Episode 09
The remaining four were closely watching what Nobel was doing.
*Wait—he’s not actually going to kill her, is he?*
Considering that the target was those five, it wasn’t an unfounded worry.
“This way! The reception room!”
The outside grew noisy. It sounded like the knights were rushing in. The duke and Saren, who had been trembling with tension, brightened instantly.
“Trying to butt in, are you?”
Letilia casually swung her hand without even turning around. Another tearing sound followed, along with screams. It was unmistakably the sound of knights being flung somewhere far away.
“So you did have guards posted?”
“Whatever whim you’re on, did you really think we wouldn’t prepare when you make such a fuss over something that lowly?”
“From earlier, these bastards keep calling someone lowly—”
“Obviously *that* thing!”
The duke pointed at me. More precisely, at my eyes.
Nobel ground his teeth, but the duke seemed to misunderstand the reaction.
“I don’t know how you found it, but that thing is not a member of our family! Can’t you see those eyes? Proof of filthy blood!”
I’ve thought this for a while, but he’s really good at self-destructing.
I clicked my tongue. Biologically speaking, half of that’s your genes, you empty-headed idiot.
“Ha, filthy bloodline….”
Ethan let out a hollow laugh. Even Hazen’s pale silver eyes, who had been sitting on the sofa, cooled sharply.
“Don’t even suggest that you mistook that thing for Saren. As her father, I’d find that extremely unpleasant.”
“I’d rather not, myself.”
“Shut up!”
The duke barked fiercely.
I snorted and turned my head. Let’s see how far he takes this.
Seeing my expression, Isaac pressed down on Nobel’s shoulder. The other three closed their mouths in irritation.
“No matter how much you are Hadenberg, this has gone too far.”
The duke, somewhat calmer now, spoke sternly.
“I’ll let the absurd demands slide. If you were trying to threaten us by using the fact that it’s a bastard, stop. It won’t work.”
It seemed he thought the five of them would bow their heads to take Saren away, but apparently he’d forgotten which side held the upper hand.
I applauded internally. Father and daughter, perfectly missing the mark together!
“Excuse me, Duke.”
“What is it?”
“We—”
Isaac pointed at Saren.
“When did we ever say we were taking *that* one?”
Cracks appeared on the faces of both the duke and Saren.
The duke, as if doubting his ears, hurriedly shouted,
“What… what are you saying! You clearly said you wanted to accept my daughter—!”
“We only said ‘daughter.’ We never said it was *her*, did we?”
Isaac’s voice was leisurely.
The duke’s mouth fell open. Saren, standing beside him, stared back and forth between him and Isaac in shock.
“Wasn’t it your mistake to assume that ‘that daughter’ meant her?”
“Th-that’s impossible… she’s not my daughter!”
“She will be.”
Isaac turned to look at me.
“As of today, Shunen will be a Hadenberg.”
…And then he dropped a massive bomb.
What did you just say? Even I hadn’t expected this, so I stared at him in shock—but the four around me nodded as if it were obvious.
When did you protagonists become so united?!
The duke and Saren were just as horrified.
“That’s impossible!”
“She’s not even an ability user! *I’m* the one with abilities!”
“When did we ever say we needed an ability user?”
Letilia glared down at Saren as if piercing her, speaking threateningly.
“To you, do we really look so weak that we’d be desperate enough to take some unawakened nobody who doesn’t even know her own ability?”
“…!”
“We wouldn’t take you even if you begged. From the start, we acted only for Shunen.”
The one you scorned and despised so thoroughly.
The voice sounded like each word was being chewed and spat out. Only then did reality settle onto the faces of the duke and Saren.
“Th-then the contract was… from the beginning….”
“You should be grateful. We were going to wipe out the entire merchant guild, but we settled for killing just a few.”
At Ethan’s words, I looked at him. Just how many did you kill…?
Only then did the duke realize that everything had gone on without him and Saren. His face flushed red with humiliation.
“I’ve heard enough nonsense, Duke. We won’t be seeing each other again.”
I quietly admired Isaac’s verbal send-off. Yes, this is the Isaac I know….
Sensing that things were wrapping up, the duke and Saren shouted desperately.
“Th-this is a serious crime! I’ll report this to the Imperial Family!”
“Wait! You have to look at me!”
“Ah, both of you—shut up already.”
I tossed the words out casually.
You’re so damn loud. You’re not even real father and daughter, yet you’re closer than actual blood relatives. A different kind of genetic mystery.
Both of them fell silent at my reaction.
“What did you just say…?”
“I said you’re loud. Just shut your mouths and open your ears, you bastards.”
“Ha! Have you really lost your mind?!”
“That’s your self-introduction. Forgot already? You got so angry your intelligence must’ve regressed.”
Since there was no need to filter myself anymore, my mouth ran free.
Still, let’s start by crushing the duke. I switched targets.
“You, you damn bastard.”
“What?”
“If my birth is filthy, that’s self-dissing. I was wondering why she’s such an idiot—guess it’s your genes. And if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even exist in this world!”
“You crazy bitch… looks like you’ve lost all sense of fear!”
“Want me to show you a *real* crazy bitch, you insane bastard?!”
We raised our voices at each other, but the one who shut up was the duke—because Letilia used gravity to make him share an intimate kiss with the ground.
With a short scream, the duke passed out. A bit disappointing, but oh well.
*Now for the main point.*
Taste the author’s resentment, you deranged soul inside my angelic character.
“Father!”
“You’re next, you know?”
“What did I even do?! Why are *you* the one who gets chosen? Why are you different?!”
“Before you speak, take a look at yourself. We have a saying from Socrates.”
“So-Socrates? Don’t tell me—”
“Getting a clue?”
Saren’s face turned deathly pale.
As she covered her mouth in shock, I pulled out the mental list titled *Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Saren*.
“There was something I really wanted to say.”
“Wh-what…?”
“I didn’t raise you like that!”
“What are you talking about?!”
Her resentment turned into tears, soaking her violet eyes. With not even a gram of sympathy, I leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“You asked why I’m different, right?”
“…Y-you too! You’re the same! Just like me—!”
“Sorry, but I’m not an ordinary reader.”
“What?”
I straightened up and firmly grabbed Isaac’s hand. At some point, the other four had also joined hands.
It was time for the final line.
*You have no idea how long I’ve waited to say this.*
From the moment I realized Saren was a transmigrator, these words had been repeating in my mind.
Blue light burst forth—it was Isaac’s power.
I took a deep breath and shouted with all my pent-up frustration.
“I’m the author, you crazy bastard!!”
Seeing Saren’s horrified expression, I smiled in satisfaction. Pfft—Isaac finally burst out laughing.
Ah, that felt good. Several lines were boldly crossed out from the list of *Things I Wanted to Say to Saren Someday*.
And just like that, I escaped that shitty household while simultaneously coming out as the author.
—
**Debutante**
I returned to the Hadenberg estate after just one day. The difference was that now, this place was my home.
I thought this would bring me close to perfect peace—but that was my mistake.
“We need to buy clothes immediately. How could they make Shunen wear something like this?”
“Letilia, go with her. I’ll call a doctor first.”
“For the first time, it’s a shame Nobel didn’t blow something up. Isaac, how about going back out with Nobel even now?”
“Does it hurt a lot, Shunen…? Want me to kill them, or break them so they obey and bring them to you?”
“Hazen, can’t you back off? Get lost!”
…Yeah. How did I not see this coming?
Cold sweat ran down my back at the sight of all five of them, perfect examples of shut-up-and-do-my-way energy.
The moment we arrived at the estate, they were itching to vent their anger one way or another.
The only difference was whether the target was my physical condition, the ducal house, or Hazen standing next to me.
“W-wait a moment!”
Unable to stand it, I carefully raised my voice. As if a switch had flipped, everyone shut up instantly. The speed was terrifying.
“Um… sorry, but could you introduce yourselves properly?”
“Oh.”
“I don’t really know much yet….”
In truth, I knew everything.
As “Shuneria,” I threw out the most appropriate topic for the situation. Only then did the five finally calm down and sit around me.
Letilia cleared her throat lightly.
“Now that I think about it, you must still be confused. Sorry—we got too excited.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Thank you for understanding. Then, as you said, I should introduce the three.”
She extended her hand, pointing to the three seated in order.
“In order: Ethan, Hazen, and Nobel.”
“Nice to meet you, Shunen.”
“Me too~ Looking forward to getting along, Shunen…….”
“…I’ve been searching for you for a long time.”
Ethan greeted me with a faint smile. Hazen followed with a grin, his strange silver eyes gleaming. Unexpectedly, Nobel replied in a tone that sounded like he was swallowing a lot of emotion.
“Hello.”
I greeted them with a small bow.
It felt surreal to have them right in front of me. I’d never imagined seeing them like this.
The five in the original work weren’t kind-hearted protagonists. Nor were they obsessive, tender lovers devoted only to their partner.
They were a perfect example of ruthless, go-my-own-way types with practically villainous personalities—and absolutely zero romance.
* *Move if you don’t want to die.*
* *If you want your mind turned into rags, just say the word. I’ll regress you back to infancy.*
* *Looks like you want the entire continent to sink with you.*
* *I’d appreciate it if you all just died… we can fight as much as you want after that.*
* *Before that, have you considered your limbs scattering across the continent? Hazen.*
It wasn’t about splitting into sides—each of the five genuinely disliked the other four equally.
The only reason readers went crazy was the subtle chemistry that came out of it.
*Well, I was one of them too… but reality’s different.*
Liking fictional characters and liking real people are worlds apart.
Above all, protagonists with explosive personalities who were originally supposed to kill me? I’d be lucky if they stayed out of my dreams.
“So… will I be living here from now on?”
I awkwardly endured their gazes and asked the next question.
“However you want. If this estate feels too small, we can depose the emperor and occupy the imperial palace.”
“This place is perfectly fine.”
Saying he’d start a coup with such a bright smile…
When I replied solemnly, Hazen broke into a soft chuckle.
