Salvation Through Delusion C17

Chapter 17

“He’s not just a pervert,” Dr. Kim said matter-of-factly as she began to eat, “he’s a pervert obsessed with men.”

My appetite vanished completely. Out of all the bodies I could’ve ended up in—why this one?

“Anywhere men gathered, he’d be there,” she continued, unfazed. “You’ve never seen anyone so hardworking when it came to chasing what’s between a man’s legs.”

She said it like she was praising a diligent employee. My expression, meanwhile, twisted further with every word.

“Which brings me to my point,” she said, setting down her glass. “Once you officially attend that party, you’d better remember—you have to act like Rue.”

“I almost died—”

“Don’t think ‘I came back from the dead’ is an excuse for everything. People change, sure, but not that much. You think someone who lost his mind over men would suddenly stop just because he almost died?”

“It’s possible.”

“Not for Rue.”

She shook her head firmly.

“Rue wasn’t your average deviant. Of all the people I’ve known who went crazy for men, he ranks number one.”

I rubbed my temples, half from disbelief, half from despair. She sighed too.

“Sometimes I wonder if this is my fate.”

“What fate? Having a perverted family member?”

I meant it as a joke, but she nodded, completely serious.

“Not a pervert, but… my younger sister loved men. She had a kid when she was young, dumped the baby at our house, and disappeared to chase after men for years.”

Another sigh escaped her.

“Having only one child might be the best decision she ever made. My niece is a few years younger than you, thank goodness she didn’t take after her mother.”

Her voice dropped into a quiet murmur.

“And now, even in another world, my own brother is a man-crazy mess. I swear, it’s some kind of karmic curse.”

She drifted into her memories, and I just stabbed my food with my fork, not knowing how to respond. Finally, I managed to offer, “At least Rue didn’t have any kids. That’s something, right?”

I’d mashed my potatoes into paste at this point, so I started eating just to hide my awkwardness. But then I felt her gaze.

“What?”

“You really don’t know, do you?”

I blinked, cheeks stuffed like a hamster. “Know what?”

Dr. Kim looked at me—almost pityingly.

“You can get pregnant.”

“…Who can?”

“You.”

The fork froze halfway to my mouth.

“I can what?”

“You can have children.”

“That’s—what?!”

It had to be a joke. But her face was deadly serious.

“You’re perfectly capable of it.”

Bang!

I shot up from my chair, shoving it backward.

“I’ve already checked this body! It’s male!”

“You’re an omega.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Some kind of fish oil?”

“That’s omega-3, the fatty acid. You’re just omega. In this world, there aren’t only men and women. There’s a third sex—omegas—who can conceive.”

“That’s absurd! There’s no way I could—”

“Oh, you could. Quite easily, I imagine.”

No, I could not. Absolutely not!

Seeing the horror on my face, she raised her hands slightly as if to calm me.

“Relax. You can’t get pregnant right now anyway. Rue’s been taking a suppressant that blocks heat cycles for a year at a time. I made sure he took it every year.”

She looked proud for a second, then frowned as if remembering something unpleasant.

“The downside is reduced libido, but Rue managed to overcome that side effect with flying colors. A true pervert to the end.”

She shook her head and noticed I was still frozen in shock.

“Anyway, don’t worry. You haven’t had any children.”

“That’s not the point—wait. If omegas can… then when you, uh, do it with a man—”

I couldn’t even finish the sentence. Dr. Kim, of course, did it for me. Calmly.

“Yes. You’d be the one on the bottom.”

Crash!

The cup I accidentally knocked over shattered on the floor, perfectly echoing my emotional state.

Even as the butler hurried in, alarmed, Dr. Kim waved him off with a serene hand. Then she turned back to me, composed as ever.

“You’re in a new body. Adapt to it. What’s the fuss?”

“Because I’ve always been on top, that’s why—”

I shut my mouth mid-sentence, realizing I’d said too much. Dr. Kim tilted her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

“So you’re not entirely hopeless as a man after all.”

What good does that do me?! I ran a hand through my hair and lifted the fallen chair.

“Regardless, I’m not letting anyone get on top of me. I wasn’t planning to date here anyway.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

Her tone was firm enough to make me pause. She set her fork down with finality.

“If you can’t eliminate the betrayer, we move to Plan B.”

“…What’s Plan B?”

“You marry Duke Koon and take the betrayer’s place.”

I laughed—loudly, incredulously.

“That’s not Plan B, that’s Plan X!”

I crossed my arms in an exaggerated X, but she struck back mercilessly.

“You want to doom our world, then?”

…Damn it.

I grimaced and sat back down.

“If I find the betrayer at the non-wine party, I’ll kill them. Don’t worry.”

“Good. Plan X is the last resort.”

Then, almost cheerfully, she added,

“And even if it comes to that—so what? You just have to be on the bottom once.”

A chill shot up from my toes to my scalp. No. Absolutely not. That would never, ever happen.

“When the greenery deepens and the crimson veil of the sky silently drapes over the land, come taste the wine aged beneath their colors.”

—Count Ri Fenouan.

The card’s text looked like a poetic advertisement, but it was really a party invitation—an invitation to a wine party. Perfect for reconnaissance.

Sure, Rue’s memories gave me plenty of information, but nothing beat firsthand experience. Especially when I needed to quietly find—and kill—the betrayer.

‘Every mansion worth its gold has a secret passage somewhere. Check if you can explore it unnoticed, observe people, and identify the betrayer.’

That’s what Dr. Kim had said, as if it were as easy as running an errand. She clearly had no idea how hard sneaking into someone else’s home was.

‘What’s so hard? You have money.’

Then she’d handed me, like a flyer, a detailed blueprint of the count’s mansion—with all the secret passages conveniently marked.

I memorized it down to the last hallway. Still, this first outing into a new world wouldn’t be easy. Fortunately, I had a safeguard if things went wrong.

Reaching into my coat, I pulled out a palm-sized scroll—one Solongo had given me before I left.

“This scroll allows instant teleportation to a designated location. Just unfold it fully, then tear it with force.”

It would return me to the Adeye estate instantly. A literal magic escape tool. Out of curiosity, I’d asked how much it cost.

“About the price of two two-story houses in the capital’s central district.”

Two downtown houses. Great. So basically a pair of luxury apartments back on Earth.

Definitely not something I could afford to waste. I tucked it carefully back into my coat like a holy relic.

Just then, the carriage slowed to a stop. I peeked out the window—the party was already in full swing, but the front of the Fenouan mansion was quiet.

Click.

The elegant carriage door opened. The coachman offered his hand to help me down, but I started to refuse—until Mo’s warning echoed.

[Adeye Rue never stepped down from a carriage without assistance.]

Of course. Rue, the drama queen.

I brushed my fingers against the coachman’s hand for exactly 0.1 seconds, then jumped down on my own. A servant from the Fenouan household approached immediately to escort me, and I followed.

Or rather, I tried to—until red text suddenly flashed in my vision.

[System entering sleep mode due to accumulated overload. Filter functions limited. New commands cannot be executed.]

What?! Now?! It was my first solo outing, and my only guide just… shut down?

Rustle.

A leaf crunched beneath my foot, but no one seemed to hear. Hidden among the manicured hedges, I exhaled slowly.

No one had noticed. Good.

I scanned my surroundings, then vaulted over the terrace railing to the first floor. Using a carved wall ornament as leverage, I climbed up to the second-floor balcony.

Normally, that kind of maneuver would’ve been easy. In Rue’s body, though, it was hell. My muscles screamed as I finally hauled myself up and caught my breath.

Damn it. A hundred pull-ups every day starting tomorrow.

With that promise, I turned the terrace handle and slipped quietly into the dark room beyond.