Yeon Jin opened his eyes as if haunted by a nightmare. He quickly sat up, panting heavily, and grabbed his chest. The shock was so real. What sort of dream was that? And it still felt like the current was flowing through his body.
His neck... He touched his neck, only to realize that he still had the collar on.
"What?" He was no longer chained but the collar was pretty much enough for him to realize that he was still in that dream.
He lifted his head and saw that he was in an unfamiliar place. Though it was much better than that damp and moldy prison cell. It was a room that looked fit for royalty.
The reason he concluded it to be a room that was fit for royalty was because of how the room's interior was so classy. Gold pillars and diamond chandeliers.
The table and chairs looked like they belonged to an expensive western diner. And then, the balcony window.
This all hit him strangely. The interior sat well with the clothing that the man who looked like Daniel wore. What was all this?
"Why am I still here?" He asked in utter disbelief, forcefully grabbing the collar and trying to take it off but it was no use. He scratched his hair in frustration, wondering what exactly was going on. "This isn't a dream? Did I perhaps die after being thrown into the water?" He asked. "But I don't remember crossing the NaiHe bridge."
The NaiHe bridge was a bridge said to demercate the world of the living and the world of the dead. Souls cross through the bridge in order to get to be reincarnated. Something roughly around that information.
"Wait, the mere fact that I can remember what happened proves that I did not die and reincarnate naturally. Plus, I am a full grown person and not a baby." He stated and paused. He checked to make sure that fact was correct.
His arms were long, so were his legs, and his face was... Okay. He was a full grown person.
But that fact did not relieve him and he hugged his knees. He felt lost and buried his head.
"Then, is this a transmigration? Did I transmigrate into another world?"
This sudden thought was interrupted when the door opened and a maid strolled in with a tray cart filled with food. Her dressing alone proved that he was right in his deduction.
"Am I a prisoner?" The question suddenly spilled out of his mouth and the maid paused. She, like everyone else, knew that this individual was a spy from the holy empire and that he would do anything just to escape.
But she could not help but be fascinated by his long flowing silver hair that brought immense satisfaction to the beholder. His face was also really good looking. His skin, more pale and smooth than that of a lady's. No one would believe that he had been tortured in the interrogation cell for two days. He looked that good.
But he had a flaw in his looks. The only disqualification of his whole being were his dull eyes.
With a bit of pity and a quest to fulfill her unconscious wish, the maid tore the white strap on her dress and handed it to him, thinking he was blind.
"I can only do this much for you." She said and stood still at the side, waiting for him to finish his meal.
Yeon Jin looked at the strap and roughly guessed how his eyes must appear. If there was somebody who looked exactly like Daniel then this body must've resembled his former self.
"Thank you." He said.
The words he heard ever so often about how unpleasant his eyes looked, made him realize that even in this life, his eyes were still very unpleasant to the sight.
The maid, who risked getting killed to give Yeon Jin a blindfold for his unpleasant looking dull eyes, started wondering the reason behind her actions.
If the prince discovered this, he wouldn't hesitate to point her out as an accomplice yet she went ahead and boldly did that.
Yeon Jin looked at the food. From his understanding, he was a prisoner who went through harsh interrogation so why were they serving him such good food?
Or was it poisoned? Did they serve him this as his last meal?
"Who was that?" He muttered, remembering the man from the cell.
"Is anything wrong?" The maid asked and he raised his head.
"Is this poisoned?" Yeon Jin asked but he didn't expect the maid to answer honestly. And her answer was even more shocking.
"I do not know. It might be. For all I did was bring the food to you. But it is very likely that it is poisoned, given your identity and the kind of person our prince is."
Yeon Jin was surprised. Then that was a warning that meant he should be careful not to eat just anything, right?
Yeah, he got the message and shifted far from the food.
"That man, the prince." He began tying the strap over his eyes. "Who is he?" He asked but the maid, stunned at his question, stared in disbelief.
There was no one in the entire continent who did not know the prince. And this man was a spy who was rumored in the castle to have been sent to find the prince's weakness and kill him.
Yet, he was asking who the prince was? Was that a joke?
Sensing the line of her thoughts, Yeon Jin realized she might not believe his intentions of asking out of simple curiosity.
'It seems like he is someone well known.' He thought and came up with an idea. "My vision is not very great." He started. "And the cell was dark. Which of the princes did I meet in the cell?"
"You met the prince regent." She answered. "His highness, Prince Beric."
On hearing this unfamiliar name, he tilted his head to the side. "Beric?" He asked.
"Yes. Your empire must not know him by his name." She said and paused as a sudden command drove her words. "I will now call the names that he is well known by in the holy empire." She said and started muttering. She was praying for her soul to rest in peace if this was to ever get discovered by a third party.
She knew this well but couldn't stop herself from talking. She couldn't stop spilling out words to this spy and was risking her life doing so without knowing the reason.
"He is known as the mad demon beast of the battle field, The demon of slaughter, The heartless demon tyrant and The demon prince." She briefly listed.
Yeon Jin blinked underneath his blindfold. Why did the names have to be attached to demons?
Then all of a sudden, his head started ringing. Words started replaying in his head like a memory.
"I must go. I will be the one to rid the world of such a demon." Someone said.
"No, it's too dangerous. You will immediately get killed the moment you are spotted."
"Brothers, this is my duty and I will carry it out till my last breath. Whether it kills me or not, I will try my utmost best till I can purify this world of such a tyrant."
The person saying that was none other than Yeon Jin himself. No, to speak frankly, it was the owner of this body. A member of the holy council from the holy empire and a fateful disciple serving directly under Pope Emer Novastra. His name was Dal Novastra.
That's right, he was bearing the last name of the Pope. Which meant he was a really big deal.
Yeon Jin grabbed his head looking horrified. To think he was such a person in this life.
"Does that mean I am Daniel's enemy?"