Whoosh!
rlin felt a gust of wind sweep against his body. A mont later, a faint golden light began to erge from within him.
At first, it was only a small glimr, but it slowly expanded until it wrapped around his entire body.
"Urgh..." Pain surged through his veins, bones, and muscles, forcing a faint groan from his lips.
As the seconds passed, the pain grew sharper and more intense. But since rlin was already used to enduring it, it didn't tornt him too much.
Then, without warning, a thick black smoke burst out of his body.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed, and a horrifying face shot out from his chest.
"Argh!" The face scread in agony with a piercing voice.
The entire room shook violently, and rlin's eyes snapped open.
Terror unlike anything he had ever felt spread across his face.
"What is that?" he cried out in fear.
The face was massive—nearly two ters tall—and its appearance was horrifying. Its eyes glowed blood-red, and rows of razor-sharp teeth filled its wide, gaping mouth.
"[It's the curse that infected your body,]" the system explained casually. "[All this ti, it's been hiding inside you, turning the original rlin Clay into a brat. If it had followed its original path, this curse would have twisted him into a cruel and rciless depraved person.]"
A chill ran down rlin's spine, and goosebumps prickled across his skin.
He didn't deny the system's words—they were entirely true. After all, the contents of the novel were proof of it.
rlin Clay was willing to do anything for the girl he was obsessed with—Luna Tharot. He was like a dog following its master, even using the power of the Clay family to eliminate anyone who tried to take Luna away from him.
Honestly, every ti rlin read the character's simping scenes, a wave of nausea rose in his chest. rlin Clay was Michiku-sensei's cruel joke, a reflection of himself in the story.
A few minutes later, the horrifying face slowly disintegrated and finally vanished completely.
At the sa ti, the pain in rlin's body faded away, replaced by a refreshing lightness, as if the heavy chains binding him had suddenly been broken.
"Am I finally free?" he muttered, clenching his palms tightly.
"[Of course, Master. The S-Level Healing Potion is incredibly powerful. Your curse has been completely lifted,]" the system replied proudly.
rlin let out a long breath of relief. "Good. With this, I don't have to live in the shadow of fear anymore."
Then, he checked his system points and found that the number had skyrocketed—140,000!
"With this amount, I can buy so many things," he cheered excitedly.
But he reminded himself not to act rashly. He already had three high-quality rewards, and saving his points for the future would be wiser.
Once everything was settled, rlin stood up and was about to change his clothes when a long-forgotten voice echoed in his mind.
"Have you forgotten already?"
rlin froze instantly, his eyes widening in shock.
"Lyserra? Is that really you?"
Whoosh!
A red light appeared before him, and the little dragon floated into the air.
But unlike the innocent Lyserra he rembered, her expression was now cold and indifferent.
Clearly, the original Lyserra had taken over her body again.
Though he felt a pang of sadness that the cute Lyserra was gone, rlin had anticipated this would happen sooner or later and had already prepared himself.
"Why the sad expression? Shouldn't you be happy that I'm back?" Lyserra's gaze was sharp and piercing.
Caught off guard that she could read his thoughts so easily, rlin coughed in embarrassnt and pulled her into a hug.
"What are you saying? How could I have such thoughts?" he said, gently rubbing Lyserra's head.
Lyserra bristled at being treated like a pet, but she didn't resist—the touch was far too comforting.
Without realizing it, a look of pleasure spread across her face as she squird in rlin's arms.
"So… How did you get out? Have you regained your strength?" rlin asked.
Lyserra nodded slowly. "Yes, my strength has recovered, though only about two percent. But since you were already stronger, I had the opportunity to escape."
"So that's how it is…" rlin blinked in understanding. "By the way, I want to go check on a plague that has struck a nearby village. There's a chance it could spread to Droswen City soon. Co with and help."
With Lyserra by his side, his confidence in handling the situation rose by fifty percent. After all, she was both a Primordial Chaos Dragon and a Dragon Empress—her strength was undeniable.
Even if she hadn't fully recovered, she was still incredibly powerful.
Lyserra didn't hesitate. "Of course, I'll co. Besides, I haven't been out in a while and want to see the outside world."
Her voice was indifferent, but anyone attentive could sense the quiet longing beneath it.
rlin couldn't help but smile. "Then let's go. But first, I need to see my sister. This investigation might take so ti."
With that, he changed into casual formal clothes and stepped outside.
***
rlin stepped into the dining room and found it mostly empty, except for his little sister, who was having breakfast, and a few maids moving about.
As soon as Catrine saw him, her round eyes lit up with affection.
"Big Brother! Good morning," she greeted cheerfully.
rlin gave a small smile as he stepped forward and sat beside her.
"Good morning. Did you have breakfast by yourself? Where are Mother and Father?"
"They went to the capital with Linda," Catrine replied softly.
"The capital?" rlin's eyebrows lifted. He suddenly rembered Linda ntioning a small gathering at the palace and that she had been invited.
Since his father was a Viscount, it made sense that he received an invitation as well—not to ntion he had brought Linda to this kingdom.
"Big Brother, co eat with !" Catrine quickly grabbed a nearby plate and piled it with various foods.
They often had breakfast together, so she knew exactly what he liked. rlin felt a warmth in his chest he couldn't suppress.
'Could this be the effect of a hundred points of affection?' he mused with a small chuckle.
Once Catrine finished preparing the food, rlin began his breakfast while chatting about various things. Then he brought up a topic he had been aning to discuss.
"By the way, I'll be leaving after this. I might not be ho until tonight."
At those words, Catrine froze mid-bite. She looked at her brother, frowning, her eyes filled with sadness.
"Where are you going? Are you going to leave all alone?"
rlin felt a pang of guilt but quickly composed himself and gently rubbed her head.
"I can't tell you right now, but it's very important and needs to be taken care of imdiately. So please, wait for to co back, okay?"
Instead of calming down, Catrine's sadness deepened. She lowered her head and asked in a trembling voice, "Big Brother… Do you… hate ?"
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