I Became the Heroine’s Stand-in - Chapter 73

Diana waited in silence, watching him, anticipating the moment Ersivan’s lips would part.

It was only a fleeting second, but to her, it felt endless, stretching into eternity.

Finally, his tightly pressed lips began to move. The soft pink hue trembled slightly before his mouth opened completely.

She swallowed unconsciously.

“Get down!”

But instead of the answer she had been waiting for, a sharp warning erupted from him.

A moment later, an alien, deafening roar—something she had never heard before in her life—reverberated from beyond the walls, slamming against her eardrums.

“W-What is…?”

“We need to get out of here first.”

A high-ranking monster had been lurking deeper inside—most likely the dungeon boss—and it had sensed their presence.

Though it was a foe they would have to defeat eventually, Ersivan had no intention of engaging in a full-scale battle while Diana was with him.

He grabbed her arm urgently. The intensifying tremors meant that the monster was closing in fast.

“Pardon me.”

His voice remained polite, but he didn’t wait for her response. Instead, he lifted her into his arms.

With her legs suddenly off the ground, Diana instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, securing herself against him.

His breath, occasionally brushing against her skin, was warm.

Even as he ran, Ersivan repeatedly glanced down to check on her, making sure she was still safe in his arms.

She refused to meet his eyes, pressing her face against his shoulder in embarrassment—something he found utterly endearing.

Whenever she peered up at him, her expression pouted ever so slightly, as if something wasn’t to her liking.

“I promise you.”

“…?”

“Once I’ve taken you somewhere safe, I will answer all of your questions.”

Her lips, which had been sticking out in a small pout, quickly retreated.

That reaction alone told him he had guessed correctly.

Of course, he had planned to use this moment to his advantage.

If he wanted, he could just remain silent after they arrived.

The timing had been perfect, so no one would question him even if he suddenly withdrew from the conversation.

But now, realizing that his silence had been interpreted as avoidance, he knew—even if it meant being condemned—he had to tell her everything.

They barely made it out of the dungeon.

Standing just outside the cave, they basked in the cool breeze flowing from within, allowing themselves a brief moment of respite.

Even though they had run non-stop for what felt like hours, Ersivan wasn’t even slightly out of breath.

His inhuman endurance made Diana wonder if he was truly human at all.

Oddly enough, the one struggling was her—breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Leaning against the rocky wall, she gasped for air, but as time passed, her breath gradually steadied.

Their eyes met without warning.

And as if caught in an unspoken agreement, they both laughed, their eyelashes lowering for just a moment before lifting again.

“Can I ask now?”

Sensing that it was finally the right time, Diana broke the silence.

He had already expected the conversation to continue.

Remaining composed, he nodded.

Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small magic stone.

Muttering a brief incantation, the stone glowed bright yellow.

It served not only as a source of light but also as a truth detector—yellow for truth, violet for lies.

It wasn’t that he doubted her honesty—it was more likely that he anticipated her skepticism toward his own words.

Diana glanced at the luminous stone beside her before speaking.

“I want to know… if you were part of my lost childhood.”

“Before I answer… I need you to tell me about this lost childhood of yours in detail.”

“It’s exactly as I said. I have no memories from before I was six. When I woke up, I was in a small, decrepit house in the slums.”

“…”

“I knew nothing—not my name, not my age. I only learned them from a note in the pocket of my dress.”

“A note?”

“Yes. It said:

‘Diana, or Diane. Age: six. Wishing you luck.’

Just that—a short, detached message.”

She had no memories.

To make matters worse, she had woken up in a collapsing house, its roof caving in.

A crying child, alone in an unfamiliar place—and by sheer chance, she had rolled off the bed, discovering the note.

Should she have been grateful that at least she knew her name and age?

Or did that knowledge only add to her confusion?

What was certain was that someone had deliberately erased her memories and abandoned her where no one would ever find her.

When she finished recounting everything, Ersivan’s expression twisted.

It was the face of someone who had suspected the worst but was now forced to confront the reality of it.

“Now it’s your turn, Evan.”

“…First, allow me to express my deepest regrets for what you’ve been through.”

“It’s just the past now.”

Damn it.

Ersivan let out a weak chuckle, mirroring hers.

But deep inside, his mind was a chaotic storm of curses and rage—words too foul to ever be spoken aloud.

“I…”

“…”

“I have always known about you.”

“Did you only learn about me recently?”

“No. I have known… for a very long time.”

“A long time ago…?”

Ersivan acknowledged her words with a silent nod and continued speaking.

“And Diane, the reason I sought you out is because I owe you a great debt from my youth. I wished to repay that kindness, if I dared.”

“So, if you owe me a debt, that means we met before, doesn’t it?”

Diana blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

If he had been searching for her to use as a pawn for revenge, she might have understood. But to claim that he was indebted to her because she had helped him in childhood?

“It’s an enormous debt, one I’m too ashamed to explain before someone who doesn’t even remember it.”

Since he couldn’t completely fabricate a lie, he chose to speak in the most indirect way possible.

“What was I like back then?”

“What do you mean exactly?”

“Where did I live? How did we meet? Just little details like that. Since those memories don’t exist for me.”

“…It was by sheer chance that we met. But it was you who turned that coincidence into something inevitable. And in that fleeting moment, whether long or short, I became indebted to you—more times than I can count.”

As he spoke, his expression darkened.

Though he was recounting something good, he looked like a man struggling against his own agony.

“Then why didn’t you repay your debt back then?”

A moment of silence passed.

When she glanced at him again, his face had grown even darker.

Deliberately dragging out his response, he finally forced himself to speak.

“I couldn’t. The situation at the time made it impossible. I had no choice but to wait until I was capable of handling things myself. When I finally had the strength to search for you… I couldn’t find you.”

Until he left the imperial palace and took on the name Valencia, it had simply been impossible.

“Just one last question. From the moment we met, did you already know who I was?”

“I had hoped… but I wasn’t certain. I thought you were dead.”

His voice wavered, thick with unspoken emotion. By the time he finished speaking, it had cracked entirely.

Diana glanced at the magic stone.

The light remained yellow.

Everything he had just told her—the emotions, the words—was the truth.

There were still so many unanswered questions.

But there was one thing she could be certain of.

“Then… you really did intend to protect me.”

She thought back to the meaningless contract he had agreed to so easily, to every word he had spoken and every action he had taken toward her.

It was almost laughable—how she had tormented herself over her suspicions, overanalyzing his every move while all along…

She had been the one giving meaning to everything.

Her eyes burned as tears suddenly spilled over.

Startled by her own reaction, she quickly wiped them away.

She hadn’t meant to show any weakness, so she immediately straightened her posture, lifting her chin in an attempt to act unaffected.

But it was pointless.

The slight trembling in her gaze, the unsteady breaths—he could hear it all.

“If I could repay my debt, I wouldn’t have hesitated to offer my own life.”

Her tear-filled eyes were tinged red, and Ersivan reached out, gently wiping away the remnants of her tears.

His touch was just as warm as his voice.

“Then right now, you have no one left to protect you.”

“That’s why I chose to cherish you. Because I’ll have to lay down my life for you someday.”

Even his half-joking words were touching.

His sentiment was so unbearably tender that for a fleeting moment, she wondered—was this all just another cruel deception?

To truly confirm her own thoughts, Diana decided to test him one last time.

“Evan. One day, my sister will return.”

“…Yes.”

“When she does, my father will do whatever it takes to erase me from this family’s history. He won’t hesitate to kill me.”

“…”

“When that time comes… will you truly be able to protect me?”

She hadn’t expected to mention Lillian first.

She hadn’t thought she would be the one to tell him that her sister would return to take her place.

Would he welcome Lillian back into his life?

Would he look at her with the joy of reuniting with someone truly important to him?

And if he did—would that hurt her?

Would she be left standing alone, watching from the sidelines?

She held her breath and studied him carefully.

But he didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he nodded wordlessly, let out a hollow laugh as if mocking himself, then finally…

He lowered his head and trembled.

Support I Became the Heroine’s Stand-in