'…what the…?'
What was this?
As foreign memories poured into his head, Angel kept his eyes closed as he tried to process what was happening right now.
He remembered his past life, remembered being confronted by Don Genovese's sons, remembered dying, a brief moment in the darkness, and now, he was in a new world, alive, with memories of a strange boy filling his head.
This boy, well, young man, was a neglected prince named Caellum Emberlin of the Emberfield Kingdom.
Caellum was the youngest of 13 royal children, and his 16 years of life had been filled with abject misery.
He was born from a one-night stand between the king and a maid who died immediately after giving birth to him.
Because he had no relatives or support system, he was thrown into a barely staffed, destitute palace and struggled to survive from birth.
He grew up sickly because of malnutrition and constant poisonings, and always seemed to be on the verge of death.
Ignored by the King, suppressed by the Queen and other concubines, bullied by all his half-siblings, and mistreated by even the common servant, the 13th prince was unanimously considered the lowest-ranked person in the palace and was the laughing stock of the everyone from nobles to commoners.
His 16 years in the palace were a constant struggle, since he had neither the talent of his siblings nor the personality or ability to draw people to his side.
Many times, the young prince had considered ending his life, but for some reason, the young prince had still held on.
Finally, on the day of his 16th birthday, the one day when he could meet the king and be tolerated by the rest of the family, the worst thing had happened at his birthday banquet.
The king's poison tester had died while tasting an item the 13th prince specially ordered made for the king.
As the host of his own birthday banquet, he was accused of poisoning the king and attempting regicide.
Immediately, the Queen and 4 other concubines and their children had pointed fingers at him, subtly or overtly claiming that he had attempted to murder the sovereign.
Despite the 13th Prince claiming that he was innocent, nobody had believed him, and just as he was going to be taken away to prison, the 12th Prince, Lionell, spoke up.
Instead of defending the 13th prince, he claimed that if he were really innocent, he would smash his head against a pillar to prove his innocence and the sincerity of his words.
If he survived, it meant he didn't do it.
Taking it as a good idea, the rest of his siblings and even the queen agreed with Lionell and encouraged Caellum to follow through.
Of course, the indifferent King stayed silent, so seeing no other way out, the foolish 13th prince rammed his head into the pillar and died.
And somehow, Angel entered this body after his own death.
And instinctively, he knew that the body was now his, the original owner no longer here.
But he could feel the lingering grudge of the spirit that resented its untimely death and unfair life pressing down on his body and stifling his breath.
Although he wasn't one to believe in mystics, magic, or religion, when there was undeniable evidence, there was no choice but to believe that there was more to the world than he previously knew.
In this world, magic existed, creatures and races from myths lived, and more.
But despite the amazing things in this world, the 13th prince was miserable.
Just briefly experiencing the life of the young boy through memories was enough to make Angel furious.
This was an innocent child brought into the world by careless adults.
He was a prince who should have lived a good life at the very least, yet he was basically tortured into killing himself.
And although he wanted to do something about it, there was something else that must be done first.
'I apologize for taking your body.'
Angel immediately apologized to the body's original owner.
No matter the reason, no matter the cause, the fact that he had taken a child's body was undeniable.
'I am not sure how I got here or how to resolve it, but while I'm here, not only will I prove your innocence here, but I will also find a way to make sure you get everything you're owed. I know your wishes, and I will achieve them. And as for giving the body back-'
Before Angel could finish the thought, he felt something that felt like fingers covering his mouth.
As if telling him not to say anymore.
'I will try to find a way, and I will not forget you. Thank you for loaning me your body. Please rest for now and allow time to heal your wounds.'
As he thought those words, the feeling of pressure disappeared, and the miasma-like feeling of something pressing him down slowly dissipated.
And at the same time, he realized that there was a familiar item in his hand.
A pocketwatch.
No, not just a pocketwatch.
It was the same pocketwatch that Marcus had gifted him.
As Angel ran his fingers over it, he repeated the familiar words in his mind.
Memento mori, renasci iterumque mori.
Remember you must die, to be reborn, and to die again.
'How the hell had this gotten here?'
As he clutched the pocket watch, the flow of memories slowed, then stopped, and finally, Angel, no Caellum, took a deep breath before snapping his eyes open.
The questions about the pocket watch could wait.
For now, he needed to figure out a way to safely get out of here.
A quick survey of his body let him know that, apart from his aching head, everything else was in one piece.
And with the knowledge that only a couple of minutes had passed, yet no one had been called to help him, Caellum sat up, his gaze cold.
His eyes flashed around, taking everything in.
The dining table with his half-siblings, the king, and the queen, the concubines, all continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.
Even though two people, one of whom was a family member, had died.
The bloody marble pillar.
The guards who were watching the indifferent king for direction, and the body of the poor poison taster, which lay on the ground, his face purple and bloated.
Once he had cataloged everything, Caellum turned to the dining table to meet the eyes of the Lionell, the 12th prince, a young man with loose golden hair he inherited from his mother and blood-red eyes he inherited from the king.
Lionell pointed and laughed at him as he spoke to the 8th princess, his elder sister, but when he met Caellum's eyes, he gasped and couldn't help but stutter.
"Y-yo-you're still alive?"
Due to the force and speed that Caellum had used to run into the pillar, with his weak, sickly body that had no mana and hadn't been trained in any martial arts, there was no way he should have survived!
In fact, he had been lying still for several minutes without moving or taking a breath, so Lionell had just assumed that he was dead.
But he was alive!
Even though Caellum's pale face and white hair were stained with blood, those tired purple eyes with dark shadows around them were curved in a small smile, and he seemed full of strength as he stood up and met Lionell's eyes.
"Naturalmente." Caellum's lips curled up in a warm and gentle smile that seemed to come from the depths of his heart.
Those who knew him in his past life knew that when he smiled like that, the head of the offender would be blown off sooner rather than later, and the body would be dismembered and fed to the fishes.
Keeping his tone gentle, Caellum tucked the pocketwatch into his pocket before dusting himself off. "Are you satisfied now, brother? I did as you asked and survived. You can believe that I didn't poison the king. Right?"
"Who the hell are you calling your brother?! I'm no brother of yours! And if not you, then who else would poison the king?" Lionell stood up and began yelling childishly.
He had goosebumps when Caellum suddenly called him brother in that gentle tone, looking him in the eyes.
"Lionell! How dare you speak that way in front of the king? Where are your manners!" Lionel's mother, the queen of the kingdom, Esmerelda, quickly chastised him before turning to Caellum with a cold look.
"As for you, while your act of sincerity is admirable, it's not enough. What Lionell said was just a joke between children. You should follow etiquette, which states that, as the host, you are responsible for the incident. The taster has died, which means that there was indeed poison in the food meant for the king. You are at fault and should confess and face the consequences. If you still insist that you're innocent, then at the very least, you should be stripped of your rights as a prince, lose the right to succession, and be held for trial while an investigation happens. Your highness, as the mother of the nation, who loves all your children equally, I am willing to lead that investigation to discover the truth."
'A joke between children?'
'Loves his children equally?'
'Face consequences for something he didn't do?'
'Be investigated and be stripped of his rights as a prince?'
'Did she think he was stupid?'
'Wasn't she just driving this body to death?'
'What a hypocrite, especially considering what she fed to the 13th prince on a daily basis.'
Not paying the Queen any mind, Caellum turned to look at the King, who was staring past him dispassionately, as if everything going on had nothing to do with him.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again. I wasn't the one who poisoned the king. I had nothing to do with it. Someone is trying to frame me."
"Even though you are the host of this dinner, who oversaw everything? Who would believe that nonsense? At least learn to lie better!" Lionell spat out.
"It's not nonsense. And as a matter of fact, I know exactly who attempted to poison the king. And if you give me the chance, I'll prove it to your highness, the King. Or do you plan to just sit there, staring blankly at the wall while this farce continues, and have these people send me to my death? Some fair and just King you are. Peh."
As Caellum stared directly at the king with his tired purple eyes filled with defiance and disdain, those in the room gasped in surprise.
'Was he crazy?'
'Had he lost it?'
'How could you speak to the king like that?'
'Did the 13th prince want to die?'