3. If You Can’t Fight It, Enjoy It
“Could it be some kind of prophetic dream?”
Yino tapped the black book’s cover, thinking carefully.
After much consideration, for this strange yet extremely vivid dream, the words “prophetic dream” seemed the best explanation.
Of course, this was just one guess.
“If it’s a prophetic dream, that outcome… is it because I did something wrong?”
Yino muttered, his face deathly pale.
The painful sensation from earlier still crawled across his skin.
No one could remain completely calm after learning their future might involve being cut into pieces.
“But who could hate me so much to be so cruel?”
Although the shadow in the prophetic dream claimed love, Yino didn’t believe that was love at all.
What kind of love involves cutting the person you love into pieces? Even a psychopathic killer wouldn’t be that extreme!
If you want some perverse play, at least leave the body intact!
“The safest approach would be to find that black shadow…”
Yino quickly confirmed his strategy. With his status as a duke’s son, avoiding such a fate should be simple once he identified the culprit before they acted.
But…
“That seems… impossible.”
Cold sweat dripped from Yino’s forehead.
To find the shadow, he needed sufficient clues.
But the prophetic dream revealed nothing useful. The shadow’s voice and appearance were completely indiscernible, except that it might be female.
Based on just this, guessing the answer was impossible. Yino Campbell had offended too many people. Even the duke’s maids might seek revenge against him for his habitual misdeeds.
“In the end, it’s because you did too many wrong things.”
Yino sighed deeply, very much wanting to personally beat up the original owner of this body.
But that was impossible now, because he was the original owner.
The sins Yino Campbell committed, he—this Yino—must bear.
“No, I must find a solution. It’s just one possibility, but I don’t want to be cut into pieces.”
“Ah, right, the black book!”
Yino finally remembered the culprit that had given him a taste of being cut to pieces.
“Huh?”
Just as Yino was looking for the missing black book, a thought crossed his mind, and the black book reappeared before him.
“Has it… entered my body?”
Yino thought again, and sure enough, the black book transformed into a dim light that entered Yino’s body.
Yino could clearly sense it sitting quietly somewhere in his consciousness.
“How miraculous!”
Yino brightened: “I’m saved?”
With an excited heart, Yino summoned the black book, then pressed his palms together and sincerely chanted:
“Oh black book, black book, whether I can turn things around depends on you, great master.”
“Open!”
Yino shouted loudly, opening the black book.
[Yino shouted loudly, opening the black book]
Yino: ?
After opening it, nothing happened, except for the above text appearing on the first pure white page of the book.
Like a diary, recording Yino’s every move at this moment.
“What the hell? Just this?”
[Yino moved the black book back and forth, but nothing happened]
“No way.”
Yino’s mouth twitched. He looked at the text on the book, raised his hand, and experimentally picked up a nearby mirror.
[Yino picked up the mirror.]
Put it down.
[Yino put down the mirror.]
Look in the mirror.
[Yino looked at himself in the mirror, thinking as always how exceptionally handsome he was.]
“You’re messing with me!”
Yino angrily threw the black book down.
Useless thing, getting my hopes up for nothing.
[Yino began to rage impotently.]
“…”
Yino covered his face, crying without tears, speechless.
“What was I expecting anyway?”
A blonde villain is just a blonde villain.
A cannon fodder is just a cannon fodder.
Did I really think I could become the protagonist with some mysterious book of unknown origin?
Dream on!
“Indeed, this world isn’t friendly to me, a blonde villain, is it?”
The black book, which could show him a glimpse of that tragic future, was probably heaven’s only mercy.
“But couldn’t you be a little more useful? Just a bit more useful, at least let me know if that dream was prophetic or something else!”
Yino shook the black book of unknown origin that somehow felt familiar to him, gritting his teeth.
“Even if I die, I want to die knowing why!”
The black book still showed no change.
[Sigh.]
But just as Yino was about to give up.
He heard an ethereal, faint sigh.
Then on that pure white title page, text suddenly appeared.
Red text.
[Do not change.]
“…”
Yino’s pupils contracted:
“Do not change… what does that mean?”
“Are you warning me not to alter the plot, or I’ll face that fate?”
“But why? That way, won’t my end be miserable?”
[For]
[Destiny]
Text like this appeared, as if an invisible hand had gripped Yino’s heart.
But no matter how many more questions he asked, the black book showed no further response.
It just silently became a plain text repeater.
“So in the end, my ideas were just wishful thinking?”
After being stunned for a long time, Yino finally showed a bitter smile.
“To survive, I must choose to actively walk toward my downfall?”
Before transmigrating, he was just an ordinary worker, with no ambition to defy destiny.
Not to mention in a situation where victory seemed impossible.
He gave in.
He could only give in.
“Actually, thinking carefully, the ending in the original book isn’t that bad.”
At least in the original book, Yino Campbell didn’t lose his life, he was just stripped of his noble status and became a commoner.
“Wait, hold on.”
Thinking about this, Yino suddenly had a flash of insight, finding the key point.
“Come to think of it, why did I become a beggar in the original book?”
It wasn’t mentioned.
But it wasn’t hard to guess.
Yino Campbell, the noble son of a duke, suddenly stripped of his noble status, became a commoner, was expelled from the duke’s family, and because the emperor himself issued the order and sent people to supervise, the duke and duchess couldn’t secretly help him.
For such a pampered young master, arrogant and domineering as he grew up, although the king decreed that his previous mistakes were forgiven and no one could pursue revenge, how could he suddenly survive as a commoner? What survival skills did he have?
None!
Could he support himself independently?
Very difficult!
He didn’t have those abilities!
Perhaps on the second day, unable to bear a life of poverty, he borrowed high-interest loans from criminals.
Then, unable to repay, his limbs were broken, and he finally had no choice but to become a pitiful beggar.
“But I’m different!”
Yino slapped his knee and declared loudly.
Who was Yino?
Not Yino Campbell, that noble waste who only knew how to use his family background to do whatever he wanted.
But a worker warrior who had been through the modern society’s 996, 007 ordeals!
Never mind becoming a commoner, even if he became a rat in the underground sewers, he could live well! He could live very well!
“And most importantly, I can use this to escape the protagonist’s influence and truly live freely!”
Hope reignited in Yino’s eyes.
He had already died inexplicably once in his previous life. In this life, he wanted to cherish his life.
Come to think of it, the so-called noble status had nothing worth lingering over.
“It’s just a privileged class obtained through exploiting the hardworking labor of the people. As a true socialist proletarian warrior with red roots, I can only express disdain!”