CHAPTER 26: 23: SAVIOUR.

"Do we... really have to do that?"

Edward gave the duke a nervous smile, and side eyed the blue glowing panel that was pulsing frantically in his peripheral vision.

[ System Notice ]

[ Avoid being inspected ]

[ Reward: Increased trust from the Verdigris. ]

[ Task penalty: Suspicion towards you will rise in an alarming rate ]

Oh no...

Oh no no-

The mage moved from behind the couch, making Edward flinch in terror.

This was not good. Even if the system hadn’t said anything, Edward had a hunch that getting his soul... or whatever the old lady was talking about, inspected would only lead to trouble for him.

After all, he was not the real Edward, so there must be some kind of wrongness inside of him, some kind of foreign energy that had wiped out the host.

He was more of a parasite that had unfairly taken control of this body.

Thinking about it made Edward more depressed than scared...

He remembered what he had felt yesterday spending time with Calen in the garden, how guilty he had felt when he got to know that the actual Edward had been living a proper life before he stole it from him.

Maybe...

He looked at Cyr, who was walking towards him.

Maybe letting her inspect was the right choice after all.

Maybe it was his fate.

But still...

It felt so wrong.

And on top of it all, it was scary.

Even if this life wasn’t his... it still felt horrifying to just give it away. To let all of it crumble down into nothing because he couldn’t say a simple no. To suffer because he didn’t have the courage to refuse.

And most importantly of it all perhaps, he hadn’t even gotten to know why he was even transmigrated....

A thousand different thoughts stormed inside Edward’s brain, and he reeled in panic, utterly stunned and unable to do anything.

Cyr drew closer, and then stopped right in front of him, and right as she was about to extend her hand towards him.

no! stay away!

And right as she was about to grab his arms-

"I apologise for the interruption" Calen cleared his throat.

"But the young master doesn’t look comfortable with that."

Edward startled awake, his thoughts clearing at the sound of Calen’s voice. His vision cleared as he regained his bearnings.

Oh right.

His eyes stopped trembling.

I’m not supposed to be panicking...

Cyr looked at Calen, who was glaring at her.

"Isn’t that for the young master to decide?"

Everyone looked at Edward, and he shrunk under their gazes, unable to bear the weight of it all.

The entire room was looking at him with expectation now, and majority of them wanted him to be inspected. He only had Calen by his side.

"I uhh..." He hesitated, still not sure.

He looked at Calen, who was still glaring at Cyr.

And then he made his decision.

"Prying into me sound a little too..."

And Calen continued for him, becoming his saviour.

"The young master has spoken. And as his escort, I will not be allowing for his words to be ignored."

Tense silence hung for a moment.

Then, suddenly, the duke laughed. His voice erupting in the room like the blast of a volcano, breaking the ice that was forming between them.

All the tension in the room immediately melted under his laugh.

"Very well then, if the young master says so."

He gave Cyr a nervous glance, who quickly bowed and went to stand behind them.

"I apologise if that made you uncomfortable, it seems that we have overstepped our boundaries."

Edward exhaled, slightly relieved.

"Oh no, It’s no worries, I just haven’t had time to... to get used to things after waking up." Edward replied, slightly relieved.

He inwardly thanked Calen for the save, Edward genuinely did not have any idea what he could have happened to him if he hadn’t stepped in at the right time.

Maybe he would have been deemed an imposter.

Maybe a he would be called a traitor, and then like he had seen in his history textbooks, they would probably hang him publicly.

Maybe they would have put him in a cell and tortured him for information. Or maybe they would have immediately killed him on the spot...

A shiver ran up his spine.

I should thank him later...

"There must be other ways for us to get to the bottom of this, I’m sure we can find a way... can’t we?"

Edward said fiddled with his thumbs, careful to not say anything that could get him in trouble.

He had to choose his words very carefully from now on.

One mistake and it would all be over for him.

It was not like he didn’t want to get to the bottom of this situation himself. But considering how bizarre the circumstances were, and how it was all out of his control. Edward had to tread carefully, not doing anything that could potentially get him locked in a cell for all eternity.

The duke looked at him for a moment, then let out a sigh.

"Very well then, we’ll have to talk to the only other person who was involved in all this."

He picked up a small bell from his pocket and swung it, and a clear ring echoed in the room.

The door swung open immediately and butler walked in, bowing.

"Go get Selene."

The butler bowed once more and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Edward looked at the door that had just closed, a little anxious on the inside.

I’m finally going to see her...

Selene Verdigris.

The woman who was accused of being his accomplice in this scandal.

Edward wasn’t sure yet, but he hoped that Selene would know even a little about the whole mess he was in. About how he had ended up here, and what had happened to the real Edward, and why she had possession to a crest that was supposed to be his.