ‘Shock’ increases by 10%!]
[Helsen’s ‘Shyness’ increases by 13%!]

‘Shock? Shyness? What kind of combination is that?’

It was even more confusing.

“Ahem, Dine. Are you alright? Who were those bastards? That Ken or Thomas guy again? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I was checking the control panel, but it looked like I was staring directly at Helsen.

Breaking off his gaze toward me, Helsen turned away.

“Stop holding it in like an idiot and get mad already!”

He urgently checked Dine’s condition and burst out angrily.

“No. Ken is the headmistress’s son. If he offends her, he won’t get the school recommendation letter.”

“So what if he doesn’t get that stupid recommendation?”

At that, the usually gentle Dine widened her eyes.

“Stupid? Fine, I can take that…! But if you don’t get the recommendation, you know it won’t just affect the Perzen knights—you won’t even make it as a knight in the Bontec Monastery!”

I had thought Dine was all sweetness at headquarters.

Hearing her true feelings, it seemed she had a reason.

‘If characters hide things, the headquarters really won’t know.’

Suddenly I got confused.

How much of what I know is actually correct? Was it really correct at all?

“Enough. I don’t need to become a knight anyway.”

Helsen said sulkily.

Well, regardless, he’s destined to become a Swordmaster someday.

“How can you say that? If you don’t become a knight, who will restore our family?”

I quietly watched the siblings bicker.

Dine dragged Helsen in front of me.

“Now, properly greet this person.”

“…….”

“They got a confession from Ken admitting he forged the documents.”

Even so, Helsen stood like a statue. Knowing his usual personality, it was not surprising.

“Hurry! This is the person who saved you!”

Dine stood on tiptoe and pressed his head down firmly.

“I apologize for eavesdropping. I’m truly sorry. But… you really are someone from Duke Perzen’s castle, right?”

‘What should I do?’

It seemed Dine misunderstood the conversation between Ken and me.

‘I did use the Perzen necklace, so I can’t exactly say no.’

“I expected he’d try to prevent you from joining the Perzen knights.”

Dine spoke carefully.

“But I never expected him to steal your grades. Thinking that someone like Ken could have obtained the honor of knighthood… it’s terrifying.”

I’m not a person of Perzen.

I didn’t intervene to stop Ken’s evil deeds.

I just happened to find a good opportunity to mess with the original story.

“No. You don’t need to thank me.”

“No, I saw that necklace too. There really are people this kind.”

At that moment…

“Could it be… that necklace…”

Helsen’s expression toward me grew strange.

Helsen recalled a recent memory.

The day he took the first interview at Duke Perzen’s castle.

“You all know the heirlooms of the Perzen family, right?”

A female knight entered that day, her hair tied high.

‘Ah, that’s Bella.’

If you knew about Rom, she was a famously renowned knight.

“There are seven in total. The first is…”

The young men, tense, responded.

Among them were noblemen, commoners, and even low-borns.

Unlike the royal army, which only allowed baronial families and above, Rom’s order competed purely on skill.

Thus, many young men admired the Rom knights.

And since children of rising noble families who respected the Duke had gathered, the interview room was crowded.

Helsen was among them.

“Good. Now, does anyone know how this last red jewel was discovered in the Perzen family?”

At Bella’s question, the room fell silent for the first time.

The red jewel had become a symbol of Perzen since the current duke inherited the title.

It was the most treasured possession of the current head of the family.

But compared to the other heirlooms, its history was relatively short.

“Thirteen years ago.”

With so little known, everyone hesitated.

Helsen raised his hand.

“Specifically, it was an item in the late Duke’s room, taken at dawn when His Majesty secretly sent the imperial army to seize the castle.”

“…….”

The room stirred slightly at Helsen’s answer.

Even that had been a softened version of the truth.

That was the end of the story, including the previous Duke’s death.

“Can anyone identify which of these two jewels is real?”

Bella approached Helsen and slammed her hand on the table.

‘Wow…’

Through the rising smoke, two red jewels appeared before Helsen.

He looked at them in turn and said:

“Both are the same jewel. It’s just been split in two.”

“How did you know?”

“It looked that way to my eyes.”

He knew it wasn’t a perfect answer, but nothing else came to mind.

“Though split in two, if combined, it will return to its original form…”

“No, it’s not that simple.”

At that voice, everyone’s attention turned to the source.

“Duke, what brings you here!”

It was Perzen.