“So…”
As he organized his cluttered thoughts, everything quickly became clear.
‘So, why was it that in the original plot, despite being the only son of the First Duke’s family, my father and mother stood by and watched as a yandere girl captured me?’
Lin Nuo used to think that perhaps the version of himself in the original plot was simply too much of a waste, making him insignificant in his parents’ eyes.
But the reality was that Lin Nuo’s “uselessness” in the original plot was likely something Duke Kuxiu had intentionally cultivated for the purpose of “protection.”
Neither Kuxiu nor Puli would have looked down on their son in the original plot because of that.
‘And another thing…’
Lin Nuo’s train of thought shifted, ‘Why did the girl who kidnapped me in the original plot never even show her face? It seemed as if she never even spoke a single word… Yet everyone knew that this mysterious girl was a paranoid yandere who only had eyes for the Noble Young Master of the Clemence family?’
‘This familiar feeling of something being fabricated out of nothing…’
‘It’s just like when my father had the bards spread those false rumors about me, saying I would “lock any maid who annoyed me in a dark room” and other fake dirt…’
Lin Nuo’s eyes filled with sudden realization.
‘Furthermore, the news of “me” being kidnapped by a yandere in the original plot seems to have been leaked by the Clemence family itself!’
–Snap
Lin Nuo, who had just stepped out of the wing building, stopped in his tracks.
He snapped a branch and began drawing lines on the secluded ground, sketching out his organized thoughts.
So, this is what happened in the original plot: Dax led 900 guards and tried to force a landing at Shilang Bay.
However, because Xi did not allow it, they intended to use magic ballistas and large-scale Magic Techniques against the island…
But even if they had landed at Shilang Bay, those 900 knights—who had already lost their fighting spirit and mostly chose to flee—would not have escaped the fate of being swiftly slaughtered by the 50,000 cultists.
Eight years later, when the Granny Whale died, those who survived that battle and still harbored a grudge would have blamed his father for all the losses at Shilang Bay…
Then he thought about “his” ending in the original plot…
Although he ended up wandering the streets and nearly resorted to selling his body to survive… that “Lin Nuo” never once reached out to the Clemence family for help.
Did that mean he wasn’t captured by someone from Shilang Bay who harbored hatred toward the Clemence family… but rather, he had voluntarily taken the punishment for his father?
‘Even though the original version of me supposedly mocked the Feng Aotian woman to her face and gave the Princess a hard time… making me sound like a total waste.’
‘But having been born into the Clemence family and receiving eighteen years of meticulous protection from my father and mother, I can’t say for certain that volunteering to be punished in my father’s place wouldn’t happen to a person like that…’
If “Lin Nuo” took the burden for his father, Kuxiu, the Clemence family would have to provide a suitable reason for his disappearance.
What if… they told everyone that because of the Clemence family’s decision eight years ago, Shilang Bay’s “hatred” led them to imprison the only son of the family, demanding he pay the price on behalf of the house?
As Dax had said, Shilang Bay would then be liquidated by the Clemence family’s magic guards.
Therefore…
In the original plot, was it possible that after discussing it with his father, they chose to announce his disappearance under the guise of “love” instead of the actual “hatred”?
Lin Nuo used the branch to write the word “love” on the ground.
Thinking about it, if his father said that his son—whom everyone agreed was a waste—was so brilliant and dazzling that a nameless girl with a terrifying background insisted on having him and kidnapped him…
Even if the knights of the Clemence family heard it… much like if Dax heard such a thing, they would only treat it as a joke.
In fact, even if they saw him wandering the streets holding half a piece of moldy fried dough, they would assume it was a private family matter and report it to his father first, letting him make the decision…
So, in the original plot, there actually was no such thing as a “yandere.”
‘There was only the person who, out of hatred, captured Lin Nuo of the Clemence bloodline to make him atone for the innocent Ling Yao of Shilang Bay who were caught in the crossfire of the Holy Knights eight years ago. And that person was given the outer shell of a “paranoid girl”…’
‘Was it Xi?’
‘No, that wasn’t quite right.’
In his heart, Lin Nuo rejected part of that theory.
Xi had told him the truth.
If he hadn’t appeared eight years ago to pacify the restless 900 Holy Knights and asked them to give him some time to personally go to Shilang Bay, then Shilang Bay would have either been invaded and bombarded by the knights’ magic ballistas, or the flames of war between the cultists and the Sea Guard Knights would have immediately spread to Shilang Bay.
Knowing the power of those large-scale spells…
All the Ling Yao willing to follow Xi should have been annihilated within a single night.
Immediately following that, Granny Whale, the Granny Whale, would have awakened.
But this time, because his appearance as a “little blonde boy” delayed everything, everything was pushed back by one day, creating the coincidence that allowed Granny Whale to arrive in time to swallow those 50,000 cultists.
‘In other words, in the original plot, was there actually only one person who survived after Xi was annihilated in the magic crossfire? Someone who imprisoned “me”—who was taking the consequences for my father’s misjudgment—to seek revenge for Xi and the other Ling Yao?’
‘Who was the most likely person…?’
Someone with a bit of magical talent…
Someone who had a faint obsession with Xi back then, and because they were very cowardly at the time, was highly likely to have hidden and survived that magical battle…
‘Suo Liuxiang?’
‘I don’t know if my guess is accurate,’ Lin Nuo thought, setting the branch aside.
‘But Suo Liuxiang, who seems bold enough to worship the Evil God, would certainly be someone willing to seek revenge against the Clemence family for Xi’s sake.’
Truly…
An unexpected truth from the original plot.
Those events had already ended.
Searching for clues and making deductions now was only to seek peace of mind.
A new chapter had clearly been written from the moment he appeared…
What Lin Nuo cared about more was this: ‘Is it possible that in the original plot, a pure yet alluring beauty like Xi… Actually had a chance to survive?’
After a long silence, Lin Nuo didn’t calculate it based on probability this time, but simply shook his head.
‘Xi remembers everything from back then, and she told me…’
‘She said that if I hadn’t appeared that night, those 900 eager knights would have definitely attacked Shilang Bay, and she would have definitely gone to her death.’
‘Xi told me that because of me, she and everything she owned were luckily able to continue.’
‘She always teases me like that… I didn’t quite believe her at first.’
Lost in thought, his low murmurs took on a somewhat heavy tone.
However, in an instant, he thought of the cute priestess with the first-love face who had just been clinging to his arm, walking through the main building and looking at all the rooms cleaned to a shine.
Lin Nuo soon lost much of his regretful sentiment for a certain innocent and brilliant life.
‘Although I forgot what I did. At least the me from eight years ago didn’t let myself down, and neither did the current me. Everything is within the boundaries of my satisfaction.’
‘…I should probably tell Xi these feelings.’
As soon as he thought about how she had just pressed her knee against his thigh, looking like she wanted to ride over his head… Lin Nuo threw up his hands.
‘It’s not easy for a life to be preserved through such a coincidence. It’s fine to be a bit more tolerant of her. Her personality just seems to be like that—a bit wicked and hard to deal with—but I absolutely cannot let her get the upper hand… Yes! I should guide her onto the right path!’
‘Even if Mother gave her all of my allowance… she still can’t take liberties with the Young Master!’
‘But… If she insists on plundering me…’
Lin Nuo quickly lost his spirit.
‘Then there’s really nothing I can do!’
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