บท 7: You Are...
In an expansive and opulent chamber, a man lay unconscious on a king-sized bed positioned in the middle of the room.
The man exhibited striking handsomeness, his unconscious countenance resembling that of a fairy tale prince who had succumbed to poison-induced slumber.
Without a doubt, the man was Roel Lionis, supposedly awaiting his demise in the heart of the forbidden forest.
However, his present condition contradicted that expectation...
"Ugh..." Roel slowly and laboriously parted his heavy eyelids.
Initially blurred, his vision gradually sharpened, revealing his surroundings.
"Ughh... Am I already in heaven?" he murmured, casting his eyes toward the ceiling of the room, a sight that promptly snapped him back to reality.
"Huh? Is this truly heaven?" He felt an immediate sense of strangeness, and as he touched the blanket, bed, and pillow around him, it became apparent that this wasn't heaven or any form of afterlife.
Swiftly, he attempted to rise and assess his surroundings, but an intense pain shot through his entire body.
"Ouch! Damn it! That hurts!" Roel winced, opting to refrain from further movement to alleviate the pain.
Any lingering doubts about whether he had entered the afterlife or heaven dissipated completely; he was now 100% certain that he wasn't dead yet!
This pain, undeniably real, served as concrete evidence.
Surely, he reasoned, he wouldn't be experiencing such discomfort if he were already in heaven, right?
"How... How am I still alive? I thought I was on the brink of death in that dark forest?" He pressed his palm against his chest, feeling the presence of a bandage tightly wrapped around him.
The bandage served as compelling evidence that someone had intervened to rescue him from the clutches of death.
"Whoever it is, I must express my gratitude for saving me." A relieved smile spread across his lips.
Realizing he was still among the living, an overwhelming surge of gratitude inundated his heart.
Initially, he believed he had met his demise, leaving numerous regrets in a world he was unwilling to release.
Yet, it appeared the gods had granted him a second chance to rectify those regrets in the days to come!
"Hahahaha! I don't know why I'm so fortunate to receive the protagonist's treatment this time and evade certain death." Roel laughed heartily, thoroughly enjoying the perks of being treated like a protagonist.
If Julius were aware that Roel had survived, he would likely be infuriated to the point of vomiting blood, with veins on his forehead bulging in anger.
The mere thought of it fueled his desire to witness it firsthand, envisioning the moment when he, fully recovered, would confront that damn old emperor with a proud demeanor.
"Jie Jie Jie~ Witness how I'll settle the score, you damn old emperor. As the saying goes, 'It's never too late for a man to avenge himself after 10 years,' and in the future, I will seek retribution for this." A sinister villain's laugh surfaced on Roel's lips for the first time.
In the beginning, he harbored no intentions of rebellion or any threat to seize control of the Arcadia Empire, as Julius had predicted in the cursed divination.
While he did harbor a personal hatred for Julius, desiring to hit his face with a hammer, this animosity was strictly personal, and he had no intention of spreading it throughout the empire, right?
He wasn't a heartless devil who would callously take innocent lives out of personal animosity.
Tragically, Julius fell victim to greed, drowning in the intoxicating blessings of power and succumbing to overwhelming fear, which ultimately fueled his paranoia.
Immediately, he shook his head, discarding all futile thoughts for the moment.
His foremost task was to ascertain her current whereabouts.
"Hmmm... Where am I? Even though this room is incredibly luxurious and expansive, the interior style is quite distinctive; it's not something I've come across often." Roel surveyed his surroundings from his reclined position, noticing something intriguing about the room.
The unfamiliar interior style piqued his curiosity.
Inhaling deeply, he aimed to scrutinize the room more closely, prompting a slow attempt to sit up.
Each movement intensified the already unbearable pain, yet he persisted.
Eventually, he managed to sit down and lean against the bed's backrest.
"Damn it! This pain is unimaginable!" Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his face instantly paled.
Had it not been for his determination to sit up, he likely would have opted to lie down rather than endure such excruciating pain.
After regaining composure, he examined the space around him, suppressing the anxiety that accompanied his suddenly accelerated heartbeat.
"F***! Where the hell am I!?" Roel's face contorted in astonishment as he took in the entirety of the interior, his inner thoughts exclaiming at the unexpected surroundings.
The cabinets at the end of the room, crafted seemingly from gold and adorned with diamond-covered knobs, the floor entirely carpeted with what appeared to be high-level magical beast skins, and an array of other opulent furnishings caused him to once again question if he was truly alive or if he had been transported to a heavenly.
"The opulence here is staggering. Even the highest-ranking nobles in the Arcadia Empire wouldn't possess such luxury, would they?" He remarked in awe, accompanied by a sigh of disbelief.
He frequently received invitations to various noble houses in the Arcadia Empire, whether for formal events or other social engagements.
His distinctive status as a direct student of the headmaster at the Saint Heines Magic Academy compelled those nobles to condescend in their efforts to befriend him.
Regrettably, he deemed such commonplace invitations too tiresome, limiting his acceptance to invitations from only the highest-ranking nobles.
Therefore, he was reasonably certain that the opulence in this entire room appeared beyond the means of even high-ranking nobles.
The cost of decorating this room alone was likely unimaginable.
"What is the identity of the person who saved me? Why did they rescue me and place me in such an opulent room?" The initial sense of amazement and awe swiftly transformed into profound curiosity.
Naturally, to claim he had no suspicions would be a falsehood.
Yet, considering that the mysterious figure had not only rescued him from the king of hell's poison but also prevented his death, Roel was confident that the person harbored no ill intentions toward him, easing his suspicions.
Various speculations about the savior floated through his mind until, before long, the sudden sound of footsteps outside the room's door snapped Roel back to attention.
"Tap... Tap!"
The footsteps echoed casually, coming to a halt just outside the door of the room.
This induced a slight nervousness in Roel, as he was certain that the person behind the door was the one who had saved him!
Gradually, the doorknob turned, and the door creaked open.
In an instant, a woman came into Roel's view, causing his eyes to widen and his mouth to fall agape.
"You!"
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Hello! A handsome author is here!
Hehehe! This might be my first time appearing, and it makes me nervous!
This is my first work, and I hope you can leave comments and such!
And don't forget some power stones if you like this novel, cough!
Well, that's it, and thank you!
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