IBYVS 02

Chapter : 02

I knew that boy who had just introduced himself as Kalib Indigentia.

Because I’d read about him.

The childcare romance fantasy novel This Time, I Won’t Let You Sleep!—the one with the little villain who looked exactly like Yoonie.

Until then, I hadn’t cared much for web novels, too focused on training. But after losing Yoonie, I needed to think about him less, so I played random YouTube videos without caring about the subject.

And then I stumbled on an ad.

This Time, I Won’t Let You Sleep!

It must have been a massive hit, because famous actors appeared in the ad, and I missed the chance to skip it.

And then I saw Yoonie.

Unlike other romance fantasy novels with 2D illustrations, this one had a cover drawn almost like a real photograph. True to its reputation as a “childcare story,” children were on the cover—and one of them, the so-called “villain,” looked exactly like Yoonie.

I had drowned myself in videos to forget him…

But all that effort went to waste, because I immediately paid to read This Time, I Won’t Let You Sleep!

There were illustrations in the same style as the cover, and I read the whole series as if I were sketching Yoonie into every scene.

And now, that very boy from those illustrations—Kalib—was standing right in front of me.

“Kalib… you said?”

“Yes. It seems you mistook me for this… ‘Yoonie’ person and saved me. If you’re disappointed that I’m not him, then I apologize.”

Kalib spoke in a steady, mature tone.

Even his voice sounded the same.

I stared at him blankly, dazed. Kalib, not understanding why I looked that way, continued.

“Thank you for saving me. I’ll make sure to repay the favor. You’re my benefactor, so you can speak comfortably to me.”

And before I could say anything, he turned his gaze back to the dead wolf.

“Such a shame. If only my hand weren’t injured, I would’ve finished it off with magic myself…”

The muttered words snapped me out of my haze.

Injured?

Startled, I looked down. His small finger was torn open, blood dripping down.

“Oh my god! You’re bleeding!”

“I told you, you may speak casually. And it’s hardly a serious wound.”

“C-casually then… No, wait. How can you say it’s not serious? You’re bleeding this much!”

I dropped into a squat, examining his finger. Blood was draining so much that the little finger had turned pale.

“We can’t stay here like this. Come with me. My hut is nearby.”

“…You want me to follow you to where you live?”

“Yes. It’s dangerous here, and we can’t just leave this wound untreated.”

I tore off a clean piece of my sleeve and tied it tightly around the bleeding finger.

But when we tried to leave, he stumbled.

“Your leg too?”

“…I think I twisted it while running earlier,” Kalib admitted, embarrassed—like a child about to be scolded.

That was when I remembered: in the story, Kalib had always been treated as a burden by his household.

Though he was the legitimate heir, for some reason the retainers disapproved of him.

Come to think of it, I don’t think the original story even explained why.

Still, because he was disliked, they held him to impossibly strict standards.

That’s why, though a duke’s heir, he wilted so easily under pressure.

Just like Yoonie.

Yoonie had been treated as an obstacle to his national athlete sister’s success because of his rare disease.

“You’re sick, so your sister can’t focus on training.”
“Because of you, she refuses overseas camps.”
“If she trained abroad, she’d be stronger by now, but you’re holding her back.”

Of course, I had cursed out every single person who ever said such things.

But regardless, Yoonie’s heart had gradually closed off.

Now, looking at Kalib, I saw that same Yoonie.

Maybe that’s why.

Even though I had just met him, he didn’t feel like a stranger at all.

“Get on my back.”

“…What?”

“I’ll carry you. Come on.”

“What are you… It’s really not that bad. I can walk just fine.”

That line—I had heard it before.

One day, while walking with Yoonie in the hospital garden, an old woman had stumbled. We gave her our wheelchair, and I carried Yoonie on my back.

That day, Yoonie had said the exact same thing.

‘What are you doing…? It’s not that hard. I can walk by myself.’

I spun around in shock.

Even his expression was the same as Yoonie’s.

Tears welled up.

Ah… he keeps looking just like Yoonie.

Swallowing hard, I forced a smile and repeated what I had said back then.

“It’s fine. I want to do this. Let your sister carry you.”

Kalib’s expression wavered violently.

After a long hesitation, he carefully climbed onto my back.

“If it’s too heavy… you must put me down immediately. To think a lady would carry me on her back…”

“Lady? What lady? You’re just getting a piggyback ride from your sister. Besides, I’m strong—it’s fine.”

It wasn’t even my real body, so I could carry him easily.

Or maybe it was because Kalib was far too light.

Like Yoonie, wasting away day by day in bed.

I swallowed the ache in my chest and carried him back to the hut.

While tending Kalib’s wounds, I came to a decision.

I’d protect him only until he healed. Once his injuries were gone, I’d send him back immediately.

No matter how much he resembled Yoonie, Kalib was not Yoonie.

I’d barely managed to reincarnate as an extra, finally free to forget everything and start fresh.

I had no intention of throwing myself into a disastrous entanglement with the original cast.

Besides, Kalib would one day grow into the terrifying villain who plunged this world into chaos.

What good could come from someone like me, a mere background extra, getting involved with him?

“As soon as your hand heals, you’ll be able to use magic again, right?”

“Of course. Even the retainers acknowledge my magical skill.”

If even those who hated him admitted it, that said enough.

In truth, Kalib was destined to be the strongest wielder of his family’s hereditary magic: gravity. Even as a child, he could already wield it freely.

Teleportation spells would normally be child’s play—but the problem was his injured hand.

“With a staff, I could return right now. But without it, I must use my hand, and…”

“And you just so happened to hurt it.”

Which explained why he’d been chased by wolves.

Though why the heir of a duke was wandering alone in the forest in the first place, I had no idea.

Handing him a steaming mug, I said, “Here. I scraped together the last of the cocoa powder, but I don’t know if it’ll taste good.”

Kalib glanced between my plain hot water and his cup, then lowered his head.

“Thank you… for the thought.”

“You don’t have to thank me for every little thing.”

Yoonie had always said, Thank you, sis. Thank you, sis. Just like this.

I chuckled and took a sip. Seeing me drink, Kalib cautiously did the same.

And his eyes went wide.

“This is… what?”

“Mm? Cocoa.”

“Cocoa…”

He mouthed the word like he’d never heard it before, rolling the taste around.

Surely in the duke’s mansion he’d had far finer things than this cheap drink.

Or was it so different from what he knew that he couldn’t believe it was the same thing?

“…It’s sweet.”

But judging by his face, he was pleased.

I tilted my head, studying his flushed cheeks.

And then—

Growl!

“…Huh?”

Groooowl!

The unmistakable sound of an empty stomach echoed.

The source was Kalib, clutching his belly with his face bright red.

“…Hungry?”

“…No.”

GROOOOOWL!

His stomach betrayed him even louder, refusing to be denied.

Kalib’s face burned crimson.

Oh no. I hadn’t asked if he’d eaten yet.

What kind of Korean am I, forgetting that?

“Have you had a meal? Since when have you been out here?”

“No. I’ve been wandering since dawn…”

“What?”

It was around five in the evening now.

Wait.

“You mean you’ve gone the whole day without food?”

And on top of that, being chased by wolves?

When I pressed, Kalib gave a sheepish nod.

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

I scrambled up.

“Wait here. I’ll make something for you right away.”

“T-there’s no need. I don’t usually eat dinner.”

I was gathering potatoes by the hearth when his words froze me.

What did he just say?

“…Don’t eat dinner?”

I turned back, bewildered. Kalib held his stomach, as if to prove it.

“My etiquette tutor said I shouldn’t. If I’m plump, I’ll look bad in public. So I haven’t eaten dinner since last month.”

As if it were normal, he waved me off.

My head rang.

What? What the hell?

Seeing my disbelief, Kalib opened his small mouth again.

“It’s true. Today I just skipped breakfast and lunch as well, so that’s why my stomach growled.”

“…You mean to say, they told you to skip dinner—even if you’ve gone all day without food?”

“Well… I don’t really know, but I suppose so.”

He said it with a straight face.

As if it were only natural.

Which only enraged me further.

He was only six, maybe seven years old—and they were starving him?

And when I’d carried him, he had been far too light.

Yoonie had been thin too, because of constant tests and the difficulty of eating normal meals.

But Kalib?

To put a child on a diet in his growing years, making him weigh about the same as sickly Yoonie—unbelievable.

This was outrageous!

Crunch.

The potato in my fist crumbled into mush from the force of my grip.

That damned etiquette tutor—if I ever meet him, he’ll end up just like this potato.