The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster

Cashew Nut.

After possessing this body, I found out my name was Cashew Nut.

…Who the hell came up with that?

Of all the countless names in the world, why Cashew Nut of all things? This was no different from naming a person Kimchi Stew, Fried Rice, or Omelet Rice. Kim Pho, Choi Steak, Park Pad Pong Curry…

‘…Forget it.’

Ever since I became this damn hamster, my human rights had already been tossed to the dogs.

I grew up like a cactus in the wasteland, struck gold with a hit game, and instead of riches and glory, I ended up as a hamster. The injustice I had momentarily set aside began to surge back up.

Fine. They say even rolling around in a pile of shit is better than being dead, so let’s just consider it lucky that I’m alive. Even if it’s in the form of a reincarnation into a novel I dozed off reading—one I even dropped halfway through—I can still accept it.

But why!

Out of all the characters!

A rat!

A rat!

Why did I have to become this damn rat?!

[Syncing complete!]

Alright. Let’s hear it. Out of the hundreds of characters, why the hell did I end up as a hamster?

[Because that was the only available spot!(˘▾˘)]

Are you messing with me right now?

As I gritted my teeth, Kyle carefully placed me into my new house.

“Cashew Nut? Why do you look so down? Do you want to rest?”

Yeah. I have a mountain of things to think about right now, so don’t bother me and just leave.

I kicked at Kyle’s palm with my tiny feet, bam-bam-bam. I needed to have a serious talk with that damn system, so he needed to get lost!

But instead, he tilted his head, peered at me with a serious expression, and then carefully placed me inside the house he had prepared.

“It’s not much, but I made this space for you. Rest and find comfort here.”

Kyle smiled. A smile that felt strangely warm, completely out of place on his face, which usually exuded cold, sharp precision.

‘What’s with this? It doesn’t suit you.’

Just act the way you look, man.

Grumbling, I looked around. This so-called hamster house he had prepared for me was, at a glance—

‘Excessive…’

Seriously excessive.

The hamster cage was a full three stories high, towering even above the table.

The frame was sturdily built with wood, the top fashioned into an elegant arch. And right in the center, a flashy red gemstone was embedded as decoration.

Inside, every nook and cranny had been meticulously designed: a plush-looking cushion, a food bowl so dazzling that it could be mistaken for an accessory, soft and fluffy-looking wood shavings, countless toys, a slide, a running wheel…

It was luxurious.

I had never seen a hamster house built with this much effort in my entire life. On top of that, the carvings along the edges were so lavishly decorated that they practically sparkled.

‘…Did he seriously inlay gold into a hamster house?’

After living my whole life in a cramped one-room apartment where opening the front door meant risking smashing the window across the room, suddenly finding myself in a three-story mansion was overwhelming. Well, by hamster standards, anyway.

[The Grand Duke is the third richest noble in the empire.]

Yeah, I can see that. The fact that he built a house like this just to keep a single hamster meant he was either ridiculously wealthy or absolutely obsessed with hamsters… Or, most likely, both.

“In any case, it’s best for you to rest. I’ll come visit you tomorrow.”

I let out a deep sigh. I didn’t nod or look at him. A hamster that responds too quickly to human speech would be way too suspicious. I’d rather not get executed.

I curled up in a corner. Go on, go. Go sleep or something.

“Cashew Nut.”

—……

“Have a good dream.”

‘A good dream, my ass.’

This whole situation was a damn nightmare.

***

It was only after that damn hamster lover finally returned to his bedroom that I could finally enjoy some peace.

Alright, time for a serious talk.

Hey, get out here.

[〣(ºΔº)〣]

This is inside Winter’s Heart?

[Yes, that’s right! (*>▽<)ﾉｼ]

And that man is Grand Duke Blake, who dies before the novel even reaches its midpoint.

[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Estimated time of death: approximately one month remaining.]

Wait, wasn’t this a possession novel? The female protagonist was…

[Serena.]

Serena’s name and face appeared in the system window.

She was a woman with calm brown hair and green eyes. Her face looked to be around my age, but her appearance was quite shabby.

Come to think of it, in the original novel, Serena had escaped the slums with her innate intelligence and survival skills after possessing her body.

Before that, she didn’t even have a name. Serena was a name passed down exclusively to empresses, so since she wasn’t one yet, she was just an unnamed woman for now.

Wait a second. But I’m the one who possessed someone.

Can two people possess characters in the same story?

[Serena is not possessed!]

[The identity of the possessor has changed.]

[Miracle Value: Currently 1%.]

I sat in the rocking chair with a serious expression, staring at the system window. Of course, my short legs couldn’t be crossed, so I just rubbed my tiny hands under my chin instead.

‘I’ve been wondering about this for a while now. What the hell is this “Miracle Value”?’

[You are destined to die.]

A single sentence, glowing in an ominous, chilling blue, dropped into view—along with a smug little emoticon.

‘…Destined to die.’

A sudden memory struck me. The pale glow of the headlights that engulfed me at the last moment, the screeching friction of tires scraping against the ground, my body lifting into the air…

[But before you completely died! I intervened!]

As I sat there in a daze, the system eagerly continued its explanation.

[Your original body is currently in a coma. If you don’t change your soul’s fate, you won’t be able to escape your impending death. I have collected information from your brain and searched for the optimal conditions for survival. If you set a goal, I will generate tailored quests for you.]

So, in other words—

[Try raising your Miracle Value. I’ll save you from death!]

The system was saying it could save me.

But why? What are you, a god?

[I can at least perform miracles!]

Alright, let’s set the record straight. The Miracle Value is something I have to grind for, while the system reaps all the rewards. That’s like having the hamster do all the work while the system makes all the money. Do you even have a conscience?

[อิ_อี;]

Now you’re telling me I have to earn miracles? What am I, Moses? Huh? You want me to part the sea for you too?

I need to reclaim my settlement money. My bright and promising future. My entire life and human rights. There was no way in hell I was going to live and die as a hamster.

I clenched my tiny fists. Since I was already stuck in this hamster body, there was no other choice.

[Would you like to set a goal?]

Miracles and goals.

So basically, the system wanted me to change the fate of this world in Winter’s Heart, gather that power, and then change my own fate.

Since I possessed a hamster instead of Serena, my Miracle Value had increased. If I kept triggering events that weren’t supposed to happen, wouldn’t it rise even more?

But there was a problem.

I was a dropped midway reader of this novel. I had slammed the book shut the moment the one character I sympathized with the most died.

Which meant—I had no idea how this story ended. I didn’t know who lived or died, so how was I supposed to change their fates…?

Wait.

‘Kyle!’

Right, Kyle Jane Meinhardt. That man was going to die in a month.

‘What if I save Kyle?’

There’s no greater miracle than reversing someone’s death.

Yeah. Like it or not, Kyle had become my owner, and even back when I was just a reader, I hated seeing him die so miserably.

He was the reason I quit reading halfway through. A man who, even as he died at the hands of the woman he loved, still worried about her safety.

‘Hey, what do you think about me saving Kyle? That counts as a miracle, right?’

[Goal set: Save Kyle Jane Meinhardt.]

[Selecting quest…]

A strange feeling washed over me.

If I save someone who’s supposed to die, I get to come back to life too?

I wanted to demand if such a thing was even possible, but considering I was already a hamster, every development had already reached peak absurdity.

The road ahead would be long, but fine—let’s fight to survive. You and me both.

Now, give me a quest that fits my difficulty level, System. In this body, I can’t do a damn thing. At best, I’d slightly improve the Northern Grand Duke’s quality of life, and even then, I’d be lucky to last five years before my joints gave out and I couldn’t even run on a wheel.

After a few minutes of silence, the system finally issued my first quest.

[Become a more human-like hamster! (ง˙∇˙)ว]

As I waved my tiny hand in the air, the next set of instructions appeared.

[Be a warm and affectionate companion hamster, a good friend to humans!]

[Reward: Small miracle, an opportunity to regain humanity.]

‘Why the hell is becoming a “human-like hamster” considered a miracle? Was the last hamster a complete little shit?’

[´•̥︿•̥`)⁾⁾]

…Are you serious?

This is turning into a damn soap opera.

A passage appeared before me, neatly transcribed—it was clearly from the original novel.

[Kyle looked down at his bleeding finger. It was still just a young beast, a life born in the harsh Northern lands. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to tame. A faint trace of disappointment flickered across his cold, hardened face.]

‘…Was that really in the novel?’

More importantly, was he originally planning to raise a beast?

Well, the North wasn’t exactly a livable place for humans. Even if they had pushed back the beasts and settled there, they couldn’t possibly kill every single one they came across.

There had to be some human-friendly beasts, and among them, a few cute ones might have made people want to keep them as pets. It wasn’t strange to hope for coexistence, even if they weren’t meant to be companion beasts.

[“Why didn’t you just leave it behind?”
At the knight’s words, Kyle replied,
“Then it would have died.”]

‘So Kyle was the first to reach out to a dying creature.’

…Fine, whatever. I’ll let it slide. We all do what we must to survive. As long as he doesn’t grab me and shake me upside down, I don’t have a reason to bite him.

More than that, I’m a human, not a hamster. I don’t do barbaric things like biting everything in sight.

[(ʃƪ˘³˘)(´ε｀ʃƪ) ?]

No, but seriously, could he cut back on the kisses?

I sprawled out lazily, but Kyle’s unexpectedly gentle smile from earlier kept flashing through my mind.

‘Did he always like animals this much?’

That cold and ruthless Northern Grand Duke character showing affection like that? If his knights saw him, they’d probably faint from shock. They might even think some beast was wearing Kyle’s skin…

Letting my thoughts drift, I unknowingly dozed off. After everything that had happened, it wasn’t surprising that I passed out like a rag doll.

***

—…

How long had I been asleep?

When I opened my eyes, it was already midday. …Wait, midday? More like afternoon?

[Hamsters sleep an average of 13 to 14 hours!]

The system message popped up as if it had been waiting for me, and I squinted my tiny bean-sized eyes.

After sleeping curled up for about thirteen hours, only one side of my fur was flattened down.

I was just about to try and fix it when—

Creak.

A massive door, easily dozens of times my size, slowly swung open.

Of course, the only person who could enter this room without knocking was…

“Cashew Nut.”

Him.