It's freezing.
I thought that if I kept standing here, I would get frostbite, so I looked back on Ferzen's memory that was being assimilated and took a step back to the office I was originally planning to go.
"This is miserable."
The table in the office was shabby.
The room reeked of mold.
I looked at the paper on the table, no it was not even paper it was just a parchment.
First of all, warming up my body was a priority, so I walked up to the elegant hearth that didn't fit in with the shabby interior of the room and put firewood inside to kindle it.
Then, sitting on a chair I looked at the blazing hearth, trying to distract myself from this freezing cold.
'What should I do now?'
"Sigh… "
Quietly muttering to myself, I frowned.
As Ferzen's voice came out so naturally, I started to feel a sense of dissonance.
Since 24 years' worth of memories were assimilated, I guess it was only natural to feel this disconnected from a modern person's point of view.
But this isn't the point now, so I comfortably leaned back on the chair and closed my eyes.
Struggling to Survive Together, the novel entered Hiatus with 57 published chapters.
The defeated protagonist with the help of Euphemia the Heroine escaped this territory.
It was unfortunate that all of this happened at the point when the milk was already spilled, instead of the beginning of the novel, but if you look at it from a different perspective, the ending is not set in stone.
Although the Main Character may have a desire to get back at Ferzen for what he's done, there's no guarantee that his revenge would be successful.
This may be a fictional world, but now it's my reality.
It wouldn't be impossible to kill the protagonist.
If it comes to this, I don't think there will be a scenario where the protagonist's plot armor would save him now.
"or not…"
There is also the possibility of making it seem as if Euphemia is dead or I can just set her free.
Chomp!
"Ugh!"
I wiped the blood dripping from my lip trying to ignore the pain when I bit it just at the mere thought of letting Euphemia free.
And without a doubt, Euphemia is too attached to this territory to accept this possibility.
I then started to break down the issue I just considered.
In the process, Ferzen's intense possessiveness and Obsession towards Euphemia, his sexual desires, and his affection for her bombarded my mind, as I held my head trying to ignore the intense vertigo that accompanied these feelings.
'What the hell… '
While Ignoring the intense headache, I tried to look at the status window again, wondering if I might be able to read the Ernes language perfectly now.
「Talents」
٭ Corpse Affinity ٭ Corpse Comprehension ٭ Mastery in Calligraphy ٭ Aesthetic Appearance
「Traits」
٭ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ٭ Obstinate ٭ Lone Wolf
「Special abilities」
٭??? ٭ Digitization
A corpse.
A word that refers to the dead body of a person.
I wondered why I had a talent for increasing my affinity and understanding of such corpses, but then I remembered that Ferzen is a Euclid-class warlock.
"Your personality is a bitch… "
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, obstinacy, and crazy fixation with noble manners.
None of them are good qualities.
In particular, regarding this Obsessive-compulsive disorder, I tried to look for more details from the system regarding his traits, but no detailed explanation was given.
"... "
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or to put it simply, OCD is a mental disorder that always tries to correct certain things in order to relieve certain anxieties or annoyances.
A typical example of OCD is having a cleaning compulsion.
The trigger for the compulsion may vary from person to person, so I need to figure out what Ferzen's compulsion is.
Just looking at Ferzen's personality and obsessions it seemed certain that his compulsion would not be anything good.
'In the novel, Ferzen's character is not described in detail, so I can't infer much from what I have read'.
So, as I felt the metallic taste of blood in my mouth, I waited until Ferzen's memories and his personality were completed assimilated.
After some time, convinced that I had completely absorbed Ferzen's ego, I've naturally learned what triggers his compulsion.
'Possessiveness and Symmetry.'
Until he gets what he wants, this will always haunt him, giving him anxiety and stress
The Moment he feels something is not symmetric, or if he thinks it's not perfectly balanced, he won't stay put.
"... "
I don't need to say how severe his compulsion is when he developed talents like calligraphy or personality traits geared toward noble manners due to his obsession related to symmetry and perfection.
Creak
"Crazy Bastard"
I was mesmerized by Ferzen's obsessions, and when I came to my senses, I was trying to correct everything in the office that was out of symmetry, such as placing the table the way I saw fit.
Now I understand why it was recorded as "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" rather than "Perfectionist".
This was beyond serious.
"I'm still at it."
I don't know how many times I kept messing with the table left and right so that I could see each and every discrepancy.
'Is this an optical illusion caused by Ferzen's severe compulsion?'
If I put the table by the window, it would be perfectly balanced, so this would stop bothering me.
When I thought of doing that, numbers appeared in my vision.
R: 2.3° 1.4°
'Are these angles? '
Come to think of it, there was a thing called ❰Digitization❱ in his special abilities.
I think it's probably this, and when I moved the table a little so that both the left and right angles were 0°, the annoying feeling completely disappeared.
"... "
To be honest, initially I thought if he had this kind of OCD, it should have been enough to categorize it as 'Perfectionist' in his characteristic 'Traits.' However, when I turned around and looked at the rest of the office room, I involuntarily cursed.
"This fucking…"
It was a vulgar word that did not fit Ferzen's etiquette, but this office room, viewed from Ferzen's perspective, was completely anti-symmetrical, so much so that it was driving me crazy.
Therefore, I felt extremely annoyed, but with the help of my [Digitization] ability, I put all the objects in the office in perfect balance, and I sat on a chair completely drained of my energy.
'Through this… … '
I then realized that letting Euphemia go wouldn't be possible.
Ferzen's obsession mixed with his affection for her will make him keep her by his side even if she is a corpse.
Warlocks have the ability to keep a corpse from decomposing and can control such corpses at will.
I had no choice but to assess my options because this damn obsession with Euphemia was enough to make me, someone who has pure vanilla tastes, think of necrophilia.
The best option now is to find and kill the main character, Ciel Midford, before he develops his strength, but exploring the northern province in the winter is not a good idea with the forces at my disposal at the moment.
There is also the possibility of the main character freezing to death unable to weather the harsh winter, but that's highly unlikely.
I remembered the end of those cheap villains who believed the protagonist died when he fell off some random cliff.
But the problem is that I can't find the main character right away just because I wanted to.
Then naturally, there is only one stance I can take now besides the elimination method, which is to not lose my sense of purpose.
The novel stopped at the 57th chapter, and since the meeting between Euphemia and the Main character occurred in chapter 32, the amount of bonding between the two was only 25 chapters.
Therefore, the main character's feelings for Euphemia were derived from the help and care he received from her
It's not as if there's no love between them, but since the main character has been aware of the difference of status between them from the beginning, those feelings are barely expanded until chapter 52
On the other hand, from Euphemia's pov in the novel, the narrative is described as her having 'favorable feelings' for the main character, but Ferzen intervened before these feelings could develop further.
In summary, if Euphemia falls in love with me, as a result, the Protagonist would lose much of his motivation for revenge.
He is like a hero who rushes to the Demon King's castle to save the kidnapped Princess, but what if the Princess truly falls in love with the Demon King? Can he still cut him down?
Even if that Demon King hasn't done anything wrong other than kidnapping the Princess?
This plan may work, but can Euphemia love the man who raped her and forced her to marry him?
Stockholm Syndrome, a phenomenon in which the hostage develops feelings of affection for the one who kidnapped her is a real thing, but if we share the same room, I would be worried whether I will get stabbed in the back by Euphemia.
"... "
I blankly raised my head, staring at the dark ceiling while considering my options.
If plan A doesn't work then Plan B must be achieved, and if plan B goes wrong, then I must succeed in executing Plan A.
I don't think there's anything to think about anymore, and I surrendered to my drowsiness while enjoying the warmth of the hearth.
* * * * *
"Ooh… … "
Even though I fell asleep with my coat on, I had no choice but to open my eyes to the chilling cold because the fire in the hearth was extinguished.
I looked at the clock and it was 6:20 am.
As I exhaled, I could see my breath.
'The worst province in the North where no woman wished to be married off to truly lives up to its infamy.'
The Lord of Louerg, even if you managed to marry a daughter from a decent upper-class family, it's not really a good place to settle down.
"Enough."
After arranging the chair where he sat and fell asleep, he left the office and went to the room where Euphemia was.
It wasn't necessary to knock on the door, so as soon as I opened the door and entered the room, I saw Euphemia sitting on the bed and looking at the window with a blank gaze.
"Euphemia."
"Don't call my name with that filthy mouth of yours."
"I see no reason to grant your request. But if you wish so… I'll call you Mrs."
Euphemia then bit her lip and turned around to face my gaze.
"... "
Definitely, she is a top beauty.
Green hair, reminiscent of spring, golden eyes that look like stars, plump lips, and a sharp nose.
But, even without all of that, what I liked the most is that her overall proportions are flawless.
The distance between the eyes.
The position of her nose and lips.
The balance achieved by the perfect-sized head.
In particular, the length of her arms and legs would not exactly match the average person, but Euphemia didn't seem imbalanced because of it.
Truly the golden ratio.
If you cover her face and make her stand alongside a mannequin, no one will dare to differentiate both of them.
In fact, when I activated ❰Digitization❱, my talent didn't detect a single flaw in Euphemia. She was perfect.
"Ah... "
When I came to my senses, I grabbed Euphemia's two hands, removed the blanket that covered her nakedness, and realized that I was reviewing every corner of her body.
Her face was red with shame, and her eyes were full of contempt.
"Excuse me."
As soon as I released the hand holding her tight enough to leave marks on her wrist, she immediately slipped her hand into the duvet, pulled out a knife, and tried to stab my heart.
This would've been quite intimidating if she was skilled enough, but I simply dodged the knife and slapped her hand holding the knife.
"Ah!"
"In order to pierce the heart, which is protected by bones and muscles, with your strength, you should have gripped the knife with both hands, or hold the knife with a reverse grip if you're using only one hand"
Slap!
Perhaps as a sign of resistance, Euphemia slapped my left cheek and looked at me with eyes full of hate.
But rather than be confused or furious at the fact I've just been slapped…
Slap!
While we were facing each other, I slapped Euphemia's left cheek so we would be symmetrical.
When I thought of my left cheek, which must be red and swollen from her slap, and her left cheek, which was the same, that irritating feeling in my heart vanished.
'At this point, even if someone called me a psychopath I wouldn't be even able to deny it'
Seeing Euphemia weeping like a kid, holding her slapped cheek, and lying on the bed, I picked up the clothes scattered around the room and handed them to her.
"Get dressed. Or you will catch a cold."
"... "
"If you don't wear it, I will repeat what I did last night."
When I said those words, Euphemia, whose lips were swollen, suppressed her tears and hastily began to put on her clothes.
"Stop."
"I'm wearing it just like you said… !"
"It's worn the other way around. It's not even a dress, but are you confused between the front and back of these clothes that even a poor commoner would wear?"
Unable to realize it, I forcibly took off her clothes and put them on carefully, as if I was dealing with a three-year-old child.
"... "
Euphemia, half held in my arms, was in a state of surrendering herself with her head bowed with a feeling of desperation.
However, after putting everything on, and seeing that there wasn't anything inappropriate, I stretched out my hands again and straightened her outfit.
Perhaps because of the influence of my talents, her clothes were devoid of any wrinkles as if they were straightened using an iron.
"Crazy Bastard… "
And although Euphemia was cursing in a low voice, because of the difference in my behavior towards her, I didn't feel the need to respond because I knew better than anyone that those words were not wrong.
It's just like the case when someone says 1+1 = 2, there will never be a person who will deny it.
****
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