I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 220: Fire. Secret (4)

"You... You're not Aslan Vermont, are you?" "..."

[The Evil God, 'Kali', is startled and says it's a big deal!]

The moment I heard those words,

I felt my heart start to race.

Was I finally caught? The anticipation of being found out surged inside me.

To be honest, I never had any intention of actively hiding the fact that I had taken over this body.

If I wanted to hide it, I would have acted more like a villain, consistently doing villainous things.

But instead, I had been walking a completely different path from the original Aslan Vermont.

And yet, no one had suspected my true identity.

It was common knowledge that Aslan Vermont had changed drastically, but everyone just thought he had reformed or snapped out of his past behavior.

No one considered the possibility that his personality had completely switched.

The reason for this was simple.

No one would ever mind if a delinquent like Aslan Vermont changed for the better.

People's perceptions are greatly influenced by their psychological state.

When a person changes in the direction they desire, they unconsciously believe it's natural, and doubts tend to fade.

In other words, no one really knew Aslan Vermont or cared to know the true nature of the person behind the name.

They just thought, "Wow, Aslan has really changed," without questioning the real cause behind it.

But Irene was different.

Because no one else hated Aslan Vermont more than she did.

In fact, because of that, she knew and understood his true nature better than anyone else.

That’s why she was the only one to notice my true identity.

"How did you figure it out? One of the main reasons was that you kept treating me like a woman you’re interested in, not as your sister!"

"Umm...?"

I was impressed by Irene's insight and careful observation.

But just as I was feeling that admiration, Irene suddenly broke the mood with her unexpected words.

What? She thought I was treating her like a woman I was interested in...?

What kind of nonsense was that?

"What are you talking about? I was just pretending to be a normal sibling, you know?"

"...What?"

"...."

When I blurted it out in disbelief, Irene let out a sigh, as if choking on her words.

Her face turned bright red in an instant.

No way. I thought it was just a joke, but she was serious?

She really thought I was trying to seduce her...?

"No! Th-that’s not it! Ugh! Eh...!"

"...."

Irene tried to make excuses, waving her hands frantically, but due to her shock, she could only mutter incoherently.

She quickly turned her face away, trying to hide her now-burning cheeks.

'This is... unexpected...'

I never thought Irene might feel that way about me.

Every time we met, she would click her heels and glare at me with fear, as if she were afraid I would do something more inappropriate.

Was all of that just a facade?

'If I tease her more, I’ll probably get grabbed by the collar again, right?'

I wanted to tease her and completely shake her mental state, but Irene was probably fragile enough that she would break down in an instant and want to die from embarrassment.

So, I figured it might be better to hold back a little.

"Well, I guess that could happen. I, of course, treated you like a sister, but if you’re a virgin who’s hardly ever been around men, you might have mistaken a little courtesy for romantic interest..."

"Aaagh! Are you kidding me!? That doesn’t help at all!!!"

"...."

...And I was grabbed by the collar again.

The way I got caught was completely unexpected, but I didn’t feel regret or shock when Irene discovered my identity.

I had always known this day would come.

In fact, I had even hoped someone would notice, even if it was a bit of a gamble.

"But... Are you okay?" "What do you mean?" "You’ve taken over that guy’s body... Does it not bother you?" "You’ve seen how I’ve been living, right? I’m somewhat satisfied. The only thing bothering me was that no one had figured out I wasn’t really Aslan Vermont, so it’s nice that you noticed. That’s been a little bit of a relief." "Ah, please don’t call me that... It feels weird suddenly... Please, call me something else...?"

Irene suddenly turned her gaze away, trying to speak like Yuria, and I couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

Her attitude had changed so suddenly that it must have caught her off guard too.

It was difficult to accept such a rapid change, so I decided to try to go along with it.

"Alright, I’ll call you ‘sister’ for now." "Calling me that still feels weird..." "What do you want me to call you, then? Miss Irene?" "...No. Actually, thinking about it again, I guess 'sister' is fine."

Irene suddenly shuddered as if cold chills ran through her, and I could tell she wasn’t too happy about being called that.

But I was just relieved that I didn’t have to call her Miss Irene.

"By the way... Are you okay? Someone else took over your brother’s body overnight." "I'm fine. Actually, I’m relieved. I hated that bastard so much, I wanted him dead..."

"So, weren’t you angry at me? Now your chance for revenge is gone, right?" "I don’t care. That guy was always blaming his talents and his origins, feeling inferior. But now you’ve taken over his body, and you’re doing fine. It’s a little sad not to see the expression on his face when he realizes what’s happening, but I’m fine. Your existence itself is the best revenge for me."

Irene smiled faintly, and I was left speechless for a moment.

Her existence as the best form of revenge... I had never thought of it that way before.

I always believed I had stolen the target of Irene’s revenge.

But when I saw Irene’s smile for the first time—the smile without any artifice or pretense—I realized that I was actually glad I had taken over Aslan Vermont’s body.

At first, I had hated this cursed body and my insignificant abilities.

But now, I realized that those things didn’t matter that much.

Because by taking over this body, I had gained Irene’s revenge and trust.

I had saved a hero candidate who was about to be disposed of, and now I had kind-hearted, cute, smart, and promising brides by my side.

I should be grateful for all of this.

"That reminds me... There’s one last thing I need to check." "...?" "Look me in the eyes and answer me." "..."

Suddenly, Irene pushed my chair back, making it impossible for me to stand up.

Then she grabbed my face and forced me to look into her eyes.

What is this? Is she trying to kiss me?

She said she felt romantic interest, so is she planning to jump on me right now?

'Uh-oh! I should have left Sylvia alone!'

I had been sure that Irene would protect me, but now I wasn’t so sure she would protect my purity.

I guess I’m going to be taken advantage of here, unable to resist because of the difference in strength, mercilessly.

At that moment, I sighed, feeling helpless.

"Is it you? The one who appeared in my past?"

"...What?"

"You know it’s you. Answer me. Did you really come from the past? Or did you manipulate my memory? You’re the one who appeared when I was young, gave me hope, told me to hold on, that I should wait until you came... It was you, wasn’t it?!"

"..."

Irene’s hand, holding my face, started to tremble.

Her voice also began to shake.

The reason she insisted on making me look into her eyes was obvious.

She wanted to confirm, with Laura’s eyes, whether what I said was a lie or not.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

If it were some vague question, I could have easily dodged it.

But she had made it clear—either yes or no—and that sealed my fate.

I could see how desperate Irene was, how much she had been searching for ‘that person’ from her dreams.

"Yes, it was me."

"...!"

As soon as I admitted it, Irene’s eyes grew wide, and then her eyes trembled.

Tears began to fall, big as droplets of rain.

"Why didn’t you say anything!? I’ve been waiting for you! You said you’d come! I’ve been holding on, waiting for you to come! Why didn’t you tell me you were already here!?"

"..."

Irene, unable to contain her emotions, threw herself into my arms, burying her face in my chest, crying loudly.

I simply embraced her and patted her back quietly.

When I first possessed this body, I had no idea what was going on.

I only recently learned that I was ‘that person’ from Irene’s past when I traveled back in time.

But I decided to put that excuse aside for now.

"Why do you play with people’s hearts like that!? It’s so frustrating!"

But I knew Irene wasn’t truly angry at me.

This was just her way of expressing how happy she was that I had finally come.

I knew her well enough by now to understand that without her saying a word.