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Chapter 49
According to him, Harris Godwin cannot become a minor duke, even if it’s not himself.
“I will never die alone.”
Penelope lifted the corners of her mouth and burned the note.
“Idiot.”
Harris pressed his throbbing temples. His eyelids twitched, and his trembling fingertips pressed harder.
Even after swallowing all the sedative potions, this was how he felt. The worst part was that it was still better than not taking any at all.
“I should have gotten guidance.”
He was slowly reaching his limit.
Surely, when he first went to Jade, he intended to get guidance.
He had held back because, in the dungeon, he pushed himself too hard without memory, causing Jade to be unconscious for a long time. But hearing that an outsider had given her guidance made his eyes spin.
Although he calmed down after hearing the denial and explanation, even so, there was no reason not to receive guidance.
“I’ve already done it several times.”
The first was by influence, then light contact, and finally quite strong guidance.
Of course, it was only natural. She was the guide, and it was just her job.
So this time should have been no problem either.
“Ah, I’m not crying.”
Trying forcibly to stop the tears, his big, transparent eyes were wide open.
Tears kept spilling like beads from his wet eyes. His trembling hands hurriedly wiped them away.
At that moment, he couldn’t think about anything.
Why she suddenly cried, whether the rapid confessions spilling out were true.
A small face poking out from between rolled-up blankets. Reddened nose and eyes. And…
“It was hot.”
Harris clenched his trembling fingers.
No matter how many times he touched something small and delicate, trying not to hurt it, he never got used to it.
He wasn’t even trying to give guidance, yet he touched her. He hoped she wouldn’t cry.
And then…
“I believe you.”
Why did I say that?
Honestly, objectively, it wasn’t such a big deal.
He had only accepted Jade’s story — that the life she claimed was not an elaborate lie to deceive him.
He had only acknowledged that she wasn’t someone who would deliberately deceive him.
“…Even though it’s a relationship of just a few months?”
Suppressing the sudden rush of thoughts, Harris pressed his eyelids firmly.
“Ugh…!”
Maybe because his nerves were too focused, he felt a stabbing pain from inside his eyeballs.
Chronic pain.
The pain he had become used to. The ache he thought he could endure was slowly overwhelming him.
“I should have received guidance.”
He had to bring her over right now. He had to…
“W-Wait a moment. It will stop soon. Just a moment…”
“…Damn it.”
Fine. He had lived without a guide all this time. He was no longer an addict, so there was no reason he couldn’t endure it.
Harris focused on the power within himself and tried somehow to calm himself down.
“Haa—”
His closed eyes trembled, nerves became hypersensitive, then numbed repeatedly.
Then it happened.
“Harris, there you are.”
The door that had been shut forcefully was suddenly opened unilaterally.
“I found you.”
Then, click — the door closed again.
“Ah, why did I do that…”
I sighed deeply.
Why on earth did I suddenly start crying in front of Harris?
Until now, I had done my best to live this damn possessed life.
Harris, Adrian, the previous duke, Alucas… I had pondered the best ways amidst all sorts of crises and chose options with the highest survival probability.
In short, no matter what situation arose, I acted without emotion and moved logically.
“Harris would probably snort and say ‘yeah, right’.”
Of course, it wasn’t all without sincerity. Sometimes, I chose emotionally driven options.
“But reacting purely emotionally without any thought or calculation like yesterday — that’s the first time…!”
Argh, I screamed inside and struggled.
Usually, when people act unlike themselves, there is one main reason.
“Do I like Harris?”
Ah, of course I do.
With his impossibly beautiful face, tall and slender figure, broad frame filled with mechanical muscles.
“It’s hard not to like someone who looks like the god chose him to model the ideal human.”
Harris is even my favorite — my fan crush.
Although he started as a 2D character in print… even after meeting the 3D real version, my admiration didn’t fade.
So, my ‘liking’ was closer to a fond fandom mixed with affection. Even after we kissed.
“Well, honestly, it felt great enough to make me mentally log out.”
Having never had such sticky skinship in my life, it felt unreal.
But this…
“No, objectively, it’s nothing special. Nothing remarkable happened.”
Though it was clearly nothing, strangely, it bothered me more than the kiss did.
“…Why did I have to cry right there?!”
Crying over money-making, no less. I really looked like a crazy woman!
“Trying to live easy, using the protagonist’s resources, and now acting like this… what a joke.”
I sighed deeply as the footsteps of the maids approached.
“Miss Jade!”
Since entering the Godwin Duke’s mansion, I’ve worked hard to build connections with the servants.
“Especially the maids right nearby.”
I enjoyed befriending ordinary people who wouldn’t kill me, but practically, it was to set up early surveillance.
“Before trouble happens, I planted eyes and ears.”
The early part of Sicheon-Gwi takes place in the underground prison at the Godwin Duke’s mansion ruled by the former duke.
“In other words, the incidents of the original story could happen to me too.”
And it really happened.
“This is bad! Harris has…!”
“It’s ridiculous.”
A bead of sweat dropped from Harris’s forehead.
“He already lost his qualification and was kicked out — where does he think he’s crawling back to?”
His closed eyelids twitched irregularly.
“If you know your place, you’d leave on your own. How dare you show your face again—”
The man who barged in sat down, dripping with cold sweat, not caring how Harris looked and babbling on.
“The duke said so himself.”
The man, Ivan, smirked slyly.
“This is not my personal opinion, so don’t be upset.”
Ivan was born into the third great house of the Ramsus Empire, a cadet branch of the mighty Godwin family, and thought he would die quietly as such.
But the Godwin duke went mad, imprisoned his own heir, and even gave up the right to decide his successor.
The right to choose the new Godwin duke was given to the former duke.
After that, the cadet branches started stirring.
“Maybe me, my child, our family…!”
“But the chance is mine.”
Among many cadet branches, the Godwin duke chose Ivan.
Ah, of course, Penelope, the countess’s daughter, was also chosen.
But what does a woman know?
“And it actually caused trouble.”
Tsk, Ivan clicked his tongue internally. How stupid to cause problems right after arrival.
But since his face was decent and the family respectable, he thought of making her duchess if she was obedient.
“She’s pretty clever too.”
In a secret note, Penelope advised to implement ‘the plan’ as soon as possible.
She predicted the former duke would be cautious for a while due to her own incident, and they should move during that window.
Not a bad call.
Plus, from what he heard from the servants, Harris Godwin, angry over Bona’s situation, went to find the guide.
“He must have scolded her for wandering recklessly.”
And cries were heard in the guide’s bedroom.
When Harris came out later, he apparently hadn’t received proper guidance.
Perfect timing.
“Of course, who can question the will of the great duke? Don’t be too upset. I’ll take good care of you from now on.”
Ivan shrugged his shoulders like a proud peacock in front of Harris. It was meant to provoke and stir him up.
“He’ll attack.”
Ivan clicked his tongue, not knowing what level of supernatural ability Harris possessed.
How dare the heir of the Godwin family in the Ramsus Empire’s three great houses be assaulted just for a few words?
“Barbaric supernaturals are useless.”
“They should only be used in violent places like dungeons or rifts!”
The old argument of the Godwin duke popped into Ivan’s mind.
“If you know your place, leave now. No need to make things ugly.”
No matter what Ivan said, Harris was calm.
It wasn’t voluntary.
The signs of his raging madness were already taking control from his head down.
“…I must not kill.”
The last shred of reason warned.
At least not now. Harris knew exactly what kind of scheme this was.
It wasn’t just that one man.
His retinue, probably even worse, surrounded Harris.
Like they were waiting for him to attack.
“I must endure.”
He knew. But—
Harris gritted his teeth.
It felt like he had returned to those days.
The Godwin duke’s mansion in the capital.
Faces full of suspicion and hatred. Eyes like those who see a monster.
The duke who wanted to collar and imprison him right away.
“Monster!”
Their faces and voices overlapped. Black veins bulged on his white fists.
Shivering—
Black tendrils of magical power writhed out of Harris’s control, rippling from the shadows.
A familiar prelude to madness.
One he had never been able to properly control…
“-Harris!”
In the shaking consciousness, a flustered scream sounded. Harris opened his eyes without realizing it.
“…!”
This had happened before.
At the moment of madness, when everyone avoided and ran away, the only one who approached was a girl.
“Jade…?”
Her light pink hair fluttered as she ran full speed with her small body…
“Everyone, get out of the way—!”
…Not to him, but to Ivan, the man.
“…?!”
One of Harris’s eyebrows lifted. And the thing that collided wasn’t Jade but a three-tier metal tray cart… wait, a cart?
“Why is that here?”
Before Harris could ask, a loud crash echoed through the space.
Thud—!!
