[Raul PoV]
'You are not Raul' Duke Alvaro's words made me cautious of him.
It was ironic that the first person to realize I wasn't Raul was the one who didn't care about him at all.
"What do you mean, Father?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Don't test my patience, Imposter," Duke Alvaro replied as he released a large burst of mana, causing several objects to crack under the pressure of his magic. "Raul, that boy, was nothing more than a foolish child—too naive and without any ambition. And yet here you are, standing before me with a request that is either foolish or highly ambitious."
At this point, I realized I had no other choice. My power was still insufficient to defeat Duke Alvaro, one of the five strongest individuals in the country.
"My soul has merged with Raul's," I said, "I don't know why, but that's all I can tell you for now." I watched as Duke Alvaro's expression shifted upon hearing my words.
In truth, I had made that explanation up, recalling that in this world, there existed magic tied to the soul.
"Is that so? Could it have been triggered by an artifact or something else...?" Duke Alvaro muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
As a mage, it was no surprise that Duke Alvaro was curious about what had happened to me. After all, he had betrayed the Empire in pursuit of understanding the mysteries of this world's magic.
"I don't really care if you're the real Raul or not," Duke Alvaro said, walking back to his chair. "I'm glad you've replaced that useless boy. At least you seem far more useful than he ever was."
For some reason, his words irritated me. He was the worst villain in Path of Destiny, the game. Even the Demon King cared for his offspring, despite his hatred for humans.
But the monster before me only cared about one thing—his thirst for knowledge.
"I'll agree to your proposal regarding the Garcia family's support for Princess Elena," Duke Alvaro said, removing a ring from his finger—the ring of the Garcia family. "But on one condition."
"What kind of condition?"
At my question, Duke Alvaro gave a sly smile, as if he were plotting something sinister.
---
[3rd PoV]
After Raul left, Alvaro continued staring at the door through which the one possessing his son's body had exited.
"His eyes showed no fear of me," Alvaro muttered, reflecting on his conversation with Raul. "Could the one who entered his body be a powerful mage?"
Alvaro began to ponder what had truly happened to his son.
In this world's history, only high-level demons were capable of manipulating souls. A few years ago, Alvaro had struck a deal with one of the Demon King's offspring to open a large portal connecting the two worlds.
"It seems I need to reconsider my plans with those demons."
Raul's transformation was an unpredictable variable. One year from now, Duke Alvaro had planned to sacrifice Raul's soul to a demon to use him as a test subject.
This was the storyline that was supposed to unfold according to Path of Destiny. However, with Evans—the developer of Path of Destiny—taking over Raul's body, the future was now uncertain.
"No matter if he's the real Raul or not, I'll still use him to achieve my goals."
---
[Raul's POV]
In the carriage, I inspected the ring bearing the symbol of a snake coiled around a sword. With this ring, I could form a soul-binding contract with Princess Elena to pledge our support.
But I knew she wasn't the type to strip someone of their freedom just because of this. That's why I trusted her and chose to support her over the other seven imperial candidates.
There was no way I would let the fate of this country fall into the hands of Prince Ramon, the second son of the Emperor—a cunning and cruel man. He was the worst among the eight candidates.
Prince Felix, the Emperor's first son, was respected by many of the nobility. However, his policies in dealing with the southern rebellion were so poor that they would sow the seeds of future conflict.
On the other hand, Princess Elena, who was less prominent than her siblings, possessed the qualities of a great leader. Her subordinates in the Student Council held her in high esteem, and she managed conflicts between various factions well. In the future, all the knights of the Empire would follow and be loyal to her.
Elena only had one flaw—she trusted her subordinates too much. This made her both respected and, ultimately, led to her demise in Path of Destiny.
Upon arriving at the academy, I headed straight for the Student Council building to meet Princess Elena. However, when I got there, I was told the president wasn't in her office.
I decided to head to a lake near the academy. In the game, there were four locations where the NPC, Princess Elena, would often appear. One of them was the shores of Lake Trebia, where she frequently trained.
When I arrived, I saw a blonde woman gripping a sword with both hands.
Her gaze was focused straight ahead, and her stance was firm. She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. The sword she held began to glow with yellow lightning.
This was one of Elena's spells—Lightning Blade.
She performed seven slashes, her movements as graceful as a professional dancer's. She ended the sequence with a 360-degree slash, creating a faint whirlwind of lightning.
At my current level, even though I knew all her moves, I would struggle to defeat her.
I approached her, and Elena turned around, noticing me.
"Oh, Raul. How did you know I'd be here?" she asked as she sheathed her sword.
Because I know where your character respawns, I wanted to say. But I didn't want her to think I was stalking her.
"I just got lucky, President," I replied, making up an excuse. "I need to discuss something with you."
"Alright, let's go somewhere more comfortable."
.
.
.
We were now at a café that had recently become popular in the capital.
There was a long line of people outside, all eager to get in. But we were able to skip the line because I showed the ring Duke Alvaro had given me.
I didn't realize how helpful privilege could be in moments like these. Still, the President lectured me afterward about social equality.
Honestly, I'd protest too if I were in the shoes of commoners, watching nobles abuse their privileges. Issues like this existed in my previous world as well.
"So, you managed to convince your father to support me?" Elena asked, clearly upset by my earlier actions.
I took out the Garcia family ring Duke Alvaro had given me and placed it on the table.
"Is this for real?" Elena asked, shocked. She picked up the ring and examined it closely, like a jeweler inspecting fine gems. "How did you convince him? My father says Duke Alvaro is a sly and cautious man."
The President's confusion was understandable.
Duke Alvaro had agreed to support Princess Elena under the condition we had previously discussed. But I couldn't reveal the details of our deal to her just yet.
"Let's just say I struck a win-win deal with him," I answered vaguely.
"Huh? What do you mean? What kind of deal?" Elena asked, still puzzled.
"Uh… I can't tell you right now, President."
At this, Elena pouted, handing the ring back to me.
"President, what's our strategy for winning the imperial succession?" I asked, curious to hear what she had planned to counter the other candidates.
"Well… I told you, didn't I? I'm implementing equality policies within the Student Council," Elena said seriously. "I also plan to join the Order of Knight Calvatra and slowly build my influence within the Empire's military."
Her plan was the same as in the game. At that time, Elena did gain considerable influence within the military, but it wasn't enough.
Eventually, realizing Elena's potential threat to the candidate Duke Alvaro favored, he set a trap that would lead to her assassination.
"President, your plan isn't bad," I said, preparing to point out its flaws. "But what we really need is the support of the powerful nobles who hold sway in this country. There are only two ways to win this battle: either we recruit nobles to our faction, or we undermine the influence of nobles aligned with the other factions."
Hearing this, Princess Elena lowered her gaze.
Elena wasn't naive—she knew full well that such methods were necessary to win. But pursuing them would contradict her original goals.
However, in a feudal empire like this one, it would be nearly impossible to achieve the social equality Elena dreamed of. Even in my previous world, where many countries embraced democracy, social equality was still a contentious issue.
"President, are you afraid that if you recruit nobles to your faction, they'll demand burdensome conditions from you? And you don't want to undermine other nobles because it conflicts with your moral standards?" I asked, trying to clarify her concerns.
These two problems were what made Elena the weakest candidate among her siblings. She didn't have a method aligned with her ideals to bring nobles into her faction.
Elena gave a weak nod in response to my question.
"In that case, leave the recruitment of nobles to our faction to me," I said, offering her a solution. "I have a few ways to draw them over to our side."
Elena's eyes widened in surprise at my words. But it was only for a moment—she quickly regained her composure and gave me a sharp look.
"You're not going to do anything illegal, right?" Elena asked seriously.
I simply shook my head in response.
One advantage I had as the game developer of Path of Destiny upon entering this world was that I knew all the information about certain NPCs and characters in the game.
As the wise often say, information is the strongest weapon in this world.
I plan to blackmail corrupt nobles, threatening to expose their secrets if they refuse to support Elena in the upcoming Emperor succession vote.
"Hey, Raul, you have a terrifying smile, you know."
Elena's voice suddenly brought me out of my brief daydream.
"R-really? Maybe it's just your imagination, Leader," I said, touching my cheek.
"No, your smile reminded me of what my father used to say about the Garcia family."
"Huh? What did the Emperor say about our family?" I asked, curious about the Imperial family's view of the Garcias.
"He said they're as cunning as venomous snakes."
Well... isn't their family crest literally a snake? I never knew if there was a reason behind the design of the Garcia family crest. I wasn't the one who designed the characters, artwork, or crests in the game.
If I remember correctly, that was Marek's job—my childhood friend from my previous world.
"Here's your order."
A server brought our order. Two glasses of vanilla ice cream sat on the table.
For some reason, this ice cream felt very familiar. Wait a minute... Path of Destiny is set in the 14th century, just like my original world. Did ice cream even exist back then?
"Leader, what's the name of this drink we ordered?" I asked, curious.
"Ah... This is a new release from the Republic of Venetia. If I'm not mistaken, the drink is called Misue."
Huh? Misue? Isn't that one of the brands of drinks that Liana—my ex-girlfriend in the real world—used to buy?
Whatever ....
I tried to forget her. This world is my reality now.