Yunho stretched out his slender arms as he yawned. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. Soft, glimmering streams of early morning sunlight peeked through the window at the youth. Outside was still the same white landscape being dusted by even more snowflakes. It had been a few days since Irene's celebration party, and Yunho was enjoying the fleeting peace that was being a homebody after an eventful night.
It was the bit after dawn when the sky finally decided to be blue rather than orange. Making use of his time, Yunho got up from the bed and took a seat at his desk.
He stared blankly at the pen and paper...and just yawned again. He didn't want to be a sitting duck, but it felt like every way Yunho could prevent his fate as Iris included intercepting Irene in some way. And how was he supposed to do that? He could only throw so many rocks. Irene was the chosen one by Baihye, the revered goddess in this world. And to top it off, the female lead! Yunho sighed and placed his head on the desk.
The only ways to save himself Yunho could imagine were to either push Irene down enough to the point she's harmless or to pull himself up enough to the point he's untouchable.
He felt like he was already some of the way there with his Frostwreath plan, but it still didn't feel like enough.
Who knows, maybe exile wouldn't be too bad?
The original Iris, who was never heard from again after being exiled and probably lived a miserable life before dying: "???"
Yunho let out a "hm" and tapped his fingers on the desk. It was time to think logically and use his reader insight to his advantage.
In the novel, revenge was the initial motivation for Irene, but she was also motivated by power and, later in the story, love. As unfilial as it sounded, Yunho could tilt Irene's want for revenge more towards the heads of the Evastine household by unassociating himself from them.
The only reason Iris was exiled in the original plot was because Irene was enacting revenge on him for his contempt and conceit. The original Iris would also disparage Irene and not hesitate to scheme against her if it'd benefit him. And Yunho had already fixed this behavior.
But even if Yunho's attempts to reconcile fell on unwilling ears, Irene wouldn't go for someone who was currently important, especially if they could help her towards her goals.
That was it.
Even though his finding of Frostwreath first was a good play, Yunho was still standing on the sidelines too much. Because he was scared of taking greater action. This world was still unfamiliar to live in and lacked the safe monotony of his hospital room.
Yunho didn't know what reasons he was given this body, but he was going to try to live his life to the fullest and enjoy having a healthy body.
Yunho groaned. The average person just gets to live normally without having to curate 4D chess plans in order to live peacefully. From a sickly life lived mostly in an empty hospital room to this nonsense was absurd.
Yunho now had the twinklings of a new game plan. The sunlight from the window kissed the gentle slope of his nose and his still sleepy blue eyes, and the slender, white column that was his throat twitched as he took a gulp of the chilly but fresh air. The youth picked up the pen off the desk and inked his thoughts down on a sheet of parchment:
"MISSION: CHANGE THE TIDES
Step 1-Be responsible for the first wave of famine relief (DONE)
Step 2-Change reputation (ONGOING)
Step 3- ???
Step 4- Live peacefully"
Yunho looked at the words on the paper that seemed increasingly more stupid by the second with an ashen face.
That "???" was where all the issues lay. With time still left until the next major plot arc, Yunho didn't know what his next move should be. The youth placed his head on the desk again. He felt like his brain was overheating. He hadn't even thought about what he'd do in the war arc.
Maybe he was done for.
Clearly being one of the main characters would be easier, ah?
Yunho cursed the gods once again for dealing him such a subpar hand in both of his lives.
---
Now freshened up and dressed, Yunho was lounging downstairs in a seat, reading a book with a cup of tea. The tea was cold in the already frosty weather, which worried Marella when Yunho asked it to be served that way. But Yunho was in the mood for the cooling sensation of cold tea, so the older woman digressed. In case things didn't go so peachy keen later, Yunho was going to enjoy the privileges of health, wealth, and good company right now. It was a mild day and not quite lunchtime, so most of the servants were resting as well. The lodge was quiet besides the occasional chatter of the younger servants and the breeze outside.
Yunho flipped through his book while using the entire span of his other hand to try to hide the book's spine and cover. He didn't want a single soul to know what book he was currently reading and honestly enjoying.
There had been one day when Yunho was incredibly bored. But he had nothing to do since there wasn't anywhere to go and he had read all of the books he had brought to the lodge...except one. Yunho was currently reading the book that had accidentally fallen into his luggage when he was packing to move to the lodge: "My Loyal Knight Actually Wants To Marry Me?"
He never figured out why it was in Iris's room, but maybe Iris had a secret affinity for cliché romance novels that just wasn't explicitly written in the story.
Yunho laughed to himself at the thought. Maybe he and Iris weren't so different in that aspect. After all, Yunho is the one that read "The Mistreated High Priestess Is Now a Princess" four times.
Yunho paused at this. Maybe he and Iris weren't so different. Yunho shook the thought away. Of course, the two of them were different. Yunho wasn't some bratty side villain from a cliché revenge romance novel. Yunho went for another sip of tea, but after catching the reflection in the liquid that was both his and not, something felt tight in his heart.
How much distinction could be made between him and Iris? Yunho was only "Yunho" in his thoughts. In body and in the eyes of others, he was just "Iris."
Yunho took a gulp of the tea and set the cup down. He was about to go back to his book when he heard something that made him drop it to the floor.
Rizer, behind him, called out with an almost undetectable but present surprised waver in his voice.
"Young master, there is a guest currently outside for you...and it seems to be the Northern Grand Duke."
Yunho snapped his head towards the direction of Rizer's voice.
Did he hear that right, or did he need a psychiatrist? Somehow, Yunho kind of wished it was the psychiatrist option. But no, he heard right.
The Northern Grand Duke was at the lodge's door for a visit.
At this point, all the servants in the lodge that heard Rizer were drawn out at this announcement, intrigued at the noble visitor and guessing his reason for coming.
Yunho looked like a man who had just been told he only had a day to live. Considering their encounter at Irene's celebration ball, Yunho thought he was done for. He wiped his invisible tears in his head.
"Goodbye, world. I guess this is how I'll die (again)."
---
The butler and the other servants watched their young master look like he'd just seen a ghost: "...Is the Grand Duke that scary?"
Dorian, outside in the snow, waiting to even be greeted at the door: "...Am I that scary?"
----
End of Chapter 23