This Novel is not my Novel

There was no point in snapping that I had no reason to be embarrassed over wearing a single shirt. He obviously would not believe me.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little embarrassed.

As far as I could tell, there was hardly any difference between the design of a nightshirt and that of a long shirtdress.

Still... it’s incredibly comfortable. Nothing constricts my body.

That was also why the pajamas had sat untouched for so long even though I had bought them ages ago. I could never quite bring myself to wear them.

They were certainly comfortable compared to outdoor clothes, but perhaps because I had grown accustomed to even more comfortable nightwear, they felt oddly restrictive.

I should consider changing once the protagonist of someone else’s novel left.

"I think a nightshirt suits you better than pajamas. Maybe it’s because it has a classical look, but it makes you seem more dignified."

"Stop spouting nonsense with such a serious expression and explain that skill called 【Truth-Reading Eye】 already."

We could not keep talking about nightwear forever.

I dismissed the protagonist of someone else’s novel’s remark and brought up the reason I had let him into my room.

Unfortunately, he did not oblige me.

"Before we discuss that, there’s something we need to address."

"I’ll warn you in advance, just in case. If you intend to babble about whatever comes to mind merely to stall because you think I’ll throw you out once I hear about the skill, stop now."

"That’s absolutely not it. Since you might try to throw me out midway through our conversation, I’ll tell you in advance too: there are a great many things I want to discuss with you tonight. That’s why I suggested we wash up first and meet somewhere comfortable."

"What do you mean, it is not?! How is what you just said any different from saying you want to stay up all night chatting and having fun with me?"

"I think there’s a world of difference between babbling about whatever comes to mind and discussing things I’ve thought about beforehand."

I had suspected this for some time, but the protagonist of someone else’s novel seemed to possess a gift for sophistry.

What he said was clearly absurd, yet he had a habit of stringing together statements that were strangely difficult to call wrong.

I silently folded my arms and stared at him, prompting him to add,

"They’re all important matters, and what I’m about to say is particularly important even among them."

There was not a trace of playfulness in his expression. He looked so solemn—grave, even.

I could sense the presence befitting the original protagonist in Reisir’s demeanor.

It suddenly occurred to me that he had not once burst into loud laughter since knocking on my door.

"Wait here for a moment."

If this important discussion was going to last a while, it would be best to prepare drinks in case we grew thirsty.

And for the sake of completeness, there ought to be some cookies to accompany them.

For those reasons, I set out a tray with five-flavor berry tea and miniature honey cookies, then took a seat across from Reisir.

For the record, Reisir had sat down while I was in the bathroom.

When I emerged in my pajamas, he was already seated.

He had even removed his blindfold and placed it on the table.

"Wow, another drink I’ve never seen before. These cookies are new too! Did you and Yor make these as well?"

"I brought them out because you said you had something important to discuss. Do not try to slip into casual chatter. Get to the point."

"All right. Let me wet my throat first."

It was far too soon for him to be thirsty, so he was probably just curious about the unfamiliar drink.

Still, taking a single sip would not take long, so I let him be.

Apparently pleased by the sweet-and-sour drink’s bitter undertone and faint pungency, Reisir gave a brief exclamation of "Oh...!" before setting down his cup.

Judging by his expression, he wanted to tell me what he thought of the drink he had just tasted.

But he soon grew serious again, so repeatedly warning him against idle chatter appeared to have worked.

"Last Thursday, you warned Helly that Dremby might suddenly charge at her with a knife and told her to be careful, didn’t you?"

That happened in Chapter 270, and I could already tell what Reisir wanted to say from that opening alone.

I also understood why he looked so grave.

"When you forced that man to apologize under the pretext of humiliating him, I could let it pass by assuming that you wanted Helly to receive an apology from him but were too embarrassed to admit it, so you made up an excuse."

Did he not realize that mentioning it now meant he had not actually let it pass?

A wave of embarrassment swept over me, and I dearly wanted to argue.

But after forbidding him from digressing, I could hardly make a remark that would derail the subject myself, so I decided to endure it.

That was the reason. It was certainly not because I lacked the grounds to refute him and had no choice but to remain silent.

"But insulting the family of someone you considered dangerous by calling them ‘vulgar upstarts,’ then interrogating and cornering him over something that had not even happened yet—that wasn’t like you."

"...So? Are you going to tell me that you’re disappointed after realizing I’m the sort of person who would do such things without hesitation?"

"No. If I asked you outright, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) ‘You knew Helly would be in danger, so you deliberately provoked that man into attacking you instead, didn’t you?’ you would obviously deny it and feign ignorance. I was merely presenting the evidence first."

"......"

Even I thought that was exactly what I would have done, so I could not bring myself to deny it.

"You’re cautious by nature, and the attempted poisoning has made you especially vigilant about your own safety.... I won’t bother asking why you did it. The answer is already obvious."

It was clear what “answer” Reisir had reached.

Helga was weaker than I was. Moreover, an attack on me, the son of a duke, would be treated far more seriously than an attack on her, the daughter of a baron.

He believed I had volunteered to sacrifice myself.

And by saying he would not even ask why, he was making it clear that denying it and offering some other excuse would be useless.

There was only one thing I could say now.

"I determined that I would not be placed in danger. And in fact, I wasn’t."

"What do you mean? You weren’t in danger? Dremby threw acid at you!"

"I had prepared for it in advance, and I blocked it, did I not?"

"If your timing had been even slightly off, you wouldn’t have blocked it."

"You know I possess a skill capable of accelerating my thought processes."

"I know that very well. I also know that activating it requires certain conditions and that one wrong move could have prevented you from using it in time."

When Baltraus had scolded me in Chapter 319 for needlessly inviting trouble, I had resented him and wondered who he thought he was to interfere.

Yet I felt no such resentment now.

His gaze and voice overflowed with genuine concern, making me feel guilty instead.

But all I had done was try to prevent this novel’s genre from turning into a misery drama.

"Do you think I was wrong? If I had not done it, your childhood friend would have been gravely injured."

A sudden surge of hurt at the original protagonist’s attitude made me blurt that out without thinking.

It was practically an admission that I had redirected the danger aimed at Helga toward myself.

I realized that too late and inwardly flinched, but....

Perhaps he wanted to preserve the serious atmosphere.

Fortunately, rather than pointing out my admission and teasing me, Reisir shook his head without a trace of laughter.

"You stepped in to save someone else—Helly, who is practically family to me. How could I fault you for that? I’m grateful. I truly am, but...... I was simply worried about you. You’re just as precious to me."

"......"

It was hardly an exceptionally eloquent statement.

Yet those perfectly ordinary words swept away all the hurt that had filled me moments ago, like the tide receding all at once.

The hollow space left behind tingled strangely.

Was it because his words conveyed that he both acknowledged and cared for me?

He had not blindly praised me merely because I had saved someone close to him while ignoring the fact that I could have been in danger.

Nor had he belittled what I had done by claiming I should not have done it simply because he was worried about me.

"What I’m saying is that if you ever intend to put yourself in danger like you did today, at least warn me beforehand. We were fortunate that what Dremby prepared was something an Ether barrier could stop, but what would we have done if it had been a bomb? Or if he had possessed some hidden trump card and shattered the Ether barrier before throwing the acid?"

"In that case... you would have handled it somehow, would you not?"

"That’s why, from now on, you need to let me protect—... Hm?"

Reisir had been on the verge of launching into a lecture when he abruptly stopped, looking puzzled.

Just as I began wondering what had gotten into him, his eyes widened and his face filled with emotion.

"You trusted me to protect you no matter what happened because I was beside you. Is that why you felt safe provoking that bastard Dremby?!"

"What?! No, that... that was...!"

"It wasn’t?"

"......"

"It truly wasn’t?"

Quite apart from the fact that it was already too late to deny it outright, leaving him with the impression that I was overconfident in my own abilities might only make him worry more. I would have felt guilty about that.

Besides, it was true that I had intended to rely on the original protagonist’s survival abilities and use him as a shield, and I intended to continue doing so in the future—

"It’s... not that it wasn’t......"

—so I had no choice but to admit it reluctantly.

A satisfied smile immediately spread across the face of the protagonist of someone else’s novel.

"Hahaha! Really? You trusted me?! I’m so incredibly happy!"

"......"

"Ah! Come to think of it, you trusted me to pull through somehow when we fought the Boss Monster today too, didn’t you? Judging by that, you must rely on me quite a lot."

"S-Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and tell me about the skill you acquired then!"

"You still haven’t promised to tell me beforehand whenever you plan to risk your safety. You can’t subtly change the subject."

Moments ago, he had merely asked me to give him some warning.

Now he was holding out his little finger and urging me to hurry up and promise.

Had he not grown far too conceited in the span of only a few minutes?

Dumbfounded, I stared at his outstretched hand.

The protagonist of someone else’s novel wiggled his raised little finger as though asking what I was waiting for and demanding that I extend mine already.

It was no more than the movement of a single finger, yet it was so infuriating that my hand shot out on instinct and smacked it aside.

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