3 - How to Escape the Reverse Harem Cliché
Chapter 3
Eventually, guided by the Count, I headed to the drawing-room, and everyone except for the minimum necessary personnel was sent out.
After changing into lighter clothes inside and coming out, I sat down on a long, horizontal chair without a backrest. Following suit, the Countess slightly lifted my clothes with her hand, showing the burn scar on my back to Orion.
“Will it be possible, Young Master Restro?”
“I will try.”
Orion answered the Count’s question in a stiff voice, perhaps due to nervousness.
“I will touch it briefly for treatment. Please tell me if it’s uncomfortable, Young Lady. I will remove my hand immediately.”
“It’s fine.”
Orion seemed slightly flustered by my indifferent reply. Regardless, I just wanted this time to pass quickly.
After all, this scar cannot be healed. In the original work, Orion couldn't heal Aiden's burn scar either.
Orion’s Recovery ability would only reach its peak much later. While the current Orion was an outstanding Esper, he was merely a child compared to the future Orion. His rank wasn't very high either.
Furthermore, my wound was from three years ago. Three long years had already passed, making it too late to treat.
Not everything could be healed by the Recovery ability, and if it could, the Count and Countess would have somehow brought a healing Esper to treat me three years ago.
But unfortunately, there were few Recovery Espers in the Empire at the moment, and this little one was the most outstanding among them.
“Ah… Wh-why isn’t this working…?”
The Countess and Count also became flustered by Orion’s voice, filled with panic.
This was likely the first time Orion had failed to use his ability after manifesting as an Esper.
Orion, who had confidently declared he would heal my wound, and the Count and Countess were all looking at me with bewildered expressions.
On the other hand, I, who had anticipated this outcome, thought nothing of it. I pulled my clothes away from the Countess’s grip and let them fall, covering the scar.
“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt, so this much is okay.”
“No. That will be a blemish, Laila. Do you think it’s okay for a noble child to have such a scar on their body?”
“Then I am sorry, Mother. I should have avoided it better back then, and now a scar remains.”
“…Laila. I am sorry. I wasn’t trying to scold you. My dear, I am sorry.”
The Countess, who had furrowed her brows as if to lecture seriously, immediately changed her mind upon seeing my dejected expression.
She seemed genuinely grateful to me for saving her son.
This was why Laila in the original work felt profound loneliness in the kind Pascianne family.
Everyone treated Laila as family, but in crucial situations like this, the Count and Countess favored their own son, Aiden, more.
The sharp-witted Laila had long felt guilt and debt because of this.
“I think I came too late. I wish I had come a little sooner… The wound is too old, so my ability cannot reach it.”
Orion’s gentle face crumpled into a pout. He looked dispirited, as if he were the one who was hurt.
Here, I was the only one who truly understood what Orion meant.
He regretted not being able to heal me three years ago, implying he would have been able to if he had met me then, but we were people who could never have met three years ago.
Orion was an adopted child brought in from somewhere to maintain the Restro family’s power.
In fact, adopting young Guides or Espers was common here.
This was especially true for Guides. In this land, where wars against Monsters were frequent, Espers who could use abilities were absolutely necessary, but it was the Guides who could provide them with Guiding who held the reins. It was so much so that there were rumors that being a Guide was profitable.
High-ranking Espers also brought prosperity to their families, comparable to Guides. Ultimately, it was their role to become heroes in war using their abilities, so those with higher ranks were naturally welcomed.
Therefore, it was natural for anyone to want to adopt a Guide or an Esper.
Despite this situation, the Restro family was a little different. Perhaps because the Espers and Guides who had manifested within the family had always been of high rank, they advocated for blood purity and were very critical of maintaining their lineage of abilities through adoption.
However, even such pride had an end. At some point, no Espers or Guides were born, and even if they were, they were insufficient to wield the same prestige as before.
Eventually, the Marquis Restro had to find a way to overcome this.
That was Orion Restro. Since he still had pride to uphold, he told the outside world that Orion was an illegitimate child.
In any case, it was useless for Orion to pout like that now and regret not being able to heal my wound three years ago.
Because three years ago, Orion had not yet been adopted.
“Still, thank you for coming, Young Master Restro. It was a pleasure meeting you today.”
It would be best for our future if I made a timely exit, Orion.
Organizing my thoughts, I pretended to smile sweetly, hid behind the Countess’s dress, and avoided Orion’s gaze.
The only fortunate thing was that I hadn't manifested as a Guide yet, so he wasn't interested in me.
Sigh, if I had already manifested as a Guide, that young boy would have gone crazy over me with just that one touch earlier.
This setting was stimulating and attractive when I read it, but now that I was experiencing it, I was getting goosebumps all over and felt like I was going insane. A relationship where obsession was natural, did that even make sense? I'm sorry, but as a K-Confucian girl, I cannot understand it.
In any case, I made an excuse about being tired and quickly left the drawing-room, holding my mother’s hand.
It was nice meeting you, and let’s never meet again. This rule applied even to my favorite sub-male lead.
\ \ *
They say three years of studying at a village school makes one a poet.
The second male lead had perfectly adapted to my rude speech and behavior in just three months.
“Laila. Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorry. I’m too late.”
“Don’t use your ability on me. I’m afraid you’ll Berserk.”
At my cold tone, Orion retracted his outstretched hand and took a step back.
Orion’s ability was growing stronger by the day. This was by no means a good thing for me.
The stronger an Esper, the stronger the Guide they need. Therefore, even if the current Guides in the Restro family swarmed to Guiding Orion, it would be insufficient.
Most high-ranking Guides voluntarily registered with the Empire for their own protection and became affiliated, so the Guides in the Restro family were all low-ranking.
In short, he was in a situation where he could Berserk at any moment.
In fact, I had witnessed Orion writhing in pain several times due to his unfulfilled Guiding levels.
Of course, having read the original work, I knew Orion would not Berserk and would successfully enter the academy and play an active role. However, as someone who had already changed the original once, I was busy double-checking everything.
No one could predict how or where things would change. There was no harm in being cautious.
“I’m sorry, Laila.”
“What are you always so sorry about? Go play with the girls who have manifested as Guides, not someone like me. It’s better for you.”
“Someone like you. What kind of existence are you to me, why do you speak like that….”
He looked at me, his eyes drooping sadly again, and stood still.
His appearance was quite pathetic, but I pretended not to notice. Then, I stood up briskly and brushed the dirt off my knees.
This was the problem with these flowing dresses. If you didn't hold them up, you'd trip over them.
“Laila. Your knee is bleeding.”
Orion stood a little distance away, clasping his hands tightly and stamping his feet.
Isn't he worried about his Guiding levels dropping? This scar will heal in a few days, so why is he trying to use his ability for such a trivial matter? Isn't he angry at my rude behavior?
“…I know. I know Laila dislikes me.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, Laila. I know you’re afraid of Espers, yet I keep coming to you like this….”
Was it last month? I happened to encounter a Berserk Esper in the town square.
Orion, who was with me at the time, screamed and fell to the ground, looking shocked as he saw me.
Trembling, he couldn't approach and remained frozen, looking back and forth between me and the corpse of the Berserk Esper.
That must be the fate of an Esper who Berserks due to not receiving timely Guiding. Young Orion probably never forgot that day, which could be his future.
At the same time, he seemed to think that I had become afraid of Espers since that day.
Of course, Orion was completely mistaken.
The reason I screamed and fell that day was because the Berserk Esper’s eyes turned towards me, and they tried to reach out to me.
Among so many people, why did they look at me and try to approach me… it felt strangely unsettling. It was too coincidental that the dying eyes were clearly looking at me. As if recognizing me.
In any case, even thinking about that day still gives me goosebumps.
