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Not just minor offenses—but serious crimes that shook the Empire.
One after another, they were connected to him.
Blamed on him.
Until eventually, he was labeled a traitor.
He admitted to himself that he wasn't innocent. He had schemed before. He had harbored twisted thoughts, even acted upon them at times.
But he was not a fool.
He wasn't someone who would commit crimes severe enough to warrant a death sentence.
That much, he was certain of.
Yet no one believed him.
No matter how much he tried to explain, no one listened.
In desperation, he sought Lorraine out.
He believed—no, he hoped—that at least one person would hear him out.
That she would understand.
But when he finally faced her again—
She looked at him differently.
There was fear in her eyes.
Caution.
Hesitation.
Emotions he had never once seen directed at him by her before.
That alone was enough to tear him apart.
The only person he had ever loved…
The only person who had ever seen him for who he was—
Could no longer even meet his gaze.
His love.
His trust.
Everything he had placed in her—
Fell apart in that single moment.
His family abandoned him, washing their hands of his existence as if he had never belonged to them in the first place.
Everyone else saw him as nothing more than a criminal who deserved to be executed.
There was no one left.
No one who would stand by him.
Because of that, he came to a simple conclusion.
The world itself was against him.
From that moment on, his heart was filled with hatred.
A deep, consuming hatred directed toward everyone who condemned him for sins he did not commit—people who placed the weight of their crimes upon him as if he were nothing more than a convenient scapegoat.
Standing before the execution platform, surrounded by countless onlookers, he finally accepted his fate.
Or perhaps…
He simply stopped resisting it.
And just as he was about to be executed in public—
A strange voice echoed within his mind.
It was unfamiliar.
Unnatural.
And yet, clear.
« …. "Would you like to take revenge?" ….. »
His thoughts froze.
'W-who?'
« ….. "I repeat, would you like to take revenge?" …. »
He almost let out a chuckle.
Even now?
This situation—this moment—and something like this appears?
Revenge.
The word lingered within him.
For a brief moment, he considered it.
The idea of making those people suffer as he had suffered.
Of returning everything they had done to him.
Of making them feel the same despair.
But then again…
'Revenge? Heh! I don't know… and it's meaningless for me to do that if I'm going to be executed anyway….'
For a moment, the strange voice fell silent.
As if it was processing his answer.
Then, after a brief pause—
It spoke again.
« …. "Then, do you want to live?" …. »
At that question, something stirred within him—
A distant memory.
Or rather…
A fragment of the past.
From a time long ago.
A time when he was still with his beloved mother…
At the question thrown at him, although his thoughts were clouded with hatred and the lingering sense of abandonment from the people around him, before he could even properly think of an answer, he suddenly recalled the words of his birth mother when she was still alive…
< …. 'No matter the challenges that you face in the future, you should think of nothing else but to stay alive and live your life to the fullest, without caring for the criticism of the people around you. Just follow what your heart desires the most, and do not let what stands before you dictate your path.' ….. >
A faint smile formed on his lips as he remembered those words. At that moment, it didn't matter to him whether the strange voice he kept hearing came from a demon or some unknown entity. If it could grant him even a single wish—his most desperate desire—then he would accept it without hesitation.
'Yes… I want to live. I want to escape this cage that binds me… Will you grant it?'
At that very moment, the strange voice responded with something utterly unfamiliar to him…
« ….. "DING! Connecting to the System Department… 10%.... 25%.... 48%.... 56%.... 75%.... 88%.... 100%! Binding successful! Welcome to the Main House System, new host!" …. »
Before the blade could fall and sever his head, his consciousness faded, giving in to the unfamiliar fate that now awaited him…
...…..
........
.........…
For over a millennium that passed, he gradually became aware of what he had become the moment he answered that fateful question from the strange voice he heard in his first life.
His first life had ended… yet it did not truly end.
He was not reborn as he once thought—
—but transformed into something else entirely.
A being known as a DIMENSIONAL TRAVELER.
During those countless years, he learned things far beyond what he could have ever imagined in his past life. As a Dimensional Traveler, he was tasked with crossing into different worldlines, undertaking missions assigned by the Higher Councils of the Main House System.
To integrate… or more precisely, to transmigrate into the bodies of others.
To live their lives.
To fulfill the desires left behind by the original owners of those bodies.
Or to restore balance within the worldlines assigned to him.
The worldlines that he—and other Dimensional Travelers—entered were not random. They were constructed by the Main House System itself, manifesting as what they referred to as [stories], all carefully stored within the vast expanse known as the [System Archive].
Including… the worldline of his own first life.
The one that had ended in tragedy.
'…So, it means that everything… all my suffering, all my misfortune from that moment onward… was already decided since the day I was born…'
Upon learning such truths, one would expect rage—hatred burning fiercely at the realization that one's entire life had been scripted, manipulated, and reduced to nothing more than a narrative.
And yet…
He felt none of it.
Instead, what replaced those emotions was something unexpected.
Relief.
It was as though the invisible shackles that once bound him to his role had finally been shattered. The weight of confusion and resentment that lingered in his chest quietly dissipated.
In the end… he simply accepted it.
His fate.
His role.
His existence as a Dimensional Traveler.
Would that acceptance mark the end of everything?
No one could say.
...…..
........
.........…
Now, as he stood in the present, his gaze fell upon the "pitiful" servant who continued to play her act flawlessly. Watching her stirred something faint within him—not emotion, but memory.
And with it… came the reminder of why he had returned.
Back to this worldline.
Back to the place where his first life had ended so tragically.
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