Marquis of Marron

 

 

1. 𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, “𝑷𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏!”

 

I fell into the black water under the canyon.

 

The impact of the fall left me disoriented. The cage shattered and hit my whole body. I had no time to hold my breath, and the river water contaminated with dark energy quickly seeped into my lungs.

 

Even in that short moment, I was fed up of my helplessness. The current was too fast, and I didn’t know how to swim. If I knew this would happen, I would have learned survival swimming.

 

I heard drowning is so painful; is this how I’m going to die? If I die and wake up again, will I be home or perhaps in another novel?

 

I don’t mind being a villain, but I wish it was a generous novel where all is forgiven as long as you pretend to be remorseful.

 

Please.

 

As I was struggling, something was caught in my hand.

 

Tree roots were sticking to the river bed. The water was flowing fast, so I instinctively held it with all my strength.

 

I exerted all the strength I had gained since being born from my mother’s womb. I held on to it until my palms scratched and chafed and were covered in blood, as if my life depended on it.

 

And then I cried out in anger.

 

Hey, Hailey!

 

How on earth did you survive here? If you give me your body, give me your power too! Even if you can’t beat the demons like everyone else, it’s not fair to let me die in vain like this!

 

I’m a transmigrator!

 

Suddenly, my vision cleared.

 

The black water was becoming transparent.

 

The dark energy that had turned the water black swirled in circles and seeped into my body. It was real. I was consuming dark energy. It happened very fast.

 

……?

 

It was a mysterious sight. I didn’t think it was horrible or gross.

 

It was strange. I thought Hailey was permanently deprived of her mana, and that her body was damaged so that she could never use magic again.

 

Is it because dark energy is different from mana?

 

As time passed, the whirlpool grew larger, and the speed at which my body absorbed dark energy increased. The water around me became transparent and then blackened again as it flowed

 

The roots of the tree I was gripping changed as well: the charred trunk instantly returned to its natural woody color, and like pulling out weeds from the riverbed, it was plucked out.

 

Then it started to swim.

 

Huh? Why is the tree swimming?

 

Upon closer inspection, it had limbs. It had a face and a mouth.

 

‘……!’

 

It even spoke.

 

I couldn’t understand what it was saying because I was in the water, but it was really talking. It screamed and reached out to grab my hand.

 

Grabbed my hand?

 

I grabbed the tree-root’s hand out of the water. It pulled me hard. The sturdy cage was indeed half-broken, and I could feel my body slipping through the gap.

 

Just like that, I was lifted out of the water.

 

“Splash!”

 

Dead trees were grotesquely entangled along the riverbank. I wedged myself between them and kept spitting up water. It was painful. Water seemed to be coming out of my nose, ears, and eyes.

 

Phew, I survived..

 

I almost drowned. It was too terrifying.

 

Among the many characters in the novel, it was scary to become Hailey. I almost died in less than a day.

 

But there was a kid next to me who was more traumatized than I was.

 

“It hurts! It hurts! I thought I was going to die! How could you pull someone’s hair so ignorantly? Huh! I thought my head was going to be pulled out.”

 

The kid was very talkative.

 

“But how did I live? How did you do it? Who are you? How did you purify me? How am I alive? Yes?”

 

Very talkative.

 

“How much time has passed? What year is it now? You’re a human, right? Have you finally come to purify this place? Can my kind of people live now?”

 

Only after I’d thrown up all the water I’d drunk and my stomach acids did I manage to lay down properly, leaning against a dead tree root.

 

Then I spoke to him.

 

“I’m Hailey.”

 

“I’m Dryad.”

 

“And I don’t know anything.”

 

“What?”

 

Dryad put his face over me lying down. He had a small, round face, skin like a swamp, and hair the color of twisted vines.

 

“You purified me.”

 

“Did I?”

 

“I was dying in the contaminated land…. When I woke up, you were holding me and purifying me, and that’s why I rushed to get you out.”

 

Oh, I see.

 

“So I’m your savior then?”

 

“What?”

 

“Take me to Marron Castle.”

 

I said that and passed out.

 

It wasn’t long before I came to my senses. I thought Dryad was being loyal by staying with me instead of abandoning me, but I was wrong.

 

He said he couldn’t leave my side, otherwise he’d be contaminated again and die.

 

“So be it.”

 

At first, I couldn’t believe I’d done the “purification,” but when I saw that the trees had come to life right where I’d been lying down, I had to admit it.

 

A body that sucks dark energy after touching it.

 

Hailey, you’re crazy.

 

I knew it. No possessed person in the world has no powers! I knew you’d have something special, something awesome, something amazing!

 

“Marron Castle is half a day’s travel from here. If we follow the waterway, we’ll find a black lake. At the top of the hill there’s a big castle…”

 

“Let’s go.”

 

We have to be quick, the sun will set soon. There was no way I was going to spend the night hanging on to the roots of a tree in this dreary place. At the very least, I should sleep where there is a roof.

 

Now that I discovered I have the ability to absorb and purify the dark energy contamination, all I needed was a safe place to hide and live.

 

I think Marron Castle is the place.

 

Dryad asked.

 

“But why did you fall from up there?”

 

“People threw me.”

 

“What? Gosh, those bad….”

 

“I’ve done some bad things. I was supposed to be executed, but they threw me here instead.”

 

“Ohmy….”

 

So I have to live in hiding. Going outside means a death sentence. As a possessor, my life motto is to live thin and long.

 

I don’t want to be hanged or burned at the stake. I don’t want to be imprisoned, I don’t want to be chased, I don’t want to be on the run. It wouldn’t be pleasant to be blamed for crimes I didn’t commit.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Let’s go to Marron Castle. Let’s go live in an empty castle in the contaminated area, just as they wanted for Hailey. I don’t have to be rich. It’s okay to be lonely. What matters is that I don’t die.

 

Let’s live an empty life in Marron Castle.

 

The world will be saved by the main characters, and I’ll be in the body of a villain the world hates, so I’d better isolate myself for everyone’s sake.

 

“You know what? I’m going to touch a few things on the way and see if it gets purified. Isn’t it good to purify something?”

 

“How can a human being be so clueless? What are you going to do if you run out of energy? We’ll go to Marron Castle, secure a place to live, and purify from there.”

 

“You’re smart.”

 

“You’re stupid…”

 

“You don’t want me to purify?”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Dryad apologized in a cursory way, so I taught him the proper way of apologizing.

 

We had this and that conversation on the way. It was nice to have a tree fairy with me that I could talk to. He looks like a bellflower. He’s so cute.

 

That day, we walked exactly half a day to reach our destination.

 

An old castle stood tall, shrouded in black mist.

 

It was Marron Castle..

 

The dark energy inside the castle walls was so pure, incomparable to the contaminated canyon. Dryad was afraid to breathe inside. He buried his face in my back and clung to me, barely able to walk.

 

I was the only one unaffected by dark energy.

 

“Wow….”

 

“Why, what’s wrong?”

 

“The castle is huge.”

 

After opening the half-broken castle gate and entering, there was an incredibly vast hall and numerous rooms. I started exploring every nook and cranny.

 

“Wow.”

 

“What is it again?”

 

“There are a lot of rooms.”

 

It was so big, and there were so many rooms that I couldn’t decide where to set up our base. Dryad hit the back of my head and burst into a fit of rage.

 

“We shouldn’t have chosen this place to live in the first place! What’s the point of having a roof? The air is so filthy!”

 

“Hold on. Where should we start?”

 

“Anywhere is fine, just stop wandering around and please purify quickly, okay?”

 

“No, listen. You know how games start with a village, and if you want to eat, you start in the kitchen, and if you want to sleep, you start in the bed.”

 

“I’m dying!”

 

“Don’t die! Purify!”

 

This is what happens when you lose your temper.

 

That day, I purified the most useless treasure trove in the vast castle.

 

That was our beginning.