Jane sat lifelessly in his room, watching the carriage rush away. If Melinda had not became occupied with planning, he suspected she might never have left. In that case, things might end up progressing far faster than he was prepared for.
Despite everything, Jane's attraction had only grown, and his fear in equal volume. No matter how crazy his fiancée was, he was ultimately in no position whatsoever to engage in romantic relationships. The majority of mages in the world were out to get him, and he ended up needing to change bodies every few years because of it. While he was playing it safe this time, a single moment was all it took for him to be found and captured. It was difficult to swear one's life to another when that life was constantly in jeopardy.
[Have you not thought even a bit about why she's so eager to get with you?]
Jane had not, in fact, thought about it. Just as the mind of a woman was foreign to his male self, the mind of a crazy woman was foreign to all of his selves.
'...Hold on, why am I assuming Vanessa wasn't crazy?'
[I know that I'm outmatched in terms of craziness, at least.]
'So, what would she be calling crazy?'
Jane interpreted his thoughts for a moment. The meaning hidden within her words, and what it had to do with him.
'It can't be.'
But there was nothing else it could be. Jane had come full circle, now confronting the very first religion he had ever learned of.
'She's a believer of the First Magician.'
---
Now that he had come to a conclusion, finding evidence was easy. The first piece was his incarnation into his current body. At that time, there may have been a brief moment where his mana was not concealed. If one of the Predios were lucky enough to have been searching at that moment, then they would have noticed. Especially one as crazy as Melinda. Tracing the general location of the burst of mana, they may have suspected his current household as the origin.
'Her attention alone was more significant than that of my capturers... No wonder why Vanessa thinks she's utterly insane.'
As Jane matured through his experiences, he eventually realized that he was entirely removed from the norm of mages. In other words, he was insane. While that was fine for his purposes, it also reinforced his perception of Vanessa's comments. She didn't just call him crazy to mock him. She really, truly believed Jane had a screw loose.
The second piece of evidence was simply Vanessa's claim of Melinda's insanity. For all of their differences, Jane trusted his other self with all his heart. That trust was only strengthened by the fact that she couldn't lie to him.
'Then, are her feelings for me just a reflection of her faith?'
[No, she's just sick.]
Jane wasn't sure if he should have been relieved upon hearing that. Whether his obligation to her was due to a sense of responsibility or affection, he would feel a little betrayed if it was all just an act.
[But isn't that what you've been doing?]
'Shit...'
[She would forgive you for it, too. But that's exactly why you're feeling so guilty.]
He tore his head away from the window, looking at the invitation she had left him.
"This sucks..."
'But it's fun.'
When he thought about her oppressive form of love, an incalculable tenseness pressed against his two hearts. His four lungs sucked in gallons of air, but seeing her face was enough to make him feel out of breath.
[You. I guess the two crazies are a match made in heaven.]
'Wait, no.'
Jane collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest. His two hearts had began beating out of sync, radiating massive pain throughout his arteries. His lungs inflated painfully against his malfunctioning muscles.
"Ghhk...! Fuck..."
He gripped the area around his chest, then crushed it in his hands. The hyper-dense muscle fibers exploded in every direction, easily tearing through his thin skin. Holding what little strands remained, he repeatedly beat his hand against his chest. After doing that for a while, he stopped in his tracks.
'What exactly am I accomplishing here?'
[Barbarian, through and through...]
Jane quickly cast 'Breath' runes all over his body, then shocked himself with 'Lightning' until his hearts were beating properly again. He tsked at the bloody mess left on the floor, and got to work putting his chest back together. Lately, he was having trouble explaining the sheer amount of human bodily fluids being strewn across his bedroom, leading some of the maids to come up with scandalous theories. To avoid those complications, Jane cleaned up the mess using negated 'Flesh' runes.
While half-collapsed on the floor and huffing madly, Jane thought he could feel his head clear up a little. Indeed, no matter how fun he found the experience, he had no intention of just playing around with a girl's feelings. He needed to talk to her seriously.
'But how exactly am I supposed to do that? If I explain to her what I am, then she'll either think I'm the First Magician or something that needs to be exterminated.'
[Isn't it fine? You're exactly who she thinks you are. A noble boy.]
'That guy already disappeared, though.'
[What's the point in trying to lie to me?]
'That guy is...'
After having transferred bodies a few times, Jane realized the distinction between preserving one's ego and having it be assimilated. Since he and Vanessa were so different, they managed to stay apart and even compete within their shared consciousness. However, the other victims were either too weak-willed or too similar to Jane, causing them to be merged into his personality.
'He's a part of me now. But, I don't think of myself as a noble.'
As Jane said this, he was mindlessly ringing a bell to ask for a cup of tea. No, perhaps a better word would be 'demand'.
[So what does that mean for you? What can you do about this situation, knowing that?]
'I'll just act more like myself in front of her.'
[As original as always...]
As before, Jane was sitting elegantly at his desk and staring out the window. Quietly, one of the estate maids laid a tray in front of him, then moved the tea and snacks to his vicinity. With a curt bow, the maid left. The moment she exited, Jane tried a sip of his still-steaming tea.
'It's a little stale... Right, this maid had a grudge against me for—'
[Wow, and just as this Young Master is getting engaged. Considering the excuse you used, I would forgive her for putting mud in your tea.]
'I was honest.'
With nothing else to do, Jane once again slipped back into his magic training. That, at the very least, wouldn't put his heart at risk.
"Adam, why the hell..."
Using what seemed like a drop of mana in comparison to an ocean of reserves, Jane formed a 'Teleport' rune on one of his sugar cubes. Not seeing an effect, he steadily increased the output until it disappeared, costing about a fifth of his mana.
"...did you tell her you liked men..."