Chapter 3: The neglected cursed prince

Thus, in his new life, a month passes by. Kyrie gets to learn that he has possessed the body of a boy with the same name. This unfortunate kid has gotten into an accident a year ago and has been in a coma for all this time.

According to Yue, before Kyrie possessed the body, it was already soulless. Although for Kyrie, that just sounds so convenient, he does not ask much further because the receiver of a gift cannot be picky.

His new identity is the opposite of his previous one. Now, he is the only son of Marquis Rowan who is a highly regarded noble in the kingdom of Aria. The wealth that his new family possesses is beyond that he could have earned in his lifetime as an employee of a firm.

He is sure that he returned to a period that is before the novel – eight years to be exact. After all, the unfortunate events start to happen when the heroine of the story, the crazy saintess, descends in a column of light walking on water.

Imogen.

Imogen Winstanley.

His heart beats furiously, and he thinks once again about the last scene of the last chapter of the novel. The author does not write that Ian dies, but she describes how he might have died.

"The sword thrusts through his abdomen but he still carries a smile on his face. He looks at his friend letting go of the hilt of her sword. He backsteps from his crumbling body. The sword, the relic of songs, is screaming and taking away bit by bit his vitality. His memories are flowing out around him like cassette tape getting pulled out by force. Letting out a smile that eventually fades from his lips, he tilts back, crashing into the floor. The sword gets pushed back out when the blade hits the floor, sliding out of his body. A stillness reigns over him."

[I want to see him… I want to look for him right now!]

Yue, in her tiny porcupine body, says, "It's not possible. You have received someone else's body, and that body has his own duties."

That is oddly righteous, especially when it is coming out from this lazy god.

Within this month, Kyrie is now used to Yue appearing out of nowhere and having absolutely no privacy because this stupid porcupine can read his thoughts. This porcupine is nowhere near what someone thinks of a god.

"I know," says Kyrie.

Kyrie is also painfully aware that despite transmigrating into a body who is an heir of the house of a Marquis, he has absolutely no power, money, or the ability to support Ian on his own. Nothing is under his name. If he has the independence and the power, he would long be gone to where Ian is. Right now, he has to do anything possible to prepare himself for future events that could lead this world to destruction.

Plus, he is now attached to the Rowan family, not just because of this body, but the warmth of his new parents is something that he never would wish to forsake. He would never want to be too late again.

Kyrie is an average human in this world, unlike the protagonist, who is overpowered from the beginning. He would need to gain power and money bit by bit to make sure that he could at least influence the outcome of this world.

[Ian is so far away, and right now, I have no way to go to where he is… Thinking back to the novel, he must be suffering as we speak…]

Just thinking about Ian makes Kyrie melancholic. Yue pauses and rests her eyes on him. Kyrie's mind has only been flooding with Ian's life that she has written in the book. She can sense the anxiety in Kyrie's body building up. He is fighting to hold in his yearning to meet Ian as soon as possible.

Ian Ethern.

His name is known throughout the kingdom as the neglected cursed prince. Although it is unfortunate that he has lost his mother at an early age, his father would neglect him. Born with a curse, Ian is viewed as the prime reason for his mother's death.

The king, unable to kill him for his resemblance to his mother, chooses to abandon him for the rest of his life. Worse, the king would not shield the slanders and hatred that the aristocrats casually throw at him. They would treat him always like he is less of a prince because his mother was a commoner.

Ian's nightmare becomes worse when the king is forced to remarry a daughter of an influential aristocrat to fill the seat of the queen. Ian's stepmother, Queen Silvia, is a cruel woman. She suffers from the backlash of her loveless marriage. She turns into the mockery and gossip in the aristocratic social circle despite all her life before marriage, she gets praised as unparalleled in her beauty. Men would flock around her and shower her with praise. She can never forget that she used to be the envy of others.

Her rage redirects towards the innocent Ian, whose mother is the only person that can enter that indifferent king's heart. So, Queen Silvia uses all means possible to torment the neglected Ian. She harasses him day in and day out, physically and emotionally until Chancellor Rowe has to convince the king to send Ian to the academy. Ian might be in a better place now since he is far away from that wicked queen. But he must be incredibly lonely since his classmates would ostracize him as a misfit and a walking calamity.

[The only way for me to see Ian as early as possible is to participate in the tournaments that are held annually by the academy. I will need good grades to get into those tournaments. That would be the only time where I could see Ian earlier than the time from the beginning of the novel.]

Kyrie looks at the pile of books that is on top of his desk. He studies really hard this month for the sake that he can catch up with all the new knowledge that he will be exposed to in the academy.

He knows he can only go one step at a time.

He knows he will meet Ian sooner or later.

Looking back at the mirror to button up his collar, he sees the reflection of a young teenager around sixteen years old. The figure lacks muscle definition since he was in a coma for one year. Nonetheless, he is still on the tall side despite his age.

Kyrie curves his lips upwards blooming a smile of satisfaction. He is pleased with his blessed appearance. It is not common to hit the jackpot so perfectly. Being allowed to go into a world to save his favorite character is already giving a lot to him, but also giving him a good appearance is like going through a home run without the need to hit the ball.

[I thought that I was not that shallow, but looking at myself now, I cannot help but be shallow. Amber eyes and silver hair. Pearl smooth skin. I look like an anime character!]

Kyrie giggles happily while Yue rolls her eyes.

"I am starting to doubt myself… Did I choose the right person?" thinks Yue.