I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original

Rakrensius’s long fingers threaded through Selleana’s black hair, pulling her even closer. Their lips, tongues, and breaths were already entwined, but a desperate need to become even more entangled arose. He wanted to reach the tenderest parts inside her mouth, places even her own tongue couldn’t touch. The greed to not let go of anything took the form of a kiss, barely revealing its presence. He wanted to take all her breath away, to fill his angel only with his own breath.

Just like the day he was enchanted by the smile of the doll-like girl who used to shout about how hard it was to make a living, with eyes that only held him.

Perhaps like that summer night when he pretended not to notice her provocations. Or…

Like the day she suddenly came to him and confessed her lingering feelings for his illusion.

Rakrensius’s heart was in turmoil, hoping to get closer to Selleana. His arms tightened firmly as he pulled her closer. In response to his desire, Selleana eagerly reciprocated. She strengthened her grip around his firm neck and repositioned herself on his thigh, moving closer to his lower abdomen.

There wasn’t a single place where he wasn’t feeling hot. The one who always seemed ready to push her away, who always acted dryly, was now filled with intense desire.

This was proof that he no longer resisted desiring and cherishing her openly. Following that heat, Selleana responded eagerly to his invasion, offering her mouth fully. The desperation Selleana was buried within her and the desire Rakrensius could never fully hide with mere words of formal rejection intertwined recklessly.

I love you. He had to say it. Regardless of whether it was right or not, he couldn’t stop sensing the feel of her small teeth, her delicate palate, the hair that softly tangled in his fingers, and the exuberant flesh melting in his embrace…

Barely finding a thread of reason, Rakrensius released her breath, burying his face in her delicate neck. The scent of her body, inhaled deeply one early summer night, filled his nose. This was the final line of restraint he managed to maintain. It was difficult to uphold this line, which he had once crossed, but….

“Master of Tower.”

“…”

“Just hold me. That’s okay, right?”

Knowing that he had barely restrained himself, Selleana’s request left Rakrensius with no choice but to comply.

* * *

[The saintess is meticulous.]

“If she had sent a letter, you would have known…”

After escorting Selleana to Duchy Elard’s library, Rakrensius informed Di, who was waiting at his place, about the situation. Of course, Di was also taken aback. It pained Di that its young friend was struggling for reasons even Di, who knew everything, didn’t understand. Thus, Di tried to keep track of records originating from the imperial family. So that if there was anything Rakrensius needed to know, it could inform him immediately.

[Indeed. Asmion might have mentioned me to the saintess of Orot when he made a contract with them….]

“You can know anything recorded in writing, right?”

[If your assumption is correct, that the daughter of Elard and her friends knew their fate and tried to defy it… and the saintess can enforce it, then knowing the story of the time is not unreasonable.]

Since nothing about Di or the saintess was recorded anywhere in the world, everything was based on speculation.

So, did he make a contract with the saintess of Orot to guard against someone awakening me…? A foreboding assumption lingered at the edge of Di’s conclusion.

“And this letter. Can you find out what it says?”

[…It’s written by the daughter of Elard about her situation.]

Just by recognizing the existence of the record, Di absorbed its contents.

[She and her friends had values they constantly claimed, but after meeting the saintess personally, they ended up living lives completely opposite to those values.]

“But what good does it do to inform the duke about that…”

[She wrote down a list of weaknesses of the families serving the saintess to pressure her.]

“What?”

[Illegal construction in the Rebuaryong territory, tax evasion by Count Ranchard… There are at least twenty items.]

Rakrensius was astonished and gauged the thickness of the envelope. It seemed she used several thin sheets to avoid suspicion.

[

… it matches the information from this Doli Guild. The Guild where Glen’s adopted daughter commissioned a gun.]

While his friend delved back into his world to verify the sources, Rakrensius leaned back on the sofa, fiddling with Selleana’s letter. She must have written all these letters in code, hiding them from Lady Branto…

Indeed. Why did he have to make that vow? Why did he have to struggle to give up on Selleana, who was irresistibly drawn to him? Even though he eventually failed and had the fortune to comfort the troubled angel, he couldn’t fully rejoice and had to be tormented by guilt.

But as a thirteen-year-old boy, he had no choice but to accept the saintess’s intimidation.

It was the day he met Di. Rakrensius closed his eyes. Recalling that time brought a sense of self-loathing and fear that gnawed at his consciousness like a toxic fog, burying the memories deep within him…

* * *

“I-I’m… Rakrensius, the 36

th

descendant of Asmion and the fifth son of Tashur III, the 39

th

Emperor of Nepelsian.”

It was ten years ago, on a certain day. A boy who was suddenly dragged into the imperial palace was recognized as the bloodline of the emperor and given the title of the fifth prince. He was then pushed into the underground treasure vault of the palace as part of an imperial ceremony.

The vault was indeed magnificent, fitting for an imperial treasury. In the chamber decorated with marble and gold, treasures were displayed like a museum, each item placed on ancient-style pedestals. Swords, shields, helmets, various types of armor, old books, bracelets, belts, and other accessories… All emitted a faint glow, proving their extraordinary nature, so even without lighting, visibility was clear. But that was all.

Was it because his voice, proclaiming himself as a direct descendant of the imperial family for the first time, was pathetically trembling?

The boy, thrust into this surreal event without a chance to adapt to his situation, felt his shoulders shrink involuntarily. He felt like his presence was an unwanted stain in this grand palace.

“I-I’m…!”

Just as the boy was about to clear his throat and speak again, the silence deepened, creating a vacuum-like feeling….

[…Boy? Can you hear me?]

A voice echoed in his mind.

What is it? Startled, the boy looked around with wide eyes.

[Can you hear me?]

“I-I can…”

As the boy barely managed to respond with his unbroken voice, a light emanated from the deepest part of the vault, causing all other holy items to lose their glow. The boy, drawn by the light, unknowingly stepped deeper into the vault.

[I am Di, the only weakness of fate who knows everything. My first contractor, your ancestor, Asmion, completely changed his fate through me.]

That was his first meeting with Di.

The boy, emerging from the vault, headed straight to a small audience room in the basement. He was going to report to the emperor about the holy relic he had obtained. The boy’s steps towards the audience room were heavy indeed.

Di, who knows everything. The holy relic of King Asmion. That presence was too grandiose.

In the depths of the room, where he entered with worry, there was a makeshift throne, and the emperor, with the empress standing beside him, greeted the boy.

[Don’t be too afraid. You are of the imperial bloodline.]

Encouraged by a being he didn’t know how to address, the boy knelt before them, holding the sword with both hands.

“It’s called Di, who knows everything.”

The boy nervously announced the identity of his holy relic. He hadn’t planned to present something so significant. He just hoped it wouldn’t be seen as disrespect or arrogance.

“Di, who knows everything….”

However, the emperor’s eyes fixed on the sword only showed curiosity, as if looking at something unfamiliar.

“This is truly something I’ve never heard of.”

“Then,” Softly interrupting the emperor’s puzzled mutterings, the empress took a step forward. It wasn’t usual for the empress to attend, but she was there as a saintess. “Do you know who the former owner of that sword was?”

“Founding King… Asmion.”

At that moment, Arshilla raised her hand.

Did the atmosphere change abruptly?

“

…”

Instinctively looking around, he saw that his father, the emperor, whom he had met for the first time yesterday, was frozen in the posture of rubbing his chin.

[…It seems that woman used Orot’s power to create a rift in time and space.]

For a boy raised by a wizard, such surreal situations weren’t unfamiliar. However…

“Is that all it said?”

“Pardon?”

“Did that relic only introduce itself that way?”

The empress’s voice, devoid of any expression, was perfectly cold.