Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Avid Reader's Reformation Life
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"So that's what happened."
Those were the words Margrave Lichten uttered after listening silently to Sion's story until the tea in his cup had gone completely cold.
Why didn't you tell me sooner? Couldn't you even trust your own father? Of all things, a demon? A flurry of questions swirled in his mind, but the margrave merely let out a small sigh.
Asking for reasons now would be pointless anyway. And regardless, Lily had provided tremendous help because of it, so pressing the issue wouldn't paint a pretty picture.
"So you were trapped in the temple my father was investigating."
"And I was held there against my will."
"I nearly vanished into oblivion forever."
At Lucia's words, Lily grumbled as she slurped her tea.
That's when her eyes locked with Kim Yu-hyun's intense gaze fixed on her.
". . ."
"Look away."
"You're dead meat if you don't, for real."
"No thanks."
Lily's forehead vein throbbed at Kim Yu-hyun's immediate retort without a second's hesitation.
She was already sore from the thrashing she'd taken in their last duel, and now this guy kept poking at her, building up her irritation.
". . ."
Lily let out a genuine growl, while Kim Yu-hyun wore a dismissive smirk.
Watching them, Sion felt a stark generational shift.
In the original story, Lily would blush and avert her eyes just from Kim Yu-hyun staring at her like that. But now, she was snarling like a dog ready to bite.
"Kyaaak!"
"Whoa, whoa, Lady Lily."
"Don't actually bite, please."
Even as a succubus, she was still a demon at heart— the moment she felt disrespected, her aggressive side flared up.
A woman of world-shaking beauty suddenly lunging like she meant to sink her teeth in caught Margrave Lichten off guard, and he hurriedly spoke up.
"More importantly, Sion."
"Yes, Father."
"You're saying the reason this woman appeared in your dreams is ultimately because you summoned her?"
"That's right."
"Then how did you end up summoning a succubus queen into your dreams?"
"Well . . ."
Sion started to answer, then clamped his mouth shut.
He slowly scanned the room.
Margrave Lichten, Lucia, Kim Yu-hyun, and Sebastian standing quietly behind.
Sion Claussen—the man who might one day become the next margrave—actually had zero mana sensitivity.
He couldn't wield even a speck of mana, nor hold any in his body.
None of them knew he was, in slang terms, mana-sterile.
'Should I tell them?'
Weaknesses were best kept hidden, even from family.
Back in his original world, as Sion—as Lee Ji-hoon—he'd seen plenty of people casually turn others' vulnerabilities into weapons.
No matter how strong someone was, once a weak spot showed, people latched onto it relentlessly.
Maybe it was just human survival instinct.
They'd look trustworthy to your face, then stab you in the back the moment you turned away.
Pulling down the one above to take their place.
In that endless competition of an era, he figured no one escaped that simple truth.
'. . . I can't hide it forever anyway.'
These weren't people he'd meet once or twice and say, "Nice knowing you, let's never cross paths again!"
One was his father, one an ally, and the other . . .
'I can't even tell if that guy's friend or foe.'
In the novel, he seemed like a munchkin protagonist with a slight mental quirk, but up close, he was an enigma whose thoughts you couldn't read.
Good thing Sion knew whether he was the black幕 or not; otherwise, he'd have begged Lily on his knees to kill Kim Yu-hyun.
"Hoo."
Having made up his mind, Sion let out a heavy sigh to set a more serious tone.
Thanks to that, not only Margrave Lichten and Lucia, but Sebastian—and even Kim Yu-hyun, pretending disinterest—were subtly focused on his next words.
"I can't handle mana."
". . .What?"
"Pardon?"
". . .?"
Even Margrave Lichten was stunned, which meant the original Sion Claussen had kept this buried deep too.
He might not have even shown his face in front of knights to avoid exposing such a flaw.
The margrave had pitied his increasingly odd son without ever grasping him properly.
"Sion, what do you mean by that?"
"It's not . . ."
"It's not that my sensitivity is just lower than others."
"I literally cannot handle mana at all."
"My sensitivity is zero."
"Ahh . . ."
Margrave Lichten looked as if he'd just heard, "Terminal cancer. Three months at best," his composure crumbling as he sighed.
And rightly so—in this world, being unable to handle mana was as good as having a severe physical defect.
Even ordinary people were born with at least minimal mana sensitivity.
That's why the average strength across this world was so high.
Yet the firstborn son of the Claussen Margrave couldn't wield it at all.
This wasn't just a weakness for future succession talks; it tied directly to survival.
"So that's how it happened—I kept begging for some way to fix it, and bam! Lady Lily showed up."
"That's the whole story, Father."
"I-is that how it was?"
"Yes, I see . . ."
"And I didn't know . . . didn't know at all . . . Ahh . . ."
Margrave Lichten's world shattered.
Now he understood why his son had hidden himself away so fiercely.
Bearing such a massive flaw, he couldn't trust anyone.
To think a father, a parent, hadn't even known his child's greatest struggle—Margrave Lichten felt utterly pathetic.
"But it's fine."
Sion continued nonchalantly.
"Not being able to handle mana doesn't mean I have some disability, and I've got capable people around me."
"For magic alone, there's Lady Lily, and right here we have Lucia."
As he spoke, Sion casually took Lucia's hand.
Her face flushed at the unexpected gesture, but she didn't pull away.
'Mana aside, Lucia's real strength lies elsewhere.'
'Time to develop that.'
In the novel, this Sion Claussen had given her severe PTSD, leaving her anxious and unsteady.
But this time was different.
Instead of the wishy-washy Kim Yu-hyun with women, she was by his side—and he knew her true talent.
"Hey!"
"Why not hold my hand?"
"Hold my hand too!"
"Hand, hand, hand!"
Lily flailed like she was demanding a pet.
She looked just like a cat hissing when another pet got stroked first, and Sion burst out laughing.
"Anyway, I'm totally fine."
"If anything, I'm worried because from now on, I'll have way too much to do."
He planned to turn everything upside down.
He'd thought sticking to the novel's flow and tweaking only key moments was smart, but somehow, things were derailing everywhere.
If becoming Sion had triggered a butterfly effect turning a flap into a typhoon, better to start with the typhoon—that was Sion's take.
Leaving Margrave Lichten still somber despite his reassurance, Sion left the room.
Normally, Lily and Lucia would cling right behind, but he'd baited them with "Discuss magic together" and stepped out first.
"Kim Yu-hyun."
After walking the corridor a while, Sion halted abruptly and spoke.
The man following at a distance, presence suppressed, stopped in kind.
"You know what you did wrong, right?"
". . ."
"I told you to block the enemy knights."
"If they hit our main force's rear, we'd split in two and melt like shattered ice."
". . ."
"I admit the knight you faced was strong, and capturing her was priority."
"But with your skills, you could've held that knight and her whole unit."
". . .How can you be sure?"
Kim Yu-hyun finally spoke.
Sion sighed lightly and half-turned.
"Lily told me."
"You're ridiculously strong."
"You could've handled their entire knight unit back then, even if it was tough."
"I just wanted to fight someone strong."
"Don't think that flies on a battlefield."
"Misjudging me?"
"I'm not your subordinate, nor a soldier or knight here—just a guest."
"Don't misjudge."
"Fine."
"I'll make sure you regret those words."
Sion turned fully, facing Kim Yu-hyun.
He ignored the chilling glare from eyes hardened cold.
"You're the one who's misjudging, Kim Yu-hyun."
". . .What did you say?"
"That you can excuse yourself with 'I just enjoy the fight,' or hide behind your wild, brutal swordplay."
"Deep down, you don't want to kill anyone."
For a split second, sparks flew in Kim Yu-hyun's eyes.
His right hand twitched—a threat to draw if Sion said one more word.
But Sion pressed on.
"You're fooling yourself into thinking you enjoy battle just to hide your hesitation, Kim Yu-hyun."
"If you really don't want to kill, swing without hesitating in the clutch."
"Keep hesitating, and your people die first."
Always cool and collected, hailed by heroines as the iron-blooded man.
But inside, he brimmed with aversion to killing and growing fear of losing himself.
That hesitation let his friends, his comrades, die while he watched.
Some readers called the protagonist cancer, others a wuss—but Sion figured any normal guy dropped into this bizarre world, forced to take up the sword, no matter the talent or mad effort, would crack like that.
"You speak like you know from experience, Young Lord."
Kim Yu-hyun's voice was icy with rage.
"I've crossed countless fields of death and life rolling around."
"You, cozy and safe till now, lecture me after one brush with horror?"
"Maybe I'm like you, as you say."
"But one thing I'm dead certain of."
"What's that?"
"I'm not the protagonist meant to teach lessons or inspire."
I'm not a good guy.
Closer to a bad one.
No need to hesitate.
I just want to live, enjoy what I've built with my people.
To survive, from now on, I'll do whatever it takes.
"Young Lord!"
"Young Lord!"
Lion Knight Commander's urgent voice echoed from the corridor's end.
The anticipated crisis had hit.
"I'm here, Knight Commander. What's wrong?"
"Big trouble."
"Fresh report: Nudia Kingdom's forces just crossed the border."
". . .Thought that was it, but apparently not."
"Looks like they had another force ready."
By rights, Nudia should've licked its wounds for a while after the heavy blow.
But they'd reformed and counter-pushed.
Like a second wave prepped all along.
"Not good."
"We just got back to the castle, half our troops battered."
"The margrave is right now . . ."
"Knight Commander."
"Yes, Young Lord."
"Any string instruments in the castle?"
". . .Pardon?"
Lion Knight Commander looked baffled.
Enemy crossing the border, and he asks for instruments?!
"Fetch one, please."
"I'll visit Father separately."
"Young Lord, what are you planning?"
"Who knows?"
Sion chuckled as he walked off.
He'd resolved to truly survive from here on—now just execute.
'Even if they've got the dinga-ding, no fan means it won't look the part!'
Inspired by his comment, the author later worked this event in.
Time to see who was the real chicken in this game of chicken.