CHAPTER 05……………………………………
I’m not certain.
It’s just a deduction.
‘Ah, if I had known I’d possess Ariana, I would’ve read Tyrant Solo even more thoroughly…’
I sighed lightly.
Even keeping my eyes open was a struggle, so I closed them again.
Meanwhile, the passersby drifted away.
‘Laollette’s murder was described in the story as a perfect crime—no evidence at all.’
In the original, it was the third son, Hamillax, who ultimately became the next head of the Berkshire family.
That was because Laollette was meticulous and capable.
Aunt Laollette was not an enemy I could easily deal with, having no resources of my own.
Since this was the villainess’s story, not the heroine’s, I hadn’t read the Berkshire Duke family’s details carefully.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never even seen Adrian.’
Yet I naturally regarded him as my father.
At that moment, a notification window popped up one after another.
Congratulations, Reader! You and Ariana are now fully synchronized in mind and body! You’ve met the secret quest [Possession and Inner Synchronization] success conditions.
As a reward, the reader-exclusive skill [Excerpt Reading] has been created.
‘…A secret quest too? I didn’t even know it existed. I’m glad I succeeded… but what is this Excerpt Reading skill?’
Will it let me read the original?
Player level has increased!
As a level-up reward, the “status ailment” penalty is temporarily lifted.
Finally, my previously heavy body felt lighter.
My mind cleared.
“Ah…”
Earlier, I didn’t even have the strength to speak, but now my voice came out fine.
New Quest Arrived!
Reader, you’ve touched money but still have zero assets! This time, touch money ten times and accumulate assets!
‘Another money-related quest…’
Quest Success Conditions: Touch money ten times and increase assets above 0
Quest Failure: Death
Time Limit: 72 hours
I wasn’t as panicked as the first time I got a quest.
That wasn’t the real problem.
Right now, I was starving to death.
“Excerpt Reading.”
Excerpt Reading skill activated!
Loading…
〈I monopolize the tyrants alone〉: Ownership of all volumes of your paper books confirmed.
All chapters available for reading.
‘Wait, does Excerpt Reading only work on books I officially purchased? Good thing I bought them all.’
I’d only splurged on the merchandise because I was obsessed.
Five paper books appeared in midair.
The familiar covers of Tyrant Solo welcomed me.
Reader is on the verge of starvation. Probability of death within 2 hours: 95%.
Searching for an appropriate scene for survival.
Excerpt Reading the original description of the Perez character.
Use the information from Excerpt Reading to modify Perez’s status window.
Pages of Volume 3 flipped rapidly until they stopped at a specific section.
I reached for the book just in case, but couldn’t touch it.
I curled my fingertips and slowly began to read the opened pages.
Perez’s body stopped aging at 8 years old.
As a demigod of evil, his growth would remain fixed until he turned 666.
He ruled the continent as a true mastermind from the age of 131.
‘Power, wealth, honor… all trivial.’
The Battenberg family had become the continent’s bank itself, able to print money at will.
Perez couldn’t even remember when boredom began to seep into his life.
For as long as he could remember, if he needed money, he printed it; if he wanted power, he sent a Battenberg signature to any influential person he pleased.
The name Battenberg alone was enough to instill fear in any powerful person.
Controlling the money supply meant he could dictate currency value.
Want a recession? First, lower interest rates and flood the market with money, then sharply raise rates and shrink the supply.
People’s lives would collapse effortlessly.
Now, financial power surpassed both military and political might.
Everything in the world was in Perez’s grasp.
‘Now it’s tedious. Even being adored by subjects is tiresome.’
He sought a quiet life.
The reason he hid his identity so thoroughly was simple: he didn’t want anyone interfering.
He hadn’t dreamed of anything in a long time.
He had never been in love and often felt profound alienation from the world.
There was no one like him.
Even Perez, who embraced solitary boredom, felt alive only at certain moments:
when witnessing others burning with the will to live.
He wanted to understand the source of that sparkle in those who persisted despite hardship.
Such brilliance was the purity of life he had lost over centuries.
Excerpt Reading skill has ended.
The Tyrant Solo paper books disappeared from midair.
‘Hmm… to summarize this long psyche in one line…’
…He’s lonely because he’s too exceptional.
Arrogant, but understandable for Perez.
I couldn’t fully relate to the boredom of having everything, but I tried to see it from his perspective.
“Modify status window.”
I was so weak that even saying it took all my breath.
Still, I forced myself to focus.
I had to do what I could.
Each character’s status window can only be modified once. Revisions are permanently impossible. Do you wish to proceed?
“Yes.”
Status window modification available.
I tensed briefly, worried it might not work like with Chloe.
Presumably, only the five male leads of Tyrant Solo could have their status windows modified.
Player trait [Modify Status Window] activated.
Which attribute would you like to modify?
“Emotional state toward the player.”
Modifications incompatible with character personality may be rejected. Please specify changes.
“I want to help.”
Rejected. Character alignment incompatible.
I was flustered.
Even a simple desire to help was rejected for not matching the character’s personality?
I tried another.
“…Extreme sympathy?”
Rejected.
“Strongly altruistic?”
Rejected.
“Want to protect?”
Rejected.
“Like family?”
Rejected.
“Adore?”
Rejected.
All were rejected.
Could it be… I had to modify it in a way befitting a romance-fantasy male lead?
“Love?”
Rejected.
Of course—Perez had never experienced true love.
Still…
“Obsession?”
Rejected.
I knew it wouldn’t work, but it felt strange.
Perez, as described in the original, was someone distant from equality in relationships.
A man who could see others as objects.
Then perhaps…
“Possessiveness.”
…Modified.
What?
It worked?
Wait…
The degree of possessiveness is now leveled according to character alignment.
Perez’s current emotional state toward the player is [Possessiveness Lv.1].
‘This feels ominous.’
I muttered blankly.
It felt like I’d just pressed a nuclear launch button…
“Possessiveness, sure, but leveling it up? No, forget it. I’m about to starve—if I even get a piece of bread, I’ll be happy.”
He wouldn’t let the one he felt possessiveness toward die.
Though the status window said he wouldn’t remember me in short-term memory…
I hoped that even my desperate begging for 1 gold would somehow awaken him subconsciously to help.
Ding.
Name: Perez de Battenberg [Character] Lv.9999+
Age: 665
Title: Mastermind
Emotional State Toward Player: Possessiveness Lv.1
Assets: Unmeasurable
Trait: Demigod of Evil
Status window modified. Revisions are permanently impossible.
