episode_0013

He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling adorned with arabesque patterns.

The Empire embraced and transformed all cultures of the continent. Recently, exotic arabesque styles had become popular among the nobility.

The Mayer family was the most prestigious noble family in the Empire. Their mansion was adorned with extravagant decorations that showcased their power. Currently, it was adorned with arabesque patterns.

Still, he couldn’t adapt to this luxurious household. Rising from his thoughts, he found comfort in the simplicity of the colonial residence where he had spent his time before possession.

Karl Mayer, now possessing a new status, discovered an open door. Few could freely enter the successor’s room of a duke. He turned his eyes, thinking of potential candidates. A man standing by the window greeted him.

“You seem to be quite the sleepyhead.”

“….”

“Long time no see? Hello? How should I greet you?”

“….”

“Hey, young master?”

He thought absentmindedly while looking at the distinguished visitor who had come in the morning. Was it really necessary to marry after turning thirty? Was he so bored as to visit someone else’s house on a holiday morning? Of course, considering his social status, it wasn’t a casual visit, but his usual carefree demeanor made him seem endlessly frivolous.

“Are you getting up?”

“I was trying to sleep more.”

“And because I came?”

“You know well, Director.”

The man with ash-gray hair, revealing his forehead, was none other than the Director of the Imperial Information Bureau, named Louis. He had no surname due to the disappearance of his noble family. One could guess his background from that fact.

However, behind his carefree appearance, the Empire’s most powerful killing machine lurked, making it impossible for anyone to pinpoint his origins. Of course, to the blond man looking at Louis, he seemed nothing more than a local fool.

“What brings you here on a weekend morning? Don’t you have someone to date?”

“Love is a luxury for someone like me, a patriot.”

“It’s not that we can’t meet, right?”

“Wake up, young master, Chris is waiting. Let’s have breakfast and talk about work.”

Louis evaded the answer, but it was true that there was work to be done. Karl knew this from the novel he had read before possession.

“Is the Duke already awake?”

“Does Chris know you’re like him? If you want to live as his son, at least try to follow his lifestyle.”

Christopher Maynard is the owner of this mansion and the man who gave a new life to the body that woke up.

Karl Maynard.

It had been quite some time since he possessed the protagonist of the novel. The first episode had ended, and he became the duchy of Maynard. He knew what would happen today because it was something he had read repeatedly before possession.

*

On holidays, the Duke sends all the servants out of the mansion. It meant he wanted to rest alone. So the dishes untouched by the servants were simple.

“Surely, did you cook yourself?”

“….”

The Duke, wearing neat monocles, quietly drank his coffee.

Meanwhile, Louis had been emptying his plate for days like a starving person. It was clear that this man had rushed here from early in the morning because he wanted to taste the Duke’s cooking.

“Chris, even if you weren’t born in a noble family, you wouldn’t have worried about food and shelter with this skill. With this level of skill, you could have aimed for the position of the exclusive chef of the palace or the papal kitchen.”

Unlike Louis, who kept exclaiming in admiration, Christopher Maynard, the Duke, slowly cut the omelet.

“I made it every time there were no servants. I’m proud to say it’s not bad.”

Karl Maynard also soon tasted the food with his fork. And he thought. It was really lucky to become this man’s adopted son. The prepared dish was nothing special, but the baking and seasoning were fantastic. Even with ordinary ingredients, producing such a result was similar to his management style of utilizing subordinates effectively to achieve results.

“Eat a lot, Karl, you’re at the age to eat a lot.”

“I’m already an adult.”

“Hey, guys grow taller even after going to the academy. I kept growing until I was in my mid-twenties too.”

“You could have grown a little less, Luis.”

The duke reminisced about his academy days. Clearly, he had been taller than Luis when they entered, but by graduation, the tables had turned. As a commoner, Luis’s social status had risen as much as his height.

“Anyway, it seems like we’ve almost finished our meal, so let’s get started.”

“What about dessert?”

Wiping his mouth confidently, Luis demanded dessert.

“I’ll give you dessert later. You’re such an impatient boss.”

“Well, you’re the one doing all the work anyway.”

“Write a resignation letter then.”

“I can’t because my pension hasn’t come in yet.”

They say men never grow up. Watching the nobles bicker at the highest levels of the empire made Karl deeply worried about the future of the empire. “I shouldn’t be like this after turning 30,” he resolved.

“The director doesn’t seem to be around, so I’ll explain first. Karl, you need to enroll in the academy.”

“Okay, as the vice-director says. I’ll pack right away.”

“Not right away… Please, just let me finish.”

Seeing the two bickering again, Karl smiled. The time he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Academy enrollment! This would create an opportunity to meet Saint Alana. He might meet other heroines, but he wasn’t interested. Not yet.

“You look happy, Karl. Excited to meet your childhood friend again?”

“Don’t speak lightly of the saint.”

“She hasn’t been officially announced yet, has she? Then she’s just your girlfriend, isn’t she?”

“It’s not like that…”

Karl quickly corrected the director’s statement.

“Maybe not yet. Cheer up, Karl! Love is something you have to conquer.”

Thinking that he wasn’t someone to listen to for advice, the duke looked at Karl.

“Duke, suddenly enrolling in the academy?”

“You don’t need to know the details yet. It’ll be hard to adapt if you think of it as a mission.”

“Yeah, yeah, make friends and have a romantic time!”

“However, there are people I would like to be close with…”

Karl knew what they were going to say. He had already read it in the novel.

There was a sudden silence from the secret branches of the heretical investigation bureau at the pulpit. And it happened all at once. Later, it was revealed that the heretical investigation bureau was searching for the last survivors of the royal family abroad. The last heirs with the surname Green.

The likely reason for the complete annihilation of the overseas branches was probably because there were real nobles among the subjects of investigation, and in order to conceal their existence, they inevitably attacked all the branches simultaneously.

The duke took out a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it.

[Barcan Principality] Lady, Cloe Deminus.

[Lugo Union] Daughter of a magistrate, Daniella Del Rio.

[Primera Kingdom] Viscountess, Beatrice de Dalia.

“Get close to these lovely ladies here.”

“Hey, could it be a setup?”

Once again, he swallowed the words that were not worth hearing.

“Since when did the intelligence bureau become a stalking agency?”

“Stalking and mission are just a piece of paper apart!”

“Luis….”

The duke calmed Luis down once again.

“It’s an important matter for the empire, no, for all of humanity, Karl.”

“….”

Looking at the duke speaking with a serious expression, he was already looking forward to the academy.

“Can’t you tell me the reason?”

“Well… I can only tell you that the person everyone in this country is looking for might be abroad under a different identity.”

“Is there a high possibility that the person we are looking for is among these three?”

“That’s right.”

Karl stared at the paper, thinking about Alana. These women were just temporarily involved for the flow of the novel. His ultimate goal was to stand by Alana. Becoming the duke’s adopted son, becoming a secret agent of the intelligence bureau, and even entering the academy were all just means to that end. Nevertheless, for now, he had no choice but to go along with the flow.

“What about after getting close?”

“Let’s think about that when the time comes.”

“Our faces are equally attractive, so find a way to make me spill my secrets no matter what.”

“I can’t agree with that. Louis, maybe you don’t know, but I’m still useful.”

“What? You!”

Here we go again. The two always tangled in each other’s words. Yet it was amazing how they managed to maintain their friendship.

“The academy environment, similar peers, you are undoubtedly the optimal person for the job.”

“Yeah, make good use of the title ‘son of a duke.’ Envious, aren’t you?”

And thus, Karl Mayner’s admission to the academy was decided.

*

Beatrice aimed to obliterate all overseas branches of the Heresy Investigation Bureau to eliminate the threat, but the Imperial Information Bureau’s intelligence was formidable. They were aware that the Heresy Investigation Bureau had been investigating certain individuals, and among them, they singled out those who disappeared and were similar in age to the missing princess.

Under the deduction of Christopher Mayner, Deputy Director of the Information Bureau, it was confirmed that if the princess who annihilated the Heresy Investigation Bureau was the culprit, she would build her power from the academy to reclaim the empire. All the new generation heroes have gone through the academy. The princess will need allies.

The protagonist Karl Mayner’s first and longest mission was to find the princess hidden in the academy.

Throughout this process, many things would happen, but the main focus of the novel is the episodes that unfold as he gets closer to the heroines while searching for the disguised princess. Karl Mayner smirked. The events he had never wished for were about to unfold. He had empathized so fervently with the emotions of the heroines and the protagonist even before possessing them… He couldn’t calm his heart at the thought of experiencing it firsthand.

“Alana….”

However, the itching in his chest was due to the emotions he had developed toward the saint Alana since possessing her. Even when he was a reader of the novel, his favorite heroine was the saint, and after possessing Karl Mayner, he had quickly forgotten the heroines he hadn’t even met yet. That’s how much he had come to like the saint.

Like Karl Mayner in a novel. For the sake of the possessed reader, for the sake of standing by the saint, and for the sake of becoming a man suitable for her, he started a new life. He vowed that although he would experience various things while getting involved with other heroines, his feelings toward the saint would not change.

She will definitely become ‘Jeongsil.’

However, it remains to be seen whether this man can maintain his single-minded affection for the saint. Because one cannot predict anyone’s actions until the situation actually arises.