The Bookworm’s Second Life
Jonathan
애독자의 갱생 라이프 Jun 16, 2026 17 views
Chapter 11
Aden wondered if he was dreaming.
Just yesterday, his half-brother had looked ready to devour him alive. But now, that same brother was playing ball with him—and genuinely enjoying it.
Aden was still tense, wondering if Sion was only lowering his guard so he could suddenly start bullying him again.
But it didn't take long for him to realize the truth.
Sion Clausen—his half-brother, the man who had hated and resented him so much—was sincerely playing with him.
"Not bad. Are you really five years old?"
"I-I really am five. No, I mean, yes, I am, Brother!"
"What's with the way you're talking?"
"Y-You told me to speak like this, Brother..."
"Stop. Go back to talking like a kid. That cringey way of speaking is banned. Got it?"
"O-Okay, Brother!"
When Sion tilted his head and said, "Answer me again," Aden hurriedly changed the way he spoke.
"Okay, hyung!"
After that, the two brothers resumed their game.
Anyone watching would assume that a grown twenty-year-old man was just going easy on his five-year-old brother.
But that wasn't the case at all.
Tap, tap, tap!
Whoosh!
Tap!
Whoosh!
What the hell? Is that really how a five-year-old moves?
Sion had kicked the ball gently because he didn't want the child to miss it, but Aden caught every pass with astonishing agility.
He even dribbled past Sion with flashy moves after dodging around him.
And that wasn't because Sion was letting him win.
...I think I finally understand why Sion Clausen hated his half-brother so much.
It wasn't simply because Aden was his half-brother or because he feared Aden would threaten his position as heir.
Unlike Sion, who couldn't use mana at all, Aden Clausen could manipulate his mana freely.
That was why, despite being only five years old, he could move so skillfully.
Sion was an adult and the first in line to inherit the title, yet he couldn't control even a speck of mana.
Meanwhile, this little kid—who wasn't even the eldest son—could use mana.
And not just a little. He wielded it as naturally as a seasoned knight or mage.
So Aden got all the talent that Sion never had.
Calling him a genius wouldn't be enough.
He was already this incredible. Sion couldn't even imagine how powerful he'd become after receiving proper training as he grew older.
Unfortunately, because of the original Sion's constant harassment, Aden left the Clausen territory, and that was the end of his story. So I have no idea what happened to him after that.
No matter what, this was heaven-sent talent.
The moment Sion realized that, he decided he absolutely had to keep this little boy on his side.
Aden had only been mentioned a few times before disappearing from the story, so changing his future wouldn't affect much.
More importantly, they were brothers. That connection alone would make it easier to keep him close.
And his abilities were already guaranteed.
If he grew up well, he might not become another Kim Yoo-hyun, but a mini Kim Yoo-hyun was definitely possible.
To repair our broken relationship, I need to play with him a lot and smile as much as possible from now on!
And so, for nearly half a day, Sion played ball with Aden like his life depended on it.
Their heated match only ended when the maids came to tell them it was time for lunch.
"Hehehe!"
Aden, who had tried so hard to act mature at first, was still just a child.
His wariness melted away like snow under the spring sun, and the anxiety on his face had been replaced by pure joy.
"Huff... huff..."
Meanwhile, Sion—the mana cripple—was melting like ice under the blazing summer sun, drenched in sweat.
Shit! I'm screwed! At this rate, I'm going to die before the kid does!
Aden, who was naturally gifted with mana, unconsciously used it to keep his body in peak condition.
But Sion had to rely solely on his physical stamina.
The bigger problem was that Sion Clausen was not only a mana cripple—his stamina was absolute trash.
There was a reason the author had officially declared him the weakest villain.
"Hehe! Hyung! You'll play with me again tomorrow, right?"
Damn it! This kid is definitely trying to assassinate me!
Sion was convinced that another couple of sessions would literally kill him.
Still, hoping Aden would eventually lose interest in the game, Sion nodded and headed back inside the castle.
After lunch, he shut himself inside the castle library to recover his completely ruined stamina.
He could hear the maids whispering among themselves about how the young master had suddenly started reading books.
But Sion's real goal was simply to take a nap.
Just in case, he grabbed a few thick-looking books as camouflage and carried them to a desk before collapsing into a chair.
"...I'm dying. Mother, Father..."
"Your father is right here."
...@(#)$*%^!!
If it had been anyone other than Marquis Lichten, Sion would have immediately cursed them out.
If someone was there, they should at least make some noise! Why was he lurking around like a creep?
"F-Father!"
"Why are you so startled? Anyone watching would think you'd seen a ghost."
"Well..."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you enter the library. And reading books, no less."
"What?"
"Ever since your mother passed away, you stopped listening to anything I said and lived however you pleased. Naturally, books became the last thing on your mind."
As he spoke, Marquis Lichten examined the book Sion was holding.
"A Study of the Celestials and Demons. Quite an interesting choice."
"Ah, this is..."
Sion couldn't exactly say, This isn't a book. It's a pillow.
So he awkwardly mumbled something about how it had caught his interest.
Lichten nodded as if it didn't matter and slowly began to speak.
"Lord Raido visited me yesterday. He told me about your conversation."
"..."
"He also told me that you had already figured out who he was."
That old bastard! He went running straight to my father and spilled everything!
Screaming internally, Sion pulled himself together.
He had somehow gotten past Raido and Sebastian, only to face another obstacle.
And this time, it was his father—the person who knew Sion Clausen better than anyone.
"Would you answer me if I asked why you chose such a difficult path?"
Fortunately, Marquis Lichten seemed to be accepting his son's change positively rather than questioning it.
Even his question carried a warm undertone.
That's a relief.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Sion repeated what he had told Raido the day before.
He had accomplished nothing in his life.
But he refused to die as a pathetic fool.
Even now, he wanted to achieve something with his own hands.
After listening quietly, Lichten closed his book with a soft thud and rose to his feet.
"Sion Clausen."
"Yes, Father."
"A letter arrived this morning from the territory of the Kingdom of Nudia."
The enemy territory bordering Clausen lands directly.
A letter from them could only mean one of two things:
Very good news.
Or very bad news.
Unfortunately, it was the latter.
"It is a declaration of war. They have chosen war over peace."
"R-Really?"
Sion pretended to be surprised, but he had already anticipated this.
This war was the stage where Kim Yoo-hyun, who should have become Marquis Lichten's enemy after cutting off Sion Clausen's arm, instead became the savior of the Clausen territory.
"If they've declared war, it means they've already completed their preparations."
"They likely have. Otherwise, they wouldn't openly announce their intentions."
"If that's the case, Father..."
Sion suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wait. In the novel, the Clausen territory launched a preemptive strike first.
Why was Marquis Lichten talking about defensive positions?
Just as Raido had said, the Clausen family were warriors at heart.
Their tradition was simple:
If an enemy appeared, strike first and crush their heads before they ever reached your territory.
In the novel, Lichten had launched a preemptive attack immediately after receiving the declaration of war and inflicted massive damage on Nudia.
The problem came afterward.
An unexpected ambush by an enemy knight order shattered their formation, and Lichten himself had nearly been captured.
That was when Kim Yoo-hyun appeared.
To him, ordinary soldiers and elite knights were equally insignificant.
His sword cut them all down.
After saving Marquis Lichten and his army, Kim Yoo-hyun received the marquis's gratitude despite severing Sion's arm and was invited to the royal capital.
And that was where Lichten's tragedy began.
Enraged that his father had spared the man who cut off his arm, the original Sion eventually murdered his own father.
An unforgivable act of patricide.
But things were different now.
The body might still belong to the original Sion Clausen, but inside was a devoted reader who knew every detail of the novel.
"Father."
"Speak."
"If the enemy has declared war, then they've almost certainly finished preparing for their invasion."
"That would be correct."
"Then why don't we strike first?"
The first rule for surviving in a dangerous world:
If you already know what someone above you wants, use that knowledge to your advantage.
"A preemptive attack?"
"The enemy probably believes their sudden declaration has caught us off guard. That's exactly when we should punch them in the mouth and break their momentum before the war even begins."
"...Not a bad strategy. It certainly sounds like something the Clausen family would do."
Rubbing his chin, Marquis Lichten looked pleased.
Internally, he felt proud of his son.
Sion had spoken as if he had seen straight through his father's intentions.
Once again, Lichten realized that Raido's praise had not been empty words.
"Still, courage and soldiers alone won't be enough. I think we'll need one more thing."
"Really? I was thinking the same thing."
The enemy territory currently housed a knight order secretly dispatched by the Kingdom of Nudia.
They were the primary reason the Clausen army had been reduced to a defeated force after their successful raid.
But in the original story, Kim Yoo-hyun had annihilated them so thoroughly they might as well have turned to dust.
"So you agree? Then what is this one thing we need?"
"I heard that Lord Raido recently accepted a disciple. If we bring that disciple with us, it would greatly strengthen our forces."
"Now that you mention it, Lord Raido did grumble about finally taking on a disciple in his old age. Still, he looked surprisingly happy when he talked about that young man."
"He mentioned it to me as well."
He hadn't.
Sion had simply read it in the novel.
"So the person you're referring to is Lord Raido's disciple. Hmm. That's different from what I had in mind."
"Who were you thinking of, Father?"
It was obvious.
Either Raido or Sebastian.
Those were the only possibilities.
"Sion Clausen."
"Yes?"
"The one I need is you."
"...What?"
The moment his father said his name, Sion's thoughts froze.
Surely he had heard wrong.
The battlefield was a place where blades clashed and lives vanished like flies.
And his father wanted him—the man who couldn't use a single speck of mana—to go there?
"Father, what exactly do you mean...?"
"You've done well to hide your abilities until now. But you no longer need to."
Lichten placed a hand on Sion's shoulder.
"You're twenty years old now. You're an adult. There's no need to worry about what others think anymore. It's time for you to spread your wings."
No, wait! Father! Marquis Lichten!
I don't have any wings! I'm a mana cripple with terrible stamina! What do you mean, war?!
Damn it, you idiot! Why did you have to show off so much?!
Father, I'm going to die! I'm seriously going to die!
"Father, I don't think I'll be much help in a war..."
"Everyone must experience their first battle eventually. I'll be there with you, so you don't need to worry."
Lichten patted his son's shoulder reassuringly.
But Sion felt like he was losing his mind.
He had talked his way through encounters with monsters and madmen just to survive.
And now he was being dragged to war.
A man who couldn't use mana and who got exhausted playing ball with a five-year-old.
