Ch.365Sins of Youth

Hersella’s unexpectedly revealed embarrassing past was enough to leave me speechless.

Seriously, what am I supposed to say to this…?

The situation was so awkward that I couldn’t even taste the cigarette in my mouth.

Just moments ago, Jahan’s eyes had been filled with loyalty toward his lord, but now they had changed to a pitying gaze, as if looking at an immature child.

Hersella was the one who spouted nonsense, so why am I the one feeling embarrassed?

“It brings back such fond memories. You used to change your self-proclaimed titles almost every three months. The Celestial Horse, the Incarnation of the Sky Wolf descended to earth, the Blade of Hatred born under the Star of Death, the One Who Harbors Ghost Power…”

Jahan smiled warmly like a father lost in memories.

Meanwhile, I felt like I might burst into laughter from the absurdity.

This woman really said all kinds of nonsense when she was 15.

Did she go slightly mad after becoming a Champion through Karma of Murder?

[Ugh, aaaah…! Quickly, order Jahan to close his mouth! How dare he list all my lord’s embarrassing moments like that…!]

‘So you were aware they were embarrassing?’

Then why haven’t you stopped with the Celestial Horse nonsense yet?

Weren’t you embarrassed about that?

“Ah, come to think of it, ‘Warrior with Two Souls’ has a similar meaning to ‘One Who Harbors Ghost Power.'”

Jahan nodded as if having just realized something.

Right. They are similar.

Except this isn’t a child’s nonsense—it’s reality.

I clicked my tongue lightly, then lowered my head and took a deep breath.

The minty fog filled my lungs.

Suffocatingly.

…Well. Given how things have turned out, I could just leave him to live in his misunderstanding.

It would be easier than revealing the truth.

But that wouldn’t be right.

“…Champion Jahan. I’m not joking right now. I understand VERY well what ‘the owner of this body’ used to say before, but this time it’s not childish boasting—it’s clear fact.”

I dropped the imitation of Hersella’s manner of speaking and faced him with a serious attitude.

I needed to somehow convey the truth to Jahan, who was just playing along with what he thought was his melancholic lord’s prank.

“Think about it, Jahan. Was the Aishan-Gioro Haschal you knew someone who would leave you and Mersin behind? Was she a woman who would betray the Ka’har and join the Empire to fight for Westerners?”

My completely different appearance and tone.

Perhaps realizing I wasn’t just spouting nonsense, Jahan’s expression gradually hardened.

“That’s…”

Even you don’t think so, right?

“Was Aishan-Gioro Haschal the type of person who would disregard a warrior’s taboo and freely use dark arts like this?”

I summoned Karma flame and showed it to him.

The dark red flame flickered like a candle. His black pupils trembled with shock in the candlelight.

He probably couldn’t see it properly when I lit my cigarette earlier because my left hand was covering it… but if I show it to him directly like this, he should understand.

That I’m handling sorcery—or something close to magic.

This is something Hersella would never do.

In fact, although she taught me how to summon Karma flame, she herself had never once controlled this flame.

From my perspective, materialized Karma of Murder and Karma flame are both dark arts, but for her, there seemed to be quite a difference.

“No, this… could it be that what you said was true!?”

Jahan, shocked to the core, muttered blankly.

Yes, I understand. This must be a huge shock.

After all, he’s just heard directly from me that the young lady he cherished and served like family has had her body taken over by some strange guy.

“Now do you understand? I am…”

“To think that the claim about having a black flame dragon sealed in your left arm was true…!”

Oh come on.

‘Hey, what kind of nonsense were you spreading…!’

[T-that Jahan still remembers those words is what’s strange! Stop complaining and just convince him properly!]

There’s a limit to shifting blame. I’m trying to convince him, but he won’t believe me because of your karma.

What are we going to do about this?

—-

It took a full 30 minutes to make Jahan understand Hersella’s current situation.

No matter what I showed him, he thought it was Hersella’s ability.

When I showed him the Defying Fate sword, claiming I could handle powers beyond Karma of Murder because I wasn’t Hersella, he just marveled at how much stronger she’d become while he hadn’t seen her.

When I told him I’d become the heir of Landenburg and an enemy of the Ka’har, he was delighted, saying the Westerners who had been holding back the Ka’har at the wall would be a great help for revenge.

I had to ask Hersella what kind of relationship she had with Jahan that made him admire everything I said.

Apparently, they were almost like brother and sister.

‘If that’s the case, why can’t he tell the difference? If they were that close, shouldn’t he immediately notice that the person has changed?’

[…He’s not the type of man to notice such things. He’s always been a bit dense.]

‘No matter how dense someone is, my speech patterns and personality are completely different…’

If I were trying to hide the fact that I’m not Hersella, that would be one thing, but I’m openly confessing it, and he still can’t believe it?

After a moment of silence at my question, Hersella reluctantly clicked her tongue and explained the reason.

[…It’s not that different. Besides, I’ve always tended to change my speech and behavior depending on the time and age. From Jahan’s perspective, your current behavior is similar to how I was three or four years ago.]

So you’re saying you’ve always been mentally unstable?

So the nickname “Hersella the Mad” wasn’t about being a berserker but about being mentally ill?

And what do you mean similar? Don’t insult me.

I never went around calling myself the Celestial Horse or Black Flame Dragon at that age.

Anyway, thanks to mentally unstable Hersella’s past behavior, convincing Jahan took much longer than expected.

I needed him to understand the situation before I could even begin to persuade him.

Actually, I did think of the simplest and quickest method… but I couldn’t even attempt it because of the consequences.

If I shouted “Imelia Median is a whore who sold herself to the Ka’har!” he would immediately realize I wasn’t Hersella.

But then both Hersella and Jahan would try to kill me at the same time.

Well, that idea did help me find a similar way to convince Jahan.

It was enough to declare that I wasn’t Imelia’s daughter and didn’t even know such a person well.

Only then did Jahan finally believe that I really wasn’t Hersella.

At last, we made some progress.

—-

“So you’re saying that Lady Haschal is trapped inside you?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been saying. How many times do I have to repeat myself…”

I sighed as I lit my third cigarette.

I hadn’t even started the persuasion yet, but I already felt tired.

“How, how could such a thing happen…!”

Having realized the truth, Jahan let out a bewildered exclamation and rose to grab the prison bars.

“I don’t know the cause. Neither does she. We both just woke up and found ourselves in this state. While she’s the biggest victim in all this, I’m a victim too. I woke up in this body without knowing why, and had to bear all the grudges she had accumulated.”

[You’re exaggerating. It was just Knut, wasn’t it?]

No, I was cursed at a lot besides that.

It’s only thanks to my hard work that my position in the Empire has improved. Before that, I was called a barbarian, a murderer, and even a monster.

“Then release Lady Haschal right now! Wait, who are you anyway?!”

Apparently not liking my flippant attitude, Jahan gripped the bars tightly and shouted.

His reaction was so intense that even the black iron bars, second only to true iron in hardness, were slightly dented. His face contorted with bewilderment, fear, and anger.

“If I could do that, I would have done it already. I don’t even know how this happened, so how would I know how to fix it? I wasn’t a sorcerer or anything—just an ordinary soldier.”

That’s a lie.

Even if I were to discover a way to resolve this possession, I wouldn’t free her.

I couldn’t give freedom to someone who would eventually become “Hersella the Mad.”

…Though I’m starting to doubt whether this increasingly clumsy woman could really become such a murderous maniac.

“Do you think I’ll believe that…!”

“I’m sorry, but whether you believe me or not isn’t my concern. Nothing changes regardless of your belief. Besides, even the real Haschal acknowledges that I’m not a sorcerer.”

At the mention of Haschal’s name, Jahan, who had been about to charge at me, calmed down somewhat.

It wasn’t so much that he accepted my words, but more like he was willing to hear me out to the end.

“Lady Haschal said that…?”

Yes. She didn’t say it directly, but she seems certain that I’m not a sorcerer.

‘Come to think of it, I never actually asked. You do acknowledge that I’m not a sorcerer, right?’

[…Yes. That is so. You seem to lack both the intelligence and experience to perform such high-level sorcery. How could a girl who can’t even create a fire arrow with mana use dark arts that manipulate souls? You do have quite a way with words… but that’s more the talent of a merchant or con artist than a sorcerer.]

Wait, that was your reasoning…?

“Then… if you’re truly not a sorcerer as Lady Haschal says, what about that flame just now? Is there really a black flame dragon sealed within you…?”

What is this guy talking about now?