* * *
I quickly averted my gaze, almost on instinct.
“Hyung, let’s go.”
I grabbed Raizen’s hand and hurried my steps.
‘If we get involved, we’re screwed.’
Fiery red hair and deep olive-green eyes.
A line from the novel From Possession to Hero flashed through my mind.
[How could I not recognize you? In this entire empire, there are only two people with red hair and olive-green eyes! The Duke of Luavis and that Luavis! Even a kid who only knows your reputation would recognize you at a glance—you’re that Luavis family’s infamous scoundrel!]
That was what some lowlife had said to Kim Minsoo, after he had possessed the body of Karon Luavis.
I hadn’t thought much of it while reading, but now I understood.
That line was completely accurate.
‘You really can tell at a glance.’
The guy I had just locked eyes with—the one who had casually spat out such an ignorant statement—was none other than Karon Luavis.
If Kim Minsoo had already possessed his body, it might’ve been different.
But before that?
This bastard was nothing but a ticking time bomb.
‘An entitled brat overflowing with inferiority complexes—who turns into a complete lapdog for Pantheon later!’
I needed to get out of here, but Raizen wasn’t cooperating.
His steps felt unusually slow, so I tugged at his hand a few more times.
“Come on, hyung, let’s just go, okay?”
“Hey, you little rat.”
Goddamn it, could he not let it go?
The “rat” comment made my temper flare, but I barely held it in.
There was no point in picking a fight—it would only lead to trouble.
‘It’s not like he’ll even be around in four years.’
By then, Kim Minsoo would possess his body.
After that, Karon Luavis as he was now would cease to exist.
The novel never explicitly stated what happened to the original Karon after Minsoo took over, but all signs pointed to one conclusion—he had died.
After all, Minsoo woke up in Karon’s body after the guy had gotten black-out drunk and fallen into a lake.
“Hah, seriously. Even rats think they can ignore me now?”
I could hear his voice behind me, but I did my best to pretend I hadn’t.
‘Go ahead, keep talking. I’m leaving.’
“Oi, go grab that little rat. Now!!”
The moment those words rang out, Raizen stopped in his tracks.
I barely resisted the urge to scream at him to just keep walking.
‘Come on, man, help me out here.’
I shot him a pleading look.
“…I can’t help but think that ‘rat’ is referring to you.”
“……”
“Is it just me, Sei?”
‘No, you’re right.’
‘But can’t we just not engage? Please?
I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud, so I just shook my head.
Raizen’s gaze narrowed.
“We don’t really have a reason to avoid this, do we?”
‘…Fuck.’
Raizen clearly knew who Karon was.
And he had no intention of backing down.
“Hyung, I…”
“Hey, wait a second!”
At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, I quickly turned around.
A man, unmistakably a knight, stood there, armed to the teeth.
His voice and expression were filled with barely restrained irritation.
‘Yeah, I guess I’d be pissed too.’
Who would want to be the bodyguard of that damned bastard?
I could understand his frustration, but it wasn’t my problem.
“Our young master wants to see you.”
Before I could respond, a thick hand grabbed my arm roughly and tried to drag me away.
But in that instant, a familiar hand stopped him.
‘Wait a second.’
If Raizen steps in now…
A bad feeling flashed through my mind.
‘No, maybe it’ll be fine.’
Raizen was using a perception-distorting magic tool.
Even if they saw his face, they wouldn’t recognize him properly.
“What’s going on here?”
“…And who the hell are you?”
The knight scowled, clearly insulted that someone younger had caught his hand.
But his face turned pale in an instant.
‘Ah, crap.’
Black hair and red eyes.
“P-Pantheon… Y-Young Master!”
Just like Karon Luavis, there wasn’t a single person in this empire who wouldn’t recognize Raizen.
I was an idiot for even hoping the magic tool was still active.
‘So he already deactivated the spell.’
I let out a short, amused sigh at this ridiculous situation.
“Hey, move.”
Karon Luavis had approached us and shoved the knight aside.
Unlike with Raizen, the knight didn’t budge, but he quickly pretended to be pushed back.
Slipping away from his standoff with Raizen so smoothly…
That guy was going to live a long, careful life.
Of course, I also subtly took a step back.
Karon Luavis, now taking charge instead of his knight, glared at Raizen.
“Pantheon? You mean that Pantheon?”
His murky eyes were forced wide in an attempt to appear strong.
His rough voice and twisted sneer made him look even more pathetic.
“And who the hell are you?”
“Who am I? Ha, haha. You’re messing with me, aren’t you? Or are you just some clueless bumpkin?”
“No matter how I look at you, I don’t recall ever meeting you. Or maybe… you were just too insignificant to remember?”
“You… You little—!”
Karon Luavis half-raised his hand, but stopped himself.
His furious glare lingered on Raizen before shifting to me.
“Hey, you little rat. Come here. Oh, I see now—it’s you. That commoner adoptee.”
His pupils were completely unfocused now.
His steps toward me wavered slightly.
As he got closer, a faint scent became more distinct.
‘Alcohol.’
This bastard was already drunk and picking a fight… Ha.
Am I starting to sound like an old man?
“Fuck. Hey, lift your face. Let me see that smug little expression. Ugh, why does it feel like I can see you, but I can’t? It’s pissing me off.”
That would be because of the perception-distorting magic tool.
“Hah, look at this coward. You scared? Yeah, figures. A damn orphan who doesn’t even know his own lineage—”
Karon Luavis muttered to himself, his voice suddenly dropping.
“…Hey. Are you laughing?”
Laughing? Was I laughing?
I’d heard this before. A long time ago.
“You dare laugh while your father is speaking? You think I’m a joke?”
I never thought it was funny.
The only reason I ever smiled in front of you was because you hated seeing me cry or looking sullen.
But if I bit my lip and tried to suppress my expression, you’d get angry about that too.
So I smiled. Just like how the adults around me used to praise my cheerful face, I thought… maybe if I smiled at you, you’d be pleased.
Maybe then… you wouldn’t hit me.
Maybe then… you’d smile back.
‘…This is insane.’
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head, snapping me back to my senses.
Had my mind regressed just because I was in a younger body?
Or maybe it was just Karon Luavis’s sheer size compared to me now.
‘I shouldn’t be engaging with a lunatic.’
Fortunately, I knew his weakness. I knew exactly what scared him the most.
I lifted my head and looked at Raizen.
He was watching the situation like a spectator.
For a moment, my heart stung, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
“Brother, can you call the town guards? We’ve got a minor drinking and causing a scene here.”
Might as well take the cleanest way out of this mess.
Whether that bastard hated me for it or not, it didn’t matter.
I just needed to endure for four years—until Kim Minsoo took over this body.
Raizen’s expression shifted slightly before he gave a small nod.
“Hey! You little—!”
Of course, Karon Luavis reacted before the guards could even arrive.
“Young Master, please, no!”
But his knight, who had been sneakily retreating earlier, was even quicker.
He threw himself in front of Karon Luavis, stopping him completely.
And from there, everything unfolded exactly as I expected.
Karon Luavis thrashed and screamed, making a scene before his own knight struck him on the back of the neck, knocking him out.
His nanny, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally stepped forward.
She bowed politely—not to me, but to Raizen.
“Since both sides are at fault, wouldn’t it be best to settle this matter quietly here?”
She was smiling, but her eyes were razor-sharp. She wasn’t even trying to hide her hostility toward Raizen.
‘Margaret, wasn’t it?’
One of the people who had played a major role in turning Karon Luavis into the person he was.
The one who had stuck by his side, whispering in his ear that everything was Raizen Pantheon’s fault.
That the Pantheon name was the root of all their problems.
“Ah, as expected of our young master! I always knew you would turn out like this!”
She had been the closest person to Karon Luavis since he was a child, yet she never noticed when someone else took over his body.
His tastes, his entire demeanor had changed, but she convinced herself it was simply the result of her “love” guiding him in the right direction.
‘Kim Minsoo used her well before eventually discarding her.’
Seeing her in person was even more disgusting.
Not because she was just another villainous extra in the story, but because she was someone who used Karon Luavis for her own gain.
‘Settling this quietly wouldn’t be the worst option.’
If this escalated and the Duke of Luavis found out, Karon would only hold a bigger grudge.
Still, I glanced sideways at Raizen, my gaze somewhat cynical.
‘You act like you care, but you’re just standing back and watching. So, what are you going to do now?’
Raizen stared at Margaret silently.
Then, slowly, his lips parted.
“Both sides are at fault…?”
“……”
“What exactly did my brother do wrong, madam?”
* * *
