How To Ruin The Original Work (16 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
“It’s you, Nigel.”
Allen said it as if it were obvious.
“You just said it yourself—my intuition’s pretty good. I liked you the moment I first saw you. And now I like you even more.”
Allen smiled, his green eyes crinkling.
“You’re not… trying to pull something on me, are you?”
“You really need to work on your instincts. Do I look so shallow that I’d flirt with someone I just met? My feelings are pure—absolutely, utterly pure friendship!”
“Sure, and it’ll only last one night. We’re parting ways tomorrow morning, aren’t we?”
“Ugh, you’ve got no romance at all. My intuition tells me we’re destined to be lifelong friends. Just you wait and see.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Nigel replied absentmindedly and picked up the book he’d been reading earlier.
The silver train ticket buried deep in his pocket had long since been forgotten.
“By the way, if the young master has made such a wonderful friend, your parents will surely be overjoyed.”
Sebastian looked between Nigel and Allen, a pleased smile on his face.
“Friend…”
Not quite. Nigel couldn’t bring himself to say the rest under Sebastian’s warm gaze.
“Of course! I bet my parents will be even happier than when I got accepted into Sienia!”
A word slipped through Nigel’s mind that he couldn’t possibly ignore.
“…Sienia?”
“Yeah! We’re heading to the capital next week for Sienia’s Eve Festival party.”
Allen pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his chest and unfolded it for Nigel to see.
The familiar letterhead—it was unmistakably Nigel’s Sienia acceptance letter.
“Department of… Magic?”
Allen nodded vigorously.
“I may not look like it, but I’ve always been interested in magical artifacts. I figured it’d come in handy later.”
…Is this really fate?
“…Nigel? You look pale. Are you feeling unwell all of a sudden?”
Allen shot up and frantically examined Nigel from head to toe.
“No…”
Nigel let out a deep sigh and pulled a stiff sheet of paper from his chest, placing it on the table.
Whether discovered now or next week—it made no difference.
Allen’s eyes widened as he unfolded the paper.
“No way…!”
He finally covered his mouth with his hand as if he’d just uncovered some world-shattering secret.
“Didn’t I say we’d see each other for a long time? Meeting on the same train, becoming close so quickly—that was already amazing—but now we’re even at the same academy, in the exact same department…?”
Allen didn’t even give Nigel time to respond before continuing.
“If this isn’t fate, then what is, Nigel! Huh?”
Allen grabbed Nigel’s shoulders and shook him vigorously back and forth.
“Goddess Kirellia must have brought us together—there’s no doubt about it.”
Allen released Nigel’s shoulders, clasped his hands together, and gazed reverently toward the sun outside the window.
‘Goddess, my foot.’
“Hold on. Nigel, have you arranged lodging in the capital? Hey, why don’t we go shopping for supplies together? I know plenty of good places…”
“Young Master Allen.”
Allen, who had been chattering rapidly in a high, excited voice, fell silent instantly at Sebastian’s brief call.
“I understand your joy, but please don’t overwhelm your friend.”
Nigel was already too tired to correct him again that they weren’t friends.
“Sorry—I just got carried away.”
Still, Nigel didn’t dislike Allen’s blunt sincerity about his own feelings.
“…I’m not going anywhere until tomorrow, so we can talk slowly.”
“Got it!”
And so the train charged onward toward the capital.
“…You’re really not coming with me?”
In front of Solphe Central Station, Allen still hadn’t gotten into his carriage after thirty minutes.
“Your luggage is heavy—I’ll at least take you partway toward your route.”
“I told you, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine for me.”
Since stepping off the train, Allen and Sebastian had lost sight of Nigel five separate times before finally reaching the station entrance.
The fifth and final time, Allen and Sebastian, unable to bear it any longer, each hooked an arm through Nigel’s and practically dragged him along like prisoners.
“…There were just too many people inside the station—it was hard to keep you in sight. It’s wide open out here, so it’ll be fine.”
“Hmm…”
Allen’s expression still showed clear suspicion.
“Really. Now you should hurry off. Your family’s waiting for you, right?”
“…You’ve memorized my communication stone number for sure, right? If anything comes up, go to the nearest communication office and contact me. I’ll help you anytime.”
“I said I got it.”
Nigel rubbed the dark circles under his eyes as he spoke.
Thanks to Allen’s endless chatter until bedtime last night, Allen had even shown up in Nigel’s dreams, pestering him relentlessly.
It wasn’t that Nigel disliked Allen—he just didn’t want to see him for a while.
“Alright, then I’ll see you at the party next week. Or even sooner, if possible.”
“Yeah, sure. Now please, just go already.”
Nigel waved his hand dismissively.
The coachman must have shared Nigel’s sentiment, because the moment the carriage door closed, it sped off quickly.
Watching the carriage grow smaller in the distance, Nigel felt immensely relieved.
“Guess it’s time to go.”
Just then—
Someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder from behind.
Nigel spun around and saw who it was.
‘…Again?’
It was none other than the young man around Nigel’s age whom he’d already encountered twice—once at the train station yesterday, and once in front of the train.
If meeting Allen was fate, as Allen himself claimed, then running into this man three times must be the deepest fate of all.
“What do you want?”
Nigel crossed his arms and asked curtly.
“Oh, actually, I picked this up yesterday.”
The young man smiled and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, its center bulging conspicuously.
As he unfolded it, Nigel’s locket came into view.
“It looked precious, so I wanted to return it right away yesterday, but the timing just didn’t work out.”
Ah, darn it.
His old travel bag—which couldn’t even stay shut for half a day despite being locked—had caused trouble again.
“Don’t worry, I only kept it safe. I didn’t open the locket.”
“…Thank you.”
Nigel bowed sincerely to the young man and tucked the locket carefully deep into the inner pocket of his coat.
Though Nigel realized he’d wrongly suspected the man of being a con artist, an uneasy feeling still lingered.
‘My instincts have never been wrong before… so why do I feel like this?’
Whenever he looked at the man, a strange, familiar discomfort crept up on him.
‘…Does it even matter? I’ll probably never see him again after today.’
Exhausted from two days of carriage travel and having spent last night plagued by nightmares, Nigel brushed off his unease more quickly than usual.
He gave the man another word of thanks and walked into the nearest inn he could see.
‘I don’t even have the energy to think anymore…’
The moment he reached his room, all his strength drained away.
Nigel barely managed to change his clothes before collapsing into a deep sleep.
[This is the timeline separator]
When he opened his eyes, the room was still dark.
Having slept straight through lunch, it was probably still early morning.
Nigel lit a candle, sat at the desk, and pulled out stationery and an envelope from his luggage.
‘Nothing serious could’ve happened…’
It hadn’t even been a full week since he’d left the orphanage, yet worry was already gnawing at him.
At least he’d sent the check on time—they wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while.
Ron and Hendel would probably use that money first to buy the leather balls the children had been begging for, and replace the complete book set whose covers and pages had been worn to tatters from constant reading.
Ah, and each child would finally get a brand-new school shirt instead of their usual hand-me-downs.
The youngest orphans would light up with joy at having clothes that weren’t passed down from their older siblings…
Nigel found himself smiling faintly without even realizing it.
Yes, they were surely doing just fine.
‘Because I’m not the original Nigel.’
In the original story, Nigel had lashed out at the visiting priest from the orphanage with vile insults and spat in his face—landing him straight in a religious trial.
And on the day of the trial, the brilliant golden light that burst forth from the magic-testing device during identity verification was enough to make everyone present drop to their knees.
Within half a day, seated arrogantly atop the celestial throne intricately carved with symbols from the founding myth of Goddess Kirellia, the first command issued by Nigel was…
to secretly eliminate everyone connected to the orphanage.
Though he hadn’t done it himself, he couldn’t stop the bitter taste rising in his mouth.
He’d chosen the Imperial Academy—far from Tilin—not only because he wanted to, but also out of fear that his presence might endanger the orphanage.
He’d worried that if he stayed, his true identity might be revealed, and the orphanage staff could be arrested for something like “harboring a saintess.”
Nigel fiddled absently with his pen before finally writing the address and recipient’s name.
Once the name was down, the rest flowed more easily.
First, he wrote that he’d arrived safely in the capital without getting lost.
Then, after a brief hesitation, he added not just one line—but several—about Allen.
He ended the letter by asking after the children, Ron, and Hendel, folded it neatly, and slipped it into the envelope.
Next was Zeronin’s turn.
Unlike the letter to the orphanage, his expression hardened even before he began writing.
Nigel pulled out Zeronin’s letter—the one he’d deliberately avoided reading.
He knew it wasn’t just one page filled with impossible-to-ignore, overly specific nagging—he had three whole pages waiting for him.
Nigel suppressed the sigh that threatened to escape and finally unfolded the letter.
[I know you’re only reading this to check the deed of gift.]When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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Chapter Comments (1)
The praise for Nigel is growing at the academy; let’s see how this highly talented girl fares there and develops a good relationship with Noah.
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