The Extra Saved the Terminally Ill Princess and Ran Away - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Finn's Past

***

…I couldn't believe my ears.

What had I just heard?

No, what had she just said?

The headmaster approached, his mouth moving, but I couldn't hear him.

No, I wouldn't hear him.

Something far more important had just happened.

Something I hadn't anticipated.

Lili had a fiancé.

-…far more amazing and kind than a nobody like you…

Impossible.

According to the original story, no such man existed in Lili's life.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have become so dependent on Ian.

-…my fiancé.

That didn't make sense either.

I had made her… a proper Imperial Princess.

Not the frail, powerless princess destined to die, but a true Princess.

And she had a fiancé befitting her status? And that doting Emperor had allowed it?

I couldn't understand.

This outcome wasn't possible based on the original story.

…Which meant only one thing.

That damn author had added some forced plot device to Lili's story, just to make me suffer too.

And if that was the case, Lili's fate was sealed.

The same fate as that other girl, the one who was discarded and forced down a path of misery after being NTR'd.

'If that happens, Lili will…'

-Grit.

The thought of Lili suffering that fate made my blood boil.

Why did I even bother dying as Finn?!

I had worked so hard to heal her, to free her from her tragic fate, and now, during the single year I was gone, she was being NTR'd?!

"…Damn it!!!!!"

"…W-Whoa! What's wrong, Berry…? Ever since you talked to Her Highness… you've been acting strange… even stranger than usual."

How much time had passed?

The auditorium was empty except for Ian and me. The other students had left.

"…Ian."

"Why are you looking at me like you want to kill me…?"

"Have you ever spoken to Her Highness before?"

Could it be him?

Even in the original story, Lili hadn't shown interest in any other man…

'Did my intervention accelerate their meeting?'

If that was the case, I would kill this damn protagonist right here and now.

I had befriended Ian solely to prevent him from meeting Lili.

The ending? The Demon King?

Who cared?

Getting involved with him, even if it wasn't technically NTR, was still a path to misery.

If I couldn't prevent it, I had to nip it in the bud. Dealing with the immediate threat was my priority.

"N-No…? I met Her Highness for the first time today…"

"…Really? Swear on your mother's grave?"

"Uh… I don't know why I would swear on my mother's grave, but… it's true! I swear!"

…He seemed sincere.

And considering Ian's character, his inability to lie… he was probably telling the truth.

Perhaps there was a meeting I didn't know about in the story… but it seemed Ian wasn't the NTR type.

'…Yeah, he was always the one being NTR'd, not the other way around.'

"Sigh…"

I had scoffed at Ian for being NTR'd, even though she was just a sub-heroine…

'Reality is different… damn it.'

…What? If you hate NTR so much, why are you so fixated on Lili? Just find another heroine and save her.

Easier said than done. Feelings weren't something you could just switch on and off.

'Besides, Lili is my first love… How can I just give up on her…?'

I still remembered the warmth of her love.

The feeling of her lips on mine when I was paralyzed.

Why should I give up on her just because some random guy appeared?

On my first love, the one who taught me what it meant to love?

If I gave up now, she would be doomed to a tragic fate.

'Even animals know how to repay kindness. Giving up on her now, when it's not even her fault… would make me a scumbag.'

…Yes.

It wasn't time to despair yet.

Compared to my previous life, this was nothing. I could overcome this.

'Compared to back then…'

My life before reincarnation, while lacking such dramatic ups and downs, had been a constant hell.

***

…I recalled my past.

A distant memory, fading now that I was accustomed to this world, yet still rooted deep within my mind.

A nightmare.

But I didn't remember the beginning of that nightmare.

My memories began at an orphanage, with a man I didn't recognize.

So, I didn't remember the beginning of my suffering, the absence of parental love, both before and after that moment.

'…The lack of parental love would have been a blessing.'

Because I had never experienced love from anyone.

Not from the orphanage director.

Not from my peers.

Not even from a woman, something I should have experienced at least once in my twenty-plus years of life.

The reason? It was obvious.

-Oh, hello, teacher… Would you like this?-

I had once offered my chocolate milk to a teacher, having heard that she liked it.

But she hadn't seemed pleased.

Her face contorted in disgust as she reluctantly accepted it.

-Now, now… Hurry back to your classroom…!-

She dismissed me, and as the door closed, I saw her shove the milk carton into a corner of her desk.

…If only that was all I had seen.

I could have assumed she simply didn't like chocolate milk.

But soon after, I realized the reason for her disgusted expression.

-Oh! For me? Thank you~ Let's see… shall I have a sip?-

She devoured the chocolate milk given to her by other children, a gentle smile on her face, a smile she had never shown me.

Back then, I thought I was simply unlovable, for no reason.

I was too young to understand why I was treated differently.

But soon, I learned why the other children avoided me.

It happened during a field trip, during the dreaded bus seat lottery.

The girl who drew the seat next to me burst into tears, refusing to sit with me.

-Why do I have to sit next to that monster?! No!!!!! I don't want to…!!!!-

She was the first person to call me a monster, and it was then that I finally understood why everyone looked at me with such strange expressions.

'…So… it's because… I look like a monster…'-

I knew I looked different.

But I hadn't realized my appearance was repulsive.

On the day I arrived at the orphanage, the director's first words to the man who brought me there were,

-The child's face…! What happened to him?-

And the man explained, like a news anchor, using words I couldn't understand.

-He lost his parents in a fire… He has burns all over his body… He doesn't remember anything from that time…-

-Oh… I see…-

That's how I learned… that I looked different.

And thanks to the crying girl who refused to sit next to me…

I learned that I looked like a monster.

That's why everyone avoided me…

Even though it wasn't my fault. Even though the arsonist was the one to blame.

***

After that, I avoided contact with others as much as possible.

I dropped out of high school and got my GED.

I lived on government assistance and whatever odd jobs I could find for people with disabilities.

So, it was only natural that I found solace in fiction.

Movies and dramas, with their real-life actors, were too much like a bitter pill to swallow.

I disliked contemporary stories and simple romances.

They were too close to my own reality, too easy to compare myself to. I was afraid I might end up killing myself, feeling inadequate.

Thrillers, horror, and anything scary weren't my cup of tea either.

My life was already scary enough.

Fantasy was okay.

It was an easy escape from my painful reality. I could indulge in fantasies of being born in a different world, a better world.

But it still felt… empty.

…Then, I discovered romance fantasy.

Stories of love and adventure in worlds of swords and magic, where protagonists and heroines protected and cherished each other.

A vicarious experience of love, a drug for someone like me, who had never known love.

So, I devoured romance fantasy novels like a starving wolf.

Until I found Academy Demon Hunter Chronicles, a third-rate webnovel.

And I saw her. Or rather, I read about her.

Lilisiana, a girl whose life, like mine, was predetermined to be a tragedy, for no reason other than the author's whim. Afflicted with an incurable disease from the very beginning.

Unlike me, who sought escapism in fiction, she devoted herself to the protagonist, hoping for a sliver of his love.

I left a comment, moved by her selfless devotion.

Because I knew I couldn't have done the same. Because I admired her unwavering dedication.

Because I hoped she would find some happiness.

And because I was angry at the idiotic protagonist, who couldn't choose between his many heroines, despite her selfless love.

So, I wrote, hoping for her happiness.

'A character as pure as the Princess deserves better than this ending, author'

And as a result, I was reincarnated into the very world I had fantasized about.

The only problem was that I was destined to die alongside her.

Knowing the original story, I tried to change the predetermined ending, like any other reincarnation protagonist… but I failed miserably.

…I had caused the death of the one who had shown me greater love than any fictional character.

The one who had taught me what it meant to love, to feel warmth…

…But I had been given a second chance.

A chance to repay her kindness, her love.

'But does Lili being forced down an NTR route because of that damn author… mean I should give up on her?'

I shook my head.

If she was taken from me… I would take her back.

"This isn't NTR. This is just me reclaiming what's mine."

Yes, it was time to teach that damn homewrecker a lesson. The kind of homewrecker I loathed the most… especially one who doomed the heroine to a bad ending.

"You picked the wrong target, you bastard…"

I wouldn't let her suffer a tragic fate. Not as long as I lived.

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