It was a bright, moonlit night.
With agile, cat-like movements, Sion scaled the outer wall of the Grand Duke’s castle.
As I watched the castle view quickly flash past us, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“Ooooh! Oh wow!”
Even to someone like me who wasn’t from this world, his movements seemed beyond human.
‘As expected of Sion! He’s definitely worthy of becoming the strongest knight in this world!’
Of course, there were technically two other knights, including the main male lead, who were considered the strongest in this world. But to me, they were irrelevant nobodies.
Moments later, Sion landed gracefully on the terrace of the annex.
I clapped my hands like a seal.
“Wow, Sion! That was amazing! So cool!”
Without responding, Sion casually brushed the dust off the robe that had settled on his shoulders.
Then, the terrace door opened.
“Young Lord, you’ve returned!”
As if waiting for us, Garen quickly approached.
Sion handed over the birdcage tucked under his arm to Garen.
“Take it.”
“…? What is this?”
Puzzled, Garen looked inside the cage and met eyes with me.
“It’s me.”
“Miss Lin?!”
Garen’s eyes widened in shock.
***
“Then… how about this spot?”
“Yes, I like it. Let’s go with here.”
I nodded my head.
Upon finally receiving my approval, Garen breathed a small sigh of relief and carefully placed the birdcage down.
It was right next to Sion’s bed.
Jackpot.
This was the best of the best spots.
A prime viewing location.
From here, I could watch Sion’s disheveled, puppy-like morning look, or his angelic, defenseless sleeping face at night—all in real-time.
Well, the journey ahead was long. I needed regular doses of healing and energy to stay motivated.
“Is there anything else you need? You’ll be staying in here for a while.”
“Hmm.”
I looked around the empty and dreary cage. To rest comfortably, I definitely needed something.
Hmm, what would be good…?
It didn’t take me long to decide.
“Sion’s gloves would be nice.”
An item that still held the lingering warmth of my beloved.
“Indeed, gloves are small and provide good insulation.”
Garen nodded in understanding and stepped away.
“Still, I need to find a way to get out of this cage soon.”
It was dull not being able to stick closely to Sion like before.
And now, with less than a month left before the original story began…
Even as I sat here, the fated D-Day of the heroine and male lead’s first meeting was steadily approaching.
“How can I recharge my fangirl energy…”
I gathered all the experience I had from reading fantasy-romance novels for over ten years and started brainstorming.
How do developments usually go at times like this…?
Now that I think about it, when I saw Sion the other day, something had almost come to mind.
Just as I was trying to dig through my memories and concentrate…
Off in the distance, I saw something unbelievable.
Sion started undressing.
“…??!!”
I immediately dropped my train of thought and clutched the bars of the birdcage.
Oh my god.
God of romance fantasy!
God of transmigration!
God of fangirling!!
Thank you so much…!!!
‘I can’t believe I’m witnessing my favorite character shirtless—live!’
Because Sion had his back turned toward me, I could catch glimpses of his tightly packed back muscles beneath his shirt.
I instinctively slapped a hand over my mouth.
“C-crap. H-holy crap.”
His body, clearly a result of his tough daily life and relentless sword training, was far too perfectly sculpted to be called that of a typical young man.
‘Once the main story kicks off and he bulks up even more… This’ll be no joke. Am I really going to witness in real life the North’s shoulder-dominating knight, with that famously solid horse-muscle build described in the novel? Is this really happening?!’
“Hehehe… hehehahaha…”
I widened my eyes so I wouldn’t miss a single detail of Sion’s back and savored the view.
But suddenly—something blocked my line of sight.
“What do you think of this, Ms. Lin?”
“!?”
Garen had pushed a thick glove into the cage and was showing it to me.
“It’s one of the young lord’s favorite gloves—”
“MOVE! I said MOVE!!!”
Startled by my urgent gestures, Garen quickly stepped back.
“W-what’s wrong…?”
But then—
“What’s going on?”
Before I knew it, Sion—now fully clothed—was walking toward us.
“…Damn it.”
I slumped to the floor of the cage like deflated air.
Seeing me so downcast, Sion tilted his head.
“…That’s not like you. Are you feeling cramped in there or something?”
“…Yeah.”
“There might be a way. For now, why don’t you explain the whole story again?”
“…Okay.”
With a gloomy face, I began recounting the tale of how this fairy ended up in such a mess.
I glossed over the whole ‘stealing clothes and accessories’ part just enough to make it sound innocent, then relayed the bits of conversation I had overheard between the merchant couple, the dinner with the Grand Duchess of the North, and the information I picked up from the carriage.
To summarize it all in one line.
‘You guys in the North got scammed.’
“…I see. That stingy bastard really pulled a bold move.”
Sion frowned slightly, seeming familiar with Noel, the merchant guild head.
“Those people have no sense of honor or integrity. Even if they’re merchants…”
Garen grumbled with anger.
“I did hear that prices for various goods spiked this year. Looks like greed got the better of them.”
“It’s an obvious situation. There’s no way she didn’t realize this shallow scheme.”
I agreed wholeheartedly.
“Then… will Her Grace, the Grand Duchess, take action?”
“Of course. In her own way.”
‘In her own way,’ huh…
It seemed that after enduring a decade of coldness and persecution from the Grand Duchess, Sion had no trouble imagining just how ruthless and cold-hearted she could be.
“…Still, she’s not going to, like, kill someone, right?”
I asked cautiously.
I’d suddenly recalled that toad-like face of the little kid who clung to me crying.
“I mean, fraud or not, doing that to a child feels… way too harsh.”
“……”
“……”
Sion and Garen looked at me with strange expressions.
I tilted my head.
“What? What is it?”
Sion answered bluntly.
“I didn’t expect that. I didn’t think you’d care about a human’s circumstances.”
“Indeed. For Ms. Lin to be concerned about anyone other than the young lord… that’s surprising.”
“……”
What, do they think I’m completely heartless or something?
…Well, they weren’t entirely wrong.
Even though I was in another world and in someone else’s body, after reading the novel, I’d built up nothing but resentment toward every person who had hurt, ignored, or neglected Sion.
If there was an exception, it was probably Garen, who had always been on Sion’s side.
“…Still, they brought it on themselves.”
I mumbled awkwardly.
“But Ms. Lin, this isn’t just a simple case of fraud. The stolen goods amount to half a year’s supply of trade materials. That would definitely impact not just the northern territory’s citizens, but also the knights defending the border.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Without proper supplies, the citizens will suffer through the winter, and the knights battling monsters on the front lines will be even worse off.”
“Garen’s right. This could lead to an unprecedented number of casualties.”
A heavy silence followed.
…So many people might die, huh.
Somehow, the situation in the North, which had felt so distant and unrelated to me and Sion, now weighed heavily on my mind.
Now that I think about it, what happened in the original story?
Even as I tried to remember, nothing specific came to mind—because this was still a month before the main storyline began.
I do recall the North suffering from extreme shortages during the story. The protagonists struggled constantly, largely due to these hidden obstacles in the background.
So this incident must’ve played a major role in creating those dire conditions in the North.
Then… the Grand Duchess must’ve failed to recover the stolen goods in the end.
I scratched my cheek.
The situation was grim, but we needed to tackle it step by step.
“Sion, help me get out of this birdcage first. Then we’ll talk more about this incident. I want to help too.”
Sion nodded.
“Let’s do that. Do you have any ideas?”
“Hmm… I think I might. Give me a moment to think.”
I crossed my arms and fell deep into thought.
I need to restore my fangirl energy…
To tap into the fantasy-romance big data I’d built up over the last ten-plus years, I closed my eyes and focused.
‘Focus. I need a solution. A way to get out of here.’
Only then could I go back to sticking close to Sion, just like before—using those sturdy, well-cushioned shoulders and chest as my personal seat.
‘…Come to think of it, Sion’s back earlier was really something.’
The image of him shirtless floated into my mind again.
…That sculpted back.
…Those chiseled muscles, like something crafted by a master artisan… the fact that I’ve never even touched them left a bitter taste in my mouth.
But even just seeing them had helped melt away some of my mental and physical fatigue.
“…Huh? Wait a sec.”
I snapped my eyes open.
“…No way.”
“What is it?”
Instead of answering, I turned sharply to look at Sion.
“…No, it can’t be.”
Surely not.
Even if this was some brainless transmigration event… Even if my whole identity here was ‘the devoted fangirl fairy’…
There’s no way this world has some cheap, self-serving setting where just touching your favorite character restores your fangirl energy, right? That’d be way too obvious and convenient.
It’s not like I transmigrated into the female lead who has a romantic storyline with Sion.
No way.
Absolutely not.
“…But still.”
I found myself staring blankly at Sion’s lithe upper body and muttering.
“If I’m going to be sure… I should probably test it, right?”
Even I knew my logic was falling apart, but my reason, dulled by fangirling frenzy, moved my mouth on its own.
“Sion.”
I looked at him with the utmost sincerity.
“Sorry, but…”
“……?”
“Let me touch you.”
Sion’s face froze on the spot.
~~~
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Hah! Same, girl.
🤣🤣