"How long was I sleeping? Well, at least I got a peaceful sleep. None of this makes any sense..."My memory? Is it merged with Vale’s memory? My thoughts drifted for a moment.
After a long time, I accepted it: I was Vale Roderick right now. The confusion was whether I was possessing this body or not. Hell, no, I thought, shaking my head. I was reborn and regaining my past life’s memories just confused me.
I could still feel the phantom pain and the scornful looks from everyone at the academy, and even within my own family. My own mother never even looked at me. The maids, the staff, and everyone else in the household never gave me a single sympathetic glance. I had to admit, half of it was because of my own reckless behavior.
There was only one hand that had ever reached out to pull me out of my loneliness. Her name was Irven Rangdall. But now... as things stood, she didn’t like me. I wondered if she even remembered me? Yaa..the same girl who stopped Erwin from pulling reckless stunts in the arena. he thought
I kicked my legs back and forth on the bed, then rolled over onto the pillow. Finally, I exhaled a long breath, regaining my composure. "The real question is, how can I survive a world full of people with monstrous strength?" I muttered.
"Dude."
A voice cut through the air from just a short distance away. There was another bed in the room, hidden by a curtain that blocked my view. A hand reached out, sliding the curtain to the left. Another guy was lying there, covered in bruises. He wore a faint smile that quickly turned awkward given the situation.
I waved my hand. "U..uh..hi."
The two of us looked at each other, neither of us knowing what to say. The silence became incredibly awkward. Then, a burst of laughter broke the quiet. He hurriedly wiped tears from his eyes, still chuckling. "Dude, what was that? Surviving? Are you going to war or something?"
A rush of embarrassment washed over me. My mouth trembled as I tried to process what to say, and I lowered my head, mumbling incoherently. Finally, I tilted my head up. "Who are you?"
There was a brief pause from the other bed. "I... " He coughed twice. "I am Kail Robest, and I’m in your class."
My eyes rolled as I looked at him, completely unable to recall the person claiming to be my classmate. I tapped my fingers against my chin.
Seeing my confusion, Kail chuckled. "Don’t trouble yourself trying to remember." He paused, tilting his head to look up at the ceiling above us. "I’m a commoner. There’s no way you’d notice someone like me."
"Why?" the response left my mouth immediately
Kail looked amused and puzzled, processing my reaction. "Wh..what did you say?"
I looked directly into his eyes with a serious expression. "I said... why?
Every student at the academy knew who Vale Roderick was, and they knew he hated commoners most of all. But the person sitting in this bed right now seemed entirely different. I was chatting with him like a casual friend, unlike those other goony nobles with their pathetic pride and arrogance.
"Because... nobles can’t stand the existence of commoners," he replied flatly.
"Is that so..." I paused before continuing. "In my opinion, all humans are the same. No matter how society paints us... at the end of the day, we all share the same final destination: death."
This perspective came from my time on Earth, where I had often seen wealthy people face their demise at a young age. Death didn’t care about status; it was inevitable and happened in every world. Though, maybe the death toll here was twice as high as it was on Earth.
Kail Robest’s face looked like it might melt at any moment as he comprehended my words. "Aa..aar...are you really Vale?"
I was momentarily taken aback by his reaction. Looking at his utterly distorted, shocked face made me feel strangely anxious. "Oh... man... don’t," I muttered, swallowing hard. "Don’t look at me like that. It’s giving me the chills."
"Hhaaa...." he exhaled loudly.
After that awkward moment, our chatter grew longer. A mild conversation flowed with the passing time. For the first time since gaining consciousness, I felt lively, and surprisingly comfortable around him.
***
In the hallways, students were gossiping about the duel, many of them feeling relieved by Vale’s pathetic defeat.
"It feels good, doesn’t it?" a student chatted as they walked.
"Yeah, that fool deserved it... even though I’m a noble, I couldn’t stand his presence."
"He’s a disgrace to nobility," another student chimed in.
Amidst the chattering and laughter, two students walked side by side down the hallway, acting as though none of the noise bothered them.
"Hey, do you want to check on that guy?"
Irven turned her head to look at him, her expression entirely blank. "Who?"
Slowing his pace gradually, he looked at Irven. "That guy... isn’t he your childhood friend?"
Her tracks momentarily stopped at the words "childhood friend." Yeah, he was one of my best friends, she thought. I often played with him when I was little. He always clung to me, pestering me whenever I was around. But then I noticed a change in his demeanor. It was as if he wanted to control me; he didn’t want any other male friends around me. After our engagement, it only got worse. So, I took the first step to break the engagement. After that, I stayed away from him.
But after I became friends with Erwin I felt something I had never felt with Vale. Before I even knew it, I fell in love with him.
She shook her head and looked back at her companion. "Not anymore," she replied bluntly, and they headed into the classroom.