The Bookworm’s Second Life
Jonathan
애독자의 갱생 라이프 Jun 18, 2026 4 views
Chapter 22
“That is what happened.”
The words spoken by the Rihten Margrave were nothing more than that, as he silently listened to Sion’s story until the tea in his cup had gone completely cold.
Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Did you not even trust your own father? Why a demon? All sorts of questions lingered in his throat—but the Margrave only let out a small sigh.
At this point, asking the reason served no purpose. And in any case, thanks to Lilith, they had gained considerable help, so pressing him further would not make for a pleasant scene.
“So your father was investigating the shrine where you were imprisoned.”
“It seems I was forcibly detained there. I nearly got erased from existence, in fact.”
At Lucia’s words, Lilith muttered in annoyance while slurping her tea.
Then she met the sharp gaze of Kim Yoo-hyun, who had been staring at her intensely.
“……”
“…Look away. You really want to die, don’t you?”
“I don’t.”
Kim Yoo-hyun’s answer came without even a second of hesitation, making a vein pop on Lilith’s forehead.
She was already irritated from their previous duel, and now he kept provoking her, which only made her temper rise further.
“……”
Lilith growled like a beast, while Kim Yoo-hyun looked at her as if she were insignificant.
Watching them, Sion felt a strange sense of distance from reality.
In the original story, Lilith would blush and avoid eye contact just because Kim Yoo-hyun looked at her. Yet now she was baring her teeth like a dog ready to bite.
Even though she was a succubus, she was still a demon. When she felt disrespected, her aggressive side came out immediately.
A stunning woman on the surface suddenly trying to lunge forward and bite someone—Margrave Rihten looked flustered before speaking.
“More importantly, Sion.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Then the reason that woman appeared in your dream is because you summoned her?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then how did you end up calling the Succubus Queen into your dream?”
“That would be…”
Sion started to answer, then stopped.
He slowly looked around.
The Rihten Margrave, Lucia, Kim Yoo-hyun, and Sebastian standing quietly behind.
Sion Clausen—the heir who might one day become the next Margrave—was, in truth, completely incapable of using mana. Not even a single thread of it. That fact, the “mana-zero defect,” was something none of them knew yet.
Should I tell them?
He believed it was better to hide weaknesses from everyone, even family.
In his previous world, he had seen how easily people turned someone’s weakness into a weapon.
No matter how strong someone was, once a weakness was exposed, others would endlessly exploit it.
Perhaps that was human nature.
Those who smiled kindly while facing you would stab you in the back the moment you turned away.
That was how people climbed over others to reach the top.
In a world of endless competition, he had thought no one could escape that rule.
“…I can’t hide it forever anyway.”
These were not people he could meet once or twice and then never see again.
One was his father. One was an ally. And the other…
That guy… I can’t even tell if he’s friend or enemy.
When he read the novel, Kim Yoo-hyun was a flawless, overpowered protagonist. But seeing him up close, he was unreadable.
If he hadn’t known the truth from the novel, he would have begged Lilith to kill him.
Sion sighed deeply.
To create a heavier atmosphere, he let out a long breath.
Everyone—Margrave Rihten, Lucia, Sebastian, even Kim Yoo-hyun—focused on him without showing it.
“I cannot use mana.”
“…What?”
“Huh?”
“……”
Even the Margrave looked shocked. So this fact must have been hidden even from him.
Or perhaps the original Sion Clausen had hidden it so carefully that even his father didn’t know.
The Margrave’s face crumbled with shock and sorrow.
“Sion… what do you mean by that? That—”
“It’s not that my mana sensitivity is low. I simply cannot use mana at all. My sensitivity is zero.”
“Ah…”
The Margrave let out a hollow breath, as if he had just been told he was terminally ill.
In this world, not being able to use mana meant having a severe defect.
Everyone was born with at least some level of mana sensitivity. That was why the average strength of people in this world was high.
But the heir of the Clausen Margraviate had none at all.
It was a flaw directly tied to survival and succession.
“Sion… what do you mean… I…”
The Margrave looked devastated, as if crushed by guilt.
Now he understood why his son had been hiding himself.
With such a weakness, he must not have been able to trust anyone.
As a father, realizing he had not even known his son’s burden made him feel utterly useless.
“But it’s fine.”
Sion spoke calmly.
“It’s not like I’m disabled or anything. And I have capable people around me. There’s Lilith for magic, and Lucia as well.”
As he said that, he gently took Lucia’s hand.
Lucia’s face turned red, but she did not pull away.
Her real strength isn’t just magic.
In the novel, Lucia would develop severe PTSD and instability because of Sion Clausen. But this time was different.
She had him by her side—and he knew her true potential.
“Hey! Why are you not holding my hand?! Hold mine too!”
Lilith waved her hands, demanding attention like a jealous cat.
Sion chuckled.
“Anyway, I’m really fine. In fact, I think I’ll be busier from now on.”
He intended to change everything.
At first, he thought it would be wise to only slightly interfere with the story’s flow. But things were already becoming chaotic everywhere.
If this was the butterfly effect of him becoming Sion Clausen, then instead of trying to control a growing storm, it might be better to start with one.
Sion left the room, leaving the troubled Margrave behind.
Normally, Lilith and Lucia would have followed him immediately, but he had deliberately left them behind with the bait of discussing “magic.”
After walking down the corridor for a while, he stopped.
“Kim Yoo-hyun.”
The man, who had been silently following at a distance, also stopped.
“You know what mistake you made, don’t you?”
“……”
“I told you to stop the enemy knights. If they had pierced our rear lines, the formation would have split like broken ice.”
“……”
“I’ll admit the knight you faced was strong. But with your skill, you could have held off all of them.”
“…How can you be so sure?”
Kim Yoo-hyun finally spoke.
Sion sighed and turned slightly.
“Lilith told me. She said you were strong enough to handle all of them, even if it would’ve been difficult.”
“I just wanted to fight strong opponents.”
“Don’t use that excuse on the battlefield.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I am not your subordinate, nor a soldier of this land. I am merely a guest.”
“Don’t misunderstand either…”
Sion turned fully to face him.
“Kim Yoo-hyun.”
“…What did you say?”
“You think you can excuse yourself with talk of enjoying battle. That you can hide behind a wild fighting style. But you don’t actually want to kill anyone, do you?”
For a moment, something sparked in Kim Yoo-hyun’s eyes.
His hand moved slightly—like he might draw his sword.
But Sion continued.
“You’re just hiding your hesitation. If you truly didn’t want to kill, then stop hesitating at crucial moments. Otherwise, your people will be the first to die.”
Kim Yoo-hyun had been called a cold, iron-blooded man in the original story. But inside, he was someone who feared killing—and feared losing himself in the process.
Because of that hesitation, he had often ended up watching his allies die.
Some readers called him indecisive or pathetic, but Sion thought otherwise.
If an ordinary human was suddenly thrown into such a world, even a genius swordsman would struggle like that.
“Are you implying you know better than me?”
Kim Yoo-hyun’s voice was cold with anger.
“I have walked through countless places filled with death. And you, who lived safely until now—how dare you lecture me?”
“Maybe I’m not so different from you. But I know one thing for sure.”
“And what is that?”
“I am not the protagonist meant to deliver lessons or inspiration.”
I’m not a good person. Maybe I’m closer to a bad one.
So I don’t need to hesitate.
I just want to survive, and live with the people I care about.
And to do that, I will do whatever it takes.
“Sir!”
A voice called from the end of the corridor—Lion, the knight commander, rushed in urgently.
“As expected,” Sion muttered.
“What is it?”
“Bad news. Enemy Nuadia forces have crossed the border again.”
“…So it wasn’t over.”
“They appear to have reorganized and launched a second wave.”
Normally, Nuadia should have been crippled after the previous battle.
But instead, they were advancing again—as if they had prepared a second strike from the beginning.
“Not good. We just returned to the castle and our troops are already half exhausted.”
“Lord Margrave is…”
“Commander.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Is there a string instrument in the castle?”
“…Pardon?”
The knight commander froze.
The enemy had crossed the border—and he was asking for a musical instrument?
“Go and bring one. I’ll speak with my father separately.”
“My lord, what are you planning?”
Sion smiled faintly as he walked forward.
“Well…”
Now that he had decided to truly survive, all that was left was execution.
If there’s a dingo-ding anyway, I wonder if I can still pull off the style without a fan…
Inspired by his own comment, the author would later reuse this event.
A deadly game of chicken—where everyone tries to see who is the biggest coward—was about to begin.
