The story so far. Lee Jaeyeon, who possessed Ash Serpent, the disgrace of the Serpent Family. No sooner does he realize with horror that the villain Lucius from the original work was a doting parent. He even ends up learning about the secret sexual orientation of the protagonist Kiss, which he didn’t want to know at all. Amidst the sorrow of being an extra character, the scheming of his family brothers, and Kiss’s sudden genre drift—will Ash be able to safely survive as a villain?
‘…If this were a web novel, this would roughly be the synopsis.’
Well, it was better than possessing into a worldview where gangsters run wild or possessing as a villainess. But possessing into a terminal character wasn’t exactly welcome either. Of course I got short of breath with just a little movement, and my vision kept spinning like someone who hadn’t eaten for days. It was a telling moment of why Lucius had been so desperately opposed to Ash leaving.
‘Is it really possible to collect Summoning Seals with this kind of body?’
I felt somehow distant. The Guardians that had to be defeated to collect the Summoning Seals were considerably powerful beings. Even if I made Deus my ally, the thought that I’d only be baggage with this body condition consumed my mind. As I coughed in anxiety, Kiss, who was sitting beside me, suddenly held something out.
“Are you feeling unwell today too?”
An appearance like a single stalk of a pure white lily suddenly filled my vision. I alternated looking between the handkerchief and Kiss, then grudgingly accepted the handkerchief.
“Thank you.”
“Ash, you’re really weak. Are all humans that weak?”
“I think I’m extremely average.”
“Oh, you have a nosebleed.”
At Kiss’s words, I unconsciously checked the handkerchief, and there really was blood on it. As I casually wiped the bloodstain, I asked Kiss, who was staring intently at my face, with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Did you get nosebleeds often before too? You don’t seem very surprised.”
Come to think of it, Kiss didn’t know Ash was terminal. In the story, there weren’t many people who knew Ash was terminal. Lucius had silenced people, and Ash himself wasn’t the calculating type to try to gain sympathy with his illness.
It was the only part where my opinion matched. Wouldn’t it be better to just stay quiet rather than reveal I’m terminal and have that weakness exploited? I coughed with the handkerchief brought to my mouth before answering.
“Are there any points I should be careful about?”
“Mm, there are a few.”
“What are they?”
“You mustn’t make eye contact, you mustn’t show your back. And you mustn’t approach unnecessarily close.”
These coping methods wouldn’t be strange even if the subject were a wild bear from Jirisan instead of the Crown Prince. At my rapidly darkening expression, Kiss laughed “haha” and patted my shoulder as if to cheer me up.
“Don’t make such a face. If you watch him, he has his own kind of gentle side.”
“In what way?”
“He doesn’t attack prey that’s already dead anymore.”
“…Isn’t that even scarier? It means he hunts purely for fun.”
Instead of answering, Kiss smiled subtly.
“For the next month, three times a day, observe Deus for 15 minutes each time. And just record what Deus said. It’s nothing much, right?”
He’s simply dismissing it. I didn’t expect it to be safe in the first place anyway. I tried to return the handkerchief with the nosebleed on it, then put it back in my pocket. It seemed better to wash it and return it later.
“Is that really all?”
“Yeah, if you just endure for a month like that, I’ll slot you into the exclusive attendant position.”
“Slot” me in—at the crude expression that didn’t match his refined face, I couldn’t help but laugh. Come to think of it, the person who raised young Kiss after he lost his mother was the warrior Theodore. Growing up under such a blunt and rough guardian, Kiss also seemed to occasionally show such aspects that didn’t match his face. Kiss, who had been staring at me laughing quietly, suddenly reached his hand toward my face.
“Here, you didn’t wipe it all off.”
My body froze at his natural action of wiping under the bridge of my nose with his thumb. It seemed there was a part where I hadn’t wiped off the nosebleed. Memories from the past I’d barely forgotten flashed through my mind.
<You know, me. Actually, men are possible too.>
I quickly swatted Kiss’s hand away and made a startled expression. The rattling carriage interior was instantly filled with silence. It was a rejection reaction that came out without me realizing. Kiss, who had been looking at me expressionlessly, spoke in a dry voice devoid of any emotion.
“Why are you making that expression?”
“……”
“You never made that expression at me before.”
At the tone that strangely seemed to resent me, I couldn’t easily open my mouth. After a long silence, Kiss turned his body toward the window. And he didn’t look back at me even once until we arrived at the imperial palace.
* * *
Anyway, Kiss, this petty bastard. To embarrass someone this much just for swatting his hand once. As soon as we arrived at the imperial palace, Kiss, who got off the carriage first, literally just went off. I was quite flustered because I hadn’t thought he’d be this offended.
‘But I can’t help it.’
Since I’ve possessed Ash, I’m not interested in getting unnecessarily close to Kiss. The head butler who came to guide me to my quarters instead of the sulking Kiss bowed his head.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Ash-nim. I’ll take your luggage.”
Concerned about Kiss who seemed thoroughly sulky, I hastily held out my luggage bag, and a man who looked like an apprentice butler received the bag. I looked around as I walked between elaborately carved sculptures.
‘So this is the detached palace where Deus stays.’
I thought it would be a bit small since it’s called a detached palace. But just looking at the vast garden spread out beyond the window, I could roughly tell the size of the detached palace. The head butler walking ahead opened his mouth.
“During the day, you may enter any facility in the detached palace. If you need anything, please tell me or the other servants.”
“Ah, yes.”
“However.”
The head butler suddenly stopped walking. The sunset that had already begun to set turned one side of the head butler’s face red. My heart sank at the head butler’s following words.
“After the sun sets, you must never come out of your room.”
“…Why?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have the authority to answer that.”
It was a polite but cold answer. This is usually how American horror movie openings start. That white guy who ignores the warning gets drunk and acts up at night, then gets torn apart by a chainsaw. Since I had absolutely no desire to become that white guy in a horror movie, I silently nodded.
“You’ll be staying here for the next month.”
The place the head butler took me to was a neat and sophisticated Gothic-style bedroom. The room Ash originally stayed in was also spacious and nice, but compared to this, it was at the level of a shabby motel.
There was a spacious and fluffy-looking bed, a crystal chandelier, and on the terrace that extended widely beside the bedroom were a table where you could enjoy tea time anytime and a marble fountain. The head butler approached behind me as I went out to the terrace to get some air.
“He ordered us to make special efforts so you’d have no discomfort during your stay.”
“……”
“Then, please rest well. If you need anything, please call for us anytime.”
The hand gripping the terrace railing trembled. The head butler, who bowed and was about to turn away, was called back. And I hesitantly threw out a question.
“Has Kilius-nim been staying here continuously as well?”
“That’s correct.”
An uncomfortable expression came out without me realizing. He’s probably staying here to monitor Deus. I thought he was quite fearless. The head butler added toward me, who had fallen into thought.
“If I may make one unnecessary interference.”
“……”
“Kilius-nim usually has a lot of government affairs to handle, so he has dinner very late. If I remember correctly, he always asks us to prepare dinner around 11 PM.”
The head butler, who left a cryptic remark, bowed his head again. I stared blankly at the retreating head butler, then belatedly realized something and let out a groan. He noticed the bad atmosphere between me and Kiss.
‘Well, no matter what, swatting someone’s hand away like that is a bit much.’
I kept being bothered by my oversensitive reaction because I was concerned about the words that men were possible too. Looking at how he prepared such a nice room, it seems Kiss showed consideration in his own way.
I awkwardly massaged my neck for no reason. Even if I don’t become allies with Kiss, I didn’t want to become enemies. Because Kiss was the protagonist of the heroic tales that made me cry and laugh. Ugh, I groaned and decided.
“Right, we’ll be seeing each other coming and going for the next month, so this awkward atmosphere is a bit much. Let’s say it doesn’t matter whether you’re gay, a cross-dresser, or a herpes patient. Then your mood will improve a bit.”
Actually, as long as I can survive, Kiss’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter. I cleanly came to a conclusion and was about to turn around when an inexplicable roar echoed around me.
Boom!
The birds that had been gathered together on the terrace flew away noisily. I was equally startled by the vibration that shook my body. I forcibly calmed my trembling heart and moved my feet toward the wall where the sound came from.
‘Where is that sound coming from to echo all the way here?’
I brought my ear to the wall where the sound seemed to have come from, but it was just quiet.
‘Did they just move furniture?’
Boom!
Just as I was about to turn around casually, thinking it was just living noise, a sound far too loud to be considered living noise once again echoed through the bedroom.
If my ears weren’t mistaken, it was a roar as if something large was stomping its feet.
