* * *
A space so cluttered that it was difficult to fully stretch out his arms and legs.
The ceaseless rattling noise and the shaking vision that matched its rhythm.
Curled up in an uncomfortable position, Cha Eunseong looked around the dark surroundings for a long time before coming to a conclusion.
‘I’ve been kidnapped.’
This was undoubtedly the cargo bed of a 1-ton truck, bouncing along a rough, unpaved road.
There was no question of why he had become a target while delivering someone’s late-night snack.
As a delivery driver drowning in debt worth hundreds of millions of won, all he could think was, ‘Well, I guess it was bound to happen.’
This time, they were probably after the last asset he had stored inside his body.
Eunseong quickly checked his belongings.
The pocket bag containing his card reader and spare change was, of course, gone.
He never carried a wallet, and his phone was missing too.
It didn’t seem like the kidnappers had rifled through his pockets.
More importantly, what he was wearing now didn’t feel like his usual clothes.
Though it was too dark to see properly, the fabric was completely different from the cheap cotton t-shirt and wide pants he had worn so much they were practically threadbare.
Especially the top—it was loose and billowy, like he was wrapped in a curtain, and it was definitely not his size.
Was it some kind of surgical gown to make it easier to harvest his organs?
Just the thought made his stomach churn.
Then again, maybe he was just getting motion sickness from all the shaking.
‘Just how rough is this road that the ride is this awful?’
He had nothing but bad feelings about this.
Since he had no way to call for help, he had to take matters into his own hands.
Fortunately, he wasn’t tied up, so his hands and feet were free.
The only problem was that he kept getting banged up from crashing into the cargo inside this pitch-black space.
Jumping out of a moving vehicle would hurt even more—no, it wouldn’t just hurt, it would be fatal.
Eunseong decided to wait until the truck came to a stop for the best chance of escaping unharmed.
He carefully crawled across the floor and positioned himself near the back door.
What he needed now was an ambush.
The moment the kidnapper opened the door, he had to dash out immediately.
He was confident in his speed.
Gradually, the vehicle slowed down.
The rattling intensified, creaking like an old amusement park ride before finally coming to a halt.
Click.
The lock on the door was released.
As soon as the tarp covering the back door was pulled aside, Eunseong launched himself forward.
“Alright, come ou—UGH! What the hell?!”
The man pulling back the tarp stumbled and fell flat on his back, startled by the sudden human projectile.
It was the perfect opportunity.
Eunseong scrambled to the ground, miraculously landing on his feet without rolling over.
He planted his heels firmly on the ground, straightened his posture, and lifted his head.
A sharp gust of wind sliced through him, and his sweat-drenched bangs were blown back, clearing his vision.
“……Huh?”
But in the next instant, Eunseong froze mid-motion, just as he was about to take off running.
What lay before him wasn’t an abandoned factory in the remote mountains or a deserted greenhouse.
It was a fortress—so massive it took his breath away just looking at it.
Towering walls, built with no gaps, rose high, and beyond them, spires stretched dizzyingly into the sky.
It was the kind of castle you’d only see in a painting by an old master.
‘A castle? A literal castle?’
Eunseong stood there, mouth agape, craning his neck upward.
He rubbed his eyes furiously with a clenched fist and blinked several times, but the overwhelming presence of the fortress remained unchanged.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”
A furious voice snapped him out of his daze.
It was the man who had been knocked over when Eunseong burst out.
In other words, the truck driver—who Eunseong had assumed was his kidnapper.
“Are you out of your mind?! What were you thinking, suddenly jumping out like that?!”
The man was pointing an accusing finger at Eunseong, shouting angrily.
Eunseong’s face turned pale—not because of the man’s anger, but because of what had just appeared over his face.
A translucent window, hovering midair.
[Would you like to check the stored information?]
Eunseong reached out to wave his hand through the floating text, but it passed through without resistance.
The man flinched at Eunseong’s strange behavior, backing away cautiously.
But Eunseong couldn’t care less.
After all, this wasn’t reality.
‘What kind of crazy dream is this?’
Just as he raised his hand to slap his own cheek—
Ding!
A sound rang out, and new text appeared in the translucent window.
[Loading the memories of the sub-character ‘Ranshel’… 8%]
Ranshel.
The name tugged at something familiar in Eunseong’s mind, making him tilt his head to the side.
The man, who had been backing away, hesitated before cautiously stepping forward again.
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Did something go wrong?”
‘Something wrong? There are so many things wrong I don’t even know where to start.’
Eunseong finally voiced the question that had been bouncing around in his head since earlier.
“Where… am I?”
“What?”
The sky, now darkening with the approaching sunset, looked the same as he remembered.
But aside from that, everything was different.
For example, the “truck” he had just jumped out of now appeared to be a horse-drawn wagon with wooden wheels.
The “kidnapper” was actually a mustachioed foreigner wielding a riding crop.
And his clothes—what was up with his clothes?
He was wearing a loose, unfamiliar shirt with suspenders.
A woman walking in the distance was dressed in a dress so puffy it looked like a balloon.
The men on the fortress wall were clad in gleaming armor.
If the wagon was pulled by pigs instead of horses, he might as well buy a lottery ticket at this point.
Eunseong ruffled his hair in frustration and let out a deep sigh.
Then, his hand brushed against something strange—his own hair.
‘Why is it… red?’
His own hair falling from his scalp shouldn’t feel so unfamiliar.
Slowly blinking, Eunseong stared at the new notification that appeared before him.
[Loading complete.]
[Uploading the memories of the sub-character ‘Ranshel’.]
Reading the words, Eunseong let out a breath of realization.
‘Oh, right. Ranshel! He’s from that game Eunhye likes…’
At that moment, countless memories flooded his mind.
Someone else’s life, sinking in and settling within him in an instant.
His once bewildered green eyes gradually took on a calm focus.
Of course his hair was red—Ranshel’s hair had always been red.
Of course his clothes felt unfamiliar—they weren’t stolen; he had chosen to wear them.
Ranshel.
No last name, just Ranshel.
And today, he had come here, to the ducal estate of House Pomel.
“You… you weren’t trying to come here?”
The coachman, now looking thoroughly confused, clicked his tongue as he glanced around the darkening surroundings.
“Well, if you want to go somewhere else now, it’ll cost you double the agreed fare. You understand?”
“No.”
“What? Hey, don’t be ridiculous—”
“N-No, I mean, I was coming here. I just wanted to make sure I arrived at the right place.”
The coachman’s face twisted in irritation, looking like he wanted to lash his whip at Ranshel right then and there.
“Damn brat, are you messing with me?!”
“Ugh, I got motion sickness really bad… I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to pay you extra.”
* * *
