Secret Love Affair between a Former Saint and a Dark Hero - Chapter 64
At that moment, with a resounding sound, the door swung wide open. Whoever banged the door showed no consideration for the person inside the room. Utterly rude.
Iora’s face twisted into a contemptuous expression. Even without looking, it was obvious who it was. Waving their long limbs, they entered the room without her permission. It was the intruder, showing no regard. Jiyeon—or rather, Iora looked at the intruder and laughed quietly.
“My brother.”
“You!”
In truth, she didn’t even want to call him her brother, but what could she do? She was Iora now.
She tried to look innocent and gentle, thinking there was no need to confront the situation right away.
But she knew he was scum. Even the words he spat out after seeing her pitiful weakened state were all garbage. His face turned various shades of red and purple as he continued his tirade.
“I knew it. You pretended to be in a coma from the beginning, acting like you were on the brink of death?”
Iora momentarily gaped. How could anyone say something so stupid?
If she could fake a coma and deceive all the physicians, she would have won an Academy Award. No, if she had such god-given acting skills, she would have faked her death, fooled her loathsome family, and slipped out of the mansion to live a life of freedom.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Moments from the past overlapped with the present.
When she first opened her eyes in this world, the first person she properly faced was Iora’s father. Her past self was accused of being crazy for saying strange and silly things at the wrong time.
Though she could never admit it to herself before, she had finally come to terms with the expectations she had when she had first fallen into this fictional world. The love of family.
“Do you think it makes sense for someone in a coma to suddenly get up and walk? Yes, you foul creature. Did you think I wouldn’t know you plotted to put me in trouble from the beginning?”
“…”
“Go on, try to make some excuse.”
Iora glared as he pointed his finger at her and tapped it on her forehead. If she reached out and snapped that finger right now, he would probably scream for her to die. Then it struck her. Come to think of it, this crazy guy’s reaction was oddly excessive.
Janus von Ribandt. Perhaps he wasn’t just Iora’s brother, but a sworn enemy from one of his sister’s previous lives who couldn’t stand the fact that he couldn’t get his hands on her. Why would he come running to her with his face turning red just because she had opened her eyes?
Iora’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Seems like I’m different because I’m a saint candidate.”
“Ha! You don’t really believe you’re going to be a saint, do you?”
“Mother and Father believe that I will be the saint, so they have given me the support of the family…”
“Crazy b***h.”
Come to think of it, both of Iora’s parents were madly opposed to her riding horses. And when she woke up, there was an air of secrecy regarding how she ended up in such a state. What if she fell off a horse while riding?
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“We rode together.”
She didn’t remember seeing anything like this—it was definitely a first for her. Looking at his pale face, it seemed like the expression of someone pricked by conscience. Iora stifled a laugh inside.
This guy.
‘It was him, wasn’t it?’
Iora grinned broadly.
“I fell off my horse because of you, and when I woke up, you came running in a panic. Why?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Even though I almost died from the shock, it seems my memory didn’t disappear. And in such a situation, the first thing I should hear from you isn’t some useless nonsense but an apology, right?”
The scene unfolded before her eyes like a painting. Her brother, unable to contain his usual dog-like temper, lost his composure and pushed his sister off her horse. And the poor girl who fell off the horse ended up on the brink of death. Wasn’t it a perfect fit?
‘Murderous bastard.’
Iora ground her teeth. She could very well have been dead by now. Even if she didn’t know how the twisted structure of this world operated, she undoubtedly fell due to that incident.
In that scenario, there were only two possibilities—her body had to be taken over by a soul from another world or she would have died.
So, that so-called brother, that bastard named Janus, was a downright villain. Yet, he didn’t even feel a hint of remorse afterward, acting like a scoundrel towards Iora until her death. Sometimes, he seemed more detestable and condescending than her parents.
“Did you think I’d be afraid if you opened your eyes like that? Ha, the reason you fell off the horse was because of your own pathetic and mediocre riding!”
His jumping around was comical.
‘They do say that rather than hate your mother-in-law beating you up, you would more detest your sister-in-law who pretends to intervene.’[1]
Iora slowly walked closer to him. She scrutinized him with quick, observant eyes as he screamed in a fit of rage, just in case there was something wrong with his condition.
Then, a thought flashed in Iora’s mind. This might be for the best. If this scoundrel had something against her, this situation where he could raise his voice freely was the perfect opportunity.
Now, how could she twist the situation to her advantage and make the narrative her own?
‘For starters, this crazy family.’
Iora grinned widely and confidently strode towards her brother.
¹This is from the Korean proverb “때리는 시어머니보다 말리는 시누이가 더 밉다.” While it is the mother-in-law abusing her authority, the sister-in-law is the more contemptible figure in this scenario because she only pretends to intervene for the sake of appearing like a good person but actually has no intentions of doing anything meaningful or sticking her neck out to actually stop it.↩
