IBTDRI 5

Episode 5

All the guests—including my parents—were staring at us with shocked expressions.

Even Ilan and Jeremy stood trembling beside them.

“This is a setup!”

“It hardly looks like a setup, considering everyone saw it unfold.”

Count Ward, Julia’s father, shouted, but Marquis Persis’s voice cut him down firmly.
It seemed they’d all been watching the entire scene from the start.

“Our Ilan, shoot an arrow and get it up that tree? He’s only seven years old!”

“Baroness Neneri, weren’t you boasting not fifteen minutes ago that your son was a prodigy with the bow?”

“…!”

At Father’s cold tone, Baron Neneri and his wife both lowered their heads.

Driven into a corner, Ilan finally burst out with a scream.

“Julia! It was Julia who made me do it! I’m sorry!”

“That’s right! Julia always told us to bully Titania!”

Jeremy quickly joined in.

Evidence. Testimony. Witnesses. All three now matched.

The adults looked as though they were about to lose their minds—too ashamed to get angry, too anxious to stay silent.

“Edel, come here.”

Father stepped forward and lifted me into his arms.

Then, so softly only I could hear:

“I’m sorry… for failing to protect you all this time.”

“Dad…”

A lump rose in my throat, and I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

“Ahem… I too shall take my niece’s side.”

“Marquis Persis…!”

“Well, everyone seems to be siding with their children anyway. I’ve always wanted to try it myself—standing up for mine.”

“You—!”

Marquis Persis chuckled while Count Ward trembled with barely restrained rage.

“I’m sorry!”

Just as the atmosphere reached its sharpest edge, Julia shouted.

Her face crumpled, tears spilling as she turned to the adults with feigned innocence. She looked desperate, knowing there was no escaping now.

“T-Tania annoyed me… I just told them to tease her a little!”

“Julia!”

Count Ward cried out in dismay, but it was too late—the judgment was already made.

She might have claimed it was just a “little tease,” but I had nearly fallen to my death and Tani had suffered a fit of shock. This was no light matter.

“Wife, pack our things! We’re leaving this instant!”

“You, Julia—come, quickly!”

Count Ward, his face flushed with humiliation and fury, dragged his family away as though fleeing in disgrace.

“W-we…”
“Darling, what should we do…”

As the other parents whispered nervously, I leaned toward Father and whispered.

“Dad… let them apologize later. Tani’s birthday is coming soon—please, let’s not ruin today any further.”

“You’re sure about this…?”

I nodded as hard as I could. I didn’t want things to grow uglier.

With a heavy look, Father addressed the guests.

“Very well. As you heard, we’ll let this go for now. But make no mistake—an apology will be required.”

“Th-thank you, Viscount.”

“Let us return inside.”

Marquis Persis smoothly drew the matter to a close.

In Father’s arms, I glanced back to where Zar trailed silently behind us.

If it wasn’t just my imagination…

He had timed everything perfectly—Julia’s confession, the adults’ arrival, the proof with the bracelet.

‘Could a ten-year-old really have orchestrated all that?’

Of course, being the Marquis’s nephew, he must have received an extraordinary education.

“…”

“…”

As I stared at him, Zar suddenly raised his head. His gaze met mine.

Expressionless. Unreadable.

‘Wh-what was that…?’

And just as our eyes locked, warm blood spilled suddenly down my leg.

I blinked in shock.

Until now, the bleeding had somehow been suppressed—but now it poured freely.

‘Oh… right. I was injured, wasn’t I?’

A wave of dizziness struck me all at once. My head lolled sideways.

“Edel—!”

‘So this is what it feels like when the world spins…’

That was the last thought I had before I fainted.

***

‘Ugh… I feel awful.’

When I opened my eyes again, it was deep into the night.

Biti was clutching my hand, eyes wet with tears.

“Young lady…! You’re awake?”

“Biti…”

“The bleeding finally stopped. It was so close—if only I hadn’t left you for even a moment…”

Apparently, after I fainted, Tani had fainted too, throwing the whole house into an uproar.

At least the physician had done something miraculous—my leg no longer hurt at all.

‘…I don’t regret what I did, but I may have stirred up more trouble than I should have.’

Tani’s birthday was coming soon. Wouldn’t this cast a shadow over it?

But things at the estate had taken a very different turn from what I expected.

“Marquis Persis, why did you never mention you had such a clever nephew?”

The next day at lunch, I was seated with the adults. Unlike Tani and the other children, who dined separately, this was meant as a gesture of apology.

But throughout the meal, the only topic anyone discussed was Zar.

“I must say, I’ve never seen a child as sharp as Edel either.”

Father’s tone was composed, but even he couldn’t quite hide his astonishment.

I blinked in disbelief.

‘What? They think I’m clever too? Even though I must have sounded like some precocious old soul…?’

“Ah… well, he’s still just a child, you know. Just a child.”

Flustered by the attention, Marquis Persis waved it away.

Leaning closer, I whispered to Father.

“Dad, is Zar… really that smart?”

He smiled gently back.

“He seems well-educated. But more than that—it was what he did yesterday.”

So the adults had realized it too: that Zar had deliberately set the stage, guiding Julia straight into her own downfall.

And he had done it gracefully. Nobly.

But the adults weren’t the only ones who had changed.

“Hey, Nightley. You okay?”

“…?”

In the drawing room after lunch, I blinked in surprise at Jeremy and Ilan.

‘Did… did he just ask after me?’

That alone was shocking enough. But then—

“We’re sorry. We’ll never bully cry—uh, Titania again.”

“Yeah. We never meant to hurt her. About your leg… I’m really sorry.”

“Anyway, make sure you tell Zar we apologized!”

The two of them blurted their apologies, then bolted out of the room.

I stood there dumbfounded.

‘Did the sun rise in the west today? And… Zar hyung? Did they just call him “big brother”?!’

They had never shown such respect to anyone before.

Whatever had happened while I was unconscious, the atmosphere had shifted completely.

‘It’s like they’ve all been… bewitched. No magic could be stronger than this.’

After a long pause, I murmured:

“Maybe… I should meet him myself.”

When I entered the library to find Zar, the sight nearly stunned me.

“Did you finish this whole page?”

“Mm-hm…!”

“Tani! What are you doing here…?”

Tani’s head snapped up.

“Unnie…!”

She leapt from her chair and ran to me.

“Sis, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but…”

And then it hit me.

‘Wait… Tani hasn’t come to see me even once since yesterday!’

Normally, she’d be at my bedside from morning till night. But today, this was the first I’d seen her. Her room across the hall had been quiet all day.

‘What’s going on…?’

“Hello, Edelweiss.”

I turned to the boy who had been sitting with her.

“…Hello.”

Until I entered, Zar had been right beside Tani, reading a book aloud to her.

And it wasn’t Father, or Mother, or even Biti—it was Zar.

“What were you two doing?”

“Zar… was reading… book… to me…”

“That book?”

She pointed at the same thick, eerie tome I’d seen yesterday.

‘That doesn’t look very child-appropriate…’

I appreciated him looking after her, but really, that choice of book was… questionable.

I took Tani’s hand.

“Why don’t you come play with me now?”

“Sorry, Edelweiss.”

Zar had already risen from his chair.

“I was teaching Titania how to read harder books. We’re almost done—could you let her stay until then? Afterward, you two can go play. You’re welcome to sit here until we finish.”

“Uh…”

“Titania, come here.”

“Mm…!”

Tani let go of me instantly and went back to Zar.

‘What is this? Kind yet firm… as if he’s drawing the line. With my own sister.’

But neither of them paid me any mind as they resumed reading.

“See this picture?”
“Wow… it looks scary…!”

I sat down nearby, awkwardly.

Yet instead of fear, Tani’s face shone brighter than it had in days.

And Zar was… gentle.

Almost too gentle.

‘Strange… this feels strange.’

And then, the thought hit me like lightning.

‘Wait—wasn’t the only person who ever treated Tania kindly in the original story… the male lead?’

Titania had fallen for him because he’d been her “first love,” the only one gentle to her.

And right now, Zar was the only boy showing her such warmth.

Could it be… that Zar was that first love?

‘If so, the original male lead Cain loses points already! He couldn’t even stop Tania’s abduction in the end.’

First loves, childhood friends—those are the most classic tropes of all.

Right now, they looked like siblings. But later? Who knew?

Maybe I couldn’t change my own fate… but hers? Maybe I could.

Smiling to myself, I slipped quietly from the library so as not to disturb them.

‘Fine then. New goal. Zar—you’re going to become the new male lead.’