The One Who Stole the Hero's Life

[This novel is on hiatus, meow. I'm sorry, I don't have the energy to work on two novels at once.]

The former head of the Kairi family died after failing to slay a dragon, and Yana succeeded him as the new head. Cowardly and incompetent, he soon found himself unable to stay in the capital and fled back to his rural hometown.

On the way home, Yana came into possession of a hero's novel.

The novel's protagonist was the boy who had been accidentally injured by a servant: the future dragon-slaying hero, who would become a king renowned for generations.

Remembering what he'd read in the book, Yana gazed at the young hero with growing excitement as a bold and despicable plan took shape in his mind:

He would steal part of the hero's life!

Money, connections, fame, happiness...

Let it all flow to him, the opportunist who had glimpsed the future!

When Yana discovered Augustus reading that same hero's novel, he felt his heart stop. He'd taken advantage of the hero in so many ways. Was he going to be killed?

Unable to pull free as his wrist was held fast, Yana shut his eyes in terror and waited for the hero's revenge. Instead, he felt a chill around his ankle. He opened his eyes and saw a shackle of pure gold.

"Steal my life? I don't mind."

"It's fine if you use me."

Augustus rubbed his cheek against Yana's with the same affection he'd shown as a child, then held him fast as he tried to escape. The hero narrowed his eyes, savoring Yana's trembling, and casually offered a love confession that sounded just like a threat:

"So you've been watching me all this time, too. I'm so glad."

"Let's be together forever, okay?"

The characters' values do not represent the author's.

Short story

Theme: A fool who changes sides with the wind will end up shipwrecked.