It was as he had feared. Michael harbored a deep desire for revenge against the royal family.
In front of Rosenite, respect and love were played.
Even though there was already a knight named Sylvestian next to her.
'I did that? Really... me?'
Rosenite, seduced by Michael, casts out Sylvestian.
His best friend in this life died miserably.
There was not a shred of warmth in Michael's eyes from his past life as he watched him being tortured.
‘What on earth are I doing...!’
He just couldn't believe that the person in his dream was himself.
It was like seeing a perfect stranger.
He is the worst kind of person, someone who doesn't fit with him to the point that he wants to reject himself.
'This is really... ridiculous.'
In the midst of not being able to recover from the shock, the dream continued.
Michael falsely swore devotion, love, and loyalty to Rosenite.
Now that he looks at it, there was no sacrifice involved in the imprinting ritual. Michael is more perfect than anyone else.
He played the romantic subordinate officer with his whole mind.
It was all his choice.
'Crazy.'
Of course, the reward obtained through immoral means cannot be beautiful.
It was.
Now that he had been chosen by the royal family, it was his turn to do his duty. Almost every night, the time that followed was no different from a punishment for his sins.
'Fuck.'
He was glad that he didn't empathize with himself in the dream at all, or rather, that he felt extreme aversion to it.
At some point, he was able to endure it because he was released from the possession and became an observer.
Of course, the earthenware was piled up nonetheless.
And it wasn't just the dreamers who ended up in this state.
"Ugh."
Even Michael, who had always acted well in front of Rosenite in his dreams, seemed to be unable to bear it at this time.
Michael ran out into the garden and vomited out everything inside him.
After a while, he finally got to the tree.
He slid down and fell down.
He was just blankly staring, unable to even think about cleaning up his disheveled and dirty appearance.
He looked very much like his close friend in this life.
It was then that Michael felt something belatedly.
"Sir Agneto?"
It was a tricky thing. The person who was always busy looking for Michael was the one who found him first today.
"Why are you doing that? Are you uncomfortable?"
"...No, you don’t have to worry about it."
"That's fortunate, but... But why are you in the villa garden at this hour?"
"Oh, I was insensitive. I became the 8th Princess's direct knight..."
"Then Sir Millard..."
At that moment, Michael reacted sharply. He was already mentally weak.
As if something had been stimulated that shouldn't have been touched.
"Do you want to pick him up?"
"Yes?"
"Don't do that. Didn't you say in front of me that you wouldn't let anyone be your direct knight?"
If you can't save them all, don't save any.
Eve opened her eyes wide in surprise.
'You are behaving so rudely towards my Princess. How impertinent…!'
It was the moment he was about to criticize. He felt a strange sensation. It was not like that at all just a moment ago.
The thoughts and emotions of those who could not empathize began to flow in.
What he felt at that moment was a miserable sadness.
He was caught in his unclean state by the person he most wanted to see, of all people, her.
Her voice worried about others in front of him who became a knight of another royal family.
He had to hear the last name.
He was so sad that he even felt pain. It felt like someone was cutting his left chest with the tip of a knife.
'What is this..."
At that moment, Michael in the dream suddenly knelt down.
"... I'm sorry. Please forgive my rudeness... No, please punish me."
Oh.
The psychological state at that time was also conveyed.
Michael in the dream truly wanted to be punished by Eve.
But it wasn't just a price to pay for impudence.
It was because he wanted to spend more time with Eve, even if it meant being punished.
He was a truly pitiful schemer.
Why do I have to share this?
He couldn't believe that he felt rejected until earlier. He's worried that it might be assimilated if he stay like this.
'Ha...'
At that time, the dream was slowly coming to an end.
Eve did not punish him. Instead, she gently placed a hand on Michael's shoulder and cast a calming spell.
"Then I'll go."
Michael, left alone, leaned against the tree again. He covered his eyes with his hand and muttered.
"If only you had been a little more influential as a Princess. No, if only you had chosen me..."
He slowly covered his eyes with his hand.
He took it off.
But it's already too late.
The purple eyes darkened. They were eyes that were prepared for destruction.
Michael opened his eyes wide.
His mind, which had been lost in a dream, barely came back to reality.
Michael stared at the ceiling for a long time, holding his breath. His left chest was burning and throbbing due to the growth of his mana core.
The sensation reminded Michael of the heart-wrenching feeling he had felt in his dream.
The deep, earnest longing he felt for the Princesss in his past life.
‘You didn’t even put an imprint on it... What the heck is this?’
What was even more devastating was that those emotions were so relatable.
So much so that it was mistaken for an emotion that had blossomed within oneself.
Michael turned his head, narrowing his eyebrows.
On the bed next to him, his eyes met with the one who ruined his past life.
The silver-haired homunculus was asleep.
His already aching heart became heavy and suffocated. Michael impulsively went out of the dorm.
He walked aimlessly through the palace in the afternoon. All the while, his mind was filled with thoughts about his dreams.
'It wasn't my Princess who abandoned me, it was me who chose the 8th Princess.'
If the former was a tragedy of regret, this one was a tragedy of self-loathing.
Thinking of leaving Eve and becoming Rosenite's direct knight.
Because of his revenge against the royal family, it was as if he had sold his soul to the devil.
So honestly, it didn't seem strange that he would do something crazy. An uneasy possibility arose.
‘Surely I didn’t commit treason..."
At that moment, Michael stopped walking because his vision suddenly changed.
Fragments of his past life this time are not dreams, but brief visions.
'The Great Audience Hall?'
Indeed, could it be said that ominous premonitions always come true?
The owner of the highest position had changed.
On a high platform like a pyramid, occupying a splendid throne adorned with gold and jewels, was none other than Michael himself.
He sat with his chin resting on his hand and looked down with a weary expression.
There, the captive royal family members were shivering with their heads buried on the floor.
At Michael's nod, the royal family was led by the hand of Homunculus and locked in prison. One person a day was placed on the execution ground, and blood was sprinkled throughout the palace.
'...I did it.'
What more could there be to deny? No matter how he looked at it, this was a perfect picture of rebellion.
Michael wasn't particularly shocked by the betrayal.
The imperial court, except for Eve, was nothing more than a den of ugly monsters. Judgment was given.
However, seeing the royal family being purged made him worried about Eve.
‘Surely that would happen to my Princess..."
Just thinking about the possibility made his blood run cold.
'No. Please note that...'
Fortunately, the illusion reflected Eve's appearance as if in response to Michael's wishes.
Michael stepped into a secret room deep within the palace. Eve was locked in a cage-like iron cage.
Eve greeted Michael with surprised eyes.
'Princess...'
The sight of the living Princess gave Michael a sense of relief.
But then, there was a voice that shattered my sense of relief.
"Eve."
The voice that suddenly called her nickname was his own. Michael opened his eyes wide in surprise.
He wondered if, without realizing it, they had developed a close relationship with each other and were now in a direct military relationship.
But looking at Eve's bewildered expression, it seemed like that was absolutely not the case.
'How dare you call the Princess by her nickname so carelessly. How ridiculous of you to call the Princess by her nickname.'
No...
It was at that time that Michael was criticizing his past self.
"That's right, you chose me."
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