He had always been overshadowed by his genius family—it was nothing new.
Yet each time he truly realized his lack of talent, it cut deep.
“Surely you haven’t been boasting about your swordsmanship against someone weaker than you?”
Orchid snapped sharply.
“If that’s the case, then your swordsmanship is truly disgraceful.”
Iris now knew exactly how to make her brother accept her.
As always, by belittling myself.
She slowly lowered her head.
If she just apologized and praised her brother’s wisdom, everyone would be content.
“Hmph.”
At that moment, a low, languid voice cut between them.
“Are you two not family?”
Iris turned her head.
Jet-black hair reflecting the dark yet mysteriously beautiful night sky.
A coldly handsome face crowned by dangerous, crimson eyes.
Because of his languid gaze, an aristocratic boredom seeped from him as he watched the scene indifferently.
Iris stared blankly at him.
Who is this?
She had never met him before.
Yet somehow, he felt painfully familiar.
Orchid frowned and asked,
“Who are you?”
The man examined Orchid slowly, then chuckled.
“To come to the training grounds without even wearing your uniform? The knight order’s education is in shambles.”
He mistook them for newly recruited knights.
“Ah.”
With a light sweep of his hand, the man looked over the knights crouched behind Orchid.
He scrutinized their armor and raised an eyebrow with a low hum.
“That kind can’t wear such things because they’re ugly.”
“New recruit! State your name immediately!”
“No.”
The man answered with a bored tone, drawing his sword.
Unlike Orchid’s ornate blade, this sword was plain and mass-produced—something common anywhere.
“If my attitude offends, then spar with me. I think you could use some instruction—from me.”
He smiled casually as he spoke.
That first smile gave a fleeting impression that contrasted his cold, mature face with a youthful softness.
That person...
Then it began.
Images and words started to surface in Iris’s mind one by one.
“Cedric Leontheim was an unparalleled genius.”
Sentences like lines from a book.
What is this?
The sentences formed scenes, weaving a story.
Orchid, filled with uncontrollable rage, instantly charged forward, stamping fiercely.
A crimson sword aura flickered around his blade.
Meanwhile, the man’s sword showed no sign of activity.
Just as the surrounding knights prepared to mock the man, certain of Orchid’s victory,
They witnessed Orchid’s sword cut through empty air.
“Uh...?”
There was no time to follow the strike with their eyes.
The man lightly dodged, pivoting half a turn on his foot.
The unremarkable sword’s hilt struck Orchid’s hand swiftly but heavily.
“Ugh!”
Orchid’s sword dropped neatly to the ground.
Clang—
The sharp clash of metal echoed loudly in all directions.
“Hmm.”
Orchid’s nose twitched as the man’s sword was pressed right before him.
“I heard you were a genius knight.”
With a bored gaze, the man swept his bangs back.
“Rumors are always exaggerated.”
His flat tone held no trace of mockery, so no one dared to speak.
The difference in their cultivation and skill was overwhelming.
As everyone watched the fallen Orchid with shocked eyes, only Iris kept her gaze fixed on the man.
The man, in turn, quietly met Iris’s stare.
“But for Cedric, born as a prince, that talent was more of a curse.”
Countless phrases still flickered in her mind.
It was a novel—a story written in ink and fate.
This world was a world inside that novel.
And the protagonist of that story was none other than this man standing before her.
“The emperor, to stop him, arranged a sham royal marriage.”
A man who overcame even the emperor, the ultimate villain, effortlessly, and emerged victorious.
Soon, in her mind’s final scene, the man grasped the legendary sacred sword and ascended as emperor.
A fate shining brighter than any star.
He stepped forward to Iris and extended his hand.
“Pleasure to meet you, Lady Valentine.”
He was—
“Cedric Leontheim.”
The protagonist of this world.
Unlike me.
Iris was merely an extra, absent from the pages of the novel.
She was never mentioned in the tale of the royal marriage, and after the ending, she did not exist by his side.
Had she been gifted with prophetic insight, she might have changed the story by altering her words.
But the world flowed as if following a predetermined path.
“This truly is a world bound by a book.”
Knowing this astonishing truth did not make her sorrowful.
She simply realized.
“This was always my destiny.”
She had lived her whole life as a shadow hidden behind her radiant family—their sun.
A discarded star orbiting their universe.
Now, she knew this world revolved around one man alone.
“There’s nothing to be sad about.”
Her place remained unchanged; only the center shifted.
All she needed was to live according to that fate.
Just as she always had.
“...I wasn’t supposed to be here.”
Iris thought she was not meant to be the one beside him.
“I was afraid.”
Afraid that her presence, a futureless shadow, might ruin his perfect conclusion.
She tried desperately to distance herself from Cedric, but in the end, she shattered his destined ending.
For Cedric died protecting her from the sword qi that flew her way.
Therefore, this was her responsibility.
“I will restore everything to how it was meant to be.”
Iris recalled the memories before her death—why Cedric could not reach the destined conclusion.
What had she missed?
But she didn’t know.
She barely understood the original story to begin with, so she also didn’t know why things hadn’t gone the way they were supposed to.
Maybe it’s because there were gaps in the original.
The way the original story surfaced in her mind was quite unique.
Whenever Iris saw the faces of key figures, their episodes from the original story would come to her.
Since Iris rarely met people in the past, there were many blank spots in the original tale.
But one important thing she did remember slipping past was the
Sacred Sword
.
The Sacred Sword was the true symbol of the Emperor’s legitimacy. Legend said whoever possessed the Sacred Sword would become Emperor.
In Iris’s original story, Cedric claimed the throne wielding that legendary Sacred Sword.
But its form was different.
Unlike the original tale, the Sacred Sword that appeared in the Duke’s mansion was not the legendary sword but a dagger.
Everyone believed there was a reason the Sacred Sword manifested as a dagger.
And the Emperor used that as a pretext to brand Cedric a rebel.
In other words, the dagger form symbolized Cedric’s attempt to undermine imperial authority.
Awakening the Sacred Sword is crucial.
The problem was that, in the original story, the Sacred Sword only appeared long after the current timeline.
Is there no way?
Iris sat on the edge of her bed for a moment. Then, she felt a cold sensation beneath the bed.
Why is it here?
With wide eyes, Iris looked down.
The Sacred Sword...?
There lay a small sword emitting a faint glow, like moonlight.
It was the Sacred Sword.
Iris grasped it tightly. The feeling in her hand matched perfectly.
Why is the Sacred Sword here?
One thing she could guess: maybe her wish didn’t just include time but also the Sacred Sword itself. That’s why it had come along to her side.
If that’s true...
It was very fortunate.
Since she had secured the Sacred Sword in advance, awakening it before the story’s conclusion would be much easier.
Her second chance.
This time, things will be completely different.
She didn’t know the exact cause. Maybe her existence was the reason the original ending was broken.
But even if that were true, it didn’t matter.
She would make sure Cedric regained his rightful conclusion.
I will protect you, Cedric.
Iris’s sky-blue eyes burned with resolute light.
Chapter 3
Translator's Note:
🎧 Check out the audio versions on my YouTube channel:
https://youtube.com/@novel-tube-w2f?si=UqMphhId_8DH80Ns