LPSB 30

chapter 30

The author of <The Dragon of This Life> was originally famous for ruthless, intense plot developments.

The protagonist’s backstory was every bit as tragic as Izel’s.

In his previous life, he had been a renowned master swordsman and hero whose name was known across the continent.

But his glorious days were brief. The hero met a miserable end and died.

Exactly one hundred years later, he was reincarnated in a completely new body.

That body belonged to Rahael Iscarot.

“That sounds exactly like a protagonist’s name.”

That had been my first impression when I read Chapter 1 of <The Dragon of This Life>.

Rahael was the complete opposite of Izel.

If Izel was black, Rahael was white.

If Izel was the moon, Rahael was the sun.

He was positive, righteous, and possessed the charisma to draw people in with sunlike vitality.

Yet his name happened to resemble Izel’s so closely that readers often misunderstood.

Many speculated that the two were secretly brothers.

• I’m 100% sure there’s some hidden birth secret between them.
• My 87 years of fantasy novel reading experience is telling me this is a massive foreshadowing flag.

└ Grandpa Hardship, you can’t be doing this here.

• Of all people, why compare that scumbag Izel to the protagonist? If they’re brothers, I’ll burn my hand.

└ Archived. Future pilgrimage site confirmed.

Of course, those theories were disproven when the author posted an official notice.

[Everyone, the similarity between Rahael and Izel’s names was simply my mistake, haha. They’re complete strangers and not related by blood in any way.]

I had been hoping for some kind of twist myself back then, so the announcement instantly deflated me.

Well… if they were really brothers, that would mean the older brother stabbed the younger one to death.

Cruel as the author was, even they didn’t go that far.

Naturally, most readers refused to admit they had been wrong.

• How would the author know? Did they ask the characters themselves?!
• The author knows nothing!

└ Rabbit emoji running away in tears

• Maybe this announcement is just another fake-out to trick us.
• I’m not believing it until I see a DNA test result. They’re definitely brothers.

While I was recalling the original story, Tarkis continued talking about Rahael.

“Every dragon without a contractor is itching to make a contract with that guy.”

Considering how dragons admired and pursued strength, that made sense.

“What about you?”

At Hiser’s question, Tarkis narrowed his eyes and smiled.

“You know I’m not interested in contracts.”

True to his free-spirited nature, it seemed Tarkis didn’t have a contractor.

Then he suddenly turned his head and met my gaze.

“Well… it’d be a different story if it were Bread Girl.”

He smiled brightly.

<<The Dragon Tarkis, Who Always Doubles the Stakes, licks his lips.>>

<<The Great Dragon Acaterian grinds his not-yet-grown baby teeth.>>

Afraid the baby dragon would get angry again, I hurriedly said,

“I’ve already made a contract with Acaterian.”

Hiser immediately backed me up.

“That’s right. And if you want a chance, you’ll need to take a number.”

“A number?”

“When Acaterian’s contract ends, I’m next.”

There he goes again…

The person offering the rice cakes hadn’t even agreed, yet Hiser was already drinking the kimchi soup first.

Still, Tarkis eagerly demanded a waiting ticket of his own.

Watching them, I suddenly remembered something I had completely forgotten.

In the original story, Rahael formed a contract with the dragon Hiser after Hiser sought him out.

Hiser had been Rahael’s very first companion.

But now Hiser seemed completely uninterested in Rahael, even after hearing about him.

The story had changed drastically.

And naturally, the cause of that change was me.

Acaterian, who was originally supposed to contract with Izel much later, had instead contracted with me.

Without intending to, I had stolen Izel’s dragon.

Acaterian was still a young heir under Hiser’s care.

Because of that, Hiser had no choice but to stay near me.

Then what about Rahael…?

What dragon will he contract with? And Izel?

The future that had once seemed as clear as words printed in a book suddenly felt painted over in black.

Until now, I had been thinking carelessly, like a reader standing outside the story.

The happy ending I imagined while reading the novel.

I had believed I could bring that ending about myself.

But thinking about it now, that confidence had been nothing more than arrogance without any foundation.

Only now did I realize it.

I remembered the conversation Tarkis and Izel had once had about game pieces.

I was no longer a reader watching from outside.

Now the situation was completely reversed.

I, too, was merely a piece placed upon someone else’s game board.

Lost in confusion, I only regained my senses after a delay.

“Mmmng?”

Acaterian had bitten the sleeve of my dress and was shaking it back and forth.

<<The Great Dragon Acaterian is worried about you.>>

Looking into those innocent pink eyes, I finally calmed down.

I gently kneaded the dragon’s soft, squishy paw pads.

“I should get going.”

After checking his ornate pocket watch, Tarkis bid farewell.

“Bread Girl, feel free to visit the auction house anytime. You’ll always be welcome there.”

Pretending to remove a top hat like a circus performer, Tarkis vanished in an instant.

Concerned about the rumors that humans were capturing dragons, Hiser also left, saying he was going out to investigate.

The room became quiet.

Outside the window, bright sunlight illuminated the garden.

Although I was tired from being out all night, I wasn’t sleepy.

To clear my mind, I decided to take a walk through the estate gardens.

After the storm that had swept through the marquis’s mansion, everything was eerily silent.

Sitting on a bench in the garden, I inhaled the fresh air.

As I stared absentmindedly into space, a familiar notification appeared as if it had been waiting for me.

<<Quest: Bake Bread for Izel>>

<<Time Remaining: 32 Hours 15 Minutes 4 Seconds>>

The unresolved quest still remained.

Right. That was still there.

The deadline was getting dangerously close.

After resting today, I’d probably have to visit the bakery, bake some bread, and make Izel eat it.

Baking bread itself wasn’t difficult at all.

The real problem was…

Will Izel actually eat bread I made?

What if he suspected I’d poisoned it?

And there was something else worrying me even more.

Right after leaving the auction house, I had fully expected Izel to interrogate me.

How did I know the owner of the auction house?

What was this “Bread Girl” nickname?

What did it mean to “double everything”?

There were countless suspicious things for him to question.

I spent the entire carriage ride desperately thinking of answers in case he pressed me for details.

But during the ride back to the mansion, Izel remained silent the whole time.

He seemed lost in deep thought, making it impossible to start a conversation.

I remembered the way he’d used magic so naturally, as though he had done it countless times before.

This couldn’t simply be explained as a result of my interference in the story.

The doubts that had been building unconsciously swelled like a snowball.

“Has everything been taken care of?”

The sudden voice startled me.

I turned my head in surprise.

At some point, Izel had approached and was standing beside the bench.

My heart nearly stopped.

Hiding my surprise, I replied,

“Mm. Father said he’ll handle the culprits’ punishment. The butler will take care of it.”

Izel merely nodded calmly.

After looking up at him for a moment, I finally offered my belated thanks.

“Today… thank you for helping me.”

Under normal circumstances, those words would have been risky enough to trigger a warning message.

Still, regardless of everything else, I felt I should at least thank him.

After hearing me, Izel looked down at me with those unreadable eyes again.

An awkward silence filled the garden.

Without responding to my gratitude, he asked a different question.

“What about the remaining maid—the one you said wasn’t involved?”

“She only stood by and watched. I told them to leave her alone.”

I was recalling the maid’s tear-streaked face when Izel suddenly stepped closer.

He slowly sat down beside me.

Without taking his eyes off me, he asked again,

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Huh…?”

Just like when he had opened the secret door in the auction house.

His face was suddenly very close.

His relentless eyes stared straight into mine, as though trying to peel away every layer of my thoughts.

“I’m asking whether someone who merely watches is truly innocent.”

For a moment, I couldn’t answer.

The instant I heard those words, scenes from the original novel surfaced in my mind.

The people in the mansion had stood by while Shuen tormented Izel.

Some had even encouraged it from the sidelines.

No one had been on Izel’s side.

Of course, that was only what happened in the novel.

None of it had happened to the current Izel yet.

Suddenly, I remembered the moment he had become my favorite character.

At first, it had been because of an illustration.

A villain with a face this handsome and this full of untold stories?

I had been intrigued enough to start reading <The Dragon of This Life> because of that.

He was talented, capable, and his inevitable death as a villain had felt tragic.

Yes.

I had pitied him.

Just as the author wrote in the afterword, I had often thought:

If only there had been even one person by Izel’s side.

If only someone could have saved him.

But now I understood.

My desire to save Izel had been arrogance and presumption.

Now that I realized that fact…

I met his gaze directly.

His eyes held neither malice nor kindness.

Within those clear violet eyes were only the brilliant sunlight—and me.

Looking at him, I spoke slowly.

“Izel… I want to help you.”