Possession

Sophia’s Perspective

When I came to, I found myself stuffed inside a pitch-black box.

I couldn’t see my own hands. All senses were nearly sealed away…

Only a single tiny hole let in a sliver of light, allowing me to peek at the outside world.

And there, I saw “myself.”

“Myself” laughed and chatted with my friends, spoke sweetly with my parents, exchanged pleasantries with the neighbors.

…She was perfectly playing the role of me.

Terror gripped me. I tried to scream, but every sound was swallowed by the black void.

…It didn’t take long, however, for me to accept it.

This vessel brimming with possibilities—perhaps it was better off in someone else’s hands than left to an empty shell like me.

Born special, born beloved, I had never truly understood what love or being special actually meant.

Once something becomes taken for granted, you can no longer grasp its shape…

Even though I was aware of this about myself, I still couldn’t fall in love with anyone.

I kept playing the part of the beloved good girl, yet inside I felt hollow, as if something vital was missing.

No dreams, no goals, no expectations—just instinctively smiling at everyone around me.

I didn’t know why I did it; my body simply moved on its own.

Even when I earned the envy-inducing chance to study at the National Academy, my heart remained unmoved.

Still, to meet everyone’s expectations, I pretended to be touched and enrolled in the preparatory course, cramming knowledge I had no interest in.

…A puppet with no self.

So perhaps giving my body to her would actually be easier for me.

Besides, she was far more passionate about studying than I ever was… She often read late into the night to learn magic.

I could feel her fervor, her hopes for the future.

Then one day, everything changed.

That night, she stepped into the black box garden.

The instant she entered, the entire world blossomed into a beautiful garden.

In that moment, I understood—she was the one who was truly “special.”

“Eh? Who are you…?”

Her eyes held a trace of shock as she looked at me.

I lowered my head and checked my body, only to see a transparent outline.

The perfect embodiment of an “empty shell.”

But she didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she clapped her fist into her palm and laughed.

“Oh—I get it! This is all a dream! Since it’s a rare chance, I’ll treat you like a tree hollow and spill everything!”

From then on, she would visit my world every night and pour out her heart to me.

Unlike me, she had been born into an unhappy family.

Her parents divorced early, her guardian ignored her, and at school she suffered terrible things—living every day in fear.

Despite her misery, no one helped her; instead, she was mocked.

Despairing of reality, she chose to “escape” and came here.

Her wandering soul happened to latch onto this empty shell.

Perhaps that coincidence reignited her hope.

She told me about her grand, naïve plan.

“This world is actually a game! When I was escaping reality, I played this game called «The Ordinary Saintess of Light ~The Corrupted Dew of Love Will Eventually Pierce Despair~»! All the capture targets are so unique and lovable!”

I couldn’t care less about that.

“Let me tell you~ Lord Edwin looks all serious, but deep down he’s still just a little kid~ He’s really super cute~”

Yet just listening to her excitedly recount those clichéd stories filled the emptiness inside me, little by little.

…Could this be what “love” feels like?

“So yeah! Since I’m here, I’m going for the reverse harem ending and making every capture target mine!”

Something fuzzy stirred in my chest.

Her eyes were on me, but her heart was not.

I felt… just a tiny bit dissatisfied.

Even though I could tell she harbored no real romantic feelings for those so-called “capture targets”…

The mere fact that her gaze lingered on anyone else, even for a second…

“It’s really, really hard to get that ending, and I’ll have to endure bullying from that malicious villainess—Katarina Anist…

But I believe I can do it!”

“Hm…?”

Did she just say Anist?

“Yeah~ She’s the villainess in the game!”

I hadn’t interacted with Katarina much, and she was indeed scary, but I never thought she was the type to scheme in the shadows.

…After all, she always attacked head-on.

“But she’s kind of pitiful too… Both her parents were killed by demons, and she was corrupted by her maid…”

The duke isn’t dead, though?

That puzzled me… and at the same time, gave me an opening.

Thank goodness she was such a naïve blabbermouth; she spilled everything she knew about the “plot” without thinking.

That let me realize this world wasn’t exactly the same as the one she knew.

So perhaps I could exploit that gap and make her completely, eternally mine?

I began to plan…

Fortunately, when she woke up, she completely forgot everything that happened in the box garden, only remembering again the next time she entered.

And… perhaps because we had grown close,

I discovered I could seize control of the body while she was unconscious.

Everything was prepared; all I needed was the right moment.

Soon, the perfect opportunity arrived.

Because three certain “actors” kept going off-script, her plans had stalled, and she grew increasingly anxious.

Eventually, she pinpointed the source of the derailment—and the unusual relationship between those two.

She decided to take a risk, set a little trap, and drag everyone back to the roles she knew.

…But that was exactly why she left a fatal opening.

In her haste, she failed to notice the girl whose presence was almost nonexistent.

I knew—my chance had come.

“Why… why does nothing go right…?”

Cradling her head, she sobbed before me.

“It was supposed to be a simple scene where a lost textbook is found in the villainess’s drawer… How did it turn into a destroyed uniform and a vandalized desk!? The former still had room to maneuver!”

I gently stroked her back, comforting her while secretly laughing inside.

“Where did I go wrong…?”

Through the peephole, I could clearly see people gossiping about her on her way back…

“Even the capture targets I’d already won over are leaving me!

Why? Why why why why why!!!!”

She was on the verge of breaking.

…Almost there.

Just a little more, and she would be mine alone…

Forever and ever.