The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 180

Iris woke up late in the afternoon.

Fortunately, since it was the weekend, it was fine for her to sleep in.

Meanwhile, Haniya had gone to the male dormitory in my place.

Had she not been there, I might have unintentionally ended up staying out all night.

“…….”

After waking up, Iris remained silent for a while.

Then, she stared at my face for a long time.

Right now, I was facing Iris not as Hanon but as Vicarun.

Perhaps because of that, the way she stared at me felt incredibly burdensome.

“Ahem, hmm, Lady Iris.”

“Vicarun… Ah, right. There was someone like you.”

Ah, so she just didn’t remember.

Well, Vicarun wasn’t exactly an important figure to Iris.

Just the person who had recklessly attacked her in the Demon Palace.

Nothing more, nothing less.

No wonder she was looking at me with such confusion.

“Why did you help me all this time?”

Vicarun was someone who had been expelled from the academy because of Iris.

If anything, he had every reason to hold a grudge against her.

There was no logical reason for him to help her.

So why had I?

Faced with that question, I fell silent for a moment.

What should I say here?

Several excuses came to mind.

But I decided to go with the most honest answer.

“You don’t always need a reason to help someone.”

I wanted to help Iris.

Because I had seen her life and suffering in Flame Butterfly.

I didn’t want her to meet a bad ending.

That’s why I helped her.

That was the most honest truth in my heart.

I knew this alone wouldn’t be enough for Iris to understand.

So I added something she might relate to better.

“More than anything, you reminded me of my little sister.”

Iris’s eyes widened.

“……Little sister?”

“Yes. I have a sister two years younger than me.”

Jenia and Iris weren’t entirely dissimilar.

Blessed talent.

The expectations placed upon them.

The duty to lead a group.

The affection they never received from family.

All of these were common between the two.

For some reason, Jenia always reminded me of Iris.

Maybe, just as Iris had treated me like family, I had unconsciously come to see her the same way.

‘Though, technically, the order was reversed.’

But it wasn’t a lie.

Iris stared at me blankly.

Worried she might not understand, I hesitated—but then she finally spoke.

“……So I wasn’t the older sister after all.”

Was that the issue?

Technically, I was older than her.

Both mentally and physically, I was in a position where I couldn’t not be the older one.

Iris’s expression grew serious.

“Then… Hanon—no, Vicarun—was the older brother all along.”

“I suppose so.”

Hearing Iris call me oppa gave me a strange feeling.

Is this why guys like being called that?

If I still had any lingering affection for her, this might’ve been a devastating blow.

“Then what are we now?”

Up until now, I had been acting as Hanon.

Because of that, Iris had always treated me as her cousin.

But now that my identity was exposed…

It was a relief she had accepted my sincerity.

If she hadn’t, I’d have no excuse even if she sentenced me to execution right now.

So what were we now?

“……A symbiotic relationship, maybe?”

A give-and-take kind of bond.

That seemed plausible—but Iris’s gaze turned subtly complicated.

She stared at me intently.

Then, she reached out and touched my chest.

…What was she doing?

After fumbling around for a while, she suddenly spread her arms.

Then, without warning, she lowered herself and buried her face in my embrace.

As I stared in bewilderment, she nuzzled against me before looking up.

“No. You’re my little brother.”

…When did I become Iris’s little brother?

She must’ve really wanted a younger sibling.

“How about friends instead?”

“Friends…?”

“Yes. You know now that family isn’t the only answer, right?”

Iris’s obsession with family stemmed from her lack of equal relationships.

She was always in a position where she had to lead others.

Or, like with Cheonhye Gong, she only had a few superiors.

With family, she thought she could maintain an equal relationship without worrying about status.

But after facing the real Hanon, she must’ve realized—

Even with real family, an equal relationship doesn’t exist.

“I may not look it, but I’m actually quite rude. I’m the type to recklessly become friends with anyone, even you, Lady Iris.”

Iris knew my personality better than anyone.

A man who’d charge at anyone, regardless of who they were.

Vicarun, the reckless man.

The guy who didn’t hesitate to throw a punch at Ergo, the future king.

If Iris was okay with it, I could be her equal friend anytime.

Iris, still in my arms, looked up at me.

Her ruby-like red eyes were breathtakingly beautiful.

“I’ve never had a friend before, so I don’t really know.”

“It’s nothing special. Anyone can be friends if they get along well.”

“Even if I’m the imperial princess?”

“Yes, even the imperial princess.”

Words Iris had never heard before.

And perhaps the words she had most wanted to hear.

“You really are from another world, Vicarun.”

She saw right through me.

“So… you’ll keep coming to me like this?”

“After everything so far, why would I stop?”

This was something I had to do—for my own sake, too.

If Iris slept well, her nightmare gauge wouldn’t fill up.

I gave her a thumbs-up to show my enthusiasm.

Iris studied me for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

“So you’ll keep sneaking into the princess’s bedroom?”

“Even as a joke, saying that could get me killed.”

“It’s not a joke.”

The corners of her lips curled up slightly.

“Is this the kind of teasing friends do?”

“The kind that sends chills down my spine, yes.”

“I like it.”

Iris rested her forehead against my chest again.

“Good.”

A relationship that satisfied her.

That was enough.

And so, Iris and I became friends.

“Then, drop the formalities.”

“Huh?”

“We’re friends now, aren’t we?”

Friends don’t use honorifics with each other.

Iris looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

Iris, who had never been spoken to casually before, seemed oddly excited.

I awkwardly cleared my throat.

For some reason, saying it out loud was embarrassing.

“Uh, Iris Hysirion.”

“You’re not supposed to use my family name.”

Right.

“……Iris.”

When I called her name, Iris smiled brightly.

Even her smile carried a hint of decadence.

“Yeah, Vicarun oppa.”

“You’re really going to call me that?”

“Age-wise, I have no choice. But—”

Iris stretched out a long finger and lightly scratched my chest.

“When you’re Hanon, I’m the older sister.”

“……Don’t tell me you’re going to make me call you noona as Hanon.”

She only smiled in response.

This terrifying woman.

“But age-wise, we’re the same.”

“On the family register, you’re younger.”

Iris raised her hand.

Then, she tightly gripped the bandages of the Veil wrapped around me.

She had already seen me transform using the Veil’s bandages.

So she knew exactly what they were for.

“Now, turn into Hanon.”

And call me noona.

Iris had begun her intimidation tactics.

I tried to escape, but her arms were already locked tightly around me.

Why did she only use her full strength at times like this?

Iris’s eyes gleamed like a cat spotting prey.

Clunk—

“Well, well.”

At that moment, the door opened, and Haniya appeared.

With an extremely displeased expression, she alternated between glaring at me and Iris.

“While I was gone, you two got very cozy, didn’t you?”

Haniya shot me a fierce look.

“Trying to become friends with Lady Iris? You’re a million years too early!”

“A million years is longer than even Baekmok Gong has lived.”

“Don’t make it sound realistic.”

Haniya glared at me with sharp eyes.

Wait—

“Haniya, you were eavesdropping the whole time and only came in now on purpose, weren’t you?”

“My, my, don’t slander me.”

“I don’t think you know what ‘slander’ means.”

“Ahahaha.”

As Haniya and I faced off, Iris suddenly burst into laughter.

Her laughter was so carefree that we stopped and laughed along with her.

A new friendship with Iris.

I didn’t know how this relationship would unfold in the future.

But as of today, I had become Iris’s first friend.

The weekend after becoming friends with Iris.

I safely left the female dormitory, leaving Iris and Haniya behind.

Though I missed morning training, I headed out for afternoon training.

With the Winter Demon Palace approaching, I wanted to fully master the Flame of Ash.

‘Who knows what’ll happen after that?’

I needed to grow stronger to keep up with the scenario.

Just as I arrived at the training hall—

I found a crowd of children gathered outside.

Why were there so many kids here on a weekend?

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, Hanon!”

When I approached and asked, one of the kids recognized me.

A fellow martial arts student, he looked troubled as he stared inside.

“It’s Seron.”

“Seron?”

The sudden name made my eyes widen.

I quickly pushed past the kids and entered the training hall.

There, I saw a single girl.

Beads of sweat dotted her forehead beneath her red hair.

She looked utterly exhausted.

But that wasn’t all.

Seron’s hands, gripping her axe, were a bloody mess.

Anyone could tell she was on the verge of collapsing.

In front of her, the students who had been sparring with her were slumped over, exhausted.

Seeing Seron like this, I shouted in panic.

“Seron!”

At my voice, her shoulders flinched.

She turned to meet my eyes and forced a weak smile.

“Prince Sweet Potato.”

With those words, her body swayed.

I rushed forward and caught her.

Seron, smaller than even Hanon, collapsed into my arms.

The sight of her in such a state left me speechless.