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Chapter : 25
In the setting of this novel, the monastery was an overwhelming place.
“The priests and clerics of the Elbenard Empire are called the Emperor’s dogs.”
The age at which one could manifest sacred power was around ten, so children of that age were sent to the monastery.
Most were orphans or children sold by their parents.
There were also nobles who willingly handed over their children, hoping to catch the Emperor’s favor.
In any case, those who manifested sacred power went to the temple, and those who didn’t were sent to orphanages.
“The heroine must be a similar case.”
Bontek Vocational School, the village’s only school and also an orphanage.
The heroine came here through a process like that.
At the beginning of the story, the heroine, who was bullied here, ends up helping as a maid.
“The upcoming banquet of Count Rock.”
Of all things, the heroine gets entangled in the murder planned by Lysis because of this job.
“Hey! You! You’re holding this!”
“Huh? Princess Grace Ekaterina! I can’t possibly accept something so precious!”
“I’m just asking you to hold onto it for a moment! It’s very important—don’t let anyone see it! Got it?”
The person who would be killed that day was Princess Grace herself.
The problem was the “key” that Grace had forcibly entrusted to the heroine just before her death.
Because Lysis caught them while looking for the key, the two of them became fatedly entangled…
“Ugh.”
I shook my head, recalling the scene.
Before I knew it, the winding hill road had ended.
“Has the spirit possessor entered the heroine’s body?”
Actually, I had a reason for going out today.
A few months before Count Rock’s banquet, a spirit possessor is summoned to this world.
The role: the female protagonist.
In other words, according to headquarters’ schedule, the possessor should have entered the heroine’s body by now.
“Dine! You idiot!”
Lost in thought as I reached the school’s main gate, I heard a familiar name from the empty lot.
“Bring all your laundry to me. You messed it up, so now it’s your job!”
I stopped and observed the situation.
“While you’re at it, do mine too, Dine!”
“Then mine too! And when you’re done, clean the restroom for me too.”
Dine.
Even without seeing her name or her status screen, I could recognize her.
[Dine, B Rank, Future Saint of the Elbenard Empire]
[Unlock condition: The original story’s female protagonist cannot be controlled.]
Wow, even in a tough period, the protagonist aura is unmistakable.
Shiny pink hair, a halo like a hundred lights were shining on her!
“As expected, she can’t be controlled.”
Since she’s the original heroine, I couldn’t manipulate her.
“Dine, do mine too!”
The students surrounding Dine laughed as they shoved their laundry at her.
In the original story, Dine endured terrible bullying.
To put it nicely, she was angelic; bluntly, she was a doormat.
“If the possessor had fully entered, she’d probably react differently from the original.”
It hadn’t been long since the possession, so she was likely still bewildered.
And since the others were freeloaders who were delaying their own tasks, it was perfect for testing the K-possessor’s temperament.
“Okay, got it.”
“Such a foolishly kind Dine.”
Yet Dine just picked up the scattered laundry, one by one.
She didn’t act out at all.
“What? The possessor hasn’t entered?”
My eyes nearly popped out.
I had hoped to move the heroine myself and ruin the original story!
“Not entered? Could I be the only possessor?”
Then what about the sacred power that should manifest in the heroine through the possessor’s buff?
Where did our saint go?
“No. It might have entered a different character instead of the heroine.”
I tried to organize my thoughts.
Given that the dimensions were messed up, the possessed character might have changed.
“Oops, sorry. My hand slipped.”
At that moment, a small stone dropped at Dine’s feet.
[Ken, E Rank, Identity Unknown]
A brash boy walked up with a group.
“Ah, it’s Ken.”
Just a short-appearing, generic extra villain.
But I remembered his face clearly.
His stupid actions would later trigger a huge butterfly effect.
“Dine. Why didn’t you do what I told you yesterday? I almost got scolded by Mom—no, the principal—because of you.”
“…Sorry.”
At the word “principal,” Dine lowered her head.
“If you keep acting like this, you won’t get any work this time. Don’t want to do maid work either?”
With Ken showing up, it was my chance.
“Step aside. Dine’s mine.”
Even without touching the control panel, I could raise Dine’s trust!
“You need at least a recommendation letter to graduate and earn a living. You know my mom will write that letter, right?”
I kicked the stone hard.
“Ah! What the—”
Nice.
The stone hit Ken’s leg with a thunk and fell.
Ken’s eyes widened as he looked at me.
“What if I had seen this scene at headquarters? Would I have tried to manipulate Ken to bully the heroine even more?”
As a controller, that was my original role.
“Sorry, mistake.”
But not anymore.
“My foot slipped.”
Now I had to mess with Ken, not control him.
I was the possessor sent to ruin the original story… well, not exactly possessed myself, but whatever.
“What? A mistake? Are you joking?”
Ken, who had just pushed Dine, approached with intimidating force.
“Since we haven’t met, I assume you’re not from this school.”
Ken scanned me up and down as usual, assessing my clothes to decide how to act.
“Good thing I dressed normally.”
This kid would stand out no matter what he wore.
“What are you interfering for? Hmm, judging by your looks…”
“Ken!”
Ken grabbed me by the collar.
I’d always liked hotheads since Aleister—direct and no time wasted.
“Are you here to seduce some rich old man? Why come to Bontek instead of the capital?”
“…”
“Even if the nobles in the capital are good-looking, I guess they have no interest in commoners?”
“Ken! Don’t!”
“Get out of my way, annoying.”
Ken pushed Dine again and cornered me.
“Ah, this kid…”
I was slightly annoyed, even though I set the trap.
I had observed many possessors before. Few got tied up, grabbed by the collar, and roughed up like me.
“Arrogant. Want a stone to hit you too? Shall I tie you up?”
Ken smirked maliciously.
The kids around him giggled along.
“Not even worth possessing.”
Not in the imperial palace, and E rank Ken could be controlled immediately.
But.
“You’re Ken, who applied to the Perzen Grand Duke’s direct Knight Order, Rom, right?”
“…”
Ken flinched.
“How… how did you know?”
This kind of guy needed to feel fear directly, through his own senses and every cell, not through control.
“You falsified your secondary application, manipulating your grades and career. You stole someone else’s records to forge the documents.”
“…!”
“Is that something someone aiming to be a knight should do? If you understood the values Rom knights uphold, you couldn’t do such things.”
Ken tightened his grip.
Even his trembling eyelashes were vivid.
“Hey, who are you!”
Breathing heavily, I showed him a necklace instead of answering.
The Emperor recognized this necklace instantly.
“I already knew through Iri.”
The red gem on it was actually an heirloom of the Grand Duke’s family.
“Th-this is…”
Ken, who admired Perzen and the Rom knights, couldn’t fail to recognize it.
“Don’t you understand why I came here myself?”
I asked Ken with the composure of an examiner from hell.
“You dare submit forged documents? You must think lightly of the Perzen Grand Duke and the Rom knights.”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Ken’s hand loosened, his face turning ashen.
“You misunderstood! Please forgive me! It’s not what you think!”
Ken knelt before me, panicking.
“No. Take the originals of your forged documents and cancel the submission immediately. I already know whose records you switched.”
The true owner of the records Ken stole was Helsen.
The heroine’s older brother.
