CH 2

Jane quickly noticed and started to help me change. After throwing off the dragging wedding dress, I sat down in front of the dressing table with a lighter body.

Hours after possessing Vivi, I finally saw her face for the first time.

It looked cynical overall, perhaps because of the tail of the eyes that were slightly raised or the noticeable pink eyes.

Her skin was pale as if she had never gone out, and her nose was small but straight. The pale pink hair, as if mixed with milk, was slightly wavy down to the navel.

Jane asked as she removed my makeup with a warm wet towel.

“Should I tell them to prepare dinner?”

“No, there’s no need.”

I was hungry, but I had no appetite. Although Seniel had long left the mansion, I couldn’t relax because I somehow felt that Kid would break in.

“Please prepare the bath.”

“Yes, madam.”

Jane looked at me and offered words of consolation that she was sorry that her master was not here to accompany me at night. But it did not matter to me.

Instead, I closed my eyes half way because I was tired. Then Jane’s voice became smaller and smaller.

Just before I fell into a deep sleep, I suddenly thought that I needed comfortable pajamas and shoes to run away at night.

I’ll have to take off all my earrings and necklaces. I’d rather not wear anything at all.

This was because Kid could pull the earrings down or grab the necklace.

‘He must have gone far, but it’s better to prepare when I can.’

“Please prepare pajamas that are as comfortable as possible. Also, prepare shoes that are comfortable for running.”

“Pardon? … Of course. I will prepare a size that fits you.”

I knew that this preparation would actually be useless within Kid’s view, but I thought it was better to try.

***

I was sitting alone in the bathtub after sending out the maid. My body shivered even though I was in the warm water.

Seniel’s wife was alive for at least a week. Maybe it was because Seniel left the mansion like this.

“How did Vivi end up dying?

Ït doesn’t seem like there’d be problem if Seniel keeps being absent from the mansion like this. Since the servants did not die because they followed the rules of this mansion well.

As long as they’re not in his sight.

‘Even if Seniel keeps leaving, Kid may return. So, did Vivi walk around the hallway at night?’

Or did Kid come to see Vivi on his own accord because he found her existence annoying?

Step by step, I tried to recall the original story and information about Seniel as much as possible.

One could feel something from the novel’s title《Two Flavors》. It is a thriller romance between Seniel, who has a dual personality, and Ezette, the female lead, disguised as ‘her brother’.

The key point was that each has a secret that must not be revealed to others.

Among them, Seniel’s dual personality was the key and the starting point. The story wouldn’t have even started if it weren’t for Saniel’s split personality.

His dual personality was due to his father, former Marquis Keith McCourt, who was a very ambitious man.

Even so, in this place, holy power was strength. Once someone became a priest, they could earn honors that others would envy.

Among them, the seat of the high priest was absolutely incomparable to anything.

Because it was a high-ranking position in the empire that could only be occupied by one person, and it was possible for the said person to achieve greater wealth and honor than the emperor.

If you have only heard this far, you may wonder if they can revolt in the temple and rule the country altogether if they have that much power.

But they had never revolted before.

This was because the size of one’s holy power was proportional to their innate talent and character.

No matter how gifted you are, if you act with a selfish mind, not an altruistic mind, it will be difficult to express your power. It is said that less than 10% of their full potential can be expressed.

In addition, it is said that as one ages, their holy power naturally declines.

In any case, these conditions forced them to be people who had no intention of revolting in the first place. Unless rebellion is considered ‘justice’.

Seniel’s father, Keith, had also been a high priest like Seniel.

And he had enjoyed serving others.

However, as his holy powers weakened, he also grew selfish. Or perhaps he became selfish as he got older and his power weakened.

He began to be dissatisfied with the requirements for his holy power to manifest.

Keith did not want to step down from his seat.

He wanted to get the eternal sun.

So he thought: if he could freely use his holy power for the rest of his life, wouldn’t he be able to become a god himself?

It was blasphemy, but to make it happen, he gathered his followers and began experimenting.

‘If we get rid of human evil, we can become gods forever.’

It was an absurd experiment: eliminate evil and do not rule over people to fill your own interests. 

He began experimenting with the orphans. The experiment was conducted on a fairly large scale, but failed.

They didn’t just kill people. They mowed everything and covered the walls and ceilings with all sorts of filth.

People saw such a serial murder case and started calling it a ‘Kid’case. It was because the murder scene was as if a young child who had not learned table manners spilled ketchup here and there.

Later, they started calling the culprit as ‘Kid’. In the book, Seniel’s other personality was called Kid.

‘I think the combination of kids and murder makes the name makes sense.’

Anyway, Seniel really hated the Kid the Killer.

He wanted to stop it, but couldn’t properly stop it. Even though Kid was himself, he could not completely interfere with his plan.

Because Seniel and Kid didn’t share all the memories.

A condition was necessary for the two to share their memories.

‘They shared each other’s memories only when they felt strong emotions.’

Because of that, Seniel immediately noticed that Kid had been born. Because he felt intense pleasure from his first murder.

Seniel reversed Keith’s experiment to get rid of Kid.

If Seniel were a 100% pure good man, he would have killed himself.

But Seniel wasn’t a completely good person either. With incomplete experiments, Seniel was close to good, but he wasn’t good enough to take his own life.

And Kid wasn’t a completely evil character to the point where he had no sympathy.

Even so, it was too risky to provoke sympathy to survive. Because even though Kid wasn’t pure evil, he was a character comparable to that.

In any case, Seniel used all sorts of drugs and abused himself to stop Kid.

‘But as you can see, it’s a failure.’

Then, Seniel found out that Kid only appears at night, and he struggles not to sleep. He could get rid of physical fatigue with his holy power, but he could not get rid of mental fatigue.

On the contrary, Kid, who became more violent because of that, went around killing people more brutally. Seniel eventually gave up staying up all night.

‘At the same time, an oracle was given for him to get married.’

Seniel had to get married.

Because he would be breaking the oracle if he didn’t get married.

Vivi, who married Seniel, eventually died shortly thereafter.

Then Seniel decided to commit suicide in guilt, but then he met the female lead, Ezette, who was dressed as a man.

It wasn’t a romantic meeting. It was a meeting between a murderer and a pursuer.

‘The reason Ezette tried to find the killer had to do with her disguise as a man.’

The reason Ezette was looking for Kid, a killer who preyed on high-ranking priests and nobles, was simple. If she caught him, she would be able to restore her faltering family at once, and with that power, she would be able to find out the truth about her brother’s unfair death.

‘In order to hide his death, she was not allowed to officially acknowledge her brother’s death.’

Few knew that her brother had died, and officially he was missing.

So, in order to investigate her brother’s situation without hassle, Ezette disguised herself as a holy knight using a necklace that was a family treasure.

Thanks to the power of the necklace, she looked completely manly on the outside. It would raise no doubt, so Ezette worked under the guise of this occupation.

That’s how the two of them get connected, and the novel begins.

No matter how I look at it, I feel reluctant that this novel begins only when I die.

‘I just died, and I have to die again after being born again.’

Just because there’s a variable, the original story may not change much. In fact, it doesn’t matter if the original is played. Because my life takes precedence over their love.

‘Should I report to the temple that Seniel is the culprit?’

There is evidence that suggests Seniel is the culprit. But it is questionable whether Kid would be caught right away with just a report.

‘Rather, they might suspect me who reported it.’

Seniel is the high priest. A high priest recognized for his talent and character.

It’s common sense in this world that if the high priest has committed such ruthless murders more than dozens of times, he wouldn’t have been able to use his holy power properly. 

‘Seniel may welcome the punishment, but will Kid stay still?’

Can’t he escape from prison?

‘Why did I have to become Vivi?’

Is it because it was the last book I read before I died? Or am I fated to be born as a person with a lot of money but no importance?

Huft, this is not the time to fall for this kind of sentiment.

Learn more

Pause

Unmute

Again, I traced Vivi’s memory and the content of the story.

There were no planes here, so it was impossible to escape into the sky.

Teleportation that exists in other fantasy novels does not exist here, so teleportation is impossible.

‘As long as Seniel is in the Alberta Empire, I will not be safe.’

Living in hiding in this empire, aside from Kid, was dangerous because of the oracle. Will they see me as a bastard who sold my country? Just thinking about it is very terrifying.

The only option left was to cross the border by land or cross the border by sea.

However, even with both methods, I wouldn’t be able to shamelessly lift my head.

Being married to the high priest is no different from being tied to the temple. Therefore, you cannot leave the empire without the permission of the empire.

I’d have no choice but to sneak in, and that makes the option of crossing the border through land impossible.

Looking at Vivi’s memory, it was said that the borders have become stricter because of recent conflicts with countries adjacent to the borders of the Alberta Empire.

Climbing up to the 3rd floor is difficult enough. With this dull and weak body, I will not be able to avoid the eyes of the soldiers.

Then there is only one answer.

Stowaway.