Ch.152The Declining Imperial Family (23)

I felt like I was sinking underwater.

No matter how much I reached out, I couldn’t muster any strength, and I couldn’t see even an inch ahead of where I was.

‘Where am I?’

I tried to retrace my memories. As expected, I couldn’t remember clearly.

Drip-

I heard the sound of a water droplet falling.

‘Why am I here…’

With a sense of bewilderment, I tried to open my hand.

But in this pitch-black space, I couldn’t even see my own hand properly.

Drip- Drip-

The water droplet fell once more.

At the same time, my head felt slightly dizzy, so I clutched it. When I came to my senses, I noticed a change from before.

A thread-like light entered the space. Though it was a very small light, it was enough to identify objects.

In other words, I could finally see my hand.

Not the small, white hand of Ruide Christopher—

But the tanned, rough hand of an adult man.

“Huh?”

The feeling of strangeness lasted only for a moment.

The memories came rushing back instantly.

“How…”

The first emotion I felt was bewilderment.

I was certain I had possessed Ruide Christopher, so why had I returned to my original form?

Was it just a momentary dream?

Like an old classic fairy tale with the disappointing ending of “it was all just a dream”?

Unconsciously, I brought my hand to my neck.

I could feel a large, distinct Adam’s apple that a young boy wouldn’t have.

“Ah.”

My voice too was not the youthful voice I was used to, but the deep voice of an adult man.

To be precise—it was the voice of my “real self” before the possession.

“…Have I, returned?”

I was confused. It was a more intense emotion than when I was first possessed. Emptiness, regret, but most importantly—

“…Amelia.”

At that moment, I felt as if I had awakened from a deep dream.

Whoosh-

The colorless world transformed into a vibrant one filled with various colors.

It was a meadow with a cool breeze. Fresh green grass danced with the wind. In the center stood a large old tree.

Under that tree, a blonde boy was standing. It was someone I knew well.

Ruide Christopher Windsor.

Not a fake like me, but probably the “real” one.

I walked toward him with a dazed expression.

“Hello.”

“…Hello.”

The boy’s eyes were already half-closed. He had a sleepy expression as if he would fall asleep at any moment. No, looking more closely, it was closer to an annoyed expression.

I waited quietly until the boy spoke. But no matter how much time passed, he didn’t open his mouth.

In the end, it was the man who couldn’t hold back.

“Was it you who possessed me?”

“Maybe.”

The boy yawned lazily.

“It was bothersome. I thought it would be nice if someone else moved around instead of me.”

“…I see.”

I couldn’t help but make a bitter expression.

‘So now he wants to take it back.’

“No, that’s different.”

“Huh?”

The boy spoke as if he was reading my mind.

Before I could ask about that confusion, the boy answered.

“I am not Ruide Christopher.”

“…What?”

“I just borrowed a body to talk to you.”

“Borrowed…?”

“Yes. You have two bodies, don’t you?”

As he said this, the boy pointed at me once and then at himself once.

“Then.”

The man swallowed dryly.

“Are you a god?”

The being who caused the possession.

And judging by the expression “borrowed,” it seemed highly likely.

Even as I said it myself, it was hard to believe.

“Something like that.”

“……”

“You must have a lot of questions. Ask away. I’ll answer anything right now.”

Of course, I had mountains of questions.

But I didn’t expect such an opportunity to come so suddenly.

More than that—

“Isn’t it too late?”

“Huh?”

“Shouldn’t you have given me guidance on the first day of possession?”

It was absurd, but this god was too unfriendly.

Usually, don’t they give various explanations from the beginning?

Like why they possessed someone.

“I forgot.”

‘…Don’t forget something like that.’

I barely held back from picking a fight.

For now, he’s a god, and who knows what he might do if he’s displeased.

‘Well then…’

I decided to ask the most fundamental question first.

“Why did you possess me?”

“I already told you. I just needed someone to do things instead of me.”

“What things?”

“You.”

The boy sighed lightly.

And with a slightly, no—perhaps very contemptuous look, he stared at me.

“Aren’t you forgetting something very important?”

“Something important?”

“How frustrating.”

The boy, shaking his head, approached me.

“The original story.”

“…Oh.”

“You’ve deviated too far from it.”

“That’s… true.”

“Look at this.”

The boy waved his hand in the air.

Then, feeling as if my body was floating somewhere, the background changed.

-Wow, I didn’t expect Windsor to be helpful. Because of the war, they don’t have time to pay attention to this side, so it’s a paradise, a real paradise.

-Now I can breathe a little easier. What’s the plan?

-It’s almost over. Soon, our dear master—the greatest black mage in history, “Dellin”—will be resurrected.

It was a half-ruined city.

Terribly disfigured corpses were scattered on the streets.

I closed my eyes tightly, unable to bear the sight.

“Do you remember who was supposed to defeat them? You should know.”

“…Justin.”

“Yes, Justin.”

As soon as that name was spoken, what appeared was a white snowy field.

A familiar landscape I knew well. It was the North.

Justin was walking somewhere with rotten fish eyes.

“That’s an empty shell.”

“What…?”

“As a result of your desperate efforts to hinder Justin’s growth, Justin had his soul eaten by a black mage.”

For a moment, images of Justin’s strange behavior flashed through my mind.

“That’s not all. Nia, Isabella, Crowell. Those who would have been key figures in this world have now become nothing. They’ve been robbed of their growth momentum.”

The background changed once more.

It showed several people.

All faces I knew well.

“In contrast, you took no responsibility. If you fire a janitor, you should hire another company. Thanks to you, the stench of garbage is resonating in my world.”

Justin is righteous.

Because of that, he doesn’t shy away from difficult tasks.

Even if someone might call him a “pushover,” he steadfastly does what he needs to do.

It was a job that someone had to do.

“Yes, it’s a job that someone has to do. I chose you as that substitute. But you betrayed my expectations.”

I know I’m pathetic.

Despite being possessed by a character with powerful abilities, I did nothing.

But that doesn’t mean I have nothing to say.

“If you had told me in advance, I would have made an effort. And if you were going to complain like this, you should have chosen someone more suitable.”

“No, even if I had told you in advance, the result wouldn’t have been different. You are that kind of person, and you were chosen because you are that kind of person.”

The man raised his head.

“So, I was chosen?”

“Yes. You’re an empty shell of a human without desires. Someone who doesn’t want to do anything, doesn’t want to achieve anything.”

I was about to ask what that meant, and if that’s why he chose me, isn’t this the expected result—when the boy yawned so lazily that it seemed almost rude to speak to him.

“The time for our meeting is coming to an end. Let’s get straight to the point.”

“The point?”

“A building without a foundation collapses even in a small wind. Now that we know it was built incorrectly, we need to tear it down and rebuild from the beginning.”

It took a moment to understand those words.

“Rebuild… from the beginning?”

“Yes. Start over from the beginning. This world ends here. Thanks for letting me know. As a token of gratitude—I’ll send you back to the world you used to live in. You’re a really lucky human.”

I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected words.

“You lived in a pretty good world, right? Of course, for those who can’t enjoy it, it’s not a pleasant world at all. I’ll take care of that too and let you live a good life. What do you like? A look that captivates everyone? Being a child of a wealthy family? Or—a genius mind that understands anything with just one look?”

“Wait, wait.”

The boy looked at me with confusion.

“Wait—so, you’re saying you’re going to destroy this world?”

“It’s become too tangled to fix, so it needs to end.”

The boy turned his back as if he had nothing more to say.

I quickly grabbed the boy’s shoulder.

“You can’t do that.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it a waste?”

“It is a waste. That’s why I tried using you. Hoping that the flap of a small butterfly’s wings might have a positive effect. But the outcome was the same. This needs to be remade.”

“It’s not over yet.”

My breathing became increasingly labored.

‘Why am I acting like this?’

In truth, it was an offer with nothing to regret.

Isn’t being born with the appearance you want a dream that everyone wishes for?

In terms of conditions, this world and the body of a genius like Ruide weren’t particularly desperate for me.

I know that enjoying 21st-century modern civilization is more pleasant than a world with magic.

‘…But if that happens, everything will disappear. Amelia, Irene, Victoria, Hersy, Damon. All of them.’

Just imagining it made my heart ache.

Of course, I didn’t want that.

“…I’ll, somehow try.”

“You’ll somehow try?”

“I’ll restore your world back to normal. That would work, right?”

“How?”

The boy asked with pure curiosity.

The man answered without hesitation.

As if it were a predetermined future.

“Somehow.”

The boy stared at the man for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“If that’s what you want. Alright. I don’t want to erase a world I’ve created either. But…”

The boy tilted his head.

For some reason, the man found the boy’s appearance chilling.

“But can you do it? It’s already too late to turn back.”

“I can.”

I answered quickly, fearing the words might change.

As long as it doesn’t disappear, there must be some way.

The boy nodded as if he understood and waved his hand.

The background became blurry, and the boy’s voice also became indistinct.

“I’ll respect your choice. But, it’s probably impossible. No matter what desperate attempts you make.”

As soon as the boy finished speaking, my vision went dark.

A strange feeling of being sucked into somewhere and then coming out. It felt like floating alone in some space in the universe.

Feeling a vague fear, I closed my eyes.

How much time had passed?

‘I’m back.’

Even though I couldn’t see yet, I could be certain of that.

The sensation of air and mana at my fingertips.

The slightly stuffy smell of the wind.

This is undoubtedly the “world inside the novel” where I was.

Ruide felt a sense of relief and opened his closed eyes.

And what he saw—

“Huh?”

It was a world where nothing remained.

“You did it, didn’t you? Don’t you remember?”

The boy’s mocking voice echoed to Ruide.