Circumstances of Switching Bodies

The first time Deric saw Irene was on the evening of his return to the Empire with the end-of-war treaty. The royal palace had invited all the nobles in celebration of his return home; however, Deric, the main character of the event, was not the least impressed.

At the mere age of 10, he had to leave his homeland with his teeth clenched hard, in an effort to not cry. So, he wasn’t at all impressed by the kingdom’s gratitude towards him returning after 14 years.

Born as an only son, he was a warmhearted prince who was loved by his parents, subjects and all. But the life he led in the Kingdom of Elsion was enough to completely change any human.

Those were days when he had to live without dying.

There was not a single day of peace in the mansion that the King of Elsion mockingly provided them. Poison, assassination attempts, kidnapping… Almost every night, someone from his entourage died. Deric, who had been a crown prince since birth, soon realized that to protect his people, he would need to be strong and to be strong he’d have to conceal his weaknesses.

‘If you show weakness, the morale of your entourage will dampen. It’ll also make them look like easy targets to the King of Elsion.‘

Since then Deric never showed any emotion. He even trained himself to restrain the constriction of his pupils and even the subconscious tremors that would reflexively appear in extreme situations.

He only showed his violent side and hid his feelings and innermost thoughts;he had to turn himself into a weapon to survive.

He saved the empire by training the men who had entered the battlefield knowing nothing only to get a few pennies.

Deric won them over to his side, and he fought with them. Seeing how the Demon dragon sword, that was said to only show itself to those who wished for victory so ardently that countless magical dragons would acknowledge that desire, had shown itself in response to his efforts, there was nothing left to be said.

In the end, Deric awakened the Demon Dragon Sword and commanded the Knights of Black Wolves, becoming a hero of hundreds of battles, but the results did not seem to suit the noble taste of the aristocrats.

‘The aristocrats must be thinking that the imperial throne has become indomitable due to the Demon Dragon Sword.‘

Deric tried to leave the uncomfortable place with an excuse of travel sickness. For Deric, who had already gone through all the trials and tribulations that a human could experience, the luxurious celebration for his safe return was not at all interesting. At that moment, a piece of new music was played and everyone’s eyes turned towards the door.

A woman with red hair, like the blazing sun, entered the hall.

“Lady Irenea, the Rose of High Society.”

“Today, you look gorgeous again, Lady Chandler.”

The people stirred when they saw her, but Deric looked at her and thought of something else.

When he had turned fifteen, he commanded his knights and won a great victory in a large battle. It was Deric’s first battle and his first victory. His fellow soldiers poured out some wine to celebrate his victory.

The moment he looked at the alcohol swirling in the glass against the bonfire, the red light flickered in the glass.  It reminded him of the blood of the enemy and the thrill of victory that gripped his heart. The heat and sweet intoxication of the first drink he had ever tasted made him feel like he was losing his mind.

In many ways, Irenea Chandler reminded him of that first taste of wine. She was the first thing he felt an interest in since he returned home.

And it seemed that he wasn’t the only one who felt this odd interest. Deric saw Irene, who found him, stop as if she had been struck by lightning.

“Greetings, the Little Sun of the Empire.”

Irene came up to him with a sensual voice that didn’t match her bashful face at all. But more than her voice, it was her eyes which caught Deric’s interest.  The clear golden eyes were full of ploys. Intricate tricks that couldn’t be read by someone wet behind the ear; their bodies would heat up with a look from her.

Deric, who had been through a lot of tricks and ploys, wondered what she wanted from approaching him.

She was the youngest daughter of one of the oldest families in the empire. Familial love, wealth, and honour. She had everything. He wondered, as a person who had everything, what would she want with him?

He was just clearly curious at first.

But Irene was a daring woman. Ever since they met at his homecoming banquet, she had been hovering around him with excuses like she came to see her older brother who worked at the cCrown pPrince’s palace, or that she was taking a walk because the garden was beautiful.

She always spoke naturally to him and filled the awkward silence between their conversations with her smile. It was a strange smile that held a kind of benevolence for Deric, who had been going through a hard time.

He didn’t know what she wanted by approaching him, but there were times when it felt pretty good.

Irene acted cute by telling him to pluck a star for her or give her the whole world, but she never actually asked for anything. Instead, she occasionally showed actions that he couldn’t understand by what she intended.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. It started raining suddenly, so I came to the Crown Prince’s Palace to avoid the rain for a while. This humble girl is afraid of the rain….”

“…..”

One day, when it was raining. Irenea, wearing a light white dress, was taking shelter from the rain in the Crown Prince’s Palace, looking wet. The youngest daughter of a family who could even drop birds from the sky1 got completely rained on like this.

One could clearly see that she was lying and was just pretending to be weak, but because of her beautiful appearance and voice, he thought it was worth watching. Irene said in a soft voice.

“Wouldn’t you help warm this humble girl, Your Highness?”

Had he not endured all kinds of threats from the enemy kingdom, his legs would have gone soft and he would not have been able to resist such an open temptation.

After spouting such dangerous words, Irene met his gaze with an affectionate gaze. That’s when Deric realized. What this woman, who pretended to be pure while fluttering her eyelashes, wanted from him. She wanted to spend a night with him.

It turned out to be such a shallow trick. Deric found it so absurd that he burst into laughter.

The crown prince’s lover could become the crown princess. The crown princess would then become the empress, and if there is an heir between the empress and the emperor, the empress’ family would gain great power.

He felt somewhat offended when he realized she had approached him for his power. She didn’t know that she had been seen through and he didn’t like seeing her persistent personality.

However, Irene was as sharp as a needle. She approached him with a softer, and more cheerful manner as if she had sensed his hostility and irritability. She was sharp as a tack. She was so clever that it was impossible to compare her with the idiots who were blinded by their lust for power and would act before properly thinking.

Each of her political calculations, etiquettes, conduct, culture, gestures, and actions were perfect.

Like the saying — Little strokes fell great oaks, she won him over. He thought it would be okay to give her what she wanted one day. So, he planned to keep their relationship as a kind of deal.

Irenea Chandler could become the crown princess, and in return for gaining power, she had to assist the crown princess with her sharp wits.

He had to somehow deal with the aristocratic faction that had risen in power, and luckily since Irene was the daughter of the head of the imperial faction, she was perfect for pressuring the aristocratic faction.

That was why he had prepared the necklace.

To give her what she wanted the next morning after the night. It was a token of their deal, that he would let her follow him around as much as she wanted.

But after spending a night, there was no one beside him.

She didn’t want to stand by him, be the crown princess, or his power.

She stole his body and ran away, leaving him in bed alone.

Deric had been swindled of many things in the past, but it was the first time he was robbed of his own body. He gnashed his teeth at the new level of slight and humiliation. But why? What exactly could she want? He couldn’t understand why Irenea Chandler did this, but one thing was certain.

He would never let this slide. Deric clenched his teeth and swallowed some cold soup. The soup felt worse than the food he was forced to swallow in the enemy country.

* * *

Thanks to the favourable winds, the ship was able to reach the capital faster than I expected. When we got off the ship, we saw carriages waiting for us, having arrived in advance at the dock. All the carriages were engraved with the insignia of the imperial faction.

The schedule had gotten extended to one night and two days due to the rainstorm, but it was just going out to a nearby island.

Despite being a light social outing, even moderate nobles, let alone the high-ranking aristocrats, hadn’t joined them, summarizing the current political situation of the empire.

‘There’s no point in complaining as the aristocratic faction keeps the imperial faction in check in every way.’

Marquis Cherville quickly led me to a carriage bearing the imperial family’s coat of arms.

I imitated Deric’s demeanour and headed for the carriage, asking the attendant who came with the carriage to serve the crown prince.

“How is the Queen Mother doing?”

“She went for a walk in the garden with His Majesty, the emperor, saying that the weather is good today.”

The nobles with me looked at the attendant with puzzled faces. Marquis Cherville stepped forward and asked as their representative.

“What about the messenger bird with a red ribbon tied to its leg?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Marquis.”

“Didn’t the imperial palace send a messenger bird?”

Even though I didn’t inquire about anything, the Marquis faithfully continued the conversation with the attendant. After talking for a while, everyone came to a conclusion.

The bird that flew to Rivers Island was not the royal messenger bird, and there was nothing wrong with the health of the members of the imperial family, including Her Majesty.

“It looks like someone pranked us with the bird, or it could have been a bird from some private house which flew to the villa by accident.”

“If we had caught the bird, we could have known whether it was really some prank. But still, I’m glad Her Majesty is safe and fine.”

The attendant’s words lifted the pall of worry from everyone’s faces. I, the one who had prepared the fake messenger bird, also naturally blended into the atmosphere.

“Is what you said true?”

After I once again confirmed the health of the emperor and the empress, I told everyone that they could return to their respective residences. Since the health condition of the imperial couple had a significant impact on the country, they were going to go to the imperial palace with me to check, but now that they were okay, everyone turned away feeling relieved.

“Then take care, Your Highness.”

“It was an honour to be able to enjoy an outing with Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

The nobles greeted me and got on the carriages sent from their respective families. I also boarded a carriage to the palace with Marquis Cherville. The carriages of the imperial palace were all splendid on a similar scale. Having been in such a carriage with Deric a few times, I couldn’t help but recall that time.

He sat far away from me so that he could not touch me even by mistake. He just stared at me as if he were observing a doll, and did not say anything.

It was fortunate that he and I were alone in the carriage, but if we had ridden together more often like this, I would have gone crazy from the awkward silence.

Sadly, I was in a situation where I had to spend the night with him, so every time the carriage shook like a waving reed, I worked hard to stimulate his protective instincts.

However, Deric looked at me coldly with contempt in his eyes.

“Get away from me.”

“… Yes, Your Highness.”

Anyone who would have heard it would have thought that I had groped his chest or something, but in reality, my fingertips only grazed his fingertips for a brief moment.

My type was a gentle, caring man who would affectionately hug me when we’re alone, kiss me sweetly, and enjoy the scenery out of the window with me, not a cold prince who looked like he was carved out of a rock.

‘He really doesn’t have any soft side to him. I should quickly get this work over with and go away.’

I looked out of the window to calm my mood.

The place where I would put my plan into practice — the Imperial Palace — was getting closer.

Footnotes

1. A metaphorical term referring to the state of being so powerful that you can do everything you want.