The carriage ride to the capital was the most awkward hour of Marcus's new life.
Theodore sat across from him, practically vibrating with excitement.
Every bump in the road made him bounce like an eager puppy.
Meanwhile, Marcus tried not to throw up from motion sickness and existential dread.
"I've been waiting for this day for years," Theodore said.
His eyes sparkled with genuine enthusiasm.
"The Royal Academy, Brother! Can you imagine?"
"Yeah, it's great," Marcus managed. His stomach did another flip.
Theodore's expression softened.
"Thank you for coming. I know things have been difficult between us."
Difficult. That was a nice way of saying "you've been a drunken embarrassment to the family."
Marcus looked out the window.
The fantasy world rolled by in all its generic medieval glory.
Rolling hills. Distant mountains. Occasional magic user flying overhead.
Wait. Flying?
"Is that normal?" Marcus pointed at the person zooming past on what looked like a wind current.
"The courier mages? Of course." Theodore tilted his head.
"Brother, are you feeling alright? You're acting strange."
I'm a different person inhabiting your brother's body.
"Just nervous about the ceremony," Marcus said instead.
Theodore laughed. "You? Nervous? You once propositioned the Queen at a state dinner."
The inherited memories confirmed this was true.
The original Marcus had been spectacularly stupid.
"People change," Marcus said weakly.
"They do." Theodore's smile was warm. "I'm glad you're changing, Brother."
The genuine affection in his voice made Marcus feel guilty.
This kid deserved better than the original Marcus.
Hell, he deserved better than the current Marcus who was definitely going to mess everything up somehow.
The capital city appeared on the horizon.
Luminaris, the inherited memories supplied. Home to a hundred thousand souls and the Royal Academy.
It looked exactly like every fantasy capital ever.
White stone walls. Towers reaching toward the sky. Colorful banners flapping in the wind.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Theodore asked.
"Yeah." Marcus meant it.
The city was stunning in that "definitely going to be attacked by demons later" way.
✧✧✧
The Royal Academy courtyard was packed with people.
Noble families showing off their wealth. Excited students trying to look mature.
Professors in elaborate robes that screamed "I have tenure and a superiority complex."
Marcus followed Theodore through the crowd. His brother moved with easy confidence.
People naturally stepped aside for him.
"Lord Theodore! Over here!"
A group of young men waved from near a fountain. Theodore's face lit up.
"My study group! Come, Brother, let me introduce you."
Marcus let himself be dragged over.
The young men looked at him with barely concealed surprise.
Apparently, the original Marcus didn't attend social functions sober.
"This is my brother, Marcus," Theodore said proudly.
"A pleasure," one of them said carefully. He had the look of someone handling unstable explosives.
Marcus nodded politely. His attention drifted to the rest of the courtyard.
That's when he saw her.
She stood near the main entrance like winter had taken human form.
Platinum blonde hair pulled into a perfect bun. Ice-blue eyes that could freeze hell.
A figure that made her conservative instructor robes look like a fashion statement.
Seraphina Ashwood.
Marcus's brain stuttered.
He knew that name. Why did he know that name?
"Professor Ashwood is overseeing the enrollment," one of Theodore's friends said.
"They say she's the youngest combat magic instructor in Academy history."
"And the most beautiful," another added, then cowered at Theodore's disapproving look.
"What? It's true!"
More women entered Marcus's field of vision. Each one more impossibly beautiful than the last.
A redhead in an elaborate dress that cost more than most houses.
She moved like she owned the world, and she probably did.
A mature woman with crimson hair and dangerous eyes.
She looked bored, like she'd rather be fighting dragons than attending ceremonies.
An elf with silver hair that seemed to glow in the sunlight. She observed everything with ancient eyes in a young face.
Marcus's brain kept stuttering. These women looked familiar.
Their names floated just out of reach.
Then it clicked.
Oh no.
Oh no no no no no.
"Brother? Are you alright?" Theodore asked. "You've gone pale."
Marcus wasn't alright. Marcus was having a revelation, and not the good kind.
"Destiny's Harem Knight."
"What?" Theodore blinked.
Marcus hadn't meant to say it out loud. But the words escaped anyway.
He knew why everything looked familiar.
He'd read this. Well, skimmed it.
A client had recommended the web novel, insisted it would help him understand modern romance.
It hadn't. It had been generic isekai harem trash.
The kind where the protagonist collected beautiful women like Pokemon cards.
The protagonist. The dense, sword-obsessed, completely oblivious protagonist who was surrounded by beautiful women he never noticed.
Marcus looked at his brother. Really looked at him.
Theodore stood in the center of the courtyard like the world revolved around him.
The beautiful women kept glancing his way.
The redhead.
The mature beauty.
The elf.
The ice queen instructor.
They all watched Theodore with varying degrees of interest.
And Theodore? Theodore was examining someone's sword.
"The balance is off," Theodore said seriously.
"You need to adjust your grip by half an inch."
The other student nodded frantically, taking notes.
"Brother?" Theodore noticed Marcus staring. "What's wrong?"
Everything. Everything was wrong.
Marcus was in "Destiny's Harem Knight." He was a side character in a badly written harem novel. His brother was the protagonist.
His sweet, kind, completely dense brother was supposed to save the world by building a harem.
"I need air," Marcus said.
"We're outside."
"Different air. Air that's over there. Away from here."
Marcus stumbled away before Theodore could respond.
He found a quiet corner behind a statue and had a proper panic attack.
He was in a story. A story he barely remembered.
Something about demons and prophecies and the power of love.
Or was it the power of having multiple girlfriends?
The details were fuzzy.
But he remembered the important part.
The protagonist, Theodore, would gather four beautiful women.
Together, they'd form political alliances and save the kingdom.
Marcus peeked around the statue.
Theodore was still discussing sword maintenance.
The beautiful women were still watching him.
And Theodore was still completely oblivious.
The ice queen instructor, Seraphina, approached Theodore's group.
Every male student except Theodore straightened up.
"Lord Theodore," she said. Her voice could have frozen fire. "Your enrollment paperwork."
"Thank you, Professor." Theodore took the papers without looking up from the sword.
"Is it true the Academy armory has a Moonstone blade?"
Seraphina blinked. "Yes, but—"
"Excellent! I've always wanted to study the forging technique." Theodore finally looked up.
"Oh, did you need something else?"
The instructor stared at him.
Marcus could practically see her thought process:
Is he really this dense or is this an act?
"No," she said finally. "That's all."
Theodore went back to his sword discussion.
Seraphina walked away, looking confused.
Marcus wanted to scream.
His brother was the protagonist of a harem novel and had the romantic awareness of a brick.
Actually, that was insulting to bricks. At least bricks could be part of a wall.
Theodore couldn't even see the writing on it.
"There you are!"
Marcus jumped. Theodore had found him.
"The ceremony is starting. We need to find our seats."
"Right. The ceremony." Marcus followed numbly.
As they walked, Marcus noticed things.
The way female students giggled when Theodore passed.
The way the redheaded duchess kept positioning herself in Theodore's line of sight.
The way that mature woman with crimson hair watched Theodore like a hawk.
Theodore noticed none of it.
Theodore was too busy asking another student about whetstone quality.
They found their seats in the ceremonial hall.
Marcus tried to pay attention to the speeches. Something about honor and destiny and the future of the kingdom.
But his mind kept racing.
He was in a story. He knew how this story went, kind of.
Theodore would gradually win over the four heroines.
They'd face the demon threat together. Love would conquer all.
Except Marcus was here now. And the original Marcus hadn't been in the story. Or had he? Maybe as a minor villain who got written out early?
"In conclusion," the headmaster was saying, "welcome to the Royal Academy. May your time here forge you into heroes."
Everyone applauded. Theodore applauded enthusiastically.
Marcus applauded mechanically while having an existential crisis.
He was a side character in his brother's harem story.
His sweet, dense brother who thought swords were more interesting than beautiful women.
This was going to be a disaster.