“Ugh… my head.”
Jun-hee groaned while clutching his head.
A headache was piercing through his temples. A groan escaped his lips, and his body felt as heavy as lead.
“Where am I?”
He had lost consciousness due to a light that burst out of a book.
The place where he had collapsed was the 3.5th Floor of the university library.
It didn’t feel like much time had passed, but he could feel the touch of a cozy blanket against his back.
Had he been discovered sooner than expected and moved to a hospital?
As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was a marble floor with apricot patterns mixed into a white base.
Furthermore, he couldn’t feel the characteristic chill or scent of a hospital.
“But… is this a hospital VIP room?”
It was a classic interior with a fireplace.
There was furniture that looked like it belonged in a luxury penthouse or a five-star hotel. Additionally, the pale lavender wallpaper made the indoor atmosphere feel even more sophisticated.
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t a place where a civil servant with terminal lung cancer should be.
“Is this the afterlife?”
That was the most likely deduction.
Embroidered carpets and green light bulbs weren’t common things in South Korea.
There was no reason for such an environment to be prepared for him in the land of the living.
Fine. This was actually for the better.
Instead of living out his remaining three months in pain, this kind of ending wasn’t bad, honestly.
He had grown up as an orphan and lived as a bachelor until forty, so he had no human relationships to untangle.
Since his first impression of the afterlife wasn’t bad, this was truly a “well-dying” situation.
“Hmm…”
Above all else.
“It’s incredibly nice. It’s better than when I was alive.”
And why did his body feel so light?
If things were like this, the saying that “it’s better to roll in a field of dung in the living world than to be in the afterlife” could just be considered an old wives’ tale from his ancestors.
The Grim Reaper would surely walk through that door soon and beckon to him.
He hoped the reaper would guide him to the afterlife as kindly as a telemarketer.
However, a strangely long silence persisted. Even so, he didn’t want to open the room door to go looking for the reaper.
He just wanted to enjoy his healthy body while looking at the oil paintings hanging in the room.
But Jun-hee was not the type of person who could enjoy waiting indefinitely.
Eventually, unable to bear it any longer, he tossed aside the blanket and was about to get off the bed.
“What? Why is this…?”
As he sat on the edge of the bed, something felt strange about his body.
More than anything, pale and thin limbs caught his eye.
“Huh?”
He hurriedly scrambled out of bed and stopped in front of a mirror in the room.
“Red hair?”
The appearance reflected in the mirror was strange.
He had the looks of a Hollywood child actor and red hair.
He had expected his appearance might be different since it was the afterlife, but he couldn’t remain calm.
Jun-hee, his eyes wide, fell back on his buttocks in horror.
It was a face that looked like a high schooler at best.
“Does your appearance change when you die? And into an American child at that?”
As he sat before the mirror, calming his racing heart and narrowing his eyes like a bowstring.
Click.
The room door swung wide open.
“Who—”
The person who opened the door and entered was not the Grim Reaper, but a young white woman.
“Young Master Dien!”
The girl, who had an exotic appearance and wore a rounded dress, came running toward him, her braided hair swaying.
She addressed him as “Young Master” at the end of every sentence.
Startled, Jun-hee stepped back as she approached.
“Ugh.”
As soon as the girl’s face came right in front of him, a faint headache surged like a tidal wave.
“These memories are…”
Films of memory began to sharply rake through his mind.
“Dien Portran…”
He muttered his own name without realizing it.
His brain kept telling him that Dien Portran was Kwon Jun-hee’s new name.
His consciousness gradually grew distant due to the new memories constantly flooding in, and then,
Thud!
“Young Master Dien!”
Thus, Jun-hee, who had become Dien Portran, fainted in the girl’s arms.
***
The Barony of Portran.
Oren Portran.
Nue.
The Kingdom of Delos.
The Grand Continent.
The devil’s curse.
These were the memories of sixteen-year-old Dien Portran.
It was the next morning when he woke up after collapsing.
It was only a few hours ago that he realized the girl sitting at the edge of the bed was the Portran family’s servant, Nue, and that he was the eldest son of the Barony of Portran, Dien Portran, whom she cared for.
Simply put, he had entered the body of a sixteen-year-old child in another world.
“Whew.”
Though it was unbelievable, vivid memories appeared before his eyes.
Currently, the memories of sixteen-year-old Dien and the memories of his previous life as Kwon Jun-hee coexisted in his head.
“Nue.”
“Yes! Young Master!”
When he called Nue from the bed, she hurriedly stood up from her seat with a sharp voice.
Her reaction was exactly the same as the fragments of memory in his head.
“Nue. I’m hungry…”
“It’s already that time! Shall I bring your meal now?”
“Oh… yes…”
“Young Master! Why are you suddenly using formal speech?”
Dien awkwardly turned his head.
Even though Nue had been dozing past mealtime, he didn’t scold her like a typical noble would.
It was because he still felt closer to the Kwon Jun-hee of his previous life than a noble of the Kingdom of Delos.
“I don’t need help with the meal, so you can go out, Nue.”
“Will you be alright?”
“Yeah.”
Once he spoke informally to her, his mouth moved more naturally. It was evidence that Dien’s memories were gradually settling into his mind.
As he organized his memories, the memories of his previous life felt distant, like a dream.
Perhaps both the life of Dien Portran and the life of Kwon Jun-hee had always been his.
Nue brought breakfast just ten minutes later.
“Here is your meal, Young Master.”
“Thanks.”
Nue and the servants of the Portran household set up the breakfast table on the bed.
Then they went to one corner and stood in a line with their hands over their stomachs.
If his memory was correct, the servants would not leave the room until the meal was finished.
“Um. From today on, would it be okay if everyone stays outside while I eat…?”
Dien flashed an awkward smile toward the servants in the corner.
Their natural behavior felt like an intrusion to Dien.
At his words, the servants’ eyes shifted quickly, but they couldn’t easily leave the room.
It was likely because they were checking the reaction of Nue, Dien’s personal servant.
“What are you talking about, Young Master! Absolutely not.”
As expected, Nue spoke up with her eyes wide.
“Nue. I’m really fine, so please wait outside.”
“No. Absolutely not!”
She replied without giving an inch.
Although she was a servant, she was close enough to him to make quite a fierce expression.
To an outsider, she might look like an insolent servant talking back to a noble, but in reality, there was a special reason why she couldn’t leave Dien alone.
It was because Dien Portran had been cursed by the Legion Commander Demon, Molek III, at the age of ten.
“The devil’s curse.”
A devil’s curse. It sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but the memories in his head told him that this fairy tale was a cold, hard fact.
“I’m really okay, Nue.”
Despite his repeated words, she remained silent, keeping her mouth firmly shut.
It was because she knew all too well that he had suffered from irregular seizures and high fevers since he was ten because of the devil’s curse.
Nue was worried that he might have a seizure while eating.
“Nue. I think I’m all better.”
“Pardon?”
“I said the devil’s curse seems to have disappeared.”
“That can’t be…”
What he said to Nue wasn’t just to persuade her; it was the truth.
The chest pain and hallucinations Dien had suffered in the past had completely vanished.
His body and memories were telling him clearly.
Ever since the soul of Kwon Jun-hee entered Dien’s body, the curse of Molek III had vanished.
“It’s true. So let me eat alone and give me some space. I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Even so…”
“Now, go.”
He needed time to think.
He needed time to decide how to conduct himself from now on.
Because he pushed Nue so firmly, she finally sighed and left the room.
She would undoubtedly be pressing her ear against the door to monitor him, but this was an environment sufficient for him to think comfortably.
—
It was the sixth day since he entered Dien’s body.
By now, no matter what he did, those around him didn’t think his behavior was strange.
Because he possessed all of Dien’s memories, he was able to blend perfectly into his life.
“Have a safe trip, Father.”
“Yes. If you feel any discomfort, make sure to send word to the palace at any time.”
He skillfully bowed his head and greeted his father, Oren Portran, who was leaving for the royal palace.
“Yes, I understand.”
Baron Oren Portran.
He was the current head of the Portran family and a 3rd Grade Secretary in the Royal Chancellery.
Currently, his main job was as a supervisor of public works.
He managed and supervised construction projects organized by the royal family, a role he inherited from Dien’s late grandfather.
And then there was Kanae Portran.
Dien’s biological mother, a poor woman who had passed away early when Dien was young.
Unlike typical noble engagements, Oren had succeeded in a marriage for love. Therefore, he was a devoted husband and had not taken any concubines other than his legal wife, Kanae.
Thus, Dien, the only child, was the successor to the Barony of Portran.
Dien slowly looked around the mansion.
Once Oren went to the palace, Dien was the only person in this vast mansion who carried the Portran name. Consequently, within the Portran estate, there was no one to place restrictions on his actions.
Walking up the stairs to the second floor.
Dien looked at the portraits of the past family heads hanging on the wall.
They were all handsome men, enough to explain where Dien’s excellent DNA had come from.
According to rumors, noble ladies would sign marriage contracts without even looking at a face if the name was Portran, and looking at the paintings, he could see that the rumors weren’t an exaggeration.
Thanks to that, when he reached adulthood, he would be able to receive the admiring gazes of the opposite sex, something he had never experienced in his previous life.
It was something to be grateful for.
Anyway!
If there was another commonality in the portraits besides the fact that the past heads were handsome, it was that they were all holding a book to their chests.
This was proof that the previous family heads felt pride in being administrative officials.
In fact, it was true that the Portran family, being central noble bureaucrats, held a higher status within the kingdom than a Baron who had been granted a rural fief.
The title of administrative official gave one a different kind of pride than that of a knight or a mage.
“Hmm… an administrative official family…”
He didn’t particularly like it.
In an alternate world, wasn’t it the standard to be a wandering knight with a sword or a mage in white robes with a staff?
Therefore, he also wanted to experience something different, like becoming a swordmaster or an archmage as seen in fantasy novels.
He had done enough administrative work wrestling with documents in his previous life.
In particular, he had done public works contract-related tasks until he was sick of them.
But to think the life given to him in this world was that of a civil servant… and one with the position of a construction supervisor at that…
If possible, he wanted to reject the hereditary succession system and live as he pleased.
“A-choo.”
What would happen if he told his father, Oren Portran, that he wouldn’t inherit the title?
The thought of his father’s disappointed face made him quickly drop the idea.
Since his father had gone through all sorts of hardships to try and save a son who was dying from a curse, he couldn’t be any more unfilial than that.
The answer was already decided.
“A-choo.”
At least the good thing was that he wouldn’t be plagued by civil complaints like those from a national petition site or information disclosure requests.
Because a civil servant in this world was a noble before they were a civil servant.
He decided to be satisfied with his new life and calmly accept the situation.
That was it.
He had made up his mind to become Dien Portran.
—
One continent and two empires. And twelve allied nations located next to the two empires.
Though it resembled medieval Europe, this was strictly another world with its own unique characteristics.
Representative examples included aura, magic, monsters, demons, holy power, and magical beasts.
It was a world that had even developed technology to run machinery using magic tools.
What he had done in his room for six days was research these fresh concepts.
“Shall I try going outside…?”
The vague anxiety about this other world had disappeared.
All that remained was curiosity about the new world.
He immediately opened the closet door and pulled out a simple hoodie.
He didn’t want to bother wearing formal attire and acting like a noble.
The clothes were cumbersome too…
Since the Portran house was located near the central square of the capital, just opening the front gate provided a perfect environment to experience the culture of this world.
Comparing it to his previous life, it was like having a 3,500-square-foot mansion located right at Gangnam Station.
It was the power of a central bureaucratic family.
Since the culture here was similar to medieval Europe, it seemed he could fulfill his final bucket list item of traveling to Europe with just a short stroll.
Smiling with satisfaction, he was about to leave his room, forgetting his noble dignity, when it happened.
“Young Master!”
“Oh, Nue.”
“Where are you going, and dressed like that?”
Nue, having come down to the first floor, blocked his path instantly.
“Just to get some fresh air.”
“Pardon? Outside?”
“Um. A walk.”
When she asked back with her eyes wide, he gave a simple answer and tried to pass her.
“What are you talking about, Young Master?”
She grabbed his wrist tightly with both hands.
“Why… what’s wrong?”
“You can’t.”
Nue’s worried face was saying it clearly.
That going out was absolutely, positively out of the question.
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