Your Ultimate Love Rival

Chapter 9

It would have been nice if the story ended with “And Irene and Claudia lived happily ever after in the kingdom of Chamberlain.” But it was hard to believe in a fairytale happy ending when reality hit differently. More than anything, this novel was a tragedy.

At one point, I did everything I could to avoid hurtling toward my imminent death, but my death was practically guaranteed now. Having gone through that near-death experience, I felt a bit removed from the knowledge that I was still going to die. Even if I were to get beheaded, I think it would be amazing to know I lasted this long as I closed my eyes for the last time.

Hic, what’s with the water flowing from my eyes?

Anyway, I ended up being the X factor that completely changed the storyline of the original novel. The ripple effect I created was not small. I had changed the relationship between the female and male leads. However, I couldn’t play the role of the male lead in place of those three guys. It wasn’t my being a woman that was the problem. There wasn’t a single romance novel where the female protagonist ends up with a character from a lowly viscount’s family who was basically an extra. That meant there was no way I had seen the last of the three male leads.

The ending of the original novel went like this. The male leads destroyed House Chamberlain. They confiscated the family’s enormous wealth and pretended to save Claudia after imprisoning her and making her go blind. She was basically shackled for the rest of her life like a bird stuck in a cage. It was an ending befitting a tragedy.

During that process, she tried to run away. She met someone new and even had an awakening. In the end, she was caught. The male leads killed anyone she came in contact with.

I did my best to try and prevent the misfortune from happening. However, unless I found a way to get rid of those three guys—the sources of her misfortune—they were going to continue playing their tricks. They weren’t going to kill Claudia because she was the female protagonist, but I knew they were going to kill Felix and destroy her mind at the same time.

Since my happiness now hinged on the happiness of the diamond siblings, I wanted to do whatever I could to preserve their happiness, even if I ended up dying. Of course, if I could somehow stay alive during that process, that would be even better. I talked big when I had spoken with Liam, but the time had come for me to make a decision.

I could no longer remain complacent as I enjoyed this dreamlike reality, since the tragic days were drawing closer. I didn’t know if the story was going to unfold the way it did in the novel. The ending could come sooner, later, or maybe not at all. I had no idea what the future had in store. I couldn’t predict what was coming in the slightest.

But...

I knew I couldn’t just sit back and let time waste away like that. Whether or not tragedy struck, if I could brace myself, I should do my best to get ready.

I looked down at Claudia, who had fallen asleep. I tucked her blanket tightly around her and stood up carefully.

After leaving the room, it was a long walk to the place I was headed to. I walked briskly and arrived at a study that rivaled the imperial library. Though it was the dead of night, the study was brightly lit like it was still daytime. I took a look around.

Looking up at the vast blue-sky ceiling, I remembered there was a similar ceiling at a casino. The ceiling was so realistic that I couldn’t tell if it was a painting or actually the sky. But it was neither. It was, in fact, magic.

I found Felix there just as I had expected. He sat on a fancy sofa and was impassively flipping through a book. I guess even Felix, someone who always smiled warmly, had a cold look on his face when he was focused on something or was by himself. I suppose that made sense since he was human, but for some reason, I found it hard to approach him.

He must have felt my presence because he looked up and said, “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

He smiled brightly, almost making me think that the sight I had seen was an illusion. Instantly, the icy atmosphere melted away to a breezy spring wind.

“Come here. I’ll read to you,” he said while patting his knee.

Wait, I wasn’t expecting you to say something like that. I know we’ve gotten a bit closer, but I’m not ready to use your thigh as a pillow to sleep.

When I slowly shook my head and took a step back, he looked a little disappointed, so I explained, “I came here because I wanted to talk to you.”

“Why do you look so nervous then?”

What? Did it seem that obvious?

As I awkwardly patted my face as he tapped his pretty coral-colored lips and continued, “Whenever you’re nervous or scared, your mouth makes a triangle shape.”

Claudia had already mentioned that to me before.

What did he mean by a triangle-shaped mouth? It wasn’t as if I could check myself in a mirror at the moment. Anyway, that wasn’t important. With a grim look on my face, I walked right up to him and said, “I’ll cut to the chase.”

“Of course.” He closed the book he had been holding and set it down next to him.

“I’m sure you remember the advice I gave to you about a year ago.”

From his point of view, my bombshell of a declaration probably sounded extremely absurd. However, I was determined to tell him everything.

Except for the part where we were in the world of a novel, of course. If I went as far as to tell Felix that, he probably would have lost his mind. I wanted to protect him from that.

“I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but I received a prophecy about a year ago.”

Yep, that was the best way to explain what I said. Since I couldn’t come up with something original, I decided to play by the book.

I confessed as to why I told him to work on increasing his magic resistance. If things went the way they did in the novel, I could see what sort of cruel fate awaited Claudia, Felix, and the Chamberlain family. Truthfully, if I were him, I would have thought I was crazy and tried to back away.

However, Felix calmly listened to my long-winded explanation until the end without cutting in. He and Claudia were two people who couldn’t help but receive love and affection from everyone around them as if it were inevitable. Of course, his kind and good nature played a big role. But those eyes of his...

The moment you locked eyes with him, it was as if his eyes were telling you that he was completely focused on you. Those eyes were calm like a tranquil lake, just taking me in... I couldn’t help but get sucked in. They were irresistible.

Without saying a word, he made me believe that he was the only person in the world who understood me. I felt myself getting swept up. It felt like he would be understanding even if I had committed an unforgivable crime.

Entranced, I stared into those light, sparkling eyes of his, and then quickly shut my gaping mouth and looked away.

Wow, I almost blurted out everything I know.

“...”

Felix didn’t say anything as he looked lost in thought. It seemed like he was mulling over everything I said. I wasn’t surprised. I figured he was going to need some time to take it all in.

Maybe I should head back to my room for now to give him time to think…

As I thought that to myself, he opened his beautiful mouth. “That is surprising...” he trailed off and then continued. “But I guess I do understand to some degree.”

“That you will have to sacrifice yourself for the greater good?” I asked.

“‘Sacrifice’? It sounds grand if you put it like that... But yes, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

I felt my stomach lurch at his response. No matter what I did to avoid the tragedy that awaited the Chamberlain family, it felt inevitable.

“Even if no one remembers your sacrifice? Even if all your achievements get claimed by the devil and you’re disparaged by everyone as the mage who murdered his family? Even if it forever changes the way people think of you?” I asked again.

“Yes.”

“Even if your choice becomes an eternal scar to Claud?”

“Even if I must sacrifice my life, I want Claud to be able to live hers.”

I knew he’d say that!

I sighed and plopped into the seat across from him.

“That’s why I told you to practice your magic resistance.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand where he was coming from. Imagining Claudia trying to survive on her own in a post-apocalyptic world that had been overrun by the power of the devil just made me sad. Felix probably thought she’d be better off living in a normal world, even if she were to lose her family. Of course, that was a decision I would never dare make.

“Unfortunately, Irene...” Felix said forebodingly. “The devil’s power won’t disappear just because I can resist it.”

“What?! It won’t?”

How can you tell me that my plan is going to fail and that we’re screwed so calmly?

Wait a minute. That was what happened in the novel though. Relics embedded with devil magic were rendered useless in the face of magic resistance.

I’ve read FBD over twenty times! I couldn’t be wrong!

“If I have magic resistance, I may be able to neutralize the spells in the relic.”

Yes, what he said was true. The male leads hire a mage to cast a brainwashing spell on the relic to force the affected person to slaughter their family. Since Felix didn’t have any resistance, he ended up killing his entire family.

“However, the power of the devils is beyond human resistance. The devils embed their spirits deep into relics, so when the power is absorbed—even with magic resistance—the devil will take over at least half of me.”

So with magic resistance, he would be able to break free from the magic spell that would force him to kill his family, but he’d still end up losing half of his body to the devil?

“T-then what happens?”

“It would depend on the type of power the devil has, but...”

But what? What was going to happen?

I gulped, made that triangle-shaped mouth again, and stared at him.

I couldn’t read the expression on Felix’s face as he looked me in the eyes and said, “If there’s something they desire, they won’t hold back.”