Switch (10)

"I'll only get worse," I stood in front of Rika.

"The pain will never end as long as the medicine keeps flowing in," I revealed as I watched her suffer.

"How?" Charles squeezed out the words in my original body.

"Sometimes dying could be the merciful choice," I lowered my voice with Luke inside the room.

"It could be," she agreed with me.

"Is this what you always think?" Luke had heard our conversation.

"It's the truth," I pointed out how Rika appeared like she was dying.

"It happens so often. Imagine living your entire life like this," I didn't want to recall everything I have been through.

"Do you know how hard Luke tries to keep you alive?" Alex yelled at me.

"Sometimes, you need to let people go," I shrugged.

I was free from that weak vessel now. I liked being inside Charles' body, healthy and able to do whatever I wanted. Meanwhile, he was stuck in the infirmary for the past few days in my place. I wasn't surprised from all the crying and pleading. I never wanted to return to my original body, most times, the unlimited amount of mana in the future wasn't worth it. Charles seemed to think the same, barely conscious.

"As soon as you recover, you will be confined under the mercy of Luke," I whispered into her ear, soft enough that no one else could hear.

"What did you tell him?" Luke clenched his hands into fists.

"Nothing new," I pretended to be ignorant.

"She lives a miserable life," Rika coughed.

"You try being in her place," she dizzily stared at them.

The room went silent from her comment. I nodded my head, knowing it was hard to understand if you never experienced the whole thing. I left the room, the atmosphere being extremely dreary. Rika's condition wasn't improving the entire time, likely from the income of more mana. I knew there would be a price to pay when I asked for more power. Every time she got sick, it seemed like the pain would intensify while the recovery period would be longer from now on.

It was nice to peacefully lay down on my bed while scrolling through all the interesting posts on the school forum. With the anti-mana barrier, all the photos and videos has stopped. I was surprised when there was an outrage from all of Rika's fans, complaining to the school for deleting all the past posts. I stiffened when someone knocked on my door, not waiting for my answer before Luke opened the door.

"Are you planning to be inside his body forever?" He closed the door.

"Why not?" I closed my screen.

"You know he is the heir to his family," Luke sat on the bed, facing me.

"All his responsibilities will fall onto you," he was trying to tell me something.

"You think I won't be able to handle them?" I knew what he was implying.

"His family will wonder where all their education and training they invested into him had disappeared," he tried to point out.

"The same way you had your own education and training as a member of the Roselia family," Luke explained.

"You mean you nagging me all the time? The times you threatened me for not listening to you?" I scoffed.

"His family is much stricter," he was implying he was generous with me.

"I plan to stay," I didn't want to talk to him longer.

"It can't be worse than living as Rika," I could hear the screaming.

"Although it's your choice, our relationship will end here if you decide to continue to stay inside his body," Luke rose to leave.

"I will never willingly become Rika again," I narrowed my eyes.

"Well, you have lost our support," Luke left the room.

I knew he was talking about the Roselia family and his relatives supporting the Lumiere family in politics and business deals. However, I didn't care as long as I possessed a healthy body. Charles' status was another set of shackles in the first district and I knew them the best since I was in similar ones. I was freeing him from the life he lived with high expectations from others. I was a goner once I returned to my body anyways, if it ever happened.

I ended up skipping dinner, not wanting to run into them. Maybe I would go to the dining room in the middle of the night. I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted now. I started to step out of the bed, wanting to order all the food I wanted to eat. But my mind began to waver, swirling and twisting everything in my vision. I wondered what was happening, not used to experiencing all my surroundings being distorted.

"I have granted your wish for a week," A voice echoed inside my head.

By the time my vision cleared, I gasped when I found myself inside the familiar infirmary. I felt no pain, my illness being completely healed. I looked around the room, almost in despair when I returned to my original body. A week wasn't enough, I was going to suffer under Luke once he figured out. I hoped he already ended our relationship together, about to pull out all the machines attached to me while he slept on a chair beside my bed.

With the slight noise, Luke abruptly opened his eyes. I stiffened as he confusedly stared at me, wondering what I was doing.