episode_0016

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Midnight.

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As Karl looked at the streets of the capital, he remembered the splendid university district that had been radiant with neon signs before possession.

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He didn’t expect to feel such sentiments here again. At that time, she—no, he—had only gazed beyond the library window at the unceasing lights of the bustling streets.

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Before possession, Karl had drawn close to books instead of friends. He felt a slight loneliness every time he passed the crowded streets where other students enjoyed campus life late into the night while he guarded the library.

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Especially when he encountered familiar faces.

Although he knew who they were, most of them didn’t recognize him, so he couldn’t even greet them. He was afraid of seeming awkward.

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In truth, he always wanted to dash out onto the streets.

He hoped someone would grab his seemingly listless hand and lead him to the dazzling night streets. He wanted to walk the streets at night, feeling the spring breeze like everyone else. But he lacked the courage to approach first.

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That’s why Kim Se-jin didn’t appeal to him.

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“This house’s sherbet is delicious~”

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A slurred voice, already intoxicated, reached his ears.

It was a coquettish voice mixed with a nasal tone.

What was her name…?

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“I’m buying it for my junior.”

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She raised her voice near Karl’s ear.

Thanks to her, her nasal voice echoed clearly amid the noisy street. The scent of jasmine wafted from her red hair.

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“….”

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Karl looked down at her expressionlessly. The woman who had grabbed his arm and linked it with hers smiled mischievously. Her alluring pupils flickered.

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“You’re starting school tomorrow, right? Let’s have sherbet and go to the academy together in the morning. I’ll show you around the campus. It’s so vast; you might get lost, you know?”

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She licked her upper lip as if savoring the sherbet. It was unclear whether she was looking forward to the sherbet or something else.

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After going to Louis’s bar, Karl was fortunate enough to mingle with the women they met when they entered the bar.

The women who seemed more mature than their age were senior students at the Imperial Academy. As the atmosphere of the drinking party grew, the self-proclaimed seniors who had attached themselves to Karl under the pretext of having sherbet took him out onto the street.

They probably didn’t plan on returning to the drinking party where the other two were waiting.

Karl recalled an old memory, a memory from his university days before his possession.

Late at night, on the way home from the library.

The encounter with Park Jung-soo and Young-hee, who were sharing ice cream.

Park Jung-soo, who happened to sit next to him on the first day of class and spoke to him first.

When they met on the street, she greeted him with the same bright smile as back then.

The two of them had slipped away from the drinking party to eat ice cream.

What happened to them while eating ice cream…

Did they return to the drinking party where their companions were?

Karl’s heart raced.

He thought it was because of the sensation he felt in his arm, the coquettish voice coming from nearby, and the woman’s scent. He felt uncomfortable in a man’s body. It was because he was too sensitive to stimulation.

Even now, his heart didn’t race when an uninterested woman approached him. It might be because of the alcohol, though.

“It’s not time yet…”

Thinking about the past due to the sherbet made Karl feel uneasy. He decided not to dwell on what happened to the two of them after that.

“Let’s go back. No, you’re quite drunk, so I’ll take you.”

“Huh? Already…?”

“Yes. Where do you live?”

The woman who called herself a senior seemed to be in a good mood, as if her mouth was about to touch her ears because things were going smoothly.

“I couldn’t get into the academy before the semester started, so I stayed at the Bromong Hotel~”

“It’s close by. Shall we go?”

“Yeah~!”

The woman, who had linked arms with Karl and staggered, began to walk in step with him as if to say, “When did this happen?” Her pace reflected her desire to arrive at the hotel a little faster.

*

“You, are you okay?”

“….”

The self-proclaimed senior woman looked at the knife with a displeased expression. The current situation was different from what she had expected.

This man had really come to escort her to the hotel.

She was greatly taken aback when she saw Karl bidding her farewell in the hotel lobby.

She tried various methods, such as holding onto the knife trying to leave, suggesting he should have room service before leaving, recommending the bartender’s skills and suggesting he stop by the bar, and asking him to take her to her room, but it was all in vain. In the end, it was not a suggestion or request, but rather pleading and threatening.

In the end, even the alcohol was all gone. The conclusion reached at the end of resignation was one thing.

The only reason for this absurd situation of releasing the prey she had caught, a beauty like herself, was that the man in front of her must have some sexual problem.

“Are you rejecting me?”

“No.”

“But why? I don’t understand.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… don’t you have eyes? Are you just going to let a woman like me go?”

It hurt her pride to say these words directly, but this unprecedented situation made her abandon her pride. Normally, there would be no end to the men who courted her. But to receive such treatment…

She regretted coming out for a fling before the start of the semester with her friend. She happened to meet this handsome man, and upon finding out he was her junior, was it too hasty? Did she seem like an easy woman? These mixed emotions created a sense of humiliation.

As a result, she came to believe that the mistake was not hers, but the man in front of her.

“Oh..! Senior, you are certainly beautiful enough.”

Karl was sincere. Even before possessing her, he prided himself on having an objective eye. The senior, seen through the eyes of the man in front of her, possessed a beauty that anyone would admire. That was all there was to it. And in fact, there was a more important reason.

“But why…?”

“It’s not time yet.”

“What does that mean?”

The senior could not understand what he was saying.

“My first experience has not come yet.”

“….”

“Like that face? I wanted to ask, but Karl’s expression was too firm. So I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

“The other person won’t be a senior either.”

She pouted. It was practically a declaration of ‘I will never get along with you.’ At least, that’s how she took it.

“I… am I not attractive enough?”

“No! It’s just that your first experience won’t be with a senior.”

“Huh…?”

“Later… let’s have room service together later.”

Her pouting face softened, but she still looked at Karl with a troubled expression.

“What… was your name again?”

He intended to leave it as a one-night stand, but it was a type he had never encountered before, so he became curious. This was the first time he had been treated like this.

“I’m Karl. What’s your name, senior?”

“Oh, come on, Scarlett! Scarlett Rogers!! I told you earlier.”

“Sorry. I’m not good at remembering names… But it’s a name I’ve never heard before?”

Karl tapped his temple with his finger, trying to recall.

“Don’t you know my father? The Marquis of the Empire? Where are you from, some rural area?”

“Rogers…”

Karl recalled the contents of the novel before possession. In the middle of the novel, one of the names of the warriors who fought against the rebel army was Rogers. But he didn’t know that the daughter was attending an academy.

“Yes, it’s the first time I’ve heard it. What’s the senior’s name?”

“Remember it this time! Unbelievable, really!”

“Well then, I’ll be going! Have a comfortable night.”

“Because of you, it’s already an uncomfortable night, isn’t it? But what’s your last name? Oh, no. Since you don’t even know the Rogers family, you must be from a foreign country or a commoner. I asked for no reason.”

Karl was no longer a commoner, but he didn’t affirm or deny it because he thought it would make the conversation longer.

*

He soon left the hotel lobby and headed home.

The Marquis’s mansion was not far from the Bromong Hotel. Traditionally, the lords of Mayner had performed official duties in the central government. That’s why the mansion was also located at the center of the system.

“Sigh…”

Karl sighed.

The scent of alcohol and Scarlett almost made me stay at the hotel. It wasn’t easy to restrain the male instincts I experienced while possessing a man’s body.

Certainly, he liked the saint Ilana. But he also had distorted moral concepts.

Louis thought his subordinate was innocent, but that was not the case.

Before possession, he only chose harem novels to read.

He used to envy the male protagonists who stole heroines’ hearts. But now, being possessed by the very person, it felt like a dream.

For a man like this, wouldn’t polygamy be acceptable? Wouldn’t the heroines accept it too? Since a man’s body has no physical constraints like pregnancy, a dissolute lifestyle didn’t seem bad. If he didn’t give his heart, it wasn’t betrayal.

He thought that if he didn’t give his heart, any action would just be a simple prank. Yes, as long as his heart remained constant, his true love for Alana would be preserved. The other heroines were just tools. Tools for advancing the novel. The only sincere emotion is what he feels for Alana, the heroine he met after being possessed.

In conclusion, the repressed desires before possession combined with the male physical instincts after possession led to his current moral concepts. Clearly, Karl likes the saint Alana. Perhaps he will come to love her. However, with a truly selfish belief that the mind and body are separate.

Kim Se-jin was satisfied with his current self.

His possessed self, Karl Mayner. Now, he felt like he could do anything. He couldn’t help but smile wickedly. He was so looking forward to the life ahead.

However, the reason he still couldn’t act as his desires led him was due to his anxiousness about making choices that might deviate from the novel’s plot. He was an avid fan of the novel and deeply immersed in its development.

At least, he didn’t want to change the flow up to the latest chapter he had read before possession.

That was also why he was going back home now.

He didn’t want to disrupt the peculiar event planned for the latter part of the novel…

The possessor, Karl Mayner, was truly obsessed with the setting.

“Student number 1, please come up to the platform.”

I pretended not to hear.

“Student number 1…? Number 1? Where are you?”

“…”

Many eyes turned toward the number 1 tag on my left chest, but I ignored them.

“Number 1, Béatrice de Dalia!!”

“Oh, yes!”

Finally, I raised my head and looked at the platform. The supervisor had been watching me, number 1, for a while.

“Please come up.”

“Yes…”

The platform felt like a guillotine. My steps were heavy. Why me of all people? Why am I number 1 among all these students?!

If I were to describe the current situation….

It was the long-awaited academy entrance ceremony. After the boring entrance ceremony ended, it was time for the mana measurement. It was done by injecting mana into the measurement device on the platform one by one, in an outdoor facility resembling the grand square of ancient Greece.

But the problem was…

“What’s the average for new students..?”

If only I weren’t number 1!

If that were the case, I could have just injected the same amount of mana as the others, based on their levels. But why did I have to be number 1? It feels like heading a ball straight into the ground… No, it’s essentially gambling.

To not stand out, it’s good to have an average level.

Being too strong can raise suspicion.

Being too weak is also not good. Among the crowd, the possessor Carl Mayner knows that Béatrice is among the top ranks within the department.

Darn it… Would it be better to be completely weak? To act as if I have no powers? No… I’m a capable noble who has even studied abroad in a distant country. Suddenly claiming to have no mana doesn’t make sense.

The mana measurement device was getting closer. I heard the magical device humming. I swallowed hard.

“Béatrice de Dalia, number 1. Place your hand on the stone slab and inject your mana. Imagine pouring out all of your mana.”

“…”

“I don’t know!”

I roughly inputted the most comfortable amount of mana. It wasn’t a deliberate strong injection, nor was it intentionally weak.

Vvvvrrrrr—

The measurement device shook, and light shimmered.

According to the explanation I heard before the measurement, the closer it is to blue, the stronger the mana. The dormitory is determined by the level of mana. The magical tool that contains my mana changed color splendidly. After the measurement, it will be fixed to one color.

Zap!

Huh? I think I just heard a strange sound…

Zzzzap-

The vibrating sound became uncontrollably loud.

“This can’t be! Step back, Dahlia Yang!”

The supervisor prepared for an unexpected situation by blocking me from stepping back from the magical tool. The shining color above the magical tool quickly changed as if it were winding up. Suddenly, other faculty members climbed onto the platform.

“Deploy shields!”

They each deployed a massive shield from their positions, completely covering the area around the measurement device. The resonating and shaking measurement device finally exploded with a loud roar.

Boom-!

“Ugh!”

Due to the shields, the explosion didn’t spread, but the shock was clearly felt as the platform shook greatly. I barely managed to regain my balance and looked at the point of the explosion.

The mana measurement device was shattered into pieces. It seemed like it wouldn’t function properly anymore.

It seems like my mana is different after all.

I couldn’t afford to indulge in thoughts like “Am I really from the royal family?” The situation was too serious. All eyes were on me because of what had happened.

“Oh… I’m done for…”

I messed up big time from the entrance ceremony. I wanted to blend in and go unnoticed…

Soon, rumors would spread like wildfire. A new student who destroyed the mana measurement device…

A new student with such strong mana that it’s suspicious.

That was me.