IHWL 09

The novel explicitly stated:

「Karin is exceptionally skilled at reading others’ psychology and manipulating their weaknesses.」

In reality, Karin, who had noticed that the heroine was slightly different from ordinary humans, began using that as leverage to bind her.

‘The heroine has already been through a lot of abuse… and someone like me, just a low-tier extra in the early chapters…’

Just imagining it made me dizzy.

If it was discovered that I was a possession-transmigrator, something truly irreversible would happen.

I bit my lip tightly.

My body was already trembling.

Since I had done something suspicious, I decided to abandon any logical or rational demeanor.

‘The answer is tantrums!’

Right now, I wasn’t mentally stable enough to think like an adult, and I was a child whose emotions showed clearly on her face.

So I chose to act like a kid.

“I like Sir Viaton the most.”

“I’m afraid my teaching field is different from Sir Viaton’s.”

Since I couldn’t hide my hostility toward Karin, I decided to expose it outright.

“No. I want Sir Viaton. He’s the best, the best for me.”

“Bring him here!”

I firmly expressed my will with tightly pressed lips.

“So you mean you cannot accept me as your teacher, Your Highness?”

“Mm-hm. Bring Sir Viaton!”

It wasn’t that I couldn’t throw a tantrum—it was that I had been holding it back all along.

This body constantly craved tantrums, and I had been suppressing it with reason.

Alright then. Tantrum, drop the beat.

“Waaahhh!”

I began crying loudly.

All the instincts I had been suppressing erupted like a volcano.

Karin simply watched me without any expression.

Those pink eyes were frightening.

‘Wait, hold on.’

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

In the original story, the one who stops Karin is Arun.

‘For Arun to awaken, I have to make him suffer, right?’

The original story was about a boy named Arun, who, after enduring horrific abuse from the villainess Isabel, awakens and becomes the strongest being in the world.

‘But I’m not going to abuse him?’

Then the male lead might not awaken at all.

Even if he does awaken, he wouldn’t hold resentment toward the sword empire, so he wouldn’t invade the Bilotian imperial palace.

‘Then what? Does that mean Arun won’t become emperor?’

Karin fought Arun in the original story because Arun later became the emperor of Bilotian.

If that changed, there would be no reason for Karin and Arun to clash.

‘So there would be no male lead to stop the final villain?’

In that case, it was highly likely that my family would end up facing that final villain in the future.

‘Isn’t it dangerous to just let her go like this?’

She would eventually grow stronger and appear as the final villain, just like in the novel.

Karin’s goal was world domination, after all.

No matter who became emperor of Bilotian, they would eventually clash.

‘Wouldn’t it be safer to keep her close?’

There are originally two world-class beings.

One is my father, and one is the male lead.

But my father becomes weakened after losing my mother.

‘If I behave well, my father won’t lose my mother… and then he won’t weaken either.’

My father, aside from the male lead, is almost the only one capable of standing against the final villain.

A healthy father would never tolerate Karin’s actions.

‘Ugh, what should I do?’

Should I just pretend not to know?

After all, she only becomes active 20 years later.

By then, I probably won’t even be alive…

‘But still…’

I’ve been given 21 years.

Even if it’s not something grand, I thought it would be nice to leave something behind in this world.

‘Alright. I’ve decided.’

I’ll protect my family before I go.

Maybe that was proof of the gift I had been given.

My life started to feel a little meaningful.

“If it continues like this, education will be difficult. Magic requires a deep and intimate bond between teacher and student before it can proceed…”

“I calmed down.”

I calmly wiped away my tears.

‘Strangely, I can control it quite well.’

Thinking that I needed to protect my family made it easier to control.

I smiled brightly.

‘A child fights the final villain in a child’s way.’

My behavior seemed quite unfamiliar to Karin.

“…Pardon?”

“I think the teacher would be sad if I liked Sir Viaton from the beginning.”

Hehe—I smiled brightly.

Even when I looked in the mirror, I thought I was really cute and adorable.

Honestly, I was blessed with an incredibly beautiful face.

“I like pretty older sisters.”

I held out my hand.

“I’ll work hard, teacher.”

Viaton, who had been secretly listening outside, covered his mouth and laughed.

“Fufufu.”

Isabel, who never usually threw tantrums, was crying and asking to bring Sir Viaton.

“This is deeply gratifying.”

If Isabel had simply welcomed the new teacher, he might have felt a bit disappointed.

He spoke to a servant who was doing chores in the hallway.

“Did you see it? Did you hear it? Did you understand it?”

“P-pardon?”

“The princess is throwing a tantrum.”

The servant, unlike Viaton, did not have good hearing and didn’t understand what was going on.

He only gave an awkward smile.

“Haha… I, I’m not sure…”

“The princess is famously someone who does not throw tantrums. That means I am absolutely necessary to her.”

Viaton took a gold coin from his robe and handed it to the servant.

It was three days’ wages.

Although his torn uniform had been patched up, this joy had to be properly expressed.

“Take it. It’s a commemorative day.”

The servant, now intoxicated by capital, immediately became sharp and attentive.

“I saw and heard everything clearly.”

“Right?”

“In fact, I recall the princess repeatedly saying she wanted Sir Viaton.”

“Fufufu. Of course.”

Viaton trusted the tongue that had been tamed by capital.

He walked away in high spirits.

Waving to the servant as he left, he did not hear the next words.

“Karin. No matter how outstanding a mage you are, the princess’s heart is already mine.”

He muttered softly.

“I don’t even need to kill you anymore.”

No one saw it, but madness flickered in his eyes—the same madness he once had as a sword demon.

‘Why am I learning magic?’

For some reason, Karin said she would teach me magic.

Apparently, she was a specially selected magic tutor.

‘Did Isabel even learn magic in the original story?’

The princess of a sword empire learning magic.

It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t familiar either.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Over the past few days, I had made up my mind.

It was impossible to win Karin’s heart, the final villain.

She was fundamentally a psychopath or sociopath without emotions.

‘At least I can make her lower her guard.’

Fortunately, I was a very young child.

Even I thought I was ridiculously cute.

As soon as Karin entered, I quickly ran and closed the door.

“Your Highness?”

I lowered my voice very softly.

I looked around and put my finger to my lips.

“It’s jelly. I saved it for you. Peach flavor.”

I smiled innocently.

This melting smile was my strongest weapon.

“I hid it for you, teacher.”

To gain favor, one should start with gifts.

Starting from there, I began asking Karin various things.

“How old are you?”

She was 22 years old this year.

“Why is your name Karin?”

“Since when did you learn magic?”

“What food do you like?”

I asked many trivial questions.

They were, in my own way, attempts to gather information about Karin.

Karin answered all my questions with a kind smile.

Her tone was gentle, and her demeanor always elegant.

‘You really can’t tell just by looking.’

Who would guess this older sister is the final villain?

I was glad I read the novel.

One day, Karin asked me:

“Your Highness, you are aware of the Mark of Narvidal, aren’t you?”

It felt like the moment had finally come.

In the future, Karin uses the “Curse of Narvidal” to put the heroine in mortal danger.

Though not explained in detail, Karin was said to have conducted extensive research on “Narvidal.”

It also said she used many people as experimental subjects.

Perhaps approaching me was also for research on “Narvidal.”

I answered nervously:

“Yes, I know.”

“What is it?”

“When you become an adult, you die.”

“Do you understand what death is?”

“Being separated from precious people.”

“Do you feel fear or sadness when you think about that?”

“Hmm… hmm…”

I shook my head.

Life was something I had received for free. It was a gift to me.

“For me, life is a gift.”

“So I’m grateful, and I’m happy.”

Karin’s pink eyes looked at me.

Wow, just by looking at her eyes, she seemed like a kind person.

I almost let my guard down.

“Meeting Teacher Karin is also a gift. So I’m not sad.”

It was true.

Compared to the 20-years-later Karin, the current one was almost lucky to meet.

“But if I leave… will people be sad? I don’t like sadness, but I also don’t like people not being sad.”

“Am I a bad child?”

“Mm?”

Something felt strange.

‘What’s going on?’

According to the novel’s settings, something impossible was beginning to happen