Leonis Sanguis of Wilsden Town, someone with a noble descent but, so far, he didn't have an official noble title or a decently-sized territory. Nevertheless, Leonis did own a small wine farm that provides him with an enviable annual revenue, and that was due to the high demand for Moon Grape Wine. The nobles of Wilsden liked to host a banquet regularly, almost every day, in fact, and they very much liked sipping the expensive Moon Grape Wine while gossiping or concocting ridiculous political plans.

Thanks to that small farm, Leonis was able to live comfortably without having to worry about spending too much. He owns a grand Manor East of the Residential District, neither too absurdly big nor pitifully small.

His estate was managed by an old friend of his, who also happened to be an impressively strong Knight, dozens of young maids, and a handful of other workers, such as guards and gardeners.

Although Leonis Sanguis was a bit old, he was definitely an energetic individual with a healthy physique and notorious grumbling voice. As a relative of Sancha Sanguis and a descendant of Leonardo Sanguis, Leonis was capable of using a unique magical ability that he had inherited from his father. However, he was generally a lazy person, completely uninterested in empowering his magical or physical prowess, so the rumored special ability was left undeveloped, unfortunately.

In addition to that, Leonis had a relatively young maid that was always by his side. Many saw or heard him either bicker at her or shout curses, but, surprisingly, he never fired her or got rid of her. The main reason for that was her undeniable usefulness in managing his Wine Farm, sorting his daily schedule, and taking care of the stuff he deemed as unimportant or, simply put, a waste of time.

As Arthur started his thorough investigation about Leonis Sanguis, he immediately remembered the scene he had accidentally seen when he was at the Baron's manor. Back then, a distance away from the celebrating young nobles, he had seen a middle-aged noble angrily shouting at a maid, who had momentarily glanced at him. Without a doubt, that man was Leonis and that maid was his famed assistant, who, in Arthur's perspective, was more like a secretary than a maid.

If someone else was in Arthur's shoes, they would pay more attention to their target's morals and behavior before considering them their next 'vessel', so to speak. However, Arthur was inherently different, meaning that he did not care if Leonis Sanguis was a morally upright person. Whether the noble was kind or evil, that didn't matter in the current circumstances.

His life was on the line and Leonis was a target he deemed as perfect for possession. He had a week to sort things out and switch bodies or else he would be discovered by Baron Lernon. Since Arthur had yet to find out more explicit details about Latif's experiment, it would be foolish to linger in his body more than necessary. There was also the problematic and stiff elderly body of Latif, which was unfit for combat.

Basically, to climb the social echelon, a noble was more suitable. After all, Arthur wasn't going to possess Leonis and imitate everything he did… no, he would do what he wanted in Wilsden and then depart to another place.

He did not want his second life to revolve solely around Wilsden and its political disputes; that would be too much of a waste, especially with his race's infinite potential. Leonis Sanguis was the first step to achieving his yet-to-be-determined goals. Beginning his new life as a noble was much better than an unknown sadistic old man with no wealth or background.

After spending most of the night chatting with the inn's locals, Arthur spent the next day planning everything out. He spent hours in his room, scribbling on a note and concocting a perfect plan to isolate and possess Leonis. By noon, he went to eat then circled the area surrounding the Residential District, trying to get a better view of Leonis' manor.

The estate was peaceful and didn't have as many guards as the Baron's. However, it had a breath-taking colorful garden with neatly cut bushes and trees, a spacious backyard and a couple of armored guards patrolling the area once in half an hour or so.

Thankfully, the biggest obstacle in possessing Leonis was his old friend and bodyguard, and that person was currently away. He was a rather well-known Knight that trained in the Capital and was part of the Fishland War that happened fifteen years ago. His status far surpassed Leonis, but he decided to stick with his friend and protect him, though not many details were known about the matter.

The second night after visiting Latif's hideout, Arthur was able to finish planning and started acting, at last. He had learnt enough regarding Leonis, his relationship with the local nobles, and his daily routines. Those details, which may seem trivial to anyone, were highly relevant for the parasite, who found the perfect place to attack the noble.

It all began with a talkative adventurer who would constantly loiter around the tavern. He had spoken to Arthur and complained about how Leonis would weekly leave Wilsden town. Actually, Leonis would leave the town twice every week; On Monday, he would take a short one-hour trip to his Wine Farm South of here and check on things, and on Thursday he would go to the forest to hunt for his own 'entertainment'.

But when they say hunt, it was basically him going around and attacking beasts to boost his ego. If the beast was too strong for him then his guard would weaken it then Leonis would deal the finishing blow. Many of the adventurers disliked such acts because, by hunting those beasts or monsters, which were already few and far between in this region, he would disrupt their source of income, therefore limiting the daily mission handed out by the guild.

Arthur was going to attack when Leonis was out hunting as it was much safer. The forest was objectively a better place to hunt down nobles as there were no prying eyes and security was significantly worse. There were no town guards nearby nor and the probability of being discovered was on the low side.

However, despite the slightly advantageous terrain, Arthur wasn't pleased with just one plan. At least two were necessary, even three would not be a stretch. Alternative routes for escape and extra option to finish his opponent were mandatory for the success of the task. Simply attacking out of nowhere would lead to naught but death. The target's guards were not the best of the best, but to expect to catch them all by surprise would lead to naught but an untimely death.

For that case, Arthur came up with two intricate plans, one which would make use of lethal poison and the second involved the forest' beasts. Admittedly, the second plan was risky and it forced him to expose his inexperienced self to the said beasts, however, if push comes to shove then he would need to do it.

With less than a week left and Thursday coming up, this would be Arthur's only chance. If he were to fail then he would be left in a precarious situation, one which he would like to avoid.

As a matter of fact, Arthur chose a second target in case there were any unforeseen complications. For example, if Lexander Biax, Leonis' friend and protector, were to come back sooner than expected, Arthur will be forced to abandon any plans concerning Leonis Sanguis.

If taken by surprise, Leonis' guards could be bested, however, the old Knight was rumored to be insanely strong. As he had no way to gauge what 'really strong' meant, Arthur wasn't willing to try anything that might endanger his life any more than necessary.

"So you just throw it?"

Arthur, still in Latif's body, raised his eyebrows and looked back at the shady-looking bald old man facing him. The elderly was the owner of a secluded and dirty shop situated very close to the slave market. On the outside, the shop sold miscellaneous magical items as well as potions, but, with the right price and a bit of sweet talk, you could buy other, more dangerous and illegal stuff, like what Arthur was doing.

"Sir, it's as simple as throwing a stone!"

The old man, who, apparently, turned out to be a distant acquaintance of the deceased Latif, was too fidgety and seemed a bit afraid of Arthur, which worked in his favor.

"But sir Latif, you can't use it in the town. Y-you will be discovered and hanged."

"I already know that. So, how lethal is it?"

"For common folk, it can kill them within minutes."

"What about the resistant ones? Surely there must be an antidote."

"Yes yes!"

The old man was continuously rubbing his hands and nodding his head, a wide and disgusting smile plastered on his pimple-filled face.

"One can resist it if they are good at Magic… b-but even then, the poison will render them paralyzed for a bit."

"A bit? Be more precise. How much time will they be paralyzed for?"

"Twent-..no! Thirty seconds."

"Thirty?"

Arthur's frown deepened, he fiddled with the hand-sized bottle and pondered for a bit before handing the shop owner two gold coins.

"Do you have fish nets?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Fish nets. Large ones, do you sell them?"

"Y-yes! I think I do."

The old man hastily retreated inside of his shop and soon returned with a big but old net. He struggled to lay it before Arthur, looking expectantly as he rubbed the gold coins he had just earned.

"This will do. How much?"

"50 silver coins."

"..."-Arthur

"I mean 2… 2 will suffice… sir."

"Are you sure? We won't give the money back, you know."

A group of burly adventurers were facing 'Latif', though their eyes were glued onto a small pouch filled to the brim with silver coins. Greed dominated their chain of thought, especially when they heard the stupidly easy request rewarding such a ridiculous amount of money.

In total, there were six of them, all part of the same group. They weren't what one would call experts, however, their domineering appearance and decent gear made them look more than just newbies.

"I won't ask for the money back. Just do it properly."

The leader of the adventurers, a muscular man with an unfitting pony-tail grinned at Arthur and practically snatched the purse from his hand.

"Aye aye! We will be there at the appointed time."

"Not a second too early or late. You've got to be able to do this much, right? I'll pay you the other half when the job is done."

"Of course!"

The leader, a man named Brendon, did a clumsy, almost sarcastic bow, and soon left with his cheerful companions.

As he saw them depart, Arthur could not help but grin, obviously happy that everything was proceeding according to his plan, if not better.

Those greedy fools would act as nothing but an empty threat, a momentary distraction in the heat of the moment.

They would appear at an uncanny timing, and for Leonis' guards, they would look like bandits, which will ultimately result in a battle.

Arthur had already chosen the perfect spot, a slightly open area at the center of the region Leonis regularly hunted at. To begin with, the noble doesn't stray too far from the town… usually, his subordinates would go and lure the targets.

Leonis and his group would inevitably pass by that spot and, at that time, Arthur would begin the show by using the poison bomb. Though, simply relying on the poison and hoping it would kill Leonis would seem far-fetched, even for Arthur, who was still not that knowledgeable.

Arthur needed to be certain that his target was dead before the possession had begun. Furthermore, he wanted everyone to be distracted by something or someone, which, in this case, would be the freshly-hired six adventurers.

"I should make one last trip to the hideout…"

"What are you waiting for?"

With hands folded, Arthur impatiently waited for the zombie to move his hand and burn the hideout. With the use of relatively expensive ignition oil he had bought, Arthur was about to burn the whole cave, along with the corpses and the useless stuff.

"Master… are you sure about this?"

The zombie dumbly looked back at Latif, showing clear hesitation as he was crouching near a puddle of the red-colored oil.

"Yes, we will leave soo-"

Arthur heard a rustle close by, which made him abruptly turn his head and look at a mass of lush bushes. When he walked over, however, he found nothing suspicious, though he was still slightly worried about being discovered. Nevertheless, he was adamant about getting rid of any clues that might link him to Latif and dumping his current unsatisfying and hindersome vessel.

Finally, the unresponsive zombie idiotically flung the flaming wooden stick at the cave instead of putting it near the puddle, but it mattered not as a burst of flames soon spread across the hideout, scorching everything in its way.

Arthur and the undead watched for more than an hour before the former used one of the expensive items he purchased. It was a minuscule crystal which, when split into two, unleashed an impressive wave of water.

Although it took him a while to extinguish the flames so they do not spread to the forest, the parasite was pleased with himself and with the crystal, which did its job wonderfully and could still be used a couple more times. Then again, it had cost him a whopping 10 gold coins.

"Master, where are we going?"

As he was in a good mood, Arthur did not mind conversing with the zombie, which had a limited intelligence but still proved its usefulness when menial tasks were concerned.

"I will be going to the nearby town. As for you, I want you to stand in a spot and not move until I show up."

"Standing again? Master, I'm bored of doing nothing."

With his bony and thin hand, he patted the zombie's shoulder and added,

"Don't worry, you will enjoy your master's finale."

"F-fynal?"