The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 184: The Allens’ Mansion

In a massive bedroom, empty save for all the furniture, on the edge of the king-size bed, sat Lane, his knee moving up and down in a quick, short, nervous way. He was staring blankly at the wall, his face expressionless, quite unlike his chaotic mind.

It’s been HOURS. Hours since the dungeon break started. Hours since ’Oscar’ fainted. Hours since he parted with Damien. Since his father caught him, and since his cousins dragged him to the Allen family’s mansion...

Oscar was still alive. The connection between them remained, so Lane could tell that much without a doubt. But, that was about all he knew. Where was he, what was he doing, how was Damien...

Did Oscar wake up already?

Lane had no idea.

How long it took for someone to wake up after Lane’s possession depended on individual constitution. Not on the rank, or age, weight, or anything that could be easily measured, but rather on something Ava referred to as ’mental resilience’. It was impossible to predict, unless Lane tested it first. And he didn’t with Oscar, thus, he had absolutely no clue. So was the man already awake?

...It’s been several hours, so chances were, he was. Even if his mental resilience was weak, there was still plenty of time for him to recover consciousness.

And if so, he was probably talking weird. Experiencing ’amnesia’. Good thing was, in his disoriented state, he probably hadn’t noticed anything... off about his condition yet.

But if Damien was around to hear what he said?

Ugh.

With how sharp the man was, he would immediately connect the dots. If Lane were to return now, it was bound to raise some questions. Questions Lane had no half-believable excuses for.

And besides, it’s not like he could even switch right now. He was alone, in his old bedroom, with a large comfortable bed to leave his body on, so yes, technically he could.

Except that he couldn’t. He was in the ALLENS’ MANSION. He didn’t feel comfortable sleeping here, when he could still be woken up by the sound of the door opening, let alone leave his body in a comatose-like state while his consciousness was somewhere else! If anyone were to find his body then, what was he supposed to say?

Which was why he was hesitant to switch immediately upon his arrival. And now, it was probably too late. No, it was most certainly too late.

Possessing a new person wasn’t an option either. Even if Lane were to pick a new target, after he dealt with the Allens and was finally released again, he couldn’t just walk up to Damien and say, ’Hey, I’m back!’, cause how could he possibly explain himself? He couldn’t, that’s that!

So what? Give up, and let the first proper romantic relationship in his thirty-year-long life end like that?

Lane bit on his lip, until he felt a metallic taste of blood spreading in his mouth.

No, he didn’t like that...

But there was no other way, was it?

Well, technically there was still that thing called ’honesty’. Approach Damien, and admit to everything. That he was alive, that ’Lane Allen’ was his true identity, and he had the ability to possess other people’s bodies - well, he already said that part, but he would have to explain the true version of his ability this time. Then hope that something were to malfunction in Damien’s brain, and he would still accept Lane, despite all his... Well, crimes, to put it bluntly. That he would still choose to be with Lane, and that he would keep his secret...

"Ugh," Lane let out a low groan, burying his face in his hands.

That was precisely why he had always avoided any attachments! Now, just because he was worried about losing the man he kind of... liked a little too much, he was ready to risk it all! Risk his comfort and freedom. Risk everything falling apart, so that all of these years he had spent hiding would be in vain!

All that time he spent living as ’other people’... Sure, he had learned to enjoy it, but that wasn’t the life he truly wanted for himself. It was always only meant to be temporary. Until he achieved his goals. After which, he could just live a fun life as himself. That had always been the plan. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

But it wasn’t the time for it yet! There were several problems with giving up on possessions now, but the biggest was the Allens. And it wasn’t a problem he could easily solve. If he could, then he would already have!

Not to mention, there was no guarantee Damien would even want him after all of that. Lane had hope he would... But it was only hope.

And it wasn’t as if he could even approach Damien now. He would have to get out of the mansion first, and shake away anyone tailing him... Which he couldn’t, once again, because it would reveal his abilities!

All of a sudden, knocking on the door snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Come in," he muttered, not in the mood to bother to open the door himself.

The handle moved down, and the door slowly opened, revealing Nyla. "Um, Lane?" she said in a small voice, all fidgety, her eyes wandering around, falling on Lane only to dodge to the side again. "Father and mother want to talk to you... now..."

"’Kay," Lane muttered, but showed no signs of planning to move.

They stood there - well, Nyla stood, cause Lane was still sitting on the edge of the bed - in silence for a good while, until Nyla finally asked, with clear hesitation, "Are you... Are you okay?"

"Amazing!" Lane scoffed. "Truly wonderful!"

"Um... Your legs..."

Lane glanced at his legs. His pants looked even worse than before. He hadn’t bothered to change them, despite having a few hours to do so. In fact, he hadn’t even bothered to eat or drink anything, even though the hunger had been gnawing on his stomach ever since he woke up, his body demanding food after his ’hibernation’ or whatever.

But Lane had more pressing issues on his mind, so he forgot about it. Didn’t care.

"They’re just dirty," he finally said. "I’m not injured or anything."

"Oh." Nyla sighed, with something that sounded suspiciously like relief. "Anyway, you must be hungry. Dinner is served now, so come downstairs, okay?"

"Mn, yeah, whatever." With a shrug of his shoulders, Lane finally dragged himself off the bed. He doubted he could swallow much - hungry he might have been, but he still had no appetite - but he needed to show up, at least for that ’talk’. It would be best to get it out of the way as soon as possible. While Lane doubted the whole issue would end with just one evening conversation, they had to start somewhere, right?

So, he followed Nyla down the marble staircase - well, it wasn’t exactly marble, but rather some dungeon equivalent, with an even more elegant and beautiful appearance - to the large dining hall, with a long ebony table and a crystal chandelier - once again, replaced by a new version made with materials of dungeon origins, but still bearing unpleasant resemblance to the one that used to hang there in the past.

Their parents were already there, waiting. Ready (or at least trying to convince himself he was) for war, Lane plopped on his seat without a word.

Let the storm begin.