Only I Am A Reader



[Cassian?]

The blonde beauty's face froze for a second as if she was trying to remember something, causing the show's presenter to continue with a fluster.

[The Lord of Shadow. The masses still like to refer to him by his name because they believe that it's cooler. Some even disagree with the fact that he is a villain. Surely you remember him, you are the one who caught him after all.]

Bringing out Cassian as a topic on a public show was always a risky endeavor. Whether it was the Hero Association or the government, they all viewed him as a dark spot that they wanted to erase from their history.

However, considering Aurora Dawnbringer's identity, this was too good of a topic to pass on.

As long as she could show Aurora's strong stance against villains of all kinds, the show's presenter believed that things would end in her favor.

Unfortunately…

[Ah, sorry, I just had a sudden thought. Cassian, right? He was quite an interesting person to catch. It almost felt like he let himself be caught, if that isn't actually the case.]

Aurora's response was the exact opposite of what she expected! And she wasn't the only one that ended up being surprised.

'Seriously?'

Watching this from his dark cell, Leo was almost completely dumbfounded for the first time. Something was seriously wrong with this book!

The way he read it in the novel, chapters 33 and 34 were supposed to display Aurora's meeting on this show to highlight how much she had grown and her adamant pursuit of righteousness!

The mention of Cassian's questionable drama was supposed to invoke that spirit in her as she renounced his chaotic and unjust methods.

In fact, this was supposed to be Cassian's exit scene from the novel as he watched this intermission show with a mysterious smile.

Nonetheless, the Aurora that Leo saw was completely different from the naive protagonist he read about!

Not only had she practically pinpointed what Cassian did, her face strangely showed a deep and calculative spirit that Leo felt he was being scammed.

Just where was the real Main Character in this novel? Was he hallucinating his third True Reading?

'This can't be the case.'

Although Leo had the option to postpone this True Reading by a whole month, he definitely opted to go for it.

Embracing the normal side of reality was healing, but it was already getting stale. Moreover, it didn't seem like the irregular Anomalies would let him grow at a relaxed pace.

In short, every part of Leo's fiber wanted to immediately accept as soon as the option popped out.

And that was exactly what Leo did… He was sure of it, but why was everything in this book so different?

'I haven't even done anything yet.'

Sure, every book that Leo had touched ended up deviating from its normal course. However, Leo hadn't even left the starting point.

He was faithfully following Cassian's route by watching this show in an actual cell. Just how could he have affected the protagonist just by existing?!

[Ahem… That's a funny way to interpret it. H-How about we move on to the topic of-]

The presenter could barely speak as she imagined her career being destroyed by one stupid question. Thankfully, her saving grace didn't come too late.

[Pfft, hahahaha. That was a joke, of course. Cassian is a vile villain that should have been stopped before his first showcase of strength. If you have that kind of power, your place is on the frontlines that really matter. Clearing Gates for the sake of humanity.]

'Does she have some sort of split personality?'

Having contained his emotions again, Leo stared at Aurora through the screen as he contemplated this strange situation.

The way she currently spoke undeniably matched her personality in the novel, but Leo was just as sure that what she said before wasn't a joke.

Was this just a hidden part of the story?

After going through two other books, Leo learned well enough that not everything was mentioned in the text.

Just like Arthur's hidden identity as the Mid-boss, and Baekho's weakened mentality, it wasn't too far-fetched for Aurora to have a strange mental condition…

[Ah, right! Willful villains like Cassian all need to be punished by distracting heroes like you from their true duty!]

Being handed the chance to redeem herself, the presenter felt her soul coming back as she enthusiastically hyped up Aurora's statement.

[Excuse me, but isn't he part of the reason you are currently so popular now?]

All of a sudden, one of the guys in the audience loudly spoke out. His face didn't show much care, but he was obviously pointing fingers.

'Exactly.'

Rather than denying it, Leo confirmed the guy's accusation in his heart.

Aside from the brief mention of his tragic backstory, Cassian's role within the first 30 chapters could be summed up as being a glow-up tool for Aurora.

'That was what he… I wanted, I guess?'

Seeing as many major differences and similarities between himself and Aurora, Cassian genuinely wanted to see how life would change her.

He even took the time to construct a tight plot just to bait her and her team. Playing the role of a cruel villain was just to get her to go all-out, using this chance to drastically increase her popularity.

Even if that painted an even worse picture of him, Cassian didn't mind. This was all to make use of his retirement to give another source of entertainment.

[Well, you aren't wrong, but…]

Aurora's eyes turned sharp as she looked the speaker straight in the eyes. Not taking any more risks, however, the presenter redirected the discussion before the maverick guest said anything unexpected.

[Aren't you known more lately for your relentless raids? I have received a tip that you have been going in and out without any rest as of late. Can you confirm that…]

Seeing the conversation go back to normal, Leo continued listening to the talk show for another half an hour until it reached its end.

Finally, as the screen turned off on its own, Leo closed his eyes. Everything was a little off this time, so he had to think twice about his future plants.

'Let's start by figuring out an escape plan.'