I Quit Being The Male Lead’s Rival

Chapter 16

Strange things I’ve believed in (4)

‘Already?’

I was startled to see blood flowing from Ian’s nose.

It was the first time I’d seen his blood, even though I’d swung a sword around him very hard every time I saw him.

I could only relax after checking that the book in his hand was intact.

Besides, it wasn’t nosebleed magic.

It was a relief that I forgot to knock because I was rushing over.

‘Not yet.’

To be exact, the bookmark that was stuck in that book was the problem.

‘If I had felt strange, I would’ve covered it up right away.’

That bookmark was a magic item that Reid had illegally managed to get.

After carefully examining the books that Ian pre-ordered at the bookstore, Reid secretly inserted the bookmark inside.

From favorite bars to book reservations…

It seemed that Reid’s talent, which he had yet to find other than spending money, was in stalking.

Naturally, Ian thought it was just part of a service, so he roughly put it in any page.

‘That should’ve never happened.’

That was the perfect proof that Annabelle Nadit was trying to hurt Ian.

The flower-shaped bookmark had black magic that reduced vision.

The first symptom was that when the smoke from the small explosion was visible, the vision would become red and blurred.

The sight would then gradually diminish, which could then lead to blindness.

Black magic required ‘blood drawn directly by a person who hates their opponent’.

Even if I looked here and there and looked out into space, it had to be my blood.

Actually, I was excited to draw my blood and deliver it to Reid.

“Here’s my blood! I can really beat Ian with this, right?”

“Of course, if he loses his sight, how can he swing a sword at his opponent?”

“Well… there are many people who are good at swordsmanship even if they can’t see.”

“Really? But isn’t it better to be invisible than to be seen?”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Why did I draw my blood because I liked it (t/n: the plan)…

No matter how much I blame the past, it was useless.

Even if I rolled back and forth, I was really an irresistible villain.

No matter how hard I tried to say ‘it wasn’t me’ in this situation, it was obvious that no one would believe me.

It was actually something I had done in the past.

In the original story, while Ian was reading a book, that bookmark exploded, but Ian threw the book away with a tremendous reflex.

Even as the main character, he retrieved the bookmark without taking any damage and immediately commissioned it to the Wizards’ Guild.

The result came right after the swordsmanship contest…

My life then came to an end when all the things that have tried to harm him were revealed.

In the end, I couldn’t even win and ended up in prison.

Reid and I, who were also charged with assassination of Prince Robert, were given heavy sentences.

To be honest, there was no way Reid would have done everything perfectly without leaving any evidence.

As I recalled my sad ending and the happy ending of the main character once again, I immediately thought that I had to get rid of that bookmark.

“Hey, are you okay?”

With his monstrous resilience, Ian’s nosebleeds stopped quickly anyway.

“What’s up with that nosebleed?”

I looked at the bloodstains still on his hand and asked clumsily.

A very natural way to take advantage of this situation came to mind.

“Isn’t it better for you to wash up quickly?”

The plan was while Ian went to the bathroom, I could then quickly retrieve the bookmark and destroy it.

I thought that if I did well, I wouldn’t have to force myself to create another situation to distract him.

Ian looked at me for a while with a frown, then said slowly.

“Anabelle Nadit.”

“Yes, what?”

“Did you use some strange magic on me?”

Ugh. Did I get caught already?

Even if I didn’t use magic myself, I guess I was trying to use a strange magic item.

“Hey, don’t say anything strange and just wipe that blood off! You’ve got a lot on your hands!”

I screamed out loud.

“And you may have another nosebleed, so go to the bathroom and take a look inside your nose!”

“…It’s more suspicious.”

Ian closed the book and put it on the table.

Then, he slowly got up and folded his arms.

His shadow completely fell over me.

“You can’t be worried about me. What the hell are you here for?”

After all, even if I said I was worried a little bit for him, Ian would still look at me suspiciously like a ghost. So, I couldn’t change my attitude, saying that I had reformed.

Ian then added suspiciously.

“Is this a high-level mental seduction or…”

“If I knew how to do that, would I be doing this right now? I would have been the Empress!”

He narrowed his eyes when I shouted out loudly at the highest position a woman could be here.

“Then why the hell are you in my room?”

“Why do you think so?”

I gave up collecting the bookmark naturally.

Ian, who was already suspicious of me, seemed to never leave me alone in the room.

Even if I lie half-heartedly, it would only raise doubts for that terrible human being.

“Do you think I’m here to get along with you?”

The original plan was to just punch him and then suddenly take the book and run away.

Anyways, Annabelle was a character who acted in front of Ian unannounced.

Therefore, the revision plan, which was to naturally steal the bookmark away, was immediately discarded and I decided to go back to the original plan.

I couldn’t think of any more excuses and shouted out loud.

“I’m here to pick on you. The only enemy of my life!”

“What, what?”

“Do I mean anything else to you?”

Then, nosebleed or not, I jumped at him and gave him a kick.

Now, I had no weapons because I left my training suit and sword in another room.

Of course he would avoid it… Huh?

“Hey! Why are you spreading your legs in your skirt!”

Ian shouted out in a hurry and got hit by my kick with his eyes closed.

Of course, he didn’t fall down, he just stepped back for a while.

I couldn’t believe it. Ian didn’t avoid that?

Of course, I thought he would dodge it lightly, but that hit…

I looked up at his face, startled.

This was not a normal situation.

“Hey, hey! Are you really sick?”

He had a nosebleed earlier, and seeing that he couldn’t avoid kicks like this…

I was nervous and my head felt like it was beginning to spin. If it didn’t go well this time, I would really go to jail.

Could it be that the magic item had already begun to work?

If it had already worked, I was really doomed!

Ian, who felt something strange in his body, couldn’t stay still.

If I retrieved the bookmark from here and threw it away, it would be obvious that I would be the first suspect.

So, first of all, it was a priority to check Ian’s condition.

I prayed earnestly in my heart.

‘Please, please let it not be because of black magic. Let it be from a strange physical condition.’

I rushed to his face and rolled my eyes.

“Are your eyes good? Are you sane?”

“Annabelle Nadit!”

He staggered backwards and shouted in embarrassment.

“Get away! What are you doing?”

“No, your eyes are shut.”

Ian kept avoiding me, and I clung to him to check his eyes.

‘Damn it. I don’t know if his eyes are bloodshot or not. Why is he so tall?’

If he had already fallen into black magic, I was going to quit and run away immediately to a foreign country and hide for the rest of my life.

“Don’t get sick! Don’t let your body get any more weird!”

That was better than jail time!

So, it was a very important time of my life.

Standing at the crossroads of whether or not to stand out right now, I grabbed Ian’s cheeks to fix his face.

“Oh, come on! You’re too close!”

He screamed, frightened.

No, you didn’t want me to be so close. I wasn’t a bug.

So I snapped back.

“Why are you making a fuss all of a sudden? It’s not like we’ve been like this on the street once or twice!”

There was a time when our swords faced each other in a small distance.

In particular, Annabelle of the past often rushed from behind and attacked recklessly.

So I thought this distance was nothing to us.

“You, really!”

Then Ian tripped and fell backwards, and I fell on his body too.

‘Oh, my God. I’m in trouble.’

It was impossible for Ian to trip his foot.

‘Is this really a problem?’

But the bigger problem was that behind him was the bed.

Suddenly, I fell on his body as if I were attacking him.

“Ian… you…”

Then, when I looked into his eyes, the focus was intact and there was no bloodshot redness anywhere.

His eyes were originally red, so it was difficult to notice unless it was looked at properly.

‘What? He’s fine!’

When Reid first got the item, he explained that if it came into contact with the eyes, it would turn bloodshot red.

Still, while I was looking into his eyes carefully, I held his wrists down to prevent him from rebelling.

“Why…”

Ian stuttered and breathed heavily.

It wouldn’t have been too difficult for him to resist me, but his wrists were held still.

“Why-why are you doing this…”

His expression was so distorted that it looked like he was about to cry.

I never dreamed that Ian, who was always blunt, would make a face like this.

Anyone who saw would think I was doing something horribly wrong!

His legs, hanging between my knees, were very tense.

His disheveled hair, relentless red eyes, harsh breathing, and his collapsed, stiff body…

It was then that I realized that I was in a very bad pose.