024. Distortion (5)
‘It’s unbelievable.’
Bella couldn’t believe what was happening at the moment.
But she had no choice.
Things that shouldn’t have happened were happening.
‘Why is Owen so close to Lucia?’
Lucia was the villainess, and Owen was the male lead.
Two people in such a relationship, being so close.
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As Bella, she simply couldn’t understand it.
Beyond Owen’s dislike for Lucia, it was abnormal for him to fear her to such an extreme.
In the original work, the two were in such a relationship.
Lucia chased Owen to the point of nausea, and Owen found Lucia, who persistently pursued him, annoying and frightening.
Yes, that’s how it was.
“Why on earth…?”
Those who shouldn’t get along well seemed close.
It was even before the original story had begun.
It was as if the original story had already been twisted.
After Bella’s appearance, he, the male lead who should have fallen for her, was getting closer to the antagonist, Lucia.
“…Is it because of my actions?”
Bella, deeply lost in thought over the unbelievable reality, soon gripped her own clothes tightly.
“Because I didn’t follow the original story…”
In the original, Bella awakened in the territory of Viscount Taylor, defeated monsters after getting lost in the forest located in their territory.
And she had to stand out in the eyes of Viscount Taylor’s people.
Then she had to be adopted by them, debut in society, and later be recognized as a saint.
“But those humans only used Bella.”
Based on the original setting, they thoroughly used Bella.
So she couldn’t bring herself to just obediently hand over her body as the original story demanded.
Chased by stupid debt collectors and wandering in Viscount Taylor’s forest.
Furthermore, being left at the mercy of deceitful humans was something she couldn’t stand.
Even if I wanted to become Bella, the situation was unbearable.
“This… Is it one of those developments where punishment follows if you don’t follow the famous original story?”
But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no special reason for the original story to change other than that.
With narrowed eyes, Bella thought, If you’ve already possessed me, let me do as I please.
The story was flowing completely out of control like this.
It was truly unbelievable that even the future couldn’t be altered.
In isekai novels, the protagonists always act as they please.
And readers see the female lead and beg them not to mention the original story.
Reality and novels were indeed different.
“I wish I had met Owen sooner.”
Having organized her thoughts and reached a conclusion, Bella let out a deep sigh.
The reason she had wanted to enter “The Flower of the Empire” was none other than Owen.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand Bella.
To be torn between Owen and Kyle like that.
While Lucia, who had her eye on Owen, was patiently waiting next to her, how could she be so relaxed and foolish?
She should have chosen Owen without hesitation.
If she hesitated and procrastinated, Lucia would take advantage of the opportunity to commit misdeeds.
It seemed obvious to everyone that there was a chance.
She seemed uncertain, so it must have been irrelevant.
In that sense, she could understand Lucia more.
Owen was a person who exuded charisma to anyone who saw him.
He was a flawless individual.
Tall stature, excellent proportions, beautiful appearance, deep and straight black eyes.
Not only in appearance but in other aspects as well.
Being the sole heir to the Duke of the Empire, possessing remarkable skills as a swordsman.
He was a perfect person in every way that suited her taste.
“I was lucky.”
Before being isekai’d as Bella, she was an enthusiastic reader who actively participated in fan cafes and SNS.
She was Owen’s top fan, posting fan art and fan fiction on the fan cafe every day.
She always put in effort to connect Bella and Owen.
“The Flower of the Empire” was a famous web novel that even had a webtoon adaptation, and as she was a dedicated fan, she was quite well-known due to her active participation.
If you were a fan of “The Flower of the Empire,” you would know her name.
Whenever she posted on the fan cafe or updated on SNS, there would be explosive reactions from everyone.
Except for a few of Lucia’s fans.
Even they didn’t show any signs of not liking her outwardly.
How important it is to be recognized in the fandom world.
The problem was, there was one fervent fan in Lucia’s shallow fan base.
[Fan art drawn on the theme of ‘What if Owen and Lucia were together?’]
How incredulous it was to see that title.
Clicking on the post with a bitter laugh, an illustration of Lucia and Owen as a couple popped up.
“Thinking about it now still makes me mad.”
Even while reading ＜Empire’s Flower＞, how much her heart wavered over ‘Bella’ unable to make a decision and going back and forth.
If ‘Bella’ had been a little late, if she had given a little more space.
I felt so sure that things would have turned out that way, so my mood soured as soon as I saw the illustration.
Not only was the illustration itself unsettling, but it was drawn so well that it made me feel even worse.
After seeing that fan art, she worked even harder to create fan art and goods related to Bella and Owen as a couple.
However, no matter how much fan art and goods she created, it didn’t change the fact that the original character of Bella remained the same.
Bella being fragile, unable to make decisions easily, unable to firmly hold onto Owen and assert herself as an individual, remained unchanged.
I thought I would rather be her.
So that I could firmly hold onto Owen.
“…I didn’t actually think it would happen.”
Bella felt a strange sensation as she held out her hand and looked at it.
Seeing the beautiful white hand that had entered her eyes, the fact that I had become Bella once again hit me.
In the first few days, I didn’t even properly recognize reality, and after that, I just went through it excitedly.
And then I made plans to change the original.
A way to meet Owen directly without being introduced as a viscountess.
She thought the best way was to come to the hunting ground where the hunting competition was being held.
Owen came to the ‘Forest of Eyes’ every year for hunting, and each time he ventured into the depths of the forest.
And, as expected.
She encountered him in the depths.
It was very unexpected that he was with Kyle, but thinking deeply, Owen’s presence was too imposing.
I rotated the cover illustration several times, captured him dozens of times from the webtoon, and drew fan art dozens of times based on the illustration and captures.
But the reality was completely different from the illustration.
No, let me correct that.
His reality was not something that could be simply depicted in a drawing.
The illustration and webtoon were enough to see his beauty, but the reality added to it.
His nobility, elegance, and unique aura.
Illustrations and webtoons were far from enough to capture those detailed aspects.
Bella, who recalled the moment she first met him in the forest, lowered her head.
“…I don’t know why he got closer to Lucia. The situation should be corrected.”
The more she thought deeply, the more troublesome it became.
After all, the beginning of ＜Empire’s Flower＞ was when Bella appeared.
So no matter what happened before that, whatever events occurred.
It didn’t hold any particular meaning.
Because the world gained vitality with Bella’s appearance.
Other events or the relationships of other characters were not important.
The protagonist is Bella.
After all, the world itself was created for her.
It was a matter of setting things right around her.
***
As Owen joined the ranks, the situation quickly began to calm down.
The monsters that rushed viciously enough to devour the knights easily fell under his sword.
Louise, once again admiring Owen’s figure, gripped her sword again.
She couldn’t afford to lose focus in this urgent situation.
While in the midst of a fierce battle with the monsters.
Keres Hujak and Kyle, who had been inside the forest, returned.
They immediately joined the ranks and continued the battle against the monsters.
“Owen.”
In the midst of all this, Kyle approached Owen and spoke.
When Owen turned his head to Kyle, he spoke.
“It seems like this phenomenon won’t calm down unless we address the cause.”
“Cause?”
“Yeah. I roughly dealt with it inside, but when I read the flow of magic the demons possessed, it was all directed towards one side. In the direction where the person claiming to have awakened was.”
In other words, unless Bella controls her power, the demons will keep flocking to one side.
Upon this, Owen slowly exhaled.
“The author either needs to figure out how to control the power themselves, or call for a priest.”
“Right. Otherwise, the demons will keep popping out this way. Until all the forest demons are dead.”
Listening to Kyle’s explanation, Owen furrowed his brow.
It was a dilemma.
There were limits to the knights’ stamina to confront all the demons.
So realistically, it was an impossible task.
The only option left was for Bella to control her power herself or call for a priest.
“In the original work, it seems like Bella realized how to control her power while facing the demons.”
Clearly in ＜Empire’s Flower＞, Bella discovers the method on her own.
On the day she awakened.
But for some reason, the original work had already begun to deteriorate, and today was not the day scheduled for awakening.
Regardless of the reason for awakening, there was no guarantee that she would discover the control method today.
“How long would it take for a priest to arrive if we request one from the nearest temple?”
“Well… at least a day?”
“…Seems so.”
At Kyle’s answer indicating it would take a full day, Owen spoke slowly.
This meant Bella would have to wait imprudently to find a solution.
It was not a realistically good solution.
It meant enduring that day of waiting all day long.
“Well, there is one other way.”
While Owen was racking his brain to come up with a solution, Kyle, using magic, waved his hand and spoke.
Owen’s gaze turned back to Kyle.
“You could just swallow the entire forest with that tremendous ability of yours. All of it.”