The Bookworm’s Second Life
Jonathan
애독자의 갱생 라이프 Jun 16, 2026 14 views
Chapter 6
“Nothing happened. I just went out to clear my head because I was feeling suffocated. I’ll explain properly tomorrow once I’ve sorted my thoughts.”
After barely managing to escape Marquis Richten’s grasp with that answer, Sion finally got away.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Richten did not assign anyone to tail him this time. Instead, he simply told him to rest and revisit the matter tomorrow.
“I’m losing my mind.”
He thought he had done fairly well at the beginning, but he had made an unexpected mistake.
In the original story, Sion at this point did not know who Lucia’s father was, nor did he know who Raido was.
Only much later would he discover that the woman he had tried to assault was the only daughter of a former royal court mage of immense standing.
That incident would later lead to Raido publicly humiliating him at a grand banquet, where many nobles mocked Sion’s downfall.
That event was one of the major turning points that twisted him into a worse villain.
But now, things were flowing strangely differently.
Lucia had returned safely with Kim Yuhyeon, as if nothing had happened.
Worse, she was now looking at him with an odd expression—and he had even mentioned Raido’s identity in front of her.
A truth that, in this territory, only his father Richten Clauzen was supposed to know.
‘I tried acting like a god-tier reader, and now I’m the one getting wrecked.’
He had thought knowing the story would give him an advantage—but instead, it was making him slip up faster. The more he trusted the script, the more dangerous it became.
Sion swore to himself: from now on, first priority—keep his mouth shut. Second priority—also keep his mouth shut.
As he descended the stairs—
“Young master.”
He nearly flinched out of his skin.
Sebastian had appeared without a sound.
For a normal person, this would already be terrifying—but Sebastian only looked like a kindly old butler. In reality, however, he was a monster capable of fighting even the protagonist.
‘Please make some noise when you walk…!’
Sion swallowed the urge to scream.
“Sebastian.”
“Yes, young master. Do you need something?”
Sebastian’s eyes were unnaturally bright, almost cheerful.
If this had been the original Sion, he would have barked at him to stop wasting time—but the current Sion could not afford that.
One wrong move in front of this old man could mean losing his head.
Trying to escape the situation, Sion smiled.
“I’d like to rest. It’s getting late.”
“Ah, of course. My apologies, young master.”
Even then, Sebastian insisted on escorting him back to his room.
There was no reason for it—but he behaved as if Sion were a visiting guest.
Another monster, different from Kim Yuhyeon, but equally dangerous.
Sebastian, once a member of the royal secret knight order, was the kind of man who resembled more of an assassin than a knight.
A smiling, harmless-looking old man on the outside… and a walking disaster on the inside.
As Sion endured his discomfort—
tap… tap… tap…
A strange sound echoed.
Something bounced lightly across the floor.
A small ball rolled and bumped against Sion’s foot.
“Huh?”
When he looked up, a small child stood frozen in place, eyes wide.
‘That kid… Aden?’
Aden Clauzen.
Sion’s half-brother.
Sion’s mother had died early, and the Marquis had remained alone for years before remarrying seven years ago. From that marriage, Aden was born.
In the original story, Sion had despised and tormented this younger brother.
A fifteen-year age gap.
Although Aden’s mother was the legal wife, Sion was still the legitimate heir. Yet with such a large age gap, inheritance naturally favored the elder.
Sion had been jealous, insecure, and cruel.
Eventually, Aden had fled the territory at just twelve years old.
The child was now trembling under Sion’s gaze.
Like a rabbit facing a wolf.
Sebastian stepped forward, intending to intervene—
But Sion spoke first.
“Come here.”
Aden hesitated, then slowly walked over.
The difference in size between the twenty-year-old young man and the five-year-old child was stark.
Sebastian prepared to intervene if things turned violent—
But then he froze.
Sion knelt down.
He lowered himself until he was eye-level with the child.
“You hit your big brother with a ball. That’s punishable.”
“B-brother… this is—”
“Tomorrow, you’re playing ball with me. Until you’re completely sick of it, so you never feel like doing it again. Got it?”
Aden’s eyes widened.
Sebastian’s eyes also widened.
‘Am I hallucinating?’
Sion took the ball and gently placed it back into Aden’s hands.
“Take it. My arm is tired.”
Then he stood up and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Aden stared blankly.
Sebastian followed, stunned.
And from somewhere, a noblewoman quietly watched everything.
“Please rest well, young master.”
If you want me to rest, then stop following me!
Before Sion could explode, Sebastian finally left.
At last alone, Sion collapsed onto his bed.
“Haah…”
Barely two hours had passed.
Yet it felt like years.
Just yesterday, he had been an ordinary Korean man enjoying a web novel.
Now he was the villain inside it.
A villain destined to ruin the protagonist, lose everything, and destroy even his own family.
“What the hell is going on…”
He had survived by improvising through every dangerous encounter.
Even just now, he had tried acting like a “good older brother” to Aden, hoping it might help him later.
And ironically—he was an only child in real life.
Sighing, he sat up and thought ahead.
‘A war with the Kingdom of Nudia will break out within a month. Kim Yuhyeon will appear, dominate everything, and Richten will send him to the capital. Then the invasion happens, the territory collapses, and eventually… Sion kills his own father.’
A miserable chain of ruin.
‘The plot matters, but survival matters more. But if I change too much, events will shift unpredictably… and that might be even worse.’
He wanted to rewrite everything if he could—but changing the future blindly could create dangers he didn’t know.
Think. Think. Think—
“Cluck cluck cluck. What are you thinking so hard about?”
“SON OF A—!”
Another character.
Of course.
Sion shot up.
At his window stood an old man laughing softly.
“Hmm. You look decent enough. Not as good as me, of course—but enough for Lucia to like.”
Lucia?
Sion’s eyes sharpened.
‘Raido.’
Former royal court mage. Now living in the territory.
Some called him a sage. Others called him a cranky genius.
But Sion knew exactly what he was.
‘Why is this guy HERE?!’
The master of Kim Yuhyeon.
A mage who fought like a martial artist.
A monster who killed with his staff instead of magic.
