I felt someone bump into my chest. I opened my eyes quickly, knowing I was fully to blame. A rose-red dress. A poppy of a girl who I knew very well stood before me.

“Oh, Via!” I exclaimed in surprise.

“Kallius?” came Octavia’s concerned voice. “What are you doing walking with your eyes closed?”

Embarrassed to admit that I was trying to sleep, I tried moving the conversation to what I had come here for.

“Ah, sorry about that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. “I was woken up from my nap because of a gambling payment. You wouldn’t happen to know about something like that, would you?”

“Gambling?”

Octavia narrowed her eyes and raised her thumb to her chin. It looked like she was deep in thought, so I tried my best not to say anything. We stood together in silence until she finally spoke.

“Are you saying you were asleep this entire time?”

Octavia appeared conflicted as she asked me this. Did she not believe me or something? I almost began to doubt myself.

“Y-yes,” I answered after a pause.

Octavia sighed. Her expression mirrored the same one the attendant had given me earlier. Confusion mixed with doubt. I could feel a bead of cold sweat running down my spine. The air felt heavy, personifying the ominous nature of the situation I was in. What exactly is going on??

“Kallius,” she said finally. “If what you say is true, then…”

“Then?”

“…we may have a double on our hands.”

Huh?!

“A double?” I repeated after her, baffled.

“Yes,” nodded Octavia, her expression grim.

“Kallius, when I went to the lounge earlier, I saw someone who looked exactly like you at the roulette table. I didn't approach you because I thought you were having a good time mingling with the adults. Considering that even I was fooled… it makes me believe that his uncanny resemblance to you was not a mere coincidence..."

She had a good point. There’s probably nothing good coming out of assuming this was an accident. 

Octavia sighed once more; her expression was so serious I almost felt scared by what she was going to say next.

“I believe someone is trying to impersonate you, Kallius.”

Her voice echoed throughout the dim hall. I gulped. It’s strange, how I am doing the same as the imposter. I’ve been impersonating Kallius ever since I reincarnated. Is this… what I deserve?

Octavia suddenly broke my guilty thoughts with another suggestion.

“Either that,” she continued. “Or you were too drunk to remember ever gambling in the first place.”

I had no words. My angry silence was deafening, as Octavia grinned and covered her ears in preparation for what was coming.

“V-Via!!” I cried in utter disbelief. “Do you think I would do that?! After getting sick, (being choked, though I’ll omit this part) and getting little to no sleep?? Do you really think I would go drinking after all that? And that aside, you know I’m not stupid enough to gamble my money, right? I would just ask father for more if I needed some!”

Octavia laughed her high-pitched laugh. “Hehehe” it went. As I watched her clenching her stomach in pain from all the laughter, my frown broke. She was just so cute! I forgot both my lack of sleep and my guilt from earlier and started laughing as well.

“Ha ha ha!”

“Hehehe!”

Then suddenly, we both simultaneously snapped out of it and faced each other with equally serious expressions.

“We have to find him,” we voiced together, giving each other a determined nod. 

“Well… you found him.”

My heart stopped.

“KYAAAAA!!!!”

Both Octavia and I let out a petrified scream and grabbed each other. We spun our heads towards the end of the corridor, where a boy was leaning against the wall with a big smile on his face.

“K-Kallius?” stammered Octavia, her uncovered eye meeting mine.

“I know...” I grimaced.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Just as Octavia had said, it was uncanny. The boy looked exactly like me. The blue eyes, dark circles, black bob cut... even the scar was identical to my own. It was like facing a mirror, barring the fact that he was my junior. Maybe if it were 5 years ago, I would have looked like that.

The boy appeared as if he was turning to leave. As if he wanted me to chase him after proclaiming his arrival. But I wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Stop right there!” I shouted as I stamped towards him.

The boy pirouetted at the heel and halted to face me. He raised his hands in surrender. 

"What the hell is going on here?" I growled.

I could feel myself getting angrier and angrier. Octavia looked around nervously at the nearby cabins, likely worried about the noise we were making.

The boy, seeing her distressed over the altercation, turned to me and raised his index finger in front of his lips.

“Shh!” he whispered in urgency. “Let’s head inside. I promise I’ll explain everything.”

I scoffed. First, he shows up in a public setting dressed as me, and now he wants to talk. Sure. Fine. I’ll give him a good ‘talking to’.

Still brimming with irritation, I grabbed the boy by the arm and swung open the nearest cabin door. He and Octavia were shocked by my actions. His offer to converse probably meant talking in my room or something, but I didn’t have the patience for that.

Before either of them could say a word, I pushed the boy into the room. After waiting a brief moment for Octavia to scurry inside, I slammed the door shut behind us. Fortunately for the worried pair, the room was currently empty. Not that I cared whether the room was empty or not, I just wanted answers.

"Now. Explain," I spat, crossing my arms. 

The boy, sensing I was on the verge of imploding, quickly moved behind Octavia for protection. Octavia, after taking one look at my angry stance, seemed to be quite content about playing his shield.

I gave her a disappointed look, but she shook her head as she continued to stand in front of him. Why was she doing that? Had I gone too far? Or was she just taking pity on him because he resembled me?

"H-hey,” the boy stammered, forcing a smile. “Although I’m angry with you right now, you seem to be even angrier, so I'll cut to the chase, yeah?"

He was still trying to maintain his carefree façade, but I scowled, unimpressed. Just who is this guy? He even smiled just like me!

With a grin, the imposter took a step back from Octavia, so that she too could watch his coming spectacle. She and I stood side by side as he raised his hand and reached for the top of his head. His dark locks began to rise, and a sudden light emerged from underneath. A magical sheen. Platinum blonde. The boy’s face broke into a mischievous grin.

"Hey, big bro."