What will happen if they find out that I am not the prince?
Will they kill me if they do?
The two questions placed an enormous mountain of pressure on Rick's shoulders. Although he knew very little about how this world's society worked, he felt that if this truth were to get out, it might bring him more trouble than anything.
I could see a scheming opportunist in the royal court use this as an excuse to take power.
"The prince has been possessed! He has no right to the crown!"
And then they slice off my head off to prevent others from "getting possessed".
But then, what happens after?
What happens if I die a second time?
The discovery of the existence of transmigration brought in unknown variable into the mix that Rick could not account for. Although he knew it exists, he didn't fully understand how it worked, or how rare it actually is. To do that, he'd have to do some tests, which as best is rather risky.
There are two ways it could go.
Either I die for real, and everything goes to oblivion.
Or I could transmigrate into another body.
Although this means I could survive, I don't think I'll get stuffed into the body of a prince next time.
Chances are, it will be much worse.
I could be a slave or a serf, forced to work for the rest of time till I collapse from exhaustion.
And that is not a future I want for myself.
Seeing the dire situation he found himself in, Rick took the initiative to quickly calm his mind, by taking in deep breaths and affirming that everything was going to be alright. He needs to formulate a plan, to come up with a way to survive this situation.
All I have to do is act like John, and they shouldn't figure me out!
I mean, the idea is already pretty ludicrous in of itself.
And since the knight had left to get the others, I should have some time to practice before they get here.
With his mind now at ease, Rick starts skimming through John's memories, hoping to get an idea of who the prince was, what he did, and he had gone though these past few days. However, upon trying to conduct this critical research, he finds that he is unable to access many of these memories.
What is this?
Does his mind have a security lock in place?
I can sense he knows more, but I can't access these memories.
But why, and how?
I am in his brain; I should be able to look at them!
Puzzled, but unable to do anything about it, Rick moves on and tries to practice his speech instead. Id he could at least talk, he might be able to lie and explain that his memory is a little fuzzy. From the Knight's reaction, Rick deduced that the prince had suffered some fatal injury or sickness, and thus would make things a lot more believable.
If I am able to understand what they guy was saying, I should be able to talk in their language.
I just need to figure out how.
I guess I can start by repeating what he said, then move on to some words of my own.
Try to stimulate that part of the brain.
With a plan set, Rick takes a deep breath and opens his mouth. He repeats the first two phrases the knight had spoken out, doing so a couple of times. He does so elegantly, as if his tongue were already used to the language. Once he is done repeating those words, Rick tries to speak, to answer those questions as if he knew he could talk. Rick imagines the knight picking him up, asking him if he was alright.
"Yes. I... am... alright," Rick mutters in the language, albert rather slowly. It took a bit of time to find the words, but he manages to pull it off. He tries again with his other phrase, this time using only words the man didn't use.
"Be.. quick.." Rick mutters, this time a little faster.
"Thank. you. for. helping. me. up. I will be waiting for them," Rick mutters another phrase, this time with much less effort and much more fluency. he repeats this a few more times, till his speech is as smooth as a native speaker.
Soon afterwards, the healers the Knight promised to bring back arrive at Prince John's room. There were all very burly men, dressed in rather elegant white robes with yellow accents. They surround Rick as he laid there on the bed, with each man taking time to inspect his every limb.
"You highness, I heard from the knight that he found you on the floor. Were you trying to walk?" the healer beside his leg inquires. Rick nods as he answers the physician's question.
"Yes, I was. My legs felt a little weak, and I thought that walking would help."
"And you fell in the process?"
"A little slip, but it was alright. The knight opened the door right after," Rick elaborates.
"Do you feel any pain, anywhere?" another healer asks, this time the one in charge of his right arm.
"No, I don't. I feel normal. No pain," Rick shook his head as he answered that question. The healers then proceeded to talk with themselves, passing along little details they found on his body. Once they deemed nothing was there to be found, they all got up and left the room.
Soon after however, three of them returns. One holds a silver tray on his hand. On top the tray, Rick spotted small glass vile, and a strange dagger with a concaved blade next to it. Two healers grab his arm and hold it in place, while the other took the blade and inspected it's razor edge.
Suspecting what was going to go down, Rick wanted to do nothing more but object. However, given how they might perceive that as weird, as strange as a man refusing a perfectly safe vaccine, Rick chose to do the next best thing.
"Is that blade clean? I do not wish for my skin to be pierced by a dirty dagger."
"Don't worry, your highness. This blade is very clean. We cannot have any impurities for the test," the healer replied.
Test?
What does he mean by test?
What is he going to test for?
And how?
As the questions ran across his mind, the healer brings the razor edge to his delicate white skin. The pointy end digs itself into his arm, letting the blood seep up and collect in the space between each side of the blade's edge.
After the healer had collected enough blood, he pulls the weapon back and pours the red liquid into the glass vial he had brought alongside. While the sealed the glass vial shut with a metal cap, Rick eyed the little cut they made to his new body.
That's going to leave a mark.
But then, the healer presses his palm on the wound before muttering strange words he could not comprehend. His hand then proceeded to glow a yellow hue, making Rick's eyes open wide in surprise.
When the yellow glow dissipates, the healer lifts his palm and reveals the cut had been sealed. The blood has been wiped away, and the skin felt as it were intact. Rick gritted his teeth to prevent his jaw from dropping to the floor. He had just witness a miracle done before his eyes, one that broke that defied his scientific knowledge in every conceivable way.
What the fuck was that?
Did my wound just heal?
How did they do that?
How is that possible?
His eyes move to examine the healer's face. He and the others seemed pretty unamused by this miracle, as if it were as mundane as anything in life. This one detail allowed Rick to deduce that this strange phenomena that occurred before him was a somewhat common thing in this world.
"Are you sure you are feeling alright, your highness?" the healer inquires, breaking Rick's train of thought.
"... Yes. I am," he replies, keeping his responses short.
"Well, in that case, I guess you can speak to the royal advisor. He is waiting outside. He has something to tell you," the healer responds before leaving the room.
Just after the healers went, a new figure enters the room. He had curly green hair with long and pointy ears, with the only normal thing being his matching green eyes. Though looked like any ordinary man, Rick felt that he was anything but human.
"I heard from the healers that you were willing to talk," the man starts, his voice low in pitch. "Do you remember anything from the attack, your highness?" he asks. Rick, who didn't know what he was talking about, shook his head.
"Not much, I am afraid. The past few days been a little... fuzzy," Rick excused himself. The man nods and accepts.
"I understand. From what I have been told, it was a pretty brutal one. You were lucky to make it out alive, your highness," the strange man informs Rick. "But unfortunately, eh..." the advisor pauses, as if the words couldn't come out of his mouth.
"But what?" Rick speaks, permitting him to speak. The advisor took in a deep breath, and speaks up again.
"Well, your highness, I think you should start getting used to being referred to as "Your Majesty" instead."