MAS 14

chapter 14

“Don’t lie! I heard everything! You were loudly talking about pretending it was an accident and spilling juice on her!”

“When did I ever say it loudly?! I was definitely whispering!”

…

For a moment, silence fell.

‘So he took the bait.’

The boy must have realized his mistake as well, because he started stuttering.

“N-No, I mean—th-that is… you know, hyung!”

He looked desperate to make excuses, but thankfully, his older brother seemed smarter than him and quickly grasped what was going on.

But the next words that came out of his mouth made me clutch my head all over again.

“It wasn’t my brother.”

His voice was sharp and irritated.

The younger brother’s face brightened, as if relieved that his words were being believed.

Was it because he was a child and therefore innocent, or was he genuinely lacking something upstairs?

‘He looks like he’s going to beat the kid when they get home.’

Right now, it seemed like he had no choice but to act this way because of the surrounding eyes and the situation.

It was probably all because of that so-called honor of noble society.

From my perspective, it was nothing but exhausting.

When I narrowed my eyes, the man glared back at me and spoke in a rough, sneering tone.

“Do you think staring like that will change the truth? Halo would never lie to me.”

It looked like he had decided to believe that version of events.

‘Fine. I’m the idiot for thinking this guy would listen to reason in the first place.’

More importantly—Halo, was it?

Just you wait, you brown-haired brat.

“Anyway, I’m done with you. Move.”

The man brushed past me, and that brat of a brother stuck his tongue out at me.

‘Is he for real?’

Back in my previous life, I’d always thought behavior like that was just childish and irritating.

Shockingly, it was actually quite effective.

Combined with the already annoying situation and his obvious intent to mock me, my irritation shot through the roof.

“So you’re that famous monster duke? You’re nothing special. You just look like an ordinary kid.”

At some point, the man had walked up to Siderion. He sneered as he stared at him, as if examining an exhibit.

Naturally, Siderion ignored him.

Completely and utterly.

‘I know that look. I’ve been on the receiving end of it plenty of times.’

I might be used to it now, but the first time it happens, it’s infuriating beyond words.

“Hey, brat. Are you ignoring me right now?”

Just as expected, the man grabbed Siderion by the collar, his voice dripping with anger.

He might not have been as bad as his younger brother, but that was still a ridiculously stupid move.

I mean, no matter how young he was, Siderion was still a duke. Was this really okay?

Surely someone would step in at this point.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, I looked around.

Because the man had been shouting at the top of his lungs, plenty of people had gathered to watch.

Yet not a single one of them made a move to intervene.

‘This is seriously too much.’

It wasn’t just the children—adults were the same.

No, they were even worse.

Thinking about it, children calling Siderion a monster despite never having met him before must have learned it from their parents.

‘Of course, I know.’

This was a world inside a novel.

Whether Siderion had ever harmed them or not didn’t matter. The author needed to give the sub–male lead a tragic past.

For the sake of a single line in the story, Siderion—who held the title of duke—had endured this kind of injustice, and would continue to endure even more.

It was almost a relief that he couldn’t feel emotions. At least he wouldn’t be sad.

Though, if he had been able to feel even a trace of emotion, things might never have come this far.

So… what was I supposed to do here?

Watching the situation spiral out of control, I slowly organized my thoughts.

Strictly speaking, I was an outsider in this novel.

As an outsider, the only way I could protect myself was by using my knowledge of the story.

‘Not that there’s much to “use,” really.’

Still, for that to work, the plot I knew couldn’t change too much.

Otherwise, my information would become unreliable.

‘If I help Siderion in this unfair situation, would that change the story?’

No.

An incident at a childhood banquet wouldn’t have much impact.

‘Then there’s no need to hesitate.’

I shoved my shoes back onto my feet and ran toward Siderion.

Then I started confronting the man point by point.

“A grown adult hitting a child—aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

“Hey, I haven’t hit him yet! I’m just trying to scare him!”

“Then why is your fist raised? Warming up for exercise?”

When I glared at his clenched fist, the man flinched for a moment.

“This—! No, why am I even explaining myself? Who are you to keep butting in? What are you, something to this duke?”

“Of course I am! I’m his wife!”

At my bold declaration, silence fell over the area once more.

“His… wife?”

The man muttered in confusion, then quickly put on a look of realization.

“Oh, right. I heard there was some poor family that got sold off to this duke by force. What was it again? Aisher?”

It’s Aisel, you bastard.

Now that I thought about it, using the excuse of being his wife had been a mistake.

In an instant, I’d gone from “some unknown young lady” to “the monster’s easy target of a wife.”

The boy’s gaze on me changed as well.

Earlier, there’d been a hint of wariness—but now he looked at me like I was some mutt in his front yard.

This was seriously infuriating.

Of course, no matter how angry I was, there wasn’t much I could do.

Just as they thought, I wasn’t going to be treated like a proper noble here.

But hadn’t people always said that the enemy of your enemy is your ally?

I looked toward Siderion—my one and only potential savior—and whispered so only he could hear.

“Don’t just stand there. Do something! They’re looking down on you—doesn’t that bother you at all?”

“……”

Watching Siderion stand there looking completely blank made a sigh rise in my chest.

But earlier, hadn’t he shown at least a flicker of emotion?

I refused to give up hope.

Honestly, it was hard to tell since he stayed so quiet, but Siderion was absurdly overpowered.

By the novel’s settings, he was probably even stronger than the male lead.

Sure, he was still young and his power hadn’t fully awakened yet—but he should be more than capable of giving these guys a solid wake-up call.

‘So show me. Show me that amazing power of yours!’

But when had life ever gone the way I wanted?

“Heh. What, are you so scared you can’t even talk?”

Clearly ignoring them out of annoyance, but the man seemed to think Siderion was frightened.

I gave up on expecting anything from Siderion.

‘You really shouldn’t expect things from people who won’t deliver.’

“And you—this half-breed noble won’t shut up. I thought you might actually be some impressive aristocrat’s kid.”

The man snickered like a street thug and flicked my head with his finger.

I felt my sanity leave my body.

Wow. This is absolutely unacceptable.

I bit down hard on his finger with my teeth.

“Aaagh!”

“Hyung!”

“L-Let go of this right now!”

I’d held back all this time because Siderion scared me, but I had quite the temper myself.

I might not step in for every injustice around me, but if someone laid a hand on me, I always paid them back.

“Serves you right!”

Like a rabid dog, I clung to his finger with all my might.

But it didn’t last long—soon, a strong force shoved my shoulder.

“Ack!”

“You crazy brat!”

The man stared at his bitten finger in horror.

The entire finger had turned red, with clear teeth marks embedded in it.

It was proof that even humans could become beasts.

“Just what I’d expect from a half-breed noble—no manners whatsoever.”

The man grabbed my hair, forcing me to meet his gaze as he sneered.

“Hey! Let go!”

I struggled with all my strength, but I was no match for a fully grown man.

And with our faces so close, I noticed something.

‘This guy’s using his ability, isn’t he?’

Red flames flickered inside his blue eyes.

It was a common sign of ability activation.

‘Fire-type abilities are known for brute strength, right?’

And my own water-type trait was…

‘Fast wound recovery.’

…

L-Let’s think positively!

Even if I get hit, I’ll heal quickly!

The thought was so absurdly optimistic it almost brought tears to my eyes.

‘Damn it. When it comes to fire attributes, the Asitria family is supposed to be the best…!’

Clenching my lips tight, I desperately searched for a way out.

Since Siderion clearly didn’t plan on helping me…

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

Thwack!

With a sharp impact sound, the strength left the man’s hand gripping my head.

My eyes flew open, and I saw the man stumbling backward.

Then—

Crash!

With a loud noise, his body slammed onto the banquet hall floor.

‘W-What just happened?’

Why did he suddenly fall over on his own?

As I stared in confusion, I caught sight of Siderion’s face.

Something about it was different.

‘Wait. Don’t tell me…’

A red hue spread through Siderion’s golden eyes.

Anyone could tell.

He had just used his ability.