“You have about six months left.”
I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at the doctor delivering my terminal diagnosis. I politely declined the doctor’s suggestion to check into hospice care right away and left the hospital.
‘I’m not afraid of dying. It’s not like there’s anyone who would be sad if I died. The problem is……’
I sighed and took out my phone. Then I opened a site I had bookmarked. The subtitle page for 『Fluffy Fluffy Kingdom Chronicles』, which still had no update notifications, came into view.
‘To think I’ll die without seeing the conclusion of this masterpiece.’
The title of this mass-produced fantasy novel I’ve been completely absorbed in lately—so much so that it was the first thing that came to mind upon receiving my terminal diagnosis—is 『Fluffy Fluffy Kingdom Chronicles』, commonly abbreviated as FluffyChron. As is always the route to finding a life’s work, this was a novel I started reading with absolutely no expectations at first.
Mediocre reactions, mediocre rankings. A mediocre work introduction. A typical deep-sea work with many episodes but low overall views. But it was understandable. I mean, the title is 『Fluffy Fluffy Kingdom Chronicles』. It’s not like it’s a subtitle for a ‘X-gu Won’t Give Up’ theatrical release or something.
My shock at the childish title, so unlike today’s web novels that should be at the forefront of trends, was brief. What piqued my curiosity was this novel’s keyword. The main keyword of this novel was…….
Beastmen.
True to its straightforward title, this novel featured beastmen in droves. Since what I actually like are real animals, not beastmen, I started this novel without much expectation. My review after staying up all night reading every available chapter was this:
Author, you crazy bastard, change the title.
That’s right, this novel. Unlike its shabby packaging, the content was surprisingly solid—no, it was actually entertaining. Charming supporting characters and charming main characters. A charming worldview construction. The episodes were engaging with good pull, even if slightly lacking in places. If there was one flaw, it was only that the author had disappeared, so I didn’t know the ending.
“To write such a masterpiece and then go AWOL, how conscienceless.”
With a devastated heart, I logged onto the novel site. Whenever I felt this depressed, I somehow ended up binge-reading FluffyChron. In my poor life where nothing shone, FluffyChron was the only thing that sparkled. Curled up from the pain I felt in my side, I recited the novel’s opening lines.
“*Cough*, in this life, I won’t become something like a good shepherd.”
The coughing gradually intensified, and blood splattered onto my phone screen. The droplets of blood covered the name of FluffyChron’s protagonist, Kilius. In my hazy consciousness, I read aloud the sentence visible to my eyes.
“I will survive, even if I must become a villain.”
Tears flowed down without me realizing it. My past life, always cowering, flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern. I closed my eyes and prayed. If God really exists, please give me one more chance.
A chance to live a more magnificent life.
* * *
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Y-Young master’s condition is worse than before. Perhaps changing the medication……”
Crash!
I snapped awake at the sound of shattering glass. I felt dazed, like waking from anesthesia. Surprised that I was still alive even after coughing up blood, but only briefly—my mouth fell open involuntarily at the scenery I was seeing for the first time in my life.
A trembling man, maids bowing their heads low. And in front of them, an exotic platinum-haired handsome man running his hand through his hair with a bleeding hand, as if suppressing his anger.
‘What is this? Are they filming a drama or something?’
But he’s unreasonably handsome to be a reenactment actor. Yet to call it a dream, the sunlight touching my face and the soft texture of the pillow were far too vivid. The moment my blurred vision fully returned to focus, a gasp escaped me involuntarily.
‘Th-this person is definitely……’
Pale skin with sharp eyes that looked bad-tempered. Ashen hair and green eyes with vertically long pupils. An unbelievably beautiful and noble appearance that belied his age. Having binge-read FluffyChron at least 50 times, even memorizing which illustrations appeared in which chapters, I could tell who he was in an instant.
‘FluffyChron’s main villain, Lucius Serpent!’
Lucius Serpent, the Family Head of the snake beastman Serpent family, was one of the main villains who repeatedly blocked the protagonist Kilius’s—commonly called Kiss’s—path of roses.
He was such a cold-blooded character without mercy or compassion that some readers said, ‘If only Lucius hadn’t existed, this novel would have been four volumes shorter.’ Despite his menacing appearance with blood dripping from one hand, the gaze he directed at me was so warm it was beyond affectionate.
“Ash!”
I had barely begun to quickly assess the situation when, upon hearing that name, my expression hardened. No way, God isn’t a psychopath. Out of all the many characters in FluffyChron, there’s no way I’d be possessed into Ash specifically. While I was denying reality, my mind in chaos from this unbelievable situation, Lucius suddenly pulled me into an embrace.
“This time I thought something terrible would happen to you…… You don’t know how worried I was.”
“……”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find another doctor to cure your illness.”
Let me say it again: Lucius was absolutely not a character who used such an affectionate tone. Not only would he insult anyone who displeased him first, but he also engaged in corpse desecration, embezzlement of funds, inciting violence, and so on. As befitting a snake beastman, he was a character who selectively committed all sorts of despicable acts.
‘The original work only emphasized Lucius’s villainous side…… I didn’t know he had this side to him.’
The Serpent family was a count’s family in the Elion Empire, a prestigious family composed only of excellent snake beastmen who had passed very strict bloodline verification. The Serpents insisted on a method of passing the Family Head position to the most outstanding child regardless of succession order. Perhaps because they were exposed to survival of the fittest from childhood, or for some other reason, people from this family were especially famous for having worse tempers compared to other noble family children.
Someone unfamiliar with the original work might say this: Anyway, isn’t being possessed as a child of a wealthy prestigious family a good thing? But for me, who knew the original work, it was no different from the worst situation. To roughly summarize the three reasons why being possessed as Ash Serpent is the worst…….
‘First of all, the Serpent family is facing annihilation.’
Fluffy Fluffy Kingdom Chronicles, commonly abbreviated as ‘FluffyChron,’ is the chronicle of Kiss, who was discriminated against within the imperial family for being born illegitimate, until he becomes emperor. The Serpent family was a family that blocked Kiss’s usurpation of the throne at the forefront. To Kiss, who had to inherit the throne and avenge his mother, they were the most unwelcome existence.
In the original work, Kiss became emperor after much suffering and annihilated the Serpent family overnight—the family that had obstructed him at every turn.
So to roughly summarize the Serpent family: they could be called a fallen noble family that chose the wrong side.
‘And second, Ash is a character no different from an extra.’
In the original work, Ash is described as one of the Serpent family’s few disgraces. Compared to his other siblings, he wasn’t intelligent and had a weak body. Being the Serpent family’s only adopted child and thus looked down upon was a bonus. Since he had no particular characteristics or abilities compared to his other siblings, he was an unfortunate character who was used to his heart’s content by the protagonist rather than being checked, then exited the story.
‘But the most serious is the third……’
A familiar pain stabbed my lungs. Lucius’s complexion turned deathly pale as he looked at me hunched over, coughing. A hollow laugh escaped at my physical condition being no different from before the possession. After I had coughed out hacking sounds for some time, Lucius, who was holding me tightly, muttered in a devastated voice.
“You have a few months left, don’t you?”
“……”
“Tell me honestly.”
“The young master……”
When the elderly man who appeared to be a doctor began to speak, Lucius’s large hands covered both ears. I appreciated the sentiment, but it was an unnecessary action. Because I already knew Ash’s condition.
The third worst reason—the Ash Serpent I was possessed into was…….
“He appears to have about a year left.”
The terminal youngest son of a villainous family.
