Ficorpio
Chapter 1
When Adrian Bennett opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the middle of nowhere, dressed in a set of ancient clothes so ragged they were barely recognizable as clothing at all.
“Damn…”
A flood of memories that did not belong to him came rushing in one after another.
Had he crossed into another world? Or had he somehow become someone who shared his name?
This body was also called Adrian Bennett. He was the legitimate son of the Prime Minister and possessed a face of almost impossible beauty. Unfortunately, he had been sickly since childhood and had spent most of his life confined to the family estate, rarely venturing outside.
Even so, word of his beauty had spread far beyond the estate. He was known as the Handsome Young Master and was counted among the Four Young Masters of unparalleled beauty.
Wonderful. One of the Four Young Masters, and chosen for his looks alone. What a bizarre distinction.
Adrian had never met the other three, but the maids and servants around him had mentioned them so often that he knew quite a bit about each of them.
Ethan Sterling was the king’s own uncle, the Duke of Sterling. He held immense power, had killed without mercy, was frighteningly calculating, and was arrogant and utterly ruthless. That was why he was known as the Cold-Hearted Young Master. Ethan was said to have no warmth in his heart at all.
Sebastian Vale was the son of the kingdom’s great military commander. He was a formidable fighter, yet he possessed such a sharp tongue that he could make a person furious enough to die simply by talking. He clearly knew how to fight, but preferred to win with words, earning himself the title of the Silver-Tongued Young Master.
Julian Whitmore, the son of the royal tutor, was elegant, refined, and extraordinarily well-read. He carried himself with an almost otherworldly grace, which had earned him the name of the Gentle-Breeze Young Master.
Those four were the famous Four Young Masters. Their backgrounds, personalities, and reputations were all different. The one thing they had in common was that every last one of them was devastatingly handsome.
Because Adrian had been ill for so many years, his body was thin and fragile. Yet his beauty was so extraordinary that he had become the archetype of the beautiful invalid, the sort of delicate young man who inspired immediate pity and protectiveness.
He was practically a helpless little rabbit. One look at him made people want to conquer him, shelter him, and keep him safe.
Chapter 2
Ethan, on the other hand, had spent his childhood fighting on battlefields. The murderous aura clinging to him made people instinctively want to run. He was the complete picture of a domineering, untouchable ruler. Yet his beauty and commanding presence drew people in despite themselves. Even those who knew approaching him could mean death still found themselves throwing caution aside.
Sebastian had trained in martial arts since childhood. His was the kind of rugged, powerful handsomeness that made people want to step closer and see just how many muscles he had beneath his clothes. A commander’s son should have been upright and incorruptible, but Sebastian had been blessed with a mouth far more dangerous than his sword. In the eyes of the public, he was the very definition of a carefree, irreverent aristocrat.
Julian was every bit the scholar his position suggested. He was steeped in books, elegant in every movement, and carried an almost ethereal air. He was the sort of handsome man people felt they could admire but never touch, as though approaching him would itself be an act of desecration. Naturally, that only made them want to get closer and bask in his presence.
From the memories he had inherited, Adrian learned that the original owner of this body had been born with blocked meridians and had therefore been unable to study martial arts.
But Adrian’s present condition felt less like a congenital weakness and more like the result of severe poisoning. He was not merely carrying poison inherited from birth. Toxins had accumulated in this body for years, sinking deep into the marrow and invading every organ.
The original owner’s mother had died not long after giving birth to him. It clearly had not been a natural death.
How much hatred had the culprit borne toward mother and son to treat them so viciously? Whoever had done it was utterly poisonous themselves.
In the end, the original owner had died at the hands of his stepmother and younger half-brother. His final unfulfilled wish was revenge.
That, at least, was not a problem. Adrian had taken the man’s body. Repaying his enemies on his behalf was only right.
But first, he needed to think about how to stay alive.
With these injuries and this much poison, he could drop dead at any moment. If he did not treat himself soon, he would be finished.
Fine. The first thing to do was get to his feet and find a way to detoxify himself and tend to his wounds.
Chapter 3
The modern Adrian had built a commercial empire that operated on both sides of the law. He had been born into a family of traditional physicians, and he himself had started his career in assassination. His business instincts and combat abilities were exceptional. Diagnosing illness and neutralizing poison were hardly beyond him.
No one knew that someone as powerful as him preferred men. He had died while developing a powerful weapon, killed in the resulting explosion.
Looking back, it had probably not been an accident. The most likely culprit was the person who had shared his bed. Adrian had noticed a few suspicious details, but he had chosen to ignore them. That person had been his lover, after all.
Now it seemed the whole thing had been planned long in advance.
Never mind. Death had ended one life. If he found a way back, he would settle the score. If he could not return, then he would simply live this life well.
For now, his immediate goals were simple: find water, wash himself, and get something to eat.
He looked as though he had been rolled through a muddy field. Even someone without a trace of cleanliness obsession would have found it unbearable.
After that, he needed food and medicinal herbs. He could not do anything without restoring his strength. Herbs for external wounds should not be too difficult to find, and if he happened across anything that could counter poison, so much the better.
He might be able to deal with the weaker toxins first. The poison he had inherited from birth, however, would not be so easy to remove. The ingredients required would all be extraordinarily rare and expensive.
For now, surviving was enough.
Once he had made up his mind, Adrian relied on his wilderness experience to search for food, medicinal herbs, and water. Luck was with him: he found plenty of fruit, along with herbs that could treat external wounds. There were quite a few that might counter poison, too, so he gathered extra. He had no idea how long it would be before he could leave this godforsaken place. Better to have more than he needed when it came time to change his bandages.
After what he estimated was an hour of walking, he finally found a river. Adrian let out a breath of relief. At last, he could rest, eat something, and get a drink.
When he leaned over the water, he caught sight of his reflection—and the face of the body he’d awakened in.
Holy hell.