At some point, not long after I fell into the Demon World.
“No matter how much of a possessor you are, aren’t you a bit too indifferent toward your family?”
“I don’t think the Archduke of Hell should be the one to say that.”
Changyeom and I had a bit of a spat once.
“Still, you’ve become Regif, so don’t you feel some moral responsibility toward those aspects?”
“I didn’t exactly choose to become Regif, did I?”
At that time, I was in a very toxic state.
People often called me ‘toxic’, or prickly, or just plain annoying.
“Not only did I lose 200 billion in cash, but I ended up in a different world, not the one I originally lived in, and on top of that, I’ve become a mid-boss who kidnaps heroines. How do you think that feels?”
“Aha, so you were hiding those feelings all along?”
I could vent to Changyeom.
Like it or not, she had taken everything from me and understood my background.
“Sure. It’s frustrating enough just being possessed, but on top of that, if the family I got possessed into is Habs, it’s even worse. Especially when that family is on the verge of causing the end of the world.”
“Someone should’ve thought a bit more about me being at the center of it.”
At the time, I didn’t bother to mention it, but…
“What can I do about a family whose motto is basically ‘Habs or death!’?”
The Habsderk family was one where siblings raised each other with a yandere-like obsession.
“If I had taken an interest in anyone other than Seia, Seia would’ve become the [Habs Apocalypse].”
The Apocalypse of Habs.
Due to the Goddess, Seia Habsderk becomes an Angel, and her angelic name unofficially became [Incestiel], carrying a blatantly apocalyptic intent for humanity’s destruction.
It was a complicated, twisted relationship that was difficult to even mention in normal situations.
A new meaning of domestic harmony emerged, where blood relatives couldn’t even dare to reach out to others, leading to a closed society.
And ultimately, humanity would perish, riddled with genetic diseases.
While mixing different genetic traits leads to human progress, interbreeding within the same bloodline was already something history had proven harmful, with the Habsburg family making significant contributions to humanity in that regard.
“The Habsderks didn’t see me as family. Even when I showed the slightest nuance that I didn’t see Seia that way.”
“Well, I’ll give you that. At first, I tried to convince you, but you were so stubborn that I had to think of another way.”
Despite talking about family responsibility, even Changyeom slowly accepted the oddness of the Habsderk family the more we discussed it.
“If we had to point fingers, it’s the game company… no, it’s Rattatosk that’s the true culprit, for placing such a curse, right?”
“If we can’t blame the game company, we have no choice but to blame that cursed squirrel. Even though it’s already dead.”
“I see. So, what will you do if you encounter them when you return to the surface?”
Changyeom was probably asking because she was curious about such matters.
“Thanks to you, the definite angel candidate, Seia Habsderk, has gone under Yurha Silverstar. Because you’ve ingrained a sense of debt in Yurha, she won’t abandon Seia, at least.”
“Right. I hope so. Seia’s talents would be helpful to Yurha anyway, and I’ve also tied her to Esta in the middle as an insurance policy.”
“So, is that the minimal consideration you could offer as her brother?”
“To some extent.”
Even if the Habsderk family disappeared for Seia, I arranged for the 7-year-old child not to grow up in a harsh environment.
First, Yurha.
Second, Esta.
And if there was a final piece of insurance—
“Ludvecia.”
“Your mother?”
“My mother’s name isn’t Ludvecia.”
“Oh, okay, got it.”
Regif’s mother, Ludvecia.
Though Rattatosk had killed his father, his mother Ludvecia had survived.
“With no male members left, the Habsderk family ends here. There’s no more imprisoning relatives or preventing them from moving on to others.”
“How was it for you, Regif, to enter the Academy?”
“If it were Regif, he wouldn’t have even entered the Academy.”
I raised a finger.
“My father was dead, and there was only one male in the Habsderk family.”
“Ah.”
“If Regif’s father were alive, perhaps another male could have gone to the Academy for some ‘social experience’. But with only one male alive, Ludvecia and Seia would’ve locked Regif up at home until he became an adult. Until ‘that day’ came.”
“…Until Seia became an adult?”
“No, I just told you. Until Regif became an adult.”
“Oh.”
That day was the first time Changyeom showed outright disgust.
“So, you’re saying your mother would’ve… done that to you, as Regif?”
“I told you, the Habsderk family is strange.”
“Oh, uh, uh-huh.”
“No matter how I think about it, escaping was the right answer.”
At least, that’s how I see it.
“Hmm… got it. I guess family issues are better left untouched.”
Changyeom even took a step back at that point.
“So, if that’s the case.”
But Changyeom was still curious.
“If you go back to the surface and meet them as women who aren’t part of Habsderk, what will you do? Especially with Seia?”
“Well.”
At the time, I didn’t think about it seriously.
“We’ll find out when we meet. If we’re still alive by then.”
Regif and Seia’s mother, Ludvecia, didn’t exist in the original timeline.
“I might meet her when I return to the surface, but by then, she should be free from the shackles of the Habsderk curse, right?”
Rattatosk’s curse.
Only Habs.
“She’s a stunning beauty and an S-rank mage, so would people around her just leave her alone?”
* * *
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ludvecia, the first Marchioness of the Ludvecia Marquisate.”
“…”
“I heard about you from Miss Esta. You also want to turn the name Phoenix into a surname and pass it down to your descendants, don’t you? Hehehe.”
“Well…”
I cautiously raised my hand to the woman dressed entirely in black mourning attire sitting in front of me—Regif’s mother, Ludvecia.
“So, you were previously…?”
“Countess Ludvecia Habsderk… that was. Ten years ago.”
Ludvecia lifted her black lace gloves and sipped her tea. I glanced at her left ring finger, but there was no sign of any ring.
“Now, I’m a widow marquis raising a daughter.”
“It’s hard to believe you’re a widow. Or that you even have a daughter.”
I took a sip of tea to wet my throat.
“Your daughter… Is she about five years old now?”
“Oh my, Miss Esta, it seems this student doesn’t know anything about me, does he?”
“It seems so. I thought he knew more than he does.”
Esta tilted her head at me, as if I were someone who usually functioned fine but was suddenly malfunctioning.
“…My apologies. Is she, perhaps, your adopted daughter?”
“Oh, I get it now. Hahaha~”
Ludvecia leaned forward, stretching out her hand toward me.
“That’s my seat right here~”
Three fingers.
“…Are you thirty years old?”
“Ahahaha!”
Ludvecia burst into laughter, and Esta widened her eyes momentarily before letting out a small giggle.
“Phoenix, Marchioness Ludvecia is—”
“Oh my, Miss Esta?”
“Ahh.”
“Hehehe. You’re an amusing student. Let me reintroduce myself. I’m Marchioness Ludvecia, and I’m thirty-eight years old this year.”
“Oh my.”
I was genuinely surprised.
“You certainly don’t look it.”
She had aged ten more years but somehow looked even younger than she did ten years ago.
“Maybe I should say it’s thanks to the blessing of mana. Take note, Student Phoenix —those who reach a certain level of mastery… sometimes experience their bodies aging in reverse.”
I knew.
In-game, there was a system known as “Reverse Aging” or “Reincarnation”, where characters above level 96 could reset to level 1 while receiving a youthfulness boost.
It’s like raising them again with the growth bonus of a younger body.
“Thanks to that, I’m now back to my maiden years~. This is exactly how I looked before having my first child. Well, except for the hair color and a few other things. Hehehe.”
“Is that so.”
“Hmm.”
Esta raised an eyebrow as she looked at me.
“It seems dealing with someone like Marchioness Ludvecia is proving to be quite troublesome for you.”
She cast a subtle glance at my pants, then turned her head away with a slight look of surprise.
“Oh my, could it be that this older woman is your type~?”
“I’ll hold my tongue.”
I was doing my best to control the mana flowing downward, refining it carefully, but one wrong move, and I could end up in trouble.
– Be careful. Your soul is yours, but at some point, it inhabited Regif Habsderk’s body.
The Habsderk curse.
– Rattatosk laid a curse at the last moment. How that curse will manifest remains unknown, but the curse of an entity always leaves some malice behind in this world.
The Curse of Habs.
“If I had met ‘Madam’ 20 years ago, I might have tried my luck before another man could steal you away.”
“Oh my, that’s quite flattering! What about now? Is it because I have a child that you’re hesitant? Or do you prefer younger girls? Or perhaps…”
Ludvecia pointed at Esta with her crescent-shaped eyes.
“So you like women who can ride unicorns?”
“Pfft!?”
Esta tried to sip her tea but ended up spitting it out.
“If that’s truly the case, well, that’s unfortunate. I don’t know why, but… after ten years, it feels like I’ve finally found a good man.”
“M-Marchioness.”
“I mean it. In ten years, I haven’t felt drawn to any man, but just by looking at you, it feels like my soul is being pulled in your direction. It’s like… feeling like a young girl again.”
This woman was going out of control.
“Phoenix?”
And not just any kind of out of control—
“I mentioned that I have a daughter, right? Please take care of her as a fellow ‘special admission student.'”
“…What?”
“Seia ‘Ludvecia’. I pushed her through as a special admission this year. She’s … 17.”
“…?”
“Oh my! She’s the same age as you, Phoenix! What a coincidence!”
“…”
She’s using her daughter as bait to catch me.
‘So she’s manipulating things, changing her to Seia Ludvecia (17 years old) instead of Seia Habsderk.’
Even going so far as to alter her daughter’s name and age.
“Excuse me for asking, but what exactly do you find so appealing about me?”
“I get the feeling that if my son had survived and returned, he would look exactly like you, Phoenix.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’ve agreed to help with the special class’s training exercises, so…”
Ludvecia leaned in toward me, resting her chin on one hand and tilting her head to the side.
“May I treat you like my son?”
(TLN: So, the name ‘Seia’ also gets changed, but the translation remains the same…Basically imagine that before it was Seiya and now it’s Seia. (Smth like that))
