This happened about five years ago.
"Who are you?"
"Kyaaaaaaah! Young Masterrrrr!"
"Doctor, call the doctor again right now!"
"Young Master, are you alright? Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up?"
I woke up to find myself in an unfamiliar room—first shock. Unfamiliar people surrounded me, staring down—second shock. The moment I asked who they were, violent commotion erupted—third shock. Three shocks wrapped around me spectacularly in a mere five seconds, and that was my first memory of my possessed life.
Even now, thinking back to that moment makes my eardrums ring, but it was understandable enough that I feel a bit sorry about it now. Of course they'd be horrified if the family's eldest son, who'd collapsed from falling off a horse, woke up saying something that suggested memory loss. If I'd fumbled around just a bit more there, a few attendants or maids would've lost their necks taking responsibility.
"Are you really sure you're alright...?"
"I'm fine, I told you. Just felt dizzy for a moment."
Fortunately, the original body's owner's memories came flooding in, so I managed to wrap it up as a simple incident and send everyone out of the room. Whether it was the original owner's desperate wish to protect the attendants and maids who served him, or the magnanimity of whoever dumped me here, I don't know.
Probably not the latter, though. If they had that kind of magnanimity, they wouldn't have dumped me here in the first place.
"Why me, though...?"
Regression, possession, reincarnation—collectively known as the Big Three. Elements that were novel when they first appeared, but over time became so common it was harder to find novels without them. And I ended up taking on the 'possession' role of the Big Three. Wow! How thrilling!
The problem was I had no idea why I ended up shouldering one of the prestigious Big Three positions. I hadn't followed some trash novel alone all the way to its conclusion, hadn't unleashed a 5,700-character verbal beatdown on the author's drift, and no monitor suddenly glowed brilliantly nor did a truck hit me. I just went to sleep and woke up here, in this world.
Up to that point, well, let's say I could understand it. Since possession itself is an irrational and sudden phenomenon, trying to deduce why I was possessed is meaningless. Did other possession protagonists possess by their own will?
'At least they should've made me an avid reader.'
The real problem was that I'd been possessed into a work I didn't know. No, more precisely, I knew of it but hadn't properly read it. The Lady's Love—
'What was it again?'
Anyway, it was a romance fantasy with a title something like that, which I'd only sampled the free chapters of before spitting it out. I'd only stumbled upon that novel by chance while wandering the site like a stray dog searching for food. I'd heard they were launching a popular work as a webtoon, so I just took a taste.
But it didn't really suit my taste, and right after that I found another work worth reading and quickly forgot about it. Fuck, if I'd known this would happen, I would've read it to the end.
'...Possessed into a romance fantasy.'
I was furious about being possessed into a work I knew nothing about, but thinking it over carefully, it wasn't actually a bad situation. A demon lord wouldn't appear in a romance fantasy to destroy the world, and people wouldn't drop like flies from plague or famine. There wouldn't be any massive wars breaking out either. Romance fantasies would be too busy showing off the sweet romance between characters for any of that.
Didn't that mean I'd been possessed into a world the creator deliberately designed for easy mode? And the body I'd possessed was the eldest son of an imperial count house. A member of the noble class with blood as blue as blue could be.
Whoever you are, thank you for possessing me...!
"Ah, life's been set to easy difficulty."
The more I organized the memories I'd gained through possession, the more I couldn't help but smile. The body's original owner was Karl Krasius, sixteen years old this year. The eldest son and heir of the Krasius family. Not some once-in-a-generation genius, but not a crazy degenerate either—just your average noble youth.
In other words, I didn't need to act like someone else or work hard to show growth. I just had to enjoy the happy life of a noble and perform as well as everyone else.
The only thing that bothered me was where the body's original owner had gone, but I decided to think of him as dead. Even if he wasn't, it's not like I had any way to give it back. So from now on, I was Karl.
And so I enjoyed my cheerful, happy otherworldly life.
For exactly one year.
The day after welcoming the new year when I turned seventeen, I was summoned by the family head and reflexively nodded at his words.
"Our family's glory exists thanks to the grace we've received from the imperial family for generations."
I'd learned through bitter experience over this past year that when this die-hard imperialist noble praised the emperor and imperial family, the right move was to agree without hesitation. Indeed, the family head seemed satisfied with my spinal-reflex affirmation and moved on without further comment.
"Originally, our family had red blood, not blue. However, three hundred years ago, we achieved great merit in the Apels Invasion War."
"Thanks to that, Emperor Eimankar granted us a title and territory, allowing us to rise to the ranks of nobility. Eimankar II, who succeeded him, elevated the Krasius family to imperial counts. As the heir to the Krasius family, I have never forgotten that profound grace."
"Yes, you know it well."
'If I forgot something I hear once a week, would I even be human?'
I plastered on a smile in response to the family head's satisfied reaction and brushed it off. And now he'd say something like 'continue to devote yourself even more to the imperial family in the future' and send me away. Predictable.
"An opportunity has arisen to repay that grace, even if only a little."
"Pardon?"
I didn't see this coming.
Despite my question, the family head paid no mind and continued speaking as he pulled out a document.
"There's been unrest in the Northern Region. Foolish wretches who dare defy the empire's authority are running wild, ignorant of their place. However, the scale of this disturbance cannot be overlooked, and His Majesty has expressed concern."
"How unfortunate."
"Indeed. Therefore, the Krasius family, as an imperial count and vassal to His Majesty the Emperor, wishes to contribute to rooting out these traitors who trouble him."
"Are you deploying to war?"
The family head nodded calmly. The Krasius family held the title of Count of Tailglehen, one of the imperial counts who served as direct vassals to the Emperor.
If the family head intended to lead the private soldiers stationed in Tailglehen County to assist in the northern subjugation, the Emperor would gladly accept. In that case, his business with me must be to have me manage the county in his absence.
'What, that's nothing. The head butler does all the work anyway.'
Heir, acting count—I just need to stamp documents appropriately. The family head already delegated most county business to the head butler anyway. I'd worried when the conversation suddenly shifted direction, but it was needless concern.
However, as if seeing through my thoughts, the family head shifted topics once again.
"You're old enough to enter public office now."
"Pardon? Me?"
"Yes. At seventeen, you can either enroll in the Academy or enter public service, can you not?"
"If I leave the county too, who will handle the work?"
"The head butler does all the work anyway, so it's fine."
You really shouldn't be saying that out loud, you incompetent lord.
"I've already secured a position. Just show up and they'll tell you what to do there."
'Damn imperial loyalist bastard...'
Entering public office at seventeen. It was legally possible under imperial law. But enrolling in the Academy was the norm.
After all, what could a seventeen-year-old kid who'd just barely earned his adult status accomplish by entering public office? It would be far more beneficial to attend the Academy, learn various things, and build connections with fellow noble scions and talented commoners.
But the family head before me ignored all that and was sending his eldest son straight into public service. Why? Because His Majesty the Emperor was displeased, so the family's surplus manpower had to be dispatched to the civil service as labor.
And he would proudly proclaim it: 'Our family's newly-adult heir has entered public service to serve the Imperial Family and the Empire!' It was obvious. If this man did anything out of the ordinary, one only needed to consider how it would look in the Emperor's eyes to understand.
'Actually, this might not be so bad...?'
Surprisingly, it wasn't a terrible option. The Academy? Considering how I'd sprinted nonstop through elementary, middle, high school, and college before tap-dancing away from being kidnapped into graduate school before possession, I didn't particularly want to go. Most high-ranking nobles already covered Academy education through private tutoring anyway, and connections could be built plenty before or after those three years of enrollment, not just during.
On the other hand, this position was arranged by 'the' head of the Krasius family himself. An Imperial Count and direct vassal to the Emperor of the Kfellophen Empire—who boasted overwhelming imperial authority—and representative of a prestigious martial family. Since I was only seventeen, they wouldn't expect much, and with such powerful backing, I could coast comfortably... Hey, this actually sounds pretty good.
"I will gladly dedicate myself entirely to serving His Majesty the Emperor."
At those words, the family head smiled, and I smiled too. The father and son, each smiling for different reasons, headed toward the Imperial Capital. The family head to lead his private soldiers and join the Northern subjugation army, and I to warmly settle into the position of milk and honey (presumably) that the family head had prepared.
And so another four years passed.
"Fuck, I should've gritted my teeth and gone to the Academy back then."
The position the family head had prepared wasn't one of milk and honey, but of blood and tears with wailing echoing throughout. Over those four years, I'd experienced not just five minutes before complete chaos, but five minutes after it too.
Those four years were enough to transform a seventeen-year-old young man gleefully anticipating an easy ride into a twenty-one-year-old adult who'd weathered every storm life could throw and now hoped for retirement. Even today, hadn't I just escaped after enduring two solid hours of the minister's thunderous bellowing?
"Goddamn civil servant life, seriously."
The Academy... do they accept twenty-one-year-olds...?