I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

Chapter 6

TL: gaeulriri

Editor: Daed

I stared stupidly at him with a puzzled expression after hearing what he said.

Oh, he actually could detoxify people.

There is a magic called “detoxification”. After hearing that I was gonna die, my head became empty and I couldn’t think that far. Stupid me.

‘Couldn’t you tell me about it sooner?’

My heart was pounding after hearing what he said. Of course, I knew it wasn’t intentional.

Maybe because the extreme tension disappeared in an instant, I almost cried without realizing it.

I relaxed my shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief,

“Thank you very much for helping me. You’re my life savior.”

I owed Claudia money and Felix, my life. I had so many debts to these siblings. Would my life be alright in the future?

‘That’s alright. The two of them are angels, whether it be their stunning good looks or their personalities…..’

The heroine and her family? There’s no doubt on how good and how transparent they are without any hidden intentions.

I hesitated for a moment, then walked towards Felix. When I thought I had approached him close enough, I stopped.

Then he said with a wry smile.

“You’re too far.”

I took one step closer to him.

“Irene, my hand needs to reach you so I can detoxify you.”

“O-okay.”

It has been a year since I captivated Claudia’s heart and became the ‘informant’ who previously didn’t exist in this novel.

Still, when I met the brother of the heroine, it was too awkward that we didn’t have any chance to greet each other.

“Lady Amber, you’ve come again. Please make yourself at home.”

“Thank you. Um, you.. you can speak comfortably to me”

“Alright, Irene.”

Then he smiled beautifully, like a refreshing flower.

“You too, just call me Felix.”

That was the most recent conversation I had with Felix.

Actually, this is the first time Felix visited the Ambers’ mansion.

‘Maybe he found out my address from Claudia.’

Because there was no way that Felix came all the way here on his own accord.

Sigh… If it weren’t for Claudia, I would’ve been killed by poison.

I stood in front of Felix, just like he asked. No matter how awkward I felt or how much I wanted to flee, my life was on his hands now.

Then he slowly stretched out his fingers and the fair back of his hand, as if showing off that his hand would be beautiful against the piano keys if it played the piano.

His eyes softened, as if reassuring a terrified wild animal, ‘I won’t do you any harm’.

I straightened my body gracefully. Felix shoved his hand forward as if it required more force. This poison must be more potent than I thought.

At this point, he didn’t need to be this careful.

Did he realize that I kept my distance because I was embarrassed?

When I looked away at the blue sky, he gently flicked his finger on my forehead, then his soft voice blended with the wind.

“Please understand.”

“Um?”

“Chloe also did what you did just now.”

Chloe is Claudia’s nickname. Is it really necessary for siblings to call each other with nicknames? Well, because this place is a fantasy novel.

When Felix’s finger touched my forehead, warmth gradually began to bloom and flow down through my whole body.

“She told me that she looked down and up because what was in front of her was too big or too disgusting.”

Wait, Claudia. When did you make such a realistic statement to your brother?

I was dumbstruck and my eyes were wide open in amazement. They’re only fantasy siblings in a fantasy world. However, Felix didn’t seem to be hurt from his sister’s words.

Rather, he looked relieved.

“Because Claudia is as adorable as an angel, she has been kidnapped numerous times since she was a baby.”

How unfortunate.

“Ever since I was young, everyone fell for me at a glance and tried to seduce me. If it didn’t work, they would use their strength and authority. Of course, I could handle it by myself.”

I already knew that. That had been why the heroes considered Felix to be the greatest threat among the people around Claudia.

As soon as the opportunity arose, they targeted him.

If you took a step closer to Claudia, Felix–who loves his sister very much–would appear like a ghost and aim his sword at you.

“After going through it for a long time, it seemed like I got used to it.”

He said it as if he’s really sad about what his sister had been going through all this time.

“I told Chloe that I would take care of everything. I told her that she didn’t have to worry about anything. I shouldn’t have said that to her.”

Somehow, it seemed like he blamed himself for what had happened. But, it wasn’t his fault at all.

The men pursuing Claudia weren’t just ordinary men. All of them held prominent positions in the Empire.

No matter how much Claudia hated the heroes, there was no way she could say ‘Don’t mess around, get lost!’ to them.

And no matter how respected Claudia was by the aristocratic society, it was not a safe and easy place to do such a thing.

Most importantly, there was a strange rumor about Claudia that could make people lose their respect for her.

Also, the three heroes who held grudges would try to execute their twisted plots. This is the perfect moment for Felix to appear.

I could feel how much Felix treasured Claudia.

“Speaking of which……. I ruined everything, didn’t I? Felix’s hard work had been turned to dust…..”

Claudia could be suffering because of the rumor in society.

The noblemen would berate her for declaring to spend her life with a woman and dumping the Crown Prince, Duke, and the Knight who held high-class statuses.

Looking at my sad expression thinking that everything had turned to dust, Felix firmly said,

“No. I should’ve told Claudia not to hold back her feelings.”

Because he was always smiling, I was startled seeing this other side of him.

I thought he was a gentle person, but his gaze was so sharp after he hardened his expression. His eyes looked so different from Claudia’s.

“Never have I imagined her self-esteem would be so low as when she locked herself in the greenhouse. It wasn’t your fault, you were the first person to comfort her and tell her everything would be okay. I should’ve comforted her too…”

He muttered with melancholic eyes.

Was it just me or did he appear very fragile right now? Was it because he looked so much like Claudia?

I know he’s a grown-up man who is much older than me, but I had the urge to hug him tightly.

“But Chloe has changed a lot now. It’s all thanks to Irene. I’m so grateful.”

“Even if it means you’ll be ostracized by society and won’t be able to get married?”

“If that be so, that’s alright. I don’t want anything else besides her happiness. Chloe looks so much happier now. This is the first time I see her bright side since we were children.”

“……….”

“I sincerely want to thank you.”

If Claudia loves it then that’s enough, Felix said. He took his hand off my forehead and naturally patted my head gently.

“Okay, it’s all done.”

It happened so naturally that I didn’t have time to escape.

“It doesn’t hurt at all, does it?”

He smiled when he saw me stiffen.

“….You’re not making fun of me, are you?”

“I’m not.”

Weird. It felt like he was making fun of me.

As I looked up at Felix with narrowed eyes, he also stared at me. Then he said as if he was really worried,

“I’m worried about Irene too, who has no defense for something like this.”

I’m sorry for being defenseless. I mean, I was not even from nobility. How could I know the day would come where I had to prepare for assassination and poisoning?

“I think I understand now, why Claudia wants to take you to our house.”

“Why?”

Because I’m defenseless? I asked as I scratched the back of my head. Felix mused,

“Because you’re cute?”

“What?”

I was wondering where this nonsense is coming from, but then I realized it was coming from Felix.

He is a person who would never speak nonsense even just for small talk.

In this case, Felix had something in common with Claudia, which is that he only said something only if he really thought so.

‘Did you really love your sister so much that you started to follow her habits?’

Just like Claudia’s habit of saying ‘Irene is cute’. She said my cheeks were soft and chewy as a sticky rice, or my eyes were so big and round with golden color.

However, if I were to stand beside this pair of siblings, I would’ve been invisible and not belong there. Really, there was nothing special about me.

‘This compliment is a gift for the supporting character who’s going to die soon.’

I had nothing to say about what he said about me being cute.

He must’ve been brainwashed by Claudia.

Caught unawares, my cheeks almost blushed. Luckily, I was able to maintain my composure and keep a cool head.

Because I knew his statement didn’t mean anything special. He only saw me as the friend of his lovely sister.

“Would you allow me to kidnap you as I wait for you to talk?”

What kind of kidnapper asked for permission beforehand?

His words were polite, but his eyes were very cold.

So, you wanted to take me to Claudia because this place was no longer safe?

Felix was perfect in many aspects, but sometimes his words were ambiguous.

*****

“Irene!”

Claudia rushed out as soon as she heard I arrived.

She held my cheeks firmly and looked back and forth to see if there were any injuries.

Her expression seemed to show restrained anger, meanwhile, I just blinked with my lips sticking out like a fish.

“I heard the news! I can’t believe those most ridiculous men in the world could do it this soon!”

I couldn’t say anything as I saw this superfluous energy from her for the first time.

“I can’t believe they targeted my Irene! I will go get them and twist their bones one by one in the opposite direction!”

….Lady heroine, when did you learn to speak such a harsh language?