Tiring.
When Sasha got back to his room, he threw himself straight onto the bed.
Edward hadn’t returned by the time work ended, and Sasha didn’t even care why.
Sasha couldn’t understand why people’s perception of him was suddenly changing now, in this situation—rather than when Edward had wanted it.
“…No way.”
Because Sasha was supposed to die in the first place?
Was the original finally trying to kill him, this late in the game?
“No.”
Sasha tapped his head as it started to go foggy. If he were dying because of the original, it should’ve been a problem that got resolved before the novel ended.
Not after everything was already over.
So what was the problem, then?
Why had people’s perception of Sasha changed so suddenly?
Honestly, the most reasonable explanation was that it was because of the way Sasha had been acting all this time.
“Now, of all times?”
When he’d been desperate for anyone to notice him, nobody had cared—yet now, when it was beyond irrelevant, when he wasn’t even needed anymore?
More than anything, Sasha had been living like a dead mouse.
People in the capital—nobles and commoners alike—were sensitive to trends and quick to react. With a new emperor and a new power structure scrambling everyone’s heads, they didn’t have the bandwidth to care about Sasha, shut up in some corner of the Empire with his mouth closed and his breathing held.
Unless someone interfered from the outside, something like this couldn’t happen naturally.
Those documents Edward had handed him yesterday—fine, you could brush that off as a small incident. But even people who absolutely should not be viewing Sasha in a favorable light starting to view him in a favorable light wasn’t something he could take lightly.
If there were more people like Rio Grenville?
Sasha would end up branded as an undeniable dangerous person.
“No.”
But if there really was outside interference… could Sasha stop it?
Outside interference.
The thing Sasha saw as the most likely was the dream he’d had not long ago.
The exact one he’d assumed was just a stupid dream.
Sasha recalled the sentence he couldn’t even forget.
[Isn’t Sasha the only real loyal subject?]
That ridiculous claim.
And the countless comments agreeing with it.
If their claims and thoughts were affecting this world right now—
“What am I supposed to do?”
Is there anything I can do?
If some intangible power is manipulating the world, what can I even—
“Why wouldn’t there be?”
Sasha put force into his eyes. Why was he acting this weak?
Me, huh? I saved a few people who were getting dragged around by the original—people who got their arms cut off, their feet cut off, who were about to get their heads taken. They might not know it, but Sasha did.
Even if he couldn’t change the big picture, there were definitely countless changes.
And Sasha—
“I’m alive.”
Even if whether he lived or died hadn’t been all that important in the original, he survived.
That, at least, was a result Sasha achieved with his own strength.
So this time too—if he tried his hardest, couldn’t he cling to life again?
The world was harassing him again, but he’d survive again by sheer stubbornness.
“I promised I’d come back.”
Unlike before, there were so many people who worried about him.
So Sasha would return in one piece, no matter what.
Sasha clenched both fists—then glanced at his right hand, still tingling.
“Pathetic.”
Soft, thin skin that bruised from a single hit. He should call the servants now, do an ice compress, put ointment on it.
But he didn’t want to get up.
He’d steeled himself, but it seemed the mental stress had been too much.
“I’ll rest a little, then call them.”
He still hadn’t recovered enough to manage his expression.
*****
He must’ve fallen asleep at some point.
Sasha, still in his going-out clothes, looked down at his body drifting through that white space again and let out a long sigh.
“Yeah. This works out.”
If it was already like this, wasn’t it better to confirm whether it was really just a nonsense dream—or whether it was some special phenomenon?
After dying once and ending up possessed inside a novel’s villain, Sasha was more confident than anyone that he could adapt to surreal situations.
Come on!
The moment Sasha hardened his resolve, a message board appeared in front of him like it had been waiting.
Everything else was blurred out, but Sasha stared straight at one single title that was perfectly clear.
[Are you sane? How is Sasha a loyal subject?] (62)
Maybe there was at least one sane person out there. But right now, he wanted to look for something a little more useful than this.
No matter how he poked at the screen with his hand, nothing changed—it stayed frozen.
He couldn’t go forward or back. He couldn’t click other posts. He couldn’t even write a new one.
[Are you sane? How is Sasha a loyal subject?] (64)
In the meantime, the title—now showing even more comments—flashed like it was telling him, This is your only choice.
‘Creepy.’
Grinding down the curse in his mouth, Sasha tapped the title.
[Are you sane? How is Sasha a loyal subject?]
He’s my husband.
Yeah. It seemed like it wouldn’t be helpful at all. Still, Sasha read the comments like a man grabbing at straw.
⌎some Jerry greeting meme
⌎at least show the sincerity of bringing an image
⌎there’s zero sincerity in the content itself?
⌎he lived hard tooㅠ
⌎holy shit! <breaking news> webtoon adaptation confirmed!
⌎for real?
⌎yeah, in my head.
⌎kys
⌎if you insist hard enough it becomes real.
⌎like the Sasha loyal-subject meme lmao
⌎haah, I want to lick Sasha’s face
⌎if it doesn’t work, blame the comment above.
.
.
.
⌎wait, a side story?
⌎not falling for it
⌎it’s real LOL the author said they might write a side story.
⌎they said they like the Sasha loyal-subject meme
⌎they said it could be completely separate from the main story, or it could connect?
⌎they’re gonna drop a few bits first, then decide based on the reaction
⌎so it’s not confirmed?
⌎yeah, they’re being careful because some people might hate the Sasha loyal-subject image
⌎so it could get scrapped entirely?
⌎I mean, I already don’t love it. This is just people messing around. What side story?
⌎why? I love it. I want to see our Sasha win everything with that face.
⌎ugh, no. I hate Sasha. It pisses me off that he suddenly steals the loyal-subject image and Rio gets dragged, and it’s infuriating seeing people roast Edward for having no eye for talent too.
⌎exactly. I don’t even want to go into the café these days because of Sasha stans. And if the author joins in too, what then?
⌎if you hate it, leave? nobody’s stopping you.
⌎yeah, go!
⌎the hell. why would I leave? you’re the ones who should leave.
Watching the comments turn into a fight, Sasha frowned—then noticed the screen fading, meaning he was waking up.
And a moment later—
In the darkened room, waking on the bed, Sasha let out a hollow laugh.
It was already absurd enough that the villain Sasha was getting stamped with the image of a loyal subject, and now they were taking it one step further.
“A side story?”
I barely escaped the original, and now there’s going to be a side story?
After ten years of suffering like that, again?
Who decided that?
‘Why would I do that again….’
He felt like he might cry from how unfair it was.
Sasha bared his teeth and sucked in a deep breath.
If he cried here, he lost.
Sasha swallowed his tears, forcing himself to steady his emotions.
Coldly. Crushing the emotions down and looking at the situation.
“It’s fine.”
Nothing was decided yet.
Yeah. Not yet.
It was painful that the author liked Sasha’s loyal-subject image, and they’d said they might release a side story related to it—but they hadn’t actually decided to write it.
And it seemed like there were plenty of readers who disliked Sasha, too, and the author said they’d keep that in mind when deciding whether to do a side story.
So if Sasha stayed the villain, if that loyal-subject image disappeared, the side story could be canceled.
“Right.”
The problem was—how the hell was he supposed to maintain the villain image?
The novel was already over. What method was he supposed to use to prove to readers that he was a villain?
It wasn’t like he could turn back time, or go into that café and post, Hi, I’m Sasha.
⌎they’re gonna drop a few bits first, then decide based on the reaction
Wait. Those “bits.”
Could they be talking about what was happening to him right now?
“If that’s the case….”
Even the original—already finished before Sasha ever got possessed—was affected by Sasha’s actions. Even if he couldn’t change the big frame or the ending, there were definitely changes.
So what about those bits that hadn’t even been properly written yet?
‘It’ll be easier to change.’
If Sasha kept acting like complete trash?
If people found out he was trash that couldn’t even be recycled—trash that didn’t rot—
Wouldn’t all that loyal-subject nonsense disappear?
He’s not even human, honestly.
Who the hell likes something like that?
He should’ve just killed him back then—Edward should’ve!
‘No. That’s not it.’
He was doing this to survive, but he still needed to keep a line.
‘Just enough that I don’t die.’
If someone tried to say, Hey, at least his face is usable, he’d make sure they got torn apart with, Are you going to live by eating his face?
If more and more people started cursing Sasha, the side story would get canceled—and then?
“My freedom comes back.”
Not this life of reading Edward’s mood, calculating every move, and doing work.
A peaceful, comfortable day-to-day in the Ambrose territory, mixed in among servants who cherished him and took care of him.
‘Back there, even if I say I’m going to bed hungry, nobody just lets me sleep.’
9 p.m.
Having skipped dinner again while dreaming, Sasha clutched his rumbling stomach. He was hungry, and the back of his hand hurt too.
“Still… they left something out for me, at least.”
Noticing the refreshments on the table, Sasha forced his heavy body upright.
The taste was familiar—plain cookies he’d eaten now and then back when he’d been at the marquessate. Because of the stress, he wanted something sweeter than this, but even this was something to be grateful for right now.
“…I want peach compote.”
No matter what, he needed to go back to the Ambrose territory.
There still wasn’t any clear proof that this situation was connected to those “bits” the author might drop, but Sasha made a quick decision anyway.
Truly.
He was going to become a baaad villain.
So they wouldn’t even dare dream of a side story.