IBRIP l CH 92

Chapter 92 

“Tell me, Baron Illin—what happened between you and Izana that made you become her bodyguard? That doesn’t seem to suit you.”

Winter’s tricks had finally run out of energy. It was Joseph who asked the question now, calmly but clearly interested.

“I believed her boldness and quick thinking—things she showed to survive in the Rohia family—would be useful to me,” Winter answered.

As he said that, Izana remembered the feeling of slapping him with a pen before. It was a strong moment—but it faded quickly.

The statue nearby didn’t react, meaning Winter was telling the truth.

“So you’re saying you’ll stay by her side from now on?” Joseph asked again.

Winter replied coolly, “Only one question at a time.”

Joseph smiled. “Fair enough. Then I’ll roll first this time.”

In the next round of the game, Izana won and Winter lost.

Now it was Izana’s turn to ask him a question.

She no longer saw Winter as an ally in this strange game. He had sided with Joseph earlier. Now, Izana just didn’t want to lose—no matter who else did.

And honestly, Winter had been the one to attack first.

“What’s your most embarrassing memory?” she asked him.

For someone like Winter—who had lived through countless lives—what would count as a shameful past?

Izana’s own biggest mistake was once drunkenly prank-calling her crush while pretending to be a scammer using a Doraemon voice.

But Winter must have way more embarrassing stories, right?

Would he open the box and let something terrible out to win? Or would he choose to lose beautifully?

Winter paused, his face darkened.

“It’s been so long… I almost forgot what embarrassment feels like. But yes, there was one time I considered a mistake.”

He continued quietly.

“For a long time, I did nothing. I just lay around all day. I ate, I slept, and I stared at clowns performing. That was my life.”

Wait… what?

Izana blinked.

“I wasted so much time,” Winter said. “My brain felt completely empty. That was the only time I truly felt like I was less than a beast. I promised myself I’d never live like that again.”

Izana froze.

Tears welled up in her eyes for no reason.

Because… wasn’t that exactly how her previous life had been?

Lying around doing nothing, watching TV, and sleeping all day. Just wasting time.

The statue didn’t react. Winter was being completely honest.

Did he even know?

Did Winter realize how much those words had hurt her?

Did he know he had just accidentally insulted her entire previous life?

Maybe this was karma—for teasing him earlier. Her silly plan had backfired. Now she felt ashamed.

Feeling small, Izana slumped down.

Joseph, watching closely, nodded thoughtfully. “You’re very different from what I’ve heard about you, Baron.”

Izana didn’t want to talk anymore. She just rolled the dice quietly, and the game went on.

This time, Joseph won.

“Izana,” he said with a soft voice, “you left your home and came to the palace so quickly. What’s your goal? What do you want to do next?”

So many goals… but most were secret.

Izana hesitated. Could she really say this one?

It was something she wanted to keep hidden until the end.

Still… she opened her mouth and answered.

“I want to become a swordmaster.”

“…What?”

The statue didn’t react. That meant it was true.

Joseph tilted his head in confusion. Winter also looked surprised.

“You want to be a swordmaster?” Joseph asked.

Izana just smiled mysteriously and shook her dice.

She had trained hard that day. She had played deadly games with Sir Rad and lost every time, but she had done her best.

And in secret—at night—she was doing old celebrity leg exercises and climbing imaginary ‘heaven stairs.’ She wasn’t just dreaming of becoming a swordmaster—she had to.

That was her destiny.

In most stories like this, someone who ends up inside a fantasy world must grow stronger. It was the rule.

But she kept that part to herself. Let them think she was just a girl with a dream.

The next round also went to Joseph.

He looked at her curiously. “How did you know where that bracelet was?”

Ah… it had finally come.

Izana had been thinking about how to answer this for a long time. No matter what lie she told, Joseph would keep digging.

If she said she read about it, he’d ask where, when, and how. If she didn’t answer, he’d get suspicious.

After all, that’s why he brought the truth-statue in the first place.

‘Might as well lose this round,’ she thought.

So she gave up and sighed.

“I don’t really remember. I think I read something about it? Maybe my nanny told me before she died…”

As soon as she finished speaking, the statue’s eyes glowed red.

Joseph chuckled. “Lying is bad, Izana.”

She pouted and shrugged.

Then she looked at the statue.

It was supposed to transform into something she feared most.

Probably a cockroach?

Izana hated cockroaches.

But instead… the statue started to melt.

Black liquid oozed out and formed a deep, dark puddle that looked like it could swallow light itself.

Without knowing why, Izana and Joseph stared at it—trapped by the sight.

Then, Winter’s soft murmur reached her ears.

“This is bad.”

Just then, something leapt out from the puddle.

Long, seaweed-like hair dragged behind it…

It was Huerion.

The source of their despair. Their twisted creator.

Izana laughed bitterly.

“Oh no… really?”

She was going to die.

That thought was her last one.

The thing wasn’t just a copy—it even mimicked the evil of the real Huerion.

It killed her.

***

“…How did you know where the bracelet was?”

Izana gasped awake, drenched in cold sweat.

She staggered a bit, and Winter quickly caught her.

She gave him a weak smile to show she was fine—but she really wasn’t.

‘I didn’t think it would be Huerion. Not that.’

Back in Elahi, she had seen it—and had spent every day since trying to forget it.

That darkness. That horrifying black dot. It had imprinted on her brain like a curse.

She had worked so hard not to remember it.

And that’s where she’d failed.

She never imagined the statue could perfectly copy that thing.

‘I can’t ignore this anymore.’

Now the game has locked in a new “save point.”

That meant they could no longer go back to before this moment.

‘Well… not unless I use him. Amphelos.’

Maybe he could help…

But then again, he couldn’t even use his powers properly.

There was no point thinking about it.

‘I wonder… what would happen if Winter loses?’

Would the “End of the World” he once saw appear?

No. If that were possible, he would’ve never joined the game.

If that really showed up, everything would end—game and all.

“Hey, you two. Stop staring at each other like that,” Joseph said, noticing the tension.

Izana took a breath and gave her real answer.

“I read it in a book.”

“A book?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It said the bracelet was in the basement. So I hoped it’d still be there. I wanted it.”

The statue stayed still. No lie.

Joseph looked even more curious.

“Then maybe… you read the same thing I did. But how?”

“Only one question at a time,” Izana said calmly.

She rolled the dice again.

Everyone else did too. This time, Izana won, and Joseph lost.

‘What should I ask…’

She wanted to ask if Joseph was behind the recent “love letter incident.”

But she knew that wouldn’t help. It would only make him suspicious of her.

Instead, she planned to ask another way…