“Ah!”
In a resplendent room, a young boy woke with a start.
He sat blankly on the bed, sweat pouring from his forehead.
Looking down at his body, there was no trace of the bloody mess he had imagined.
“What happened? Wasn’t I just hit by a truck…”
He shook his head and muttered to himself:
“It must have been just an overly realistic dream. After all, getting a full team of five-star characters in a ten-pull is something that only happens in dreams.”
Mann looked around. The room was spacious, exquisitely decorated, with luxurious accessories. Even the huge bed and the quilt covering him looked extremely expensive.
Unfortunately, he had no memory of this place.
In a mirror on one side of the room, an unfamiliar face stared back at him.
A young boy with short orange hair, his expression somewhat weary. His features were delicate enough—if he had to describe it, he was a high-quality gloomy handsome guy.
“Mann Matthews.”
As this somewhat familiar name surfaced, unfamiliar memories churned in his mind.
But after skimming through the memories, Mann couldn’t help but shiver.
‘No… dude…’
‘I roughly remember he was a noble’s illegitimate child, used for a political marriage, and died on the way from an assassination by his marriage partner.’
“Naturally, no one cared about the life or death of an illegitimate child. In comparison, the maid who accompanied him was also unlucky, losing her life as collateral damage.”
But thinking about it, the fact that he was still here meant the marriage journey hadn’t started yet, right?
If he could just get out early, wouldn’t the tragedy be avoided?
“Mm, that’s settled!”
Mann changed clothes quickly and casually grabbed some valuable-looking items from the pockets.
“I don’t want to die right after transmigrating. Luckily, the original’s father just went off to deal with a heretic cult. As long as the heat passes, even if I can’t come back, I can secretly contact the old man and extract some cash.”
“After all, their goal is just to sabotage the marriage, not target me personally.”
He turned back and took one last look at the ridiculously luxurious bed, bidding farewell to the fleeting dreamy life.
“Life can be built through hard work, but one only has one life. Whoever wants to marry can marry. I’m out. Goodbye!”
But just as he made up his mind to run, a light knock came through the door.
“Master Mann, are you there?”
A very familiar voice—it was the original’s personal maid, Mei Colt.
‘Why is she coming at this time?’
Full of questions, he slowly pushed open the door.
Before him stood a young girl in a maid outfit, her blonde hair coiled up. She was half a head shorter than him, with dignified features and a good figure. Her violet pupils looked very lively.
She wasn’t old—only seventeen like him. Though still growing, she would definitely become a great beauty. Unfortunately, she always wore a blank expression, making it hard to read her thoughts.
Come to think of it, that unlucky maid was her too.
Mann lowered his voice, deliberately imitating the original’s cold tone.
“Mei, why are you here at this hour?”
The maid named Mei, upon hearing this, placed her hands in front of her abdomen and gently bowed.
A flawless maid’s bow.
“By the madam’s order, I have come to wash and dress you.”
Hearing her words, Mann was a bit confused.
According to his memory, this only happened on special occasions, but recently, aside from his upcoming marriage, there was nothing particularly important.
In any case, he had to ask clearly. He couldn’t let others notice anything was wrong over such a small matter.
“Is today a special day?”
“Have you forgotten? Today you are to go for the political marriage.”
It was still that flat, emotionless answer.
“Oh, that’s what it is. I thought it was the marriage… wait, hold on!”
‘Marriage? Today? Are you kidding me?’
‘He thought the blade above his head was still hanging high, but it turned out it was already on his neck?’
‘Who the hell sent me here? Come here, let me buff you!’
Because Mann stood frozen and didn’t respond for a long time, Mei blinked and asked cautiously:
“Master Mann, what… is wrong with you?”
Caught off guard, Mann snapped back to reality and hurriedly replied:
“Oh… oh, nothing. Let’s go.”
After following Mei to wash up and change into formal wear, even though he looked more handsome and spirited in this outfit, there was no joy in his heart.
Every passing minute brought Mann closer to collapse.
If he left, Mei, his maid, would definitely be implicated. Given the severity of this matter, she would most likely be executed.
What if he took her along? Would she agree?
Forget it. While he still had time, he should take Mei out to talk.
After all, she had been by the original’s side since childhood. Even though the memories weren’t his, he couldn’t bring himself to let a good person die.
“Mei, come out with me. I still need to buy some things.”
But no matter how hard Mann tugged at her hand, she remained still.
“Mei?”
He turned back and saw those lively violet pupils—but they seemed like a frozen picture.
Not just Mei; the entire world seemed to have hit the pause button.
“What… is this?”
The scene before him began to blur. When it became clear again, Mann saw himself and Mei riding in an exquisite carriage.
Mann was still the same carefree look from his memories, while Mei sat quietly beside him, her eyes closed in rest.
‘This is…’
Seeing this scene, Mann immediately sensed something was wrong.
Wasn’t this the scene of him and Mei going to the political marriage?
“Hey! Hey! Can you hear me?”
No matter how much he shouted himself hoarse, the two remained unmoved.
It seemed he couldn’t influence this space.
Soon, the carriage stopped.
A faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
“Hey, why did you stop? What are you doing?”
The seated Mann was about to lean out when Mei pulled him back sharply.
A poisoned arrow grazed his scalp and embedded itself into the side of the carriage.
“Master Mann, we’re under attack! I’ll hold them off; try to escape!”
But Mann was already frozen in fear. He sat there, trembling.
“Hey! Mei Colt! You said you’d protect me, right? Now what? You’re just leaving me here alone?”
Watching the original’s disgusting behavior, the observing Mann felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
‘Is he still pulling rank at a time like this?’
The Mei beside him, upon hearing his rebuke, showed a trace of nearly imperceptible disappointment.
“I’m sorry, Master Mann… but this is the last thing I can do for you.”
The girl drew a dagger and charged out without hesitation.
Everything around froze again, then slowly blurred.
When the scene cleared again, Mei lay still on the grass in the distance. Crimson blood spread around her.
Dozens of people in black robes and masks surrounded the terrified Mann.
“…The Heretic God Sect? Why are they here?”
The book had glossed over the original’s death, but now it seemed premeditated.
According to the original story, Duke Matthews had just left on a mission, and he was supposed to go for the marriage. Soon after the assassination, the Heretic God Sect would invade the noble’s territory. Though they would be eliminated by the protagonist—the Second Imperial Princess—his own territory would fall into the hands of the noble he was supposed to marry. Was it really such a coincidence?
‘Could it be that cheap fiancée of mine is colluding with the Heretic God Sect?’
As Mann was thinking, a man with hollow eyes and a twisted face slowly approached the original. As he drew nearer, even the observing Mann began to feel difficulty breathing.
“What terrifying mana! Who is this? Why was he never mentioned in the original?”
The man spoke in a deep voice:
“Good intel—he’s a descendant of a hero. Notify all branches; we can begin preparations for the Supreme God’s Resurrection Ritual.”
The cold declaration marked the end of Mann’s life. The black-robed figures swarmed in, and he completely lost consciousness…
Until the scene blurred again, the suffocating pain began to ease.
Countless blurry shadows walked toward Mann step by step, gradually coalescing and approaching, becoming clearer.
It was the just-dead Mann.
The smell of blood assaulted his nose. Looking at the gruesome wound on his chest, it even triggered the phantom pain from just now.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Mann stared at him intently. Compared to the terrified Mann, the other looked relaxed, his eyes full of mockery.
“You ask who I am? Don’t you already know?”
Mann’s mind raced. He recalled scenes from the original where characters awakened as Divine Emissaries.
When a god descends, everything in the world stops. From that perspective, the identity of the person before him was self-evident.
“…A god…”
Hearing this answer, the other still wore a nonchalant expression.
“This is the future you are about to face. Consider it a trial. Strive to live and prove you are worthy of being my emissary…”
In a daze, everything returned to normal. The chirping of birds outside the window sounded, and the world resumed its operation.
Mann finally let out a sigh of relief, and at the same time, a burning pain spread from his palm.
He looked closely—a scar like a clock was imprinted on his hand.
“Master Mann? Are you all right?”
Snapping back to reality, he was still faced with those violet pupils.
But his current state was hardly “all right.”