01. I'm Done
01. I'm Done
# 001.
There was no grand reason.
At first, I simply fell for her pretty looks, and then I fell for her heart, which was even more beautiful than her appearance.
So I wanted to protect her, and so I wanted to have her.
It was also true that I had bound her with possessiveness and obsession.
I just wanted her more than anything else in the world, and I just wanted to cherish her more than anyone else could.
When she was in trouble, I just wanted to help her, and I just hoped to walk forward together.
And in the end, I just wanted to paint a future with her, hoping that I would be in her future.
However.
The ending of this fucking romance fantasy novel didn't smile upon me.
Because I was merely a pushover second male lead.
So.
"I'm calling it quits now."
Now, I made up my mind to stop acting like such a pushover.
@
The day I came to realize that fact was just a day like any other.
The reality was that I was a modern person who possessed a character in a romance fantasy novel, and as for this romance fantasy I was possessed into—
[I Began to Be Obsessed Over by the World's Strongest]
—I had simply realized the truth that I was the second male lead who would ultimately fail to be chosen in the end.
'Come to think of it.'
I feel like I particularly over-empathized with this second male lead.
If you were to ask why, it was because his end was quite miserable.
Perhaps because of that, I was reborn as that very second male lead.
...Should I call this possession?
Or should I call it reincarnation? I didn't know for sure, but anyway.
Arhen Werner.
He was the eldest son of the Marquis Werner family and the successor destined to lead the family in the future.
But after falling for the female lead, he threw away everything related to himself and his family, going all-in on her while neglecting everything else.
In the end, his position as the head of the family is snatched away by his younger sister, and he fails to be chosen by her as well.
He grew distant from his family, and the talent that once made him shine lost its luster and began to rot away.
Of course.
Given the nature of romance fantasy.
That too was part of the story, and at the same time, my failure to be chosen was neatly packaged so that in the end—
Haha-hoho, everyone lived happily ever after.
"Wishing with all his heart for the happiness of the male lead and female lead, he decided to gently treasure his feelings in a corner of his heart."
—or so the ending went...
'Once it actually becomes reality, there's no way it can be like that.'
These weren't things I did just to be rewarded.
I could say with certainty that it wasn't particularly to have my feelings for her reciprocated.
It was just the feeling of emptiness that everything I had done meant nothing,
mixed with the sense of futility and anger I had originally felt when reading this novel.
I simply thought to myself.
"I'm calling it quits."
To stop acting like a pushover.
Slowly pushing myself up, I let out a long breath and ran a hand through my hair.
Perhaps because my past memories were jumbled together, the surrounding scenery felt a bit unfamiliar.
If there was any small mercy, was it that my hair, being black originally as well, didn't feel all that unfamiliar?
Getting up from my place, I stared blankly out the window and thought.
How should I treat her starting today?
The remaining lingering feelings mixed with the rational judgment that I shouldn't act like that anymore, swirling inside my head.
'...Well.'
She'll manage fine without me anyway.
After all, the male leads surrounding her were so numerous they were hard to count on one hand.
Even if someone like me vanishes, nothing big will happen.
That was a rational judgment, but for some reason...
I suppose it couldn't be helped that a corner of my chest felt a little sore.
@
With the help of my personal maid, I changed clothes and left the room, only to run into someone on my way to the dining room.
Glossy black hair just like mine, and pure white skin.
Vividly shining black eyes, along with a face that carried a fairly cold impression.
"..."
Glaring at me with strangely unfavorable eyes, her name was Estelle Werner.
She was my younger sister.
"The next head of the Werner family is bewitched by a woman and neglecting the house."
Although it wasn't highlighted much in the romance fantasy novel, it was a rumor openly circulating in high society.
And the burden of that fell entirely onto my younger sister, Estelle, who was trying her best to somehow raise the family prestige that I had dragged down.
In a way, it was only natural for Estelle to look at me with such cold eyes.
Until now, I had simply thought of that look as childish behavior from a younger sister or just plain rude.
Perhaps it was because of those thoughts that Estelle and I were gradually drifting apart.
Which is why, in the end, we ended up completely severing ties.
Ridiculously enough.
There was even an episode where the female lead—the very cause of all this—comforted me, making me delude myself into thinking that we had gotten a little closer...
But I had no intention of letting things stay that way anymore.
Mind you, it wasn't that I was greedy for the position of the next family head.
The reason I had become the next family head wasn't because of my capabilities, but simply because I was the only son and the eldest.
What I wanted was simply...
...to go back to being a family with Estelle again.
"...Estelle."
With those thoughts, I forced my heavy lips open and called out to Estelle. She tried to ignore me and walk past, but her body flinched with a slight tremor, and she stopped in her tracks.
"What is it?"
Cold and stiff.
Her tone, which was no different from usual, pierced into my chest with a kuk today.
But talking about such things would be nothing more than shifting all responsibility onto her.
Calmly catching my breath, I carefully chose my words internally.
What should I say?
"I was sorry?"
"I am sorry?"
Words like that didn't feel like they would be of any help.
So in times like this—
"If you have nothing to say, I will take my leave."
'...'
Estelle is my younger sister.
I am Estelle's oppa.
"I was a fool."
"..."
Estelle's feet, turning around to walk away, came to a brief halt.
She just stood there blankly without turning to look at me.
Slowly, deliberately, I continued speaking. Even I didn't know what I was saying, but—
"I'm sorry for everything until now. To you, and to our parents."
I just blurted out whatever came to mind.
Just because I honestly convey my heart doesn't guarantee it will reach the other person.
After all, my ending proved that very fact.
But.
"So, I'll work hard to do better from now on. So that we can become a family again."
If you don't express it, no one will know.
If you express it, at least someone will listen and acknowledge it.
And right now, I truly hoped from the bottom of my heart that that someone would be Estelle.
Having heard my words, Estelle slowly turned around to look at me. Blocked by the beating sunlight, her face couldn't be seen clearly.
No, maybe it was because I couldn't bring myself to face Estelle's face just yet.
Taking a small breath, I stared intently near her nape, only to snap out of it at the sound of her quiet voice.
"The meal is prepared. Please go inside."
Ignored... huh.
Well, naturally.
There was no way all that past time could be made up for with a single word.
Even when offering an apology, I might have been appealing to emotions by leaning on our past memories.
But since I had already expected to be ignored, I took a sharp breath in with a heup, then...
let it out softly and nodded.
"Yeah, thank you."
Pretending nothing was wrong, I offered a faint smile and walked past Estelle, who was still standing still, heading toward the dining room.
My heart hurt a little, but even that was fine.
'This is...'
...the responsibility for the things I've irresponsibly abandoned until now.
There's more than just one or two things to set right; it would be troublesome to get exhausted already.
Steadying my wavering heart as I walked to the dining room, I continued to line up my thoughts.
'First and foremost is fixing my relationship with my family.'
It did feel like things had already gone off track quite a bit.
Father and Mother were deeply disappointed in me, and Estelle had been enduring it all while getting hurt alone in the process.
Since fixing a mess is always harder than causing one, it would require a considerable amount of effort.
But this was the one thing I could never give up on.
'And second.'
Training in magic again.
It's a bit awkward to say it myself, but Arhen Werner was quite a talented individual when it came to magic.
Even that arrogant Tower Master clung to me for a while, begging me to enter the Magic Tower the moment he saw my talent.
Although there weren't any grand battles or major cataclysms in this romance fantasy world,
magic was still the thing I loved most.
I simply wanted to do it again.
And lastly...
'I need to end things.'
Severing my relationship with her.
As I said, this part didn't require that much preparation.
All I had to do was sort out my own feelings and distance myself.
'Alright.'
From now on, let me live earnestly.
In the empty hallway of the Werner estate,
the girl left behind alone quietly whispered.
"We were..."
...family in the first place.
You stupid oppa.