I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

I stopped the carriage near the entrance of the imperial palace and silently looked up at the night sky.

I aimlessly gazed at the stars that embroidered the black sky and fiddled with the red jewel in my hand.

“Sister!”

I turned my head in the direction of the sound and saw Liam wave his hand lightly. I spun around to face him, hiding the jewel I always kept with me.

Brown hair. Golden eyes.

Liam Amber resembled me enough that anyone could recognize that he was my younger brother.

His eyes were big, his cheeks were quite plump, and he was the complete opposite of tall… Wait a minute.

He was a distance away, but I hurriedly glanced up and down at him.

In the past, his eye level was slightly above mine, but it had risen in the past months.

“What happened to your height?”

“I told you last time. I grew taller.”

When I recently contacted him, he whined that his joints hurt because of growing pains, and he claimed it ‘wasn’t a lie’. I listened to it half-heartedly and brushed it off, but it was true?

‘You’ve grown so much.’

In the past, he looked so similar to me to the point that the line was thin, and I frequently heard that we seemed like twins, but now I doubt I’d hear that ever again.

We were still siblings by anyone’s standards.

Whenever he heard that he looked exactly like me, Liam would get sensitive, so he should be somewhat satisfied with his current appearance now.

All the good sets of genes went to you.

I carefully looked at Liam and asked, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“What about my eyes?”

“You’ve got dark circles.”

I replied as I approached him to stroke the dark rims of Liam’s eyes.

He instantly turned his head in annoyance and smoothly refused my touch.

This bad boy, in any case, when you’re far away, you’re affectionate, but when we meet, you turn rebellious.

“It’s because I stayed up all night yesterday.”

“Perhaps, I shouldn’t have called you?”

“I could have worked moderately, but I couldn’t because I was determined to do it properly. Anyway, why did you ask me to escort you? What about Lady Chamberlain?”

The two always hung out like a couple, so Liam couldn’t help but ask why.

It was because Chloe looked tired, so I planned to go by myself. But after meeting Liam in person, he also appeared very tired.

When I contacted him, he said he would come, so I thought he was fine.

“You seemed to be having a hard time these days so I called you out to get some fresh air. If people stay indoors all the time, they’ll go crazy.”

It was graduation season right now, so I had been hesitant to ask him since he looked so busy. However, when I asked him, Liam said he was willing to come.

Studying was good, but mental management was also crucial. The mind and body were connected, so if one side collapsed, the other side would collapse as well.

But even while suffering like this, you gladly accepted your sister’s request. You surprisingly love your sister very much.

As soon as my heart was warmed by the thought, Liam broke my ridiculous fantasy.

“Actually, I wanted to see the famous war hero in person. This is the first time he will appear in public. It’s only been a while since he started to make his name known, so it’s only natural.”

Liam appeared slightly excited.

‘Ah, you wanted to see the hero, so you’ve been frantically working during graduation season? Can’t you tell me that you did it for your sister even if it’s empty talk?’

I grumbled and entered the banquet hall under Liam’s coerced escort. Before long, several young ladies noticed me, drew closer, and pretended to know me.

“Oh my, Lady Amber!”

After Claudia signed a contract with Ilypia, the rumors and controversies surrounding the Chamberlains, which were filled with all kinds of malice, briefly settled.

At that time, I started my external activities with Claudia and immediately became acquainted with some young ladies.

It was because I had to break away from my ghostly presence and settle down to some extent in high society.

We mainly targeted people who had a fair amount of voice in the social circles, but in fact, Erica, who reigned as the socialite queen, was the greatest help.

Looking back, a lot of things happened to Erica. She proudly declared to her family that she would step down from the position of the crown prince’s fiancee.

Of course, I added a little of my help.

“I swear I will help you rise to a position that empowers your family and is incomparable to the position of empress.”

I asked the Duke of Depallacion to pass on this message as it was.

Erica, who had never disobeyed her family or father, seemed anxious, but she followed my instructions well.

Thanks to this, she could swiftly withdraw before the crown prince became the emperor and was forced to marry him. While momentarily immersed in my thoughts, the young ladies spoke to me again.

“What’s going on? It’s rare to see Lady Amber in a place like this.”

I couldn’t say that I came to seduce Walter, so I decided to sell my younger brother, who was conveniently right next to me.

“Liam said he was curious about the hero of the rumors and wanted to meet him in person.”

Consequently, I felt Liam’s gaze prickling the back of my head.

Well, I wasn’t really lying. I just recited what he said a moment ago.

At this rate, he was going to pierce a hole through my head.

Regardless of whether he glared at me or not, I responded with a fake smile, and the young ladies nodded their heads as if it was understandable and whispered in a sharply lowered voice.

“Actually, I wanted to see it with my own eyes, too. I heard he’s an exceedingly handsome man. His appearance isn’t a category of humankind. Rather, it’s a manifestation of God.”

I already read through the data, but I was not impressed. Ever since I’ve fallen into this novel, I have seen all types of handsome men.

‘And since it’s an impoverished novel, I’ve seen a lot of cases where appearance and personality are exactly inversely proportional…”

Besides, no matter how remarkably handsome he was, it wouldn’t mean anything if he was indeed such a terrifying person.

“If it wasn’t for that cold-blooded nature…”

No, wasn’t that the biggest problem?

I knew three humans who only had handsome faces and nothing else. However, merely being good-looking was utterly useless.

It appeared like I wasn’t the only one who thought so since the young ladies all agreed and said.

“A certain amount of heroism may be wondrous and admirable, but he seems to have gone too far. I’m a little scared.”

The young ladies chattered about the rumors circulating Walter. Anyway…

“It’s late.”

It seemed like almost everyone except the emperor had arrived, so why hadn’t he showed up yet? Since he’s the main character, was he going to appear last?

“Perhaps that person is in a private meeting preparing for the next war?”

The discussion between the young ladies, which started with curiosity over his appearance, was already nearing its peak.

“Honestly, would a killer be interested in parties? Most of all, because of his humble status, he might not know anything about it and might not dare to set foot in it.”

No matter how beautiful the hero was, he was a commoner orphan and former mercenary, so various reactions brimmed with slight displeasure at the fact that he was granted such an overqualified title.

The words weren’t noteworthy, so I let them go in one ear and out the other.

Just then, at the entrance of the banquet hall, the door attendant loudly announced the arrival of the hero.

At last.

I directed my gaze towards him. A man dressed in plain, black clothes entered the banquet hall.

He dressed as if he had just washed up and changed clothes after being splashed with blood from the battlefield.

It was shabby from head to toe. It was like he had never learned the basic etiquette for parties. Nevertheless, he still caught everyone’s attention.

Walter seemed to drag the darkness that resembled him from outside.

With every step he took, the distance narrowed, and my breath shortened. My feet were tied, I couldn’t even breathe, and a numb shudder ran over my entire body.

His facial features were distinct and beautiful. He was overflowing with valiance, and his appearance was overwhelming.

It was just like seeing another being that went beyond the one dimension of humankind. He seemed like a god who came down to earth to recreate Judgment Day for humans.

“Good heavens.”

The lady who was standing beside me murmured as she covered her mouth with her palm. And I understood why she reacted like that.

I couldn’t describe him as simply handsome. Although his appearance was spectacular, his whole body was literally radiating with an atmosphere of a war god.

‘What if there’s someone more handsome than the three male protagonists?’

Did part two of the novel commence without me knowing? The three useless brothers, who failed to trick Claudia, were actually pushed aside, and that person was the true hero in part two?

‘Writer, if you’re watching over me, please give me an answer.’

It was utterly incomprehensible in my head, so I had no choice but to put about a hundred question marks above my head.

But at that exact moment, my eyes met Walter. I just happened to look in that direction. However, the moment our gaze coincidentally interlocked with each other, my eyes automatically widened, and my mouth dropped open.

There was a saying that the eyes were windows to the soul. I didn’t know if this was where it originated from, but it was a proverb of this world.

Whether you used potions or magic, there was one thing that could never change, and that was your eyes.

I stared blankly at the man passing by me and muttered in a voice that no one could hear.

“…Felix?”

There was no way I could forget those eyes.

I wondered if he heard me. He stopped in front of me for a moment and his line of sight entangled with mine. And it met.

He then turned his eyes away from me and passed by just like that.

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