Why did I have to transmigrate as the Villain’s younger brother? chapter 106

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“Oh… of course, I remember.”

I spoke with deliberate exaggeration.

“It was a pretty unforgettable experience, after all.”

Karon Luavis was still smiling.

The real Karon Luavis would have exploded at even this level of provocation.

I needed to consider multiple possibilities.

If Kim Minsoo hadn’t transmigrated him yet, that would be a relief.

But if he had—how much did he know?

More importantly, whose side was Kim Minsoo on right now?

“I thought so. Actually, I came to apologize for that day.”

Apologize.

The word least fitting for Karon Luavis.

‘No matter how I look at it, this has to be Kim Minsoo.’

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s very late, but I’d like to apologize for my rudeness that day.”

Karon Luavis stood up and bowed to me.

“Wait, isn’t that the disgrace—no, the third son of the Luavis family? Why is he doing that?”

“Was the youngest Luavis lord acquainted with the Pantheon lord?”

The murmurs around us grew as people eagerly gossiped.

‘This totally feels like a show.’

Was apologizing really his goal?

If that were the case, it would have been better to simply greet me today and arrange a separate meeting later.

But bowing so openly in front of everyone like this…

“Come to think of it, I did hear rumors that he’s changed a lot recently, that he’s come to his senses… Looks like it’s true.”

“Right? I never thought I’d live to see the Luavis family’s troublemaker bowing his head.”

Yeah, this was exactly what he wanted.

Not wanting to back down, I sprang to my feet.

Gripping Karon Luavis by the shoulders, I lifted him back up.

“For you to apologize so publicly… I truly understand the sincerity of the Luavis lord.”

Our eyes met as he raised his head. The corners of his lips curled into a smirk.

“You are… quite a kind person, Young Master Pantheon.”

“Is that so? You seem like a good person yourself, Lord Luavis.”

Karon Luavis stared at me intently.

His gaze was sharp and chilling.

“In that case, I hope we can meet more often from now on. Ah, did you know? I am currently studying at the Royal Academy with the young Duke of Pantheon.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“My, my… Well, considering how little the young Duke speaks, I suppose it makes sense. But seeing how you shared the first dance together, I thought you two were rather close. I guess I was mistaken.”

I shrugged.

“Who knows? I don’t really get what you’re trying to say. My brother simply doesn’t enjoy meaningless conversations.”

“Haha…!”

Karon Luavis let out a loud laugh. It felt forced, as if he were covering up a sneer.

“You two must have a great bond.”

His eyes narrowed as he muttered, and in those deep olive irises, I caught a glimpse of both pity and contempt.

“It would be wise not to put too much trust in the young Duke of Pantheon.”

For a split second, I barely managed to stop the corners of my lips from twitching upward.

‘This bastard… he has no idea.’

Somehow, he had retained Karon Luavis’s memories and recognized ‘Shane Pantheon’ as a variable.

But that was as far as he got.

An existence that shouldn’t have been here was alive and well, so he must have approached me to see if he could gain something from it.

And because I immediately countered his not-so-subtle jab at Raizen, he assumed I was just another fool deceived by Raizen’s facade.

That’s why his gaze was filled with that contradictory mix of pity and scorn.

‘He’s more arrogant than I expected.’

Was it because he had repeated multiple regressions?

Kim Minsoo was noticeably different from how he was described in the novel.

The energy that once overflowed from him was gone, and the eyes that had once sparkled with trust were now void of light.

Yes. The Kim Minsoo standing before me now was sharp, on edge, and utterly exhausted.

And from time to time, in his eyes, I caught the glint of an old, festering hatred.

Especially whenever Raizen was mentioned.

Not that he had realized it himself yet.

“Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean by that. My brother is a good person.”

I feigned ignorance on purpose.

At that, Karon Luavis—no, Kim Minsoo—lowered his head and sighed.

“I was too rude, wasn’t I? I only said it out of concern.”

His smile was harmless, almost innocent. In truth, Karon Luavis had always been an eccentric, but his sharp and refined features were undeniably attractive.

Wearing such an expression made him strangely persuasive.

If I hadn’t been a transmigrator and knew nothing, I might have been fooled.

“Since we study at the Academy together, I end up seeing things I’d rather not.”

Lowering his gaze as he spoke, he made it sound as if there was something serious going on. It was clear he was trying to evoke a reaction from me.

‘He seems… a bit desperate, even.’

But his reasoning was too flimsy.

Were they even roommates?

Even if they were, unless Kim Minsoo had been constantly trailing Raizen, the chances of him witnessing something incriminating were slim.

‘Dude, I literally lived in the same castle as Raizen.’

Swallowing down those words that almost slipped out, I answered.

“Oh… I see.”

“Is there perhaps anything I can do to help you, Young Master Pantheon?”

His plea was so desperate it was almost pitiful.

At the same time, it was irritating.

‘He’s completely convinced that Raizen must have done something terrible to me.’

I could understand his perspective, though.

I had no idea how many times Kim Minsoo had regressed, but if Raizen remained unchanged through all of them—if every cycle began with me already dead—then it would be natural for him to assume the worst.

‘But shouldn’t he be more cautious in his approach?’

For the first time across his regressions, a new variable—‘Shane Pantheon’s survival’—had appeared.

Shouldn’t his first instinct be to consider whether this indicated a change in Raizen’s behavior?

But no, his attitude made it clear—he believed Raizen had simply found a new use for me and decided to keep me alive.

‘…Which, well, is true.’

But there was something Kim Minsoo didn’t know.

Raizen never used oppression or exploitation to get what he wanted from me.

In his eyes, what did I look like right now?

A pitiful sacrifice, trapped in the hands of the scheming mastermind?

“…Actually… Ah, never mind.”

I abruptly cut myself off, and Kim Minsoo didn’t press further.

He only looked at me with that same gentle smile.

“There’s no need to rush into difficult conversations right away. So for now… shall we start by getting to know each other better?”

Instead of answering immediately, I hesitated slightly, as if uncertain.

Then, after a moment, I gave a small nod.

Kim Minsoo’s smile deepened.

“I look forward to it, Young Master Pantheon.”

“…Me too.”

“I’ll write to you. Well then, until next time.”

With a slight bow of his head, Kim Minsoo departed.

I watched his retreating figure for a moment before collapsing back into my seat.

‘God, that was exhausting.’

Despite what Noah had said, Kim Minsoo had indeed transmigrated as Karon Luavis.

And much earlier than in the novel, too.

‘It seems like he retains all his past regression memories.’

In my case, it was transmigration, but for Kim Minsoo, it was regression.

‘…Something about this feels off, though.’

If this was a regression, time should have rewound with Kim Minsoo at its center.

But this world continued to function perfectly fine even without his transmigration.

‘Did I really reset the world?’

Considering Noah’s words—that they were holding onto Kim Minsoo’s soul—it seemed likely that he had been elsewhere when the reset happened.

‘Or maybe the reset was done specifically to make me the one transmigrated this time.’

A question I had been deliberately ignoring resurfaced.

Why me?

The fact that I had met Raizen while temporarily transmigrated in Korea wasn’t enough of an explanation.

‘Anyway, that’s not the main issue now.’

Even without Raizen present, the hostility I sensed whenever his name was mentioned suggested that the Demon King’s subjugation had likely failed.

If they had immediately tried to kill Raizen after my transmigration, it would have meant they had already attempted another method and failed.

‘They must still be targeting Raizen.’

For Kim Minsoo, there was no cleaner solution than killing Raizen before the Demon King could be resurrected.

‘I also need to figure out who’s backing Kim Minsoo.’

There were two possibilities: either he was sent by Noah and the ancient gods or by the ancient gods who wished for humanity’s destruction.

Noah had insisted they wouldn’t possess Kim Minsoo, but judging by the other ancient gods’ reactions at the time, things might not have gone as planned.

Honestly, if I were in their position, I would’ve considered using Kim Minsoo as a backup plan, too.

If I failed, then he would have to be the one to defeat the resurrected Demon King.

‘If that were the case, they would’ve given him at least some information…’

Even if they couldn’t say it outright, they might have hinted at the existence of another transmigrated person.

Unless… they didn’t trust me completely and deliberately kept him in the dark.

‘If they noticed my feelings toward Raizen, that is.’

I wanted to believe this was the work of the gods who wished for humanity’s destruction rather than Noah’s faction.

But the problem was that Kim Minsoo’s soul wasn’t under their jurisdiction.

‘…Could there be a traitor?’

Thinking back to my conversations with the ancient gods, their opinions hadn’t always aligned.

In particular, there was one god who always panicked and tried to stop Noah and the others whenever they acted.

The one who sent messages in dark blue text.

But that alone wasn’t enough proof.

Differences in opinion didn’t automatically mean betrayal—unless their original reasons for siding with us had changed.

‘I really have no idea what’s going on.’

It was a relief that Kim Minsoo also seemed clueless.

But then again, I couldn’t be sure.

His behavior just now could have been a calculated act.

“Sei.”

A sudden voice made me turn my head.

Raizen stood there, his lips curled in a faint smile.

He was supposed to be in the middle of a dance—so why was he here?

“Hyung?”

“The ball just ended.”

“Oh…”

I had been so preoccupied with Kim Minsoo that I hadn’t even realized.

Raizen naturally took a seat beside me, his gaze fixed on me even as he moved.

Just as I instinctively tried to look away, he asked:

“What were you talking about with young master Luavis that made you forget the ball even ended?”

There was something ominous in his voice.

And before I could even react—

[Quest Triggered

Resolve his distrust of you.

— Clear Raizen Pantheon’s misunderstanding (0/1)

Reward: Next Quest]

‘……?’

A quest had appeared.

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