Chapter 31
“Ian!”
My eyes lit up with joy at meeting the male lead from the original story.
Ian was the youngest son of Duke Racton, born as an illegitimate child from a maid of another noble family.
Thanks to the strong genetics of the Racton family, he had the signature red hair and blue eyes of the house. Among his brothers, he was the most handsome, with an image far brighter and more radiant than Aileen’s.
His pure face, smiling warmly at me, exuded kindness.
Yet, contrary to his gentle appearance, his thick neck, broad shoulders, and muscular build radiated masculine strength.
‘Clarissa was Ian’s first love! But Clarissa only ever saw Ian as a friend.’
Even until the brink of death, Clarissa thought of Ian only as a friend, feeling pity for him.
It wasn’t Ian’s choice to be born an illegitimate child, but he suffered all kinds of abuse in the Racton household.
Unlike his siblings who began manifesting auras during adolescence, Ian showed no abilities even as an adult. The unforgiving Duke Racton, who had no tolerance for the useless, didn’t even treat Ian as a child.
Worse than a servant, Ian was beaten daily by his brothers.
Unable to resist, Ian began building his strength while shedding tears—breaking rocks with his fists, enduring waterfalls with bare skin all day, uprooting trees with his hands.
Seeing this, Clarissa felt such pity for Ian that she decided to care for him.
Their relationship wasn’t one-sided.
Whenever Clarissa got a slap from Aileen, Ian would be heartbroken, unsure what to do, but he’d gather wildflowers or catch a young deer alive as a gift for her, telling her to keep it as a pet.
Thus, crossing social status and age, Ian and Clarissa became friends. Ian, however, was in love.
Ian felt pathetic about his situation and never confessed. When Clarissa married Damon, he left the empire and became a wandering knight.
“By the way, Ian, when did you return?”
I recalled Clarissa’s memories and approached Ian.
“Just got back.”
Ian staggered as if dizzy, closing his eyes. After a moment, he shook his head violently and looked at me.
“It’s been two years since we last saw each other, Clarissa.”
His gaze was filled with longing, as if he had missed me every single day.
“Ah! Clarissa! Your hand—it’s injured!”
Seeing the blood on my hand, Ian looked like his heart would break.
“This isn’t my blood.”
“Then?”
“It’s Frederick’s blood.”
“Ah! Your brother?”
Ian grabbed his hair and ran toward Frederick. How could he not recognize him? I stared toward the end of the alley. It was easily over a hundred meters away.
For Ian not to have realized that the person tormenting me was Frederick while running that distance, he must either have poor eyesight or have been running at the speed of light.
‘No way… that can’t be.’
I nervously glanced between the alley’s end and Ian.
“Ahhh! It really is my brother? Brother! Frederick!”
Ian crouched in front of Frederick, shaking him to wake him up.
“What if Frederick really wakes up? If he realizes what you did, Ian, he’ll kill you.”
“B-but…”
“Are you worried about Frederick? I’m worried about you. Let’s go, quickly.”
“…”
“Ian! Frederick is a knight with an aura. Look—his wounds are already healing.”
I pointed at Frederick’s injuries. The stab from the magic sword was hidden by his clothes, but the facial injuries he suffered under the rubble were already returning to normal skin.
“Yeah, the wounds are healing. Huh! Thank goodness.”
Ian grinned with relief. Oh, he’s so kind.
Despite a lifetime of being beaten by Frederick, he seemed more apologetic than triumphant. A faint blue light shimmered around Ian’s hands.
“That light…!”
My heart skipped a beat in shock.
‘Has Ian’s holy power already manifested? Why isn’t this following the original story?’
In the original story, Ian was supposed to continue wandering as a knight. He would only manifest his holy power after returning just as Damon was about to kill Duke Racton, becoming a noble paladin to defeat evil. Then, he would be Damon’s rival and enemy.
Now, Ian appeared with his holy power manifested while Damon was still married—this was a nightmare scenario for me.
“Ouch… my head.”
“Clarissa! Your head hurts? Mine too. Does it hurt a lot?”
Ian jumped up, looking at me worriedly. Then…
“Ugh…”
Frederick groaned and tossed about. I couldn’t deal with him on top of everything else.
“Frederick’s waking up. Let’s get out of here!”
I quickly grabbed Ian’s hand.
“B-but it’s been so long since I saw my brother…”
“Seeing him? You haven’t even returned from your journey yet. He doesn’t exist here. Hurry!”
I dragged Ian along as we ran. He reluctantly followed, constantly looking back.
“Kha… I feel bad toward my brother.”
“Huff… Frederick probably didn’t even recognize you. You were suddenly thrown like a sack of potatoes.”
“But I still have to ask for his forgiveness.”
“Huff… He’d kill you before you could even apologize!”
It was hot, I was thirsty, and running in shoes was exhausting. With Ian constantly looking back, I had to pull him along—he was twice my size.
“Ugh, run faster!”
“Clarissa, are you tired?”
“Huff… don’t… talk to me…”
As I gasped for air, Ian suddenly pulled me up. I flew into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“I-Ian!”
“I’ll run and set you down soon. Hold tight, Clarissa.”
Ian ran holding me so fast that the wind whistled past my ears.
I was terrified.
‘He’s not a leopard… how can a human run this fast?’
Ian sprinted out of the alley onto the road leading to the harbor. Buildings and people blurred past—it felt like being in a carriage.
Even with his rigorous training and life as a wandering knight, no human could run this fast.
I looked up at him nervously. Blue misty light curled from the tips of his red hair. Damn it! This was holy power.
“Ian, stop! You can slow down now.”
I tapped his chest.
“Really?”
The speed was so intense that he spun once, then carefully set me on the ground.
I steadied myself and looked at the distance Ian had run.
‘Good grief! That’s the distance it would take a carriage over ten minutes, and he ran it in an instant.’
Even when Frederick tormented me, Ian ran this fast, which is why he didn’t recognize him.
I stared at Ian, sweat-free on his forehead, briefly grimacing from the headache before shaking his head.
‘He just manifested his holy power and doesn’t even know how to control it yet!’
Early in the original story, Ian would feel dizziness, headaches, and extreme fatigue using his power, sometimes even passing out.
Seeing the red veins in his eyes, I asked in a trembling voice:
“Ian… have you ever run this fast before today?”
“Huh? Ah, no. Wow! I guess I ran really fast today? Haha! What do you think, Clarissa? I feel stronger, right?”
He grinned proudly.
“So this is the first time you’ve run this fast?”
“I’ve always run fast, but today even faster. As you know, I walk and run everywhere. Training like this makes you naturally faster.”
“And when you threw people or monsters?”
“Oh, Frederick! I hope nothing was broken?”
Ian looked guilty and distressed again.
“Yes, I fought monsters with my fists. But when I threw my brother… ugh, I wasn’t in my right mind. My head rang!”
“My head rang, huh?”
Could his holy power have triggered at that moment? That shouldn’t happen! In the original story, Ian manifests holy power while saving the heroine.
“When did you meet a holy maiden? Did you come back with her?”
If the heroine who was supposed to appear much later showed up early, I’d abandon divorce plans and run immediately.
“You know I’m not interested in girls.”
Ian glanced at me with clear eyes.
“Even if you’re not interested, a girl might think differently. Think carefully—did anything memorable happen? Surely, when you saved a girl, light must have shot from your hands and your head rang. Where is that girl now?”
“There’s no such girl!”
Ian huffed indignantly, like a boyfriend denying cheating after a trip.
“There must have been! To become this strong, you must have…”
Was that me?
I asked in a trembling voice to confirm if he had awakened his holy power while saving me from Frederick.
“When you threw Frederick earlier, your head rang. Did you feel anything else? Your body getting hot? Your heart burning?”
To gauge the stage of his holy power, I pressed him further.
“My heart did hurt.”
“How did it hurt?”
“The moment I confirmed you were safe, it ached sharply. And it pounded wildly.”
His cheeks flushed red as he spoke, his clear blue eyes flickering nervously.
I stared at him, then smacked his back with my hand.
“I told you not to tease your older sister! I’m not a demon! Seeing me shouldn’t make your heart race! You’re such a mischievous boy.”
“Not… kidding…”
“Ah, forget it! After all the tricks with Rottain, how could I be fooled again? By the way, my little brother Rottain still hasn’t matured, it’s a problem! Since running away, I have no idea what he’s been doing.”
“…”
“Anyway, since we’ve met, let’s have a refreshing cup of tea. Ugh, I’m thirsty.”
Turning toward the teahouse with a frown, I thought:
‘What do I do… Ian seems to have awakened the first stage of his holy power while saving me.’
