“You won’t eat what this hyung gave you?”
“Please! This is…… th, this is!”
The wriggling octopus was as big as my head. Ripinum Kingdom was a maritime nation that ate various seafood. Inland, octopus might be an unpleasant ingredient, but in my homeland, it was one of the things we couldn’t eat because there weren’t enough. It was that common an ingredient.
However, even for us, octopus was an ingredient that went through cooking processes like boiling or grilling. Eating it alive like this belonged to bizarre food. So it was reasonable for me as a child to refuse.
“This bastard, are you full……?”
But hyung was greatly enraged by my behavior. It was as if oil had been poured on fire.
I was a lowly existence who would crawl if he told me to crawl and bark if he told me to bark, so it made sense. Hyung grabbed my jaw ferociously without any hesitation and opened my mouth. Subduing me, who was 8 years younger and weaker than him, wasn’t a difficult task.
“A rude child needs education.”
Before a scream could burst from my throat, the huge octopus was shoved in. It was an octopus so big it was too much for my small mouth. The fishy taste that filled my mouth completely. The ocean scent that had always put my mind at ease only induced nausea.
The pain of not being able to breathe with my mouth and throat completely blocked. The snickering voice. Unable to endure the pain that exceeded the limit, I eventually woke up as if bouncing out of a nightmare.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp……”
Only after stroking my nape several times and taking deep breaths could I feel that I was alive.
It was a noisy awakening, but the student sharing the room was sound asleep, unaware of my situation. It was a stroke of luck. If he had seen me suffering from a nightmare, he would have immediately reported it as mental illness. Then my health condition would have been officially recorded and reported to hyung in the mainland.
Hyung wasn’t satisfied even after shoving me into Connubium and didn’t stop tormenting me. He enjoyed base pleasure while receiving reports of my mental suffering. At the same time, he wanted to confirm that I was still in his grasp.
I quietly let out a sigh of relief while stroking my chest trembling with fear. But soon, rage began to creep up and strike my solar plexus.
What exactly did I do wrong?
I did nothing wrong at all. Because I was born 8 years later than hyung, I didn’t even have a chance to compete for the heir position. When I was 8 years old, hyung was already 16, achieving brilliant grades at the military academy. He was the rising star of the military academy and talent who would lead the future.
My parents condoned hyung tormenting me. Since there was already a complete heir, there was no need to care for me, who couldn’t even become a spare part.
The resentment that had piled up layer upon layer rotted and decayed step by step, igniting as rage at this moment. Thanks to the nightmare gnawing away at the patience I possessed.
I wanted to scream loudly, but I wasn’t alone right now. If I got swept up in emotions and acted out in the current situation, the one who would be harmed would ultimately be myself. In the end, I endured it inside and gripped the blanket hard. The blanket was horribly distorted as if representing my miserable feelings.
Originally, that emotion would have withered away quickly even if it bloomed once. No matter how much rage arose, if one couldn’t express it, it would ultimately only eat away at oneself. Unable to burn properly, it would end up in a state of only emitting a foul smell.
But a red butterfly shining like a flame fluttered and approached my side.
-You’re angry, aren’t you?
I was startled by the crystal-clear voice like a child whispering and looked around, but my roommate didn’t even flinch. It seemed only I could hear it. The words continued each time the butterfly flapped its wings as if dancing.
-You have something you want, don’t you?
-Don’t you want to escape from this situation?
-You have something you want to do, right?
The voice whispering seductively like a snake pierced my lungs. With trembling eyes, I looked at the butterfly flying toward me.
A voice only I could hear. A strange butterfly. Had I truly gone mad? Had I become completely broken and useless as hyung said?
Fear and worry crushed the rage. The fate of a student who had gone mad was nothing but disposal. As if noticing my surging emotions, the butterfly whispered once more.
-Rage, and rage again. Then someone who will help you will appear.
I looked around diligently to find the butterfly that had suddenly disappeared like a candle going out. However, in the quiet dormitory, there wasn’t even a trace of the butterfly. The room without a single sign left was the same as usual.
I blankly sat on the bed in a daze and greeted the morning.
* * *
Days at Connubium passed peacefully. Except for taking charge of Sayed, no particular incidents occurred. This school was a far more rigid place than I thought.
The problem was my body. Persona caused overload on my body faster than I thought. As if Jay also felt it, even now he kept sighing deeply with his head that had become heavy.
The clear weather visible outside the window was optimal for going out, but with his body in this condition, Jay’s mood was low. He desperately wanted to rest, but he couldn’t say he was sick enough to rest.
In the end, Jay staggered up from the bed and finished washing and preparing to go out.
“Belly, you can’t get sick.”
As if answering Jay’s worried voice, Belly licked his fingertips and slipped into his pocket.
In contrast to his body’s poor condition, Jay’s day was fairly decent. Chung still smiled pleasantly as always, Ivan was frail, and Vittorio was timid. Sayed also didn’t seem to have any intention of causing trouble. Rather, he was more lively than anyone else in the classroom.
Nevertheless, Jay didn’t forget to give Sayed a sandwich. To him, Sayed was a pitiful student eating inadequate meals. Sayed, who received the sandwich, smiled happily at Jay. Seeing that smile gave Jay strength too.
Now Jay had become quite accustomed to the work, but the contract would end soon. He hadn’t yet enjoyed enough of Connubium’s story, but…… it was time to end it.
‘Jay Doe uses the same body as Master! In the end, it’s Master who gets hurt!’
Belly’s voice worrying about me rose as if echoing in my ears. No. No. The reason I decided to stop reading the story now was because of Persona’s overload. Even if I wanted to read, it would soon become impossible. Yes. That must be the reason.
I felt the passage of time in the warm breeze touching Jay’s skin. The contract was made in mid-spring, and it was already approaching summer.
“When I leave, at least it’ll be easier to find work than before.”
But contrary to Jay’s thoughts, if he left Connubium, that persona wouldn’t be able to come out for a while. Because I also needed time to recover my body.
What should I do when I go outside? I should read the novels I couldn’t properly read with Jay’s body. I read as much as possible before sleeping, but since I spent long hours active in Jay’s body, the amount I read was far less than usual. I should eat Belly’s snacks while looking at novels.
“Pro, pro, pro……”
At that moment, Vittorio called out to Jay from behind, stuttering. When he turned around, there was Vittorio with dark circles under his eyes looking at Jay with a tearful face.
At his haggard appearance, Jay, forgetting even his own illness, spoke to Vittorio in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“That…… th, th…… that’s……”
At his appearance anxiously looking around, Jay felt he’d been indifferent and pointed to his preparation room. Vittorio didn’t refuse and scurried in.
Normally, even if he had something he wanted to say, he would have swallowed it and left, but to be this proactive. Jay, who sensed something was amiss, asked while calming his slightly surprised heart.
“So…… what’s wrong?”
Contrary to following Jay obediently into the guidance room, Vittorio kept his mouth heavily shut. He seemed to want to speak, but appeared unable to out of fear.
He seemed even more frightened because of this school’s characteristics. Because this school made it impossible for students to interact normally with each other. If students couldn’t even interact with each other, it would be difficult to bring up words to Jay, who was a professor even if temporary.
Nevertheless, a glimmer of hope wavered in Vittorio’s eyes. To such Vittorio, Jay spoke affectionately as if soothing a young child.
“Valli, I…… might look somewhat unreliable, but still, I’ve counseled other students too. I guarantee I’ll keep secrets.”
At that moment, the hope lingering around Vittorio’s eyes darkly stained with damp jealousy. It was an appearance as if covered in sticky tar.
Jay merely said not to worry because he had experience dealing with other children, but it seemed to be received completely differently by Vittorio. The sympathy that circulated fairly to all students must have been too sweet to him. Jay Doe was smoothly becoming the material needed for the characters’ awakening.
Vittorio’s orange eyes noticeably clouded, swept up in dark emotions. But Jay maintained his affectionate appearance without noticing Vittorio’s abnormality.
“Wh, wh, who?”
As if regretting it the moment the words left his mouth, Vittorio frowned around his eyes. What could he do even if he found out who had consulted with Jay? Would he be jealous like a concubine swept up in jealousy? Sadly, Vittorio was nothing. Just a weak B-rank student. In this current state, he couldn’t do anything.
Jay smiled brightly at Vittorio and answered.
“That’s a secret, of course. Even if you tell me something, I promise I’ll keep the secret just like now.”
“Ah…… ugh……”
For Jay, keeping secrets was a natural thing. A professor who disclosed students’ secrets—for Jay, such a thing couldn’t exist.
Unlike Jay who was pleased thinking he must have seemed trustworthy, Vittorio sullenly bowed his head. A sticky gloominess was felt from him. It was a part where one could see how much Jay’s affection had influenced him.
“Y, yes. Pro, professor.”
Vittorio answered reluctantly.
