Sweetcrasy

“…That’s quite an interesting story.”

He was afraid that Cedar might not believe him, so he hurriedly tried to present evidence.

“If you give me some time, I can prove what I’m saying. So… um, first of all, Johan will escape to Pelesia after breaking through the Imperial Army’s encirclement. He has a teleportation  wizard helping him.”

Cedar stroked his chin with a strange expression, likely cross-referencing the I formation I gave him with the information in his own mind about ‘Cedar Valencia’.

“Who is the magician helping him?”

“Ilene. I don’t know her last name… but she has red hair, she’s a woman, and she uses teleportation magic.”

Cedar quickly recalled information about her.

“Ah, Ilene Staresia. She escaped from prison… So she must have been near the royal capital.”

“…Yeah.”

“If it’s Ilene, she could definitely help Johan escape.”

After a moment of tense silence, he finally asked me,

“So, Louis, are you saying you’ll use your knowledge of the book’s plot to help me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But if we keep Johan from killing me by interfering with his plans, won’t that ultimately benefit the Empire? Your body belongs to Milos’s prince.”

He was right. On the surface, it looked like Louis was betraying his own brother, Johan, to help his enemy, Cedar, and sell him out to the Empire. But I wanted to survive, and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

‘I was never the prince of Milos anyway. I’m a citizen of South Korea… If you don’t like it, just send me back to my original world.’

“Yeah. Because I’m not really Louis.”

I felt a slight pang of guilt as I remembered how kindly Johan had treated Louis for the past month since I had possessed this body… but technically, that kindness wasn’t directed at me, it was meant for his little brother, Louis. And even if Johan succeeded in his revenge, he wouldn’t be able to save me.

‘In the end, the only one who can save me is myself.’

“Alright. I’ll do my best, too.”

Cedar extended his hand, and I shook it. That was how our alliance began.

***

“By the way, what’s your real name?”

After the handshake, I decided to ask a basic question to get to know him better.

“Pyo Haejin. What about you, Louis?”

“Seo Minjae.”

“…”

“…”

We exchanged awkward glances.Neither of us recognized the other’s name. Well, considering South Korea’s population, it made sense that two random people would be possessed rather than people who already knew each other, but still…

“Uh… how old are you?”

This time, it was Cedar…no, Haejin, who asked me.

“Twenty-five.”

“Oh, you’re older than me. I’m twenty-two.”

“W-Wait, really? I thought you’d be older… I don’t mean that in a bad way, but in a good way…!”

I was genuinely shocked to hear his age. His calm and serious demeanor made it hard to believe he was only in his early twenties. But there was no reason for him to lie about this, so I figured he just had a naturally composed personality. He seemed used to this reaction, as he simply smiled and brushed it off.

Sensing my awkwardness, Haejin reassured me,

“You can speak comfortably from now on.”

“S-Should I…?”

“Yeah. Can I call you hyung?”

“Of course!”

Once we started speaking informally, Haejin became more friendly than I had expected. He also noticed the bruises on my arms from being restrained for so long and promised to give orders so that I wouldn’t be kept in restraints anymore.

I was moved by this unexpected kindness.

‘Cedar was the right choice all along…’

The lingering discomfort from Johan was starting to fade away.

“T-Thanks…”

I grasped his hand in gratitude, but Haejin waved it off as if it were nothing. Then, as if feeling a bit guilty, he added,

“It’s nothing. Honestly, I’d like to release you from prison completely, but… your status as royalty makes that complicated.”

“Ahh…”

Cedar was skilled enough to be appointed as a Supreme Commander at a young age…but at the end of the day, he was still a subject of the Empire.

‘And the Emperor absolutely hates Milos.’

The Empire had failed to unify the continent time and time again because of the Dragon’s Relic, and their emperors had passed down their grudge against Milos through generations.

‘If Cedar pardoned me, the rightful heir of Milos… the Emperor would never forgive him, right?’

“So there’s no legitimate way to have me pardoned?”

Cedar seemed to search his memories before answering.

“No. Honestly, it’s not just a matter of a pardon,you’re much more likely to be executed.”

“Damn it! Then, Cedar, do you have any other ideas?”

“I searched Cedar’s memories and remembered the order the Emperor gave… the Emperor was very firm on this. He repeatedly emphasized that the royal bloodline of Milos must be completely eradicated. He believed that as long as the Dragon’s Relic existed, we couldn’t allow the bloodline to continue.”

“Ha… this is insane.”

If the Emperor’s orders were that absolute, then Cedar couldn’t afford to go against them. Pardoning me at will could cost him his own status. In other words, if Cedar freed me, we’d both be screwed.

But Cedar, sensing my unease, tried to reassure me and spoke gently.

“…If worst comes to worst, hyung, what if we just run away together? If we prepare well, we might be able to escape to another continent.”

His tone was kind, but his idea was completely ridiculous. I immediately shook my head.

“If you run away, Johan will destroy the Empire and hunt you down.”

Tsk.

I clicked my tongue without thinking.

‘If only Johan hadn’t made that damn Dragon’s Oath…!’

In the original story, Johan awakened his powers after Louis’s death. That’s when he made a Dragon’s Oath, and in this novel’s setting, anything related to ‘dragons’ granted absurd power.

The direct descendants of Milos, who carried a trace of dragon’s blood, could awaken that power and become incredibly strong. What is needed here is Oath, and an Oath requires determination to awaken Of course it’s not possible to awaken the dragon’s Oath following in one body with little determination…

‘But when your kingdom is destroyed and your entire family is slaughtered, of course you go insane.’

A man driven mad can do anything.

Johan successfully made his Dragon’s Oath, and the problem was that an Oath became a fate one had to carry… Breaking or abandoning it would cause unbearable mental agony, to the point of death. A high-risk, high-reward deal.

Therefore, who awakened their power through a dragon’s oath can never give up what they had sworn.

“A Dragon’s Oath?”

“Yeah… It’s a kind of magic that only Milos’s direct descendants can use. It lets them wield the power of dragons. So… if Johan destroys the Empire, he’ll definitely come after you.”

“That’s way too overpowered.”

Cedar frowned in discontent. I agreed, but…

‘Cedar, you’re a damn monster too!’

Even with Johan’s Oath and all his resources, he could only barely match Cedar Valencia in the final act.

“T-That said, you’re still strong too. Don’t worry too much.”

“But in the end, I still die to Johan, don’t I?”

“Yeah… So we need to stop Johan from building his power. That means you can’t run away with me. You need to stay in the Empire and keep him in check.”

“Ah.”

Cedar nodded, understanding. But it isn’t easy for a Cedar to come up with a way for him to maintain his position, as commander in chief trusted by the emperor and take me to the Empire alive.

“Hmm… Is there any record that the Empire ever brought a captured royal member to the capital alive?”

In times like these, History might have a solution. Cedar thought for a moment before answering.

“Yes. Once, but after receiving a ransom, he released them. Another time, because the Emperor fell for a foreign princess and took her as a concubine.”

But neither option worked for me.

As for Ransom… I don’t have money and it doesn’t seem like they’ll release him no matter how much he gives them.

And Becoming a concubine…

“Damn it, I should’ve been possessed as a princess.”

“Why?”

“Then you could’ve just said you fell for me and brought me there…”

But Cedar shook his head.

“That wouldn’t work. The Emperor ordered the bloodline to be wiped out …If I took you in, he would be afraid I would have children with you. He’d be even angrier, not more lenient.”

“…Right.”

So is there no way?

Seeing my darkened expression, Cedar made another suggestion.

“Hyung, how about this? There are also male concubines here. I could say I fell for you and took you in. The Louis you possess have a pretty decent face…so it might be convincing.”