[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes.]
“There’s no going back, is there?”
A boy with tousled black hair and maroon eyes sat against his bedframe, looking at the palms of his own hands.
Discomfort and pain tore throughout his body, even when he was literally not doing anything but sitting in his own bed.
His head kept aching, driving him almost to insanity.
“Have I really been transmigrated as Noct de Arcadia…?”
He had been lying here for a while, but suffice it to say, waking up in a stranger’s body and inheriting their memories was a strange feeling.
To confirm that very fact, he slowly reached up and tugged at a section of his hair, which had completely whitened because his body was failing to produce the necessary melanin.
“Not even the protagonist, but as the dying villain,” he muttered to himself.
“I must’ve been some kind of bastard in my last life.”
But even as he said that, Noct didn’t remember anything about his past life.
Not his name, age, occupation, or even what he looked like.
For some reason, the only thing he could remember with vivid clarity was the contents of the game he was playing before he got here.
‘Ending Fantasy’, a knights and magic RPG that was popular back when he first played it.
Many abandoned the game for its difficulty, but others hated the story, especially how the protagonist would sometimes act.
Smart decisions that would prevent conflict were penalized, and dialogues that felt like they would start a war turned out to be the correct ones.
Still, he somehow stuck through the game and cleared it, solely for the fact that one of the earlier villains and one of his favorite characters, would have a playable DLC.
And that same villain was the person he was now: Noct de Arcadia.
If he remembered correctly, Noct was a villain who died in the first arc.
Due to him being cursed from birth and terminally-ill, his reputation as an always irritated Young Master followed him everywhere he went, if he could go anywhere with his weak legs at all.
Even so, he was touted as being a once-in-a-lifetime genius in magic, being part of the famous Arcadia Family known for producing the strongest mages in the country.
[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 23 hours, 50 minutes.]
“Screw that. I’m gonna die before that even happens…a waste of potential.”
When he tried to get off the bed, the movement felt like it had taken all of his effort.
Just moving slightly felt like wading through thick mud.
His pale arm didn’t help generate the power to push himself off the bed either.
In fact, the skin clung so tightly to his arm that it would be hard to tell him apart from a corpse.
“This character really is cursed…”
Apparently, Noct had taken every treatment known to man.
Medicines, spells, prayers, even cleansings.
But nothing worked.
The curse simply kept sapping away at his life force.
And now, he was lying on bed, which might as well be his deathbed if things continued as they were.
“Damn it. There has to be something I can do.”
But just as he spoke those words, a blue status screen appeared in front of his face, causing Noct to flinch slightly.
[Ding!]
[Character synchronization complete!]
[Information will be displayed.]
〔BASIC INFORMATION〕
Name: Noct de Arcadia
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Race: Human
Class: Mage [★]
Class Proficiency: 12%
〔TRAITS〕
Magic Sensitivity [★★★★★★]
Chain-Casting [★★★★★]
Spell Memorization [★★★★★★]
〔STATUS EFFECTS〕
[Curse of ??? — Analysis Failed]
[Body Fatigue Lv. 1]
[Chronic Headaches Lv. 1]
[Weak Bones Lv. 1]
〔ATTRIBUTES〕
Strength: 2
Speed: 3
Stamina: 2
Spirituality: 12
Magic: 15
〔SKILLS KNOWN:〕
[…]
Noct closed the status panel before it could overfill his vision, as the entire thing had stretched from pretty much the top of his bed all the way to the floor.
‘My status…really is pathetic.
Still, I really am a genius.
With all those benefits, Noct de Arcadia could easily become a court mage—no, even higher than that.’
‘Well, none of it is going to matter if I just keel over, though.’
It took him several minutes and considerable effort to merely get out of his sheets.
His legs nearly folded the moment his feet touched the floor.
Noct managed to catch himself against the bed frame and remained there until his vision stopped spinning, then he tried dragging himself up.
But all that effort was just for naught, as he fell right back down onto his bed,
‘Pathetic…forget about being a court mage.
A healthy kid could probably beat me up right now.’
Yet as he heaved in heavy breaths, a thought occurred to him through the panic.
The original Noct de Arcadia had died because he didn’t know how to prolong his life or find a cure.
‘But on the other hand, I know this game inside out…’
Noct looked over at a small map pinned onto the wall, describing all the kingdoms, empires, and territories this world had to offer.
Places that the original Noct never visited and treasures that were yet to be discovered.
There was a way to cure this curse permanently in five years.
Noct knew it would work because it had cured a similar curse before—Elixir.
‘Well, until then, I need to somehow prolong this body.’
His eyes flicked across the map before finding a location much closer to the Arcadia territory.
There was something that existed here, and the same thing that the game’s protagonist would receive as a reward later on—Ambrosia.
Nobody knew the conditions of Noct’s curse, so nobody thought to use said relic to prolong his life.
Hell, no one who played Ending Fantasy knew except himself, the only person who cared to theorize.
Noct curled his trembling fingers into a fist.
“Sorry, but I need it more than you do to be honest….”
That was when his eyes caught the big painting that had been hanging behind his bed, just out of sight.
It depicted a huge family of eight.
Lord Arcadia stood at the center, flanked by his two wives.
Their five children surrounded them, dressed in elaborate clothes befitting a Ducal house.
In the game, their house was stated to be purely run on meritocracy.
There were only five recognized succession candidates.
Usually, main-line children of Arcadia had the advantage, but that didn’t mean there weren’t branch family heirs before.
“Year 934 of the Amber Era…” Noct noticed the date on a calendar on his right.
“That means that event is going to happen soon.”
Obviously, some of the branch family were not happy that a terminally-ill son was still an eligible heir, genius or not.
Naturally, another child would be sent to challenge the seat of an heir.
Which meant in two days…
“Noct would be forced into a ‘Rite of Contention’, eventually losing due to some circumstances and becoming a villain from there…”
“But not this time.”
That being said, if nothing changes now, then the same thing would occur.
He needed to get stronger, because if he won, the easiest way for Noct to get his hands on the Ambrosia—
Was to demand it as a reward himself.
Two birds with one stone.
Though it was easier said than done, fighting in the game and fighting in real life were two different things.
‘I need a sparring partner, someone who can teach me the ropes…’
And the perfect candidate was someone Noct had secretly suspected wasn’t an extra in the original game at all.
Sticking in the background whenever Arcadia came up.
Noct’s personal maid, Noelle.
It was just a feeling, but as Noct was the youngest and most talented of the Duke’s children, surely word would’ve gotten out.
The target on his back couldn’t have been any bigger.
Yet miraculously, Noct managed to survive for this long.
Maybe it was a coincidence, but if it wasn’t…
‘Well, there’s only one way to find out.’
“…Noelle.”
Instantly, the door opened, and in came a maid.
The reaction was so fast that Noct could’ve sworn she was standing in front of his door, just waiting for the moment he would call on her.
“Young Master. You called?”
She wore the Arcadia household’s black-and-white maid uniform, though at first glance, very little about her resembled an actual maid.
Her long white hair was completely messy with several loose strands blocking her vision that she never cared to sweep away.
Under said strands, a pair of pale gray eyes felt unfocused and exhausted, as though she had only just gotten out of bed.
Yet the moment those eyes landed on Noct sitting upright in bed, her eyes widened significantly.
“…Young Master? You’re sitting up.”
Before Noct could answer, Noelle was already beside him.
“Any dizziness?”
“A little.”
“Nausea?”
Noct shook his head.
Her hand suddenly pressed against his forehead, which caused even Noct himself to flinch due to the speed at which it happened.
“Your fever has gone down.”
‘She’s awfully touchy…’
Then again, she had probably been dressing, feeding, and bathing this body for years.
Well, the realization just made it all worse for Noct.
Pulling away as best as he could, Noct stabilized himself on the bed frame and cleared his throat.
“Noelle, I need a training partner.”
“…Right away,” the young maid nodded, already turning away.
“I’ll inform the First Lady so she can call for the doctors to check you up first. Then—”
“No.”
The single word caused her to stop right at the edge of the doorway.
“I need to do it in secret. And only you can be my sparring partner.”
Slowly, Noelle turned around, her eyes dropped to his trembling legs as soon as he expressed his intent.
“Young Master…you can barely walk.”
“Soon, someone from the branch family is going to force me into a ‘Rite of Contention’, and with my condition as is—”
“You’ll lose.”
“…Yes.”
“Is that really so bad? Why do you need to—”
“Because there are still things I need to do. As an heir.”
Noelle looked like she wanted to retort, but upon seeing the dedication in his eyes, she seemed to realize it was much more important than she gave it credit for.
So, she finally asked with a serious tone.
“Young Master. I have two questions,” she raised two fingers.
“One, why me? I’m just a maid. Why not train with a knight?”
“And two, do you really believe you’ll succeed?”
Noct stayed silent, trying to pick the best choice of words.
He wasn’t exactly sure where Noelle’s allegiance lay.
‘She’s been with me for this long…it’s probably safe to think that she’s not an enemy assassin, or else she would’ve killed me already.’
Mustering up all the strength he could, Noct finally spoke.
“Noelle…I know you’re not a normal maid.”
Her eyes widened at the accusation.
“Young Master, I’m not sure what you—”
“Please,” he cut her off before she could finish.
“I can’t trust the knights. You know what my relationship with the rest of this family is like.”
“…”
Noct tightened his trembling fingers around the bedframe, trying to rise once more to his feet.
“You’re the only person I can rely on.”
As he did, his legs gave out, causing his entire body to lurch forward violently.
But just before he could even make it toward the ground, Noelle was already in front of him, with her hand in front of his chest.
The distant look in her pale eyes seemed to have disappeared, replaced by one full of confusion, and maybe something else.
“Why now? What’s changed?”
There were a thousand things he couldn’t tell her, like this wasn’t his world.
Or that, according to the story he once knew, Noct de Arcadia’s story was about to end soon.
But it didn’t have to.
He looked Noelle directly in the eyes, uttering only a single thing.
“Because I found a way to live.”