The wheels of the luxurious carriage jostled against the uneven path away from the Hannes State. This is where I find myself still a stranger to my own skin.

The Hannes State; a territory part of the empire that resides in the mountainous region that borders other nations. The state is known for its exquisite mines that has many of the finest ores found and the region making it a very valuable asset to the emperor. It is also the home to many great blacksmiths in history that forged many weapons that are significant to the history of the continent. The state is the pride of my family. Specifically, Simon's family.

"Haa..."

In the main gate of the state, the carriage stands out for its luxury design with an emblem familiar to the state's populace. The Hannes Emblem shone through as the carriage leaves for the capital. Inside this carriage is me, Simon Hannes, the second son of Count Hannes.

It's been exactly twelve days and four hours since I've become this guy. I don't know how, it just happened! I was so confused that It took me three days to fully comprehend my new life. I don't know why I've been reincarnated as this guy from the novel I created but I think I'm not that evil of a person to be! Why is God punishing me like this!?

When I first realized that I've become Simon Hannes, I thought I'd die from a heart attack again immediately after waking up in this world. To summarize, this guy that I created was supposed to die in the first book of the novel I'm writing before my death, and the book goes on for fifteen volumes though I haven't finished the last two because, you know, I died.

Going back, this body I'm currently possessing will die in volume one. Very nice, indeed. What makes me even more worried is this guy returned as some zombie-like enemy after off-screen suffering only to be killed again immediately. Poor soul. Honestly, I also hated this douchebag while writing him. You could say he's your average one-dimensional antagonist.

A horrible fate for a horrible person... and now I'm the one that has to suffer this guy's fate! Is this karma for my past life's greed?

"God, I'm so sorry for my money grubbing behavior back then I swore that I would've stopped writing on-"

"Young master." A familiar voice called for me interrupting my pleading.

Before I finished my rambling, the person in front of the carriage called me. It was Dominic, my newly appointed butler—a straight back and sharp gaze but friendly face that you wouldn't he was formerly notorious knoght. I never gave an explanation on why he chose to serve as a servant to Hannes. Why would I need to explain a rival's butler that detailed?

"What is it?" I responded as firmly as possible.

"We're exiting the Hannes Territory now." He spoke while handing me a map like he's handing me a sword with precision.

"It would take us eight days to arrive at the capital but we have around two weeks time to spend. Should we take a detour somewhere?"

Two weeks? And mother acted like I'm already days late! I swear this guy's family is so strict as hell. No wonder Simon's older brother entered the academy so fast.

"Oh? Then I would like to pay that Elvrett guy a visit."

"Sir Elvrett? Shall we stop by Port Rucefina then? Sir Elvrett is currently staying there for some research."

"That port huh? I think it would be worth visiting too."

"While you visit him, I suggest we should also go to Rucefina's massive marketplace. They sell quality products by this time."

"Exactly. Dominic, Father said he gave you some pocket money for me to spend right?"

"Indeed, young master? About hundred-eighty gold coins"

"Pocket money, eh? Okay, thanks for informing me."

I almost flinched when he said that. I sometimes forgot that this guy's family is filthy rich. For context, a gold coin in this world could feed a family for five whole days. It's convenient for me that I do not need to work for that amount compared to my past life that written thirteen volumes of a book I don't like to make ends meet.

Anyways, that amount of gold could buy me three solid relics and a starter weapon. Remember when I said that the Hannes Territory is the land of the finest weapons in the continent? It's the family's pride so when I asked father to provide a weapon he refused saying 'You do not deserve the blades we make yet only the worthy ones are allowed to' and so on.

"What should I get? A sword? A spear? I don't know what to get..."

Thinking about it, Simon originally wielded a glaive and when he returned as his corrupted self, he was using some kind of guandao. He has tutors teaching him many kinds of weapons but he was practically mediocre on most of them. Unfortunately, it's his own pride that led him to his own demise.

"That was why he was so envious of the protagonist especially when she doesn't even posses a noble bloodline..."

Speaking of the protagonist, she was practically your commoner turned hero. She stands out compared to other protagonists these days. In a bookshelf full of anti-heroes, she is the beacon of light that shines through this dark world, I admire her for that.

"Actually, nevermind what I'm thinking, the marketplace would definitely provide some useful stuff. Hopefully, it will compensate for my current state. I could never hope to progress with this strength."

I need to stick to the story though my intervention would definitely change things. It's better than going an unpredictable path. There's so many things that could happen. What I fear the most is making the main characters fail because of me...

Hopefully, I have a year headstart before the story begins as long as I provide assistance to the main characters, I'm all set!

She'll be the same heroic figure I wrote in the book...

Right?