Chapter 19

Spirit Body

"...You really are quite the masterpiece."

The prince, who had been bursting into laughter across from me for quite some time, wiped the tears welling in his eyes as he dropped those words.

"Sir Noel, you’ve truly brought along the most bizarre person. Even I couldn’t have predicted someone like this."

"...?"

Honestly, it was half a provocation, but the reaction seemed far too mild compared to what I expected.

Just as I wondered if he was still planning to make some additional proposal and was about to open my mouth—

As if he had read my mind, the prince spoke a beat faster.

"After saying this much, I don’t plan to offer you anything more. You can just stay as you are, can’t you?"

"...?"

At the refreshingly decisive tone of surrender, my eyes narrowed even further.

"Isn’t that right? If you insist on sticking around out of affection, it’d feel forced to try prying you apart."

"..."

"But."

The prince continued with a soft smile.

"The ‘risk’ that comes with staying there—I trust you’ll bear that yourself."

His voice remained calm and as polite as ever.

"Let’s meet again later, Mr. Aiden."

But what lay inside that sentence he left behind as he rose to his feet—

Was a chill so cold it made my spine feel like it was freezing solid.

"I’m sure we’ll see each other again."

...That was—

Something I, too, deeply agreed with.

▣

"Mr. Aiden."

"Yes?"

"Sir Noel seems rather unwell. Do you happen to know anything about it?"

"..."

The moment I returned to the banquet hall, Stella threw this question at me, and I rolled my eyes slowly.

"Unwell—what do you mean, exactly?"

"It was as though her soul had slipped out—she couldn’t collect herself. Then she suddenly said she felt ill and returned to the military headquarters. She’s never once done anything like this at an official function..."

"..."

"Her face was so unnaturally flushed that I don’t think she was lying... but she isn’t the sort to fall sick all of a sudden."

...No wonder she had vanished without a trace since earlier.

Seeing Stella drop her worried voice again and again, I nodded slightly with a subtle expression.

I could guess why.

-System Log

▶ Affection level of target ‘Noel Astrea Simus’ has increased.

▶ The increase in affection is extraordinarily high!

▶ Bond level surges from Level 3 to Level 5.

▶ You gain 2 additional skill copy attempts!

▶ The accumulated bond is now sufficient. The application of ‘Weaver of Fate’ will soon change!

▶ Related content will be added to the main quest shortly!

▶ A new entry has been added to Quest ‘Fake Marriage’!

It existed.

It definitely existed.

"...Well. I’m not entirely sure either."

For the time being, this was all I could say.

Honestly, if Sir Noel had been listening to the conversation I just had there, the rise in affection itself was something I could understand.

He had gone out of his way to side with the prince, and in the end…

'...I’m so embarrassed I could die, honestly.'

Just thinking about how I’d practically blurted out something like a public confession made my face burn.

As for Noel, I could always come up with some excuse later. It’d be troublesome if she truly misunderstood.

To be fair, it wasn’t exactly the worst thing. After all, I had really gotten two extra skill copies.

'It’s a gain if you look at it that way.'

But this time, it wasn’t something I’d deliberately planned, so it left me feeling uncomfortable. The fact that my relationship with her was growing deeper was also a noteworthy problem.

'This is dangerous.'

…I was aware that I was contradicting myself.

Given my current situation, I had to grab whatever skills I could find to survive, and Sir Noel was simply too powerful to leave off the list of targets.

Even putting her abilities aside, maintaining this 'marriage relationship' with her was one of the main pillars holding up my survival. No matter how I looked at it, my bond and affection with her were essential to staying alive.

But on the other hand—

Precisely because of that, if I ever really became close to Noel as a person…

…That would be its own sort of headache.

◈ Weaver of Fate

⧾ Arden Brimstone Lionel

* Malice: Level 1

* You can imitate one skill.

※ This is a target with whom 'bond relationship' cannot be formed. The skill’s effect will differ from the original!

The skill copy I had just wrung out of the prince felt different from anything I’d used before.

For one thing, it wasn’t called 'copying' but 'imitating,' and when I opened the skill window to examine the inner workings, that impression became even stronger.

‘The performance has been severely reduced.’

Compared to the skills the prince originally possessed, every one of them was pitiful in quality.

Whether it was their power or their effective range, everything had been weakened, and a few skills were marked out in red as if to say they couldn’t be imitated at all.

However, one thing stood out.

▶ The target’s ‘Malice’ level is low.

▶ Only ‘Imitation’ is currently possible.

▶ Increase the Malice level to unlock additional functions such as ‘Rejection,’ ‘Filtering,’ and ‘Sealing’!

Compared to the skills copied through affection, this one seemed to come bundled with all sorts of extra utility.

While I couldn’t use them with the original level of power, it felt as though I, personally, could exert some ‘influence’ over this skill itself.

I wouldn’t know the details until I raised the Malice level.

‘More importantly, the fact that the condition is called Malice...’

…Did that mean the more this person hated me, the more skills I could access?

“...”

◈ Weaver of Fate

⎨ Rania A‘Shan ⎬

* Bond: Level 1

* You can copy one skill.

The skill I planned to use was the copy token I’d obtained earlier from Rania.

I selected the skill I’d already marked and copied it as is.

[ Copying skill: ‘Spiritual Perception’ ]

< Copied Skill >

◆ Spiritual Perception

Those who have touched divinity can see, converse with, and interact with beings invisible to others. Your senses to perceive spiritual entities are unlocked.

The moment I copied the skill, faint “presences” began registering around the edges of my vision.

In response to what I’d just said, wisp-like vapors were rising near the Knight of Dawn’s remains. No doubt, I was the only one who could see them.

As I thought, he really was here. Since the remains were so well preserved, a spirit this strong wouldn’t simply fade away.

‘…Necromancy isn’t something you can normally pull off this easily.’

For the living to confront the dead was, of course, an act that defied the natural order. Usually, you’d need a tremendously skilled shaman from the Far East just to attempt it. But given certain conditions, even someone as powerless as me could manage it.

For example—

If a person strong enough to defy common sense in life were to hear something so infuriating they couldn’t endure it, sometimes their soul would briefly return.

The Knight of Dawn was exactly such a case.

This man—

While his recorded deeds were so dazzling they’d make your head spin, his personality was—

“Petty.”

I let out a soft laugh as I continued.

“If you have complaints, feel free to come out and argue.”

The instant those words left my mouth, the vapor inside the preservation case began shaking violently, and soon enough, the surroundings started reacting “physically.”

“…What is this?”

Even Katya looked startled as wind picked up, objects rattled, and an electric tingling spread across our skin.

It was absurd—just the “presence” alone was enough to cause all this.

A testament to how powerful the spirit contained here really was.

Among game players, he was known by another name:

The Strongest Small-Minded Man in the World.

No matter how extraordinary his abilities, he was the kind of person who could never, even in death, tolerate anyone insulting him—a man with the pettiest, most hypersensitive pride imaginable.

In short—

Even in death, hearing what I said would make his temper boil over uncontrollably.

[-What did you just say, you little brat-!]

…Exactly.

As I watched the enraged spirit erupt from within the remains, I let out a silent laugh.