My Niece Is Not A Villainess

Yoon Sijun raised his arm to cover his eyes.

He thought he would succeed this time.

Before Yoon Sijun, who was smiling bitterly, a message from the throne appeared.

[<End of the Sword> asks is you have come to your senses now.]

“… Yes. What happened?”

In response to Yoon Sijun’s question, the message from the throne appeared a beat late.

[<End of the Sword> says, ‘That’s what I mean,’ and scratching his cheek.]

Sijun frowned at <End of the Sword>’s unexpected response to any words.

Come to think of it, it was too quiet to call it a hospital room.

Not a common sound of a heartbeat sensor or the sound of IV fluids dripping… Nothing could be heard.

Sijun lowered his arm and opened his eyes.

The first thing that caught his eye was the canopy surrounding the bed.

The thin fabric of the canopy faintly revealed the outdoor scenery.

“Where is this…”

Luxurious patterned wallpaper, wooden furniture, and sculptures that seemed to be made of gold.

No matter how positively he tried to think, it was a difficult scene to consider as a hospital room.

[<End of the Sword> tries to calm his favourite child down, telling him not to be surprised.]

Rising from the bed, Sijun looked down at his hand gripping the bed.

A wrist that seemed to have skin clinging to the bones, pale and elongated, a hand that had not experienced rough work, not to mention being as smooth as black ink.

It wasn’t a hand full of scars from fighting monsters that appeared with the throne.

Even if it could be the wrist, the hand clearly wasn’t his own.

“What happened?”

Sijun called the most trustworthy and perceptive among the thrones.

“<Origin>.”

The story <Origin> shared was shocking.

When Sijun’s body was torn by the monster, the seven thrones that had chosen him couldn’t bear to give up on their beloved son. They tried to save Sijun, and at that moment, deities from another realm appeared, revealing a way to merge Sijun’s soul with another dimension.

However, using that power would make it difficult for the thrones to provide strength to their favourite as they do now, and even sending messages would become challenging.

Despite the challenges, the thrones, who only wished for their favourite’s survival, poured his power, merging Sijun into the world the deity mentioned.

Hearing the thrones’ explanation, Sijun tilted his head.

“So… this is another world, and I’ve merged with someone else?”

[<Origin> nods.]

Sijun let out a bitter laugh.

Having finally embraced the death he desired, only to experience merging. Life truly seemed relentless.

“Then… can I end my life with this body?”

The favouritess chosen by the thrones couldn’t commit suicide. Therefore, Sijun deliberately lost battles against monsters.

[<Origin> explains that the blessing received by the thrones when choosing is engraved on the soul, not the body.]

“… The soul.”

As Sijun despairingly contemplates, messages from the thrones continue to appear.

[<Well of Mana> questions if it’s really necessary, yelling whether Sijun wants to see a real throne die.]

[<End of the Sword> expresses gratitude for not dying and coming to another dimension, urging Sijun to think carefully.]

[<Origin> suggests forgetting everything and starting a new life since things have turned out this way.]

“…. Don’t you know why I want to die?”

The messages from the thrones cease at Sijun’s voice filled with pain.

Death was a means of atonement for Sijun.

Lee Yoori.

She was the last gift left by his sister and the only family he had.

From the baby’s first cries to the moment she started walking and running, Yoon Sijun had vowed to do everything for her.

Before receiving the thrones’ choice, he worked tirelessly day and night, and afterward, he explored dungeons relentlessly to earn money.

He ensured the best care for his child, hiring the most skilled individuals in each field to take care of her in his absence.

All efforts were dedicated to ensuring the child grew up happy and worry-free.

However, despite his efforts, that child died at a young age, making all his endeavors seem in vain.

The cause was school violence.

Rushing upon receiving an urgent call, what Sijun saw was his nephew’s appearance, utterly devastating.

Hair torn out in various places, arms and legs bruised from cigarette burns.

And the traces of beating that had occurred over seven hours.

Sijun, who had never felt fear even in dungeons, now experienced the suffocation for the first time.

The detective handed Sijun his niece’s diary, who was struggling to comprehend the brutal scene.

The diary documented that child’s struggles to survive.

[Got a bruise on my face. I told her I would sleep early secretly to avoid getting caught by mom. Did she notice?]

[Lost my shoes. Uncle worked hard to buy them for me, and I didn’t want to give them up. But it hurt too much, so I gave in. Why am I so weak?]

[Uncle couldn’t come home because he had to go to the crack. Haven’t seen Uncle’s face for a month. What if Uncle hates me, too, like the kids say? If even Uncle abandons me, I’ll truly be an orphan.]

The content was despair itself for Sijun.

He realized that he, not school violence, was the one who killed the child.

If only he had shown a bit more interest.

If he had met more often and said he loved him.

In that case, he could have known what his niece was going through, and the child wouldn’t have died in agony.

He resented himself for believing that money alone could make that child happy.

Hating himself for thinking money could solve everything and for never expressing genuine feelings to that child.

How could he, who failed to protect the child, continue to live unscathed?

Living a lifetime in penance felt audacious and meaningless.

So Sijun chose death.

The death of the child was as painful for the thrones, who cared for Sijun and his niece as much as he did.

However, for the thrones, Yoon Sijun came first.

[<End of the Sword> tearfully says, ‘This is my last message. Take care until we meet again.’]

“Last message? What do you mean?”

A message appeared in front of the surprised Sijun.

[<Origin> reassures him that it’s just a weak moment, and he shouldn’t worry.]

[<Well of Mana> asks if the fool who only knows the sword should be left alone and suggests exploring this world now.]

“Where this is doesn’t matter.”

Despite feeling sorry for the thrones who exerted their power to save him, Sijun had no reason or strength left to live.

[<Well of Mana> whispers that you won’t achieve your dreams unless you know where you are.]

“What are you scheming?”

Sijun grew suspicious at the reactions of the two thrones.

[<Well of Mana> tempts him, saying to start shaking those ropes as it’s nothing.]

It was better to quickly understand the situation than to stay in a daze as the thrones suggested.

By doing so, he might quickly find a way to end this merged life.

When Sijun pulled the rope mentioned by <Well of Mana>, a large, seemingly invisible wooden door opened smoothly next to the bed.

“My lord, have you awakened?”

‘My lord? Is that a name?’

He still hadn’t figured out who he had merged with.

Whether the owner’s name is ‘My Lord’ or if it’s a noble title, hesitating for a moment, Sijun lightly nodded.

Seeing Sijun’s nod, the butler spoke again.

“I will prepare.”

At the butler’s gesture, servants streamed into the room.

They quickly tidied up the canopy and opened the windows wide.

“Would you like to take a bath? Or simply freshen up?”

“I will take a bath.”

The butler, momentarily taken aback, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you suddenly using honorifics?”

“… Ah.”

‘Did the original owner of this body use informal speech?’

“Ah, I didn’t fully wake up. Prepare it.”

Whether the butler found it strange or not, Sijun moved to the bathroom at the servant’s announcement that the preparations were complete.

The bathroom, emanating a warm atmosphere, was so luxurious and grand that it was dazzling.

In the center of the unusually large bathtub, there was a fountain shaped like a baby angel, and warm water was spraying from it.

The floor seemed to have separate heating, feeling pleasantly warm underfoot.

Yoon Sijun turned around without undressing.

The servants, done with bath preparations, were standing against the wall.

“Please leave… No, get out.”

“B-but.”

While it might not matter to the original body’s owner, Yoon Sijun had no hobby of revealing himself naked in front of others.

“Do I have to say it twice?”

The hesitant servants bowed their heads and left the bathroom as the door closed.

Confirming the door was closed, Yoon Sijun undressed and entered the bathtub.

After a period of silence, <Origin>, who had been quietly conversing, sent a message.

[<Well of Mana> expresses happiness at the leisurely bath, saying it’s been a while.]

It had been so long since Yoon Sijun felt this relaxed that he couldn’t remember when.

On Earth, with dungeons and monsters popping up unexpectedly, those chosen by the thrones always had to remain vigilant.

Among them, Yoon Sijun, chosen by the Seven Thrones, had to be on standby 24/7.

[<Well of Mana> comments on how peaceful and nice it is here, expressing a desire to live in such a place.]

Although it was an attempt to distract Sijun, who was once again contemplating death, he pretended not to understand and changed the topic.

“Is this body’s soul dead?”

If it’s a fusion, it means he entered another body.

In that case, it meant there was a soul in this body.

However, Yoon Sijun couldn’t sense any other soul in this body.

[<Origin> conveys the god’s words that the owner of this body has already entered the cycle of reincarnation.]

“I see.”

As Yoon Sijun suspected, he nodded and posed another question.

“By the way, where are the other Thrones?”

There were a total of seven Thrones that chose Yoon Sijun.

However, only <Origin>, <Well of Mana>, and <End of the Sword> had sent messages.

He found it strange that the remaining four Thrones, who presumably cared for him just as much, hadn’t sent any messages.

[<Origin> states that the three of us have the authority to send messages, and there’s no other issue. Just focus on yourself.]

“I…”

Yoon Sijun fell silent.

<Origin> implied to adapt quickly to this place, but Yoon Sijun didn’t want to do that.

Even though he came to a new world, the fact that he lost his child couldn’t become a non-issue.

“Do you know anything about this place?”

[<Well of Mana> sniffs the familiar scent, suggesting that it seems to be a place with magic.]

‘If Yoori had been the one to be incarnated here instead of me, she would have been happy.’

As much as the child in the novel loved magic, if she had been the one incarnated, she would have been diligently working to learn magic.

Just as Yoon Sijun was smiling with bitterness at the image of the missed child, a knocking sound came from outside.

“My Lord.”

At the anxious-sounding voice of the old man, Yoon Sijun stood up from the bathtub.

Unlike the original body, which was covered in wounds, the incarnated body was fair, delicate, and even frail.

With no muscles or anything, the incarnated body looked like it would collapse with a simple touch, unlike the original Sijun.

However, Sijun didn’t care.

It was a body destined to die. Muscles or magic, everything was useless.

Yoon Sijun wiped his body with the towel the servants had prepared, dressed, and then looked into the mirror, furrowing his brows.

Lemon-colored hair, violet eyes, white skin, and well-defined features.

Instead of the familiar face, a man who looked fragile was reflected in the mirror.

Strangely, it felt familiar.

Somewhere, he had seen that face before.

When he was on Earth, apart from his niece, Sijun hadn’t shown interest in anyone else. Therefore, he didn’t have many faces stored in his memory.

Nevertheless, the face in the mirror felt too familiar.

More like looking at a painting than a person…

Yoon Sijun furrowed his brows once again at the thought that suddenly came to mind.