At last, Reka was truly alone in the unfamiliar room.
He turned his attention toward the large window in the left corner of the chamber before slowly forcing himself out of bed. Pain still spread throughout his body, making even the smallest movement feel far more difficult than it should have.
"Fuck, everything hurts," Reka muttered.
Every step felt heavy. His neck was still stiff, the back of his head continued to throb, and both of his legs felt as though they had been beaten repeatedly. Even so, Reka kept moving until he finally reached the window and pushed it open.
Cold air immediately brushed against his face, but his attention was quickly captured by the view outside. From his bedroom window, he could see a peaceful village stretching into the distance. Houses with wooden roofs stood neatly along dirt roads, while servants moved from one place to another as they went about their work. Several armored guards could also be seen patrolling the grounds surrounding the enormous estate where Reka now found himself.
There were no sounds of vehicles, no tall buildings, no factory smoke, and none of the suffocating city air that had once felt so familiar to him. The air here was remarkably clean and refreshing, while the sky above seemed far brighter than anything he had ever seen on Earth.
In the past, Reka had occasionally imagined what it would be like to live in an age resembling the medieval era, when swords, castles, nobles, and villages untouched by modern technology were still part of everyday life. However, imagining such a world from the comfort of modern society and actually seeing it with his own eyes were completely different experiences.
Reka remained in front of the window for quite some time before finally shaking his head.
"Damn. So this is the medieval life so many people dream about?" he muttered.
A few seconds later, Reka let out a breath and scolded himself. "This isn't the time to admire the scenery, idiot."
He closed the window and turned back toward the room. Across from the bed stood an ornate dressing table carved with intricate patterns, with a large mirror mounted above it. Reka walked toward it with a slight limp because his entire body still felt as though an entire village had taken turns beating him.
The moment his face became clear in the mirror, Reka stopped.
"Whoa."
He leaned slightly closer and began examining the reflection in front of him. The body he now inhabited was surprisingly handsome.
"Hmm. Based on the memory fragments I received, this body just turned twelve," Reka muttered.
He straightened himself in front of the mirror and examined his new body more carefully. His hair was pitch black, his eyes had a yellowish color, and his face looked sharp yet slightly slender. Despite being only twelve years old, Zeldryn's features were already well defined.
Reka then studied his height through the reflection. "I don't know the exact height, but he's definitely over one hundred and sixty-five centimeters."
He compared it to the height of his body in his previous life and estimated that Zeldryn was probably already around one hundred and sixty-eight centimeters tall.
"He's even taller than I used to be. He's already this tall at twelve? How tall is he going to be when he grows up?"
His amazement did not last long. As Reka looked more closely at his face, he quickly realized that this body was far from healthy. Several bruises covered his cheeks, jaw, and the areas near his temples. Some were still red, while others had already turned bluish purple.
Reka frowned before slowly removing his shirt. The moment his entire upper body became visible in the mirror, his expression changed.
Zeldryn's body did not look athletic. Although he was unusually tall for someone his age, his muscles were barely developed. That, however, was not what disturbed Reka the most. Nearly his entire upper body was covered in injuries.
Red and blue bruises spread across his chest, stomach, shoulders, and arms. Several areas were also marked with long scratches that looked as though they had been caused by broken glass or some other sharp object, while a number of older wounds had already dried and formed scabs.
Reka remained silent for a long time as he examined them, then slowly touched one of the wounds near his stomach.
"What the hell did this kid do?"
He began inspecting the injuries one by one and soon realized that they seemed to have been inflicted at different times. Some still looked very recent, while others appeared to have been on Zeldryn's body for much longer.
Reka slowly clenched his fist. It was obvious that this body had not simply been injured from falling down or getting into a single fight. Something was clearly wrong, but he did not yet have enough information to understand what had actually happened.
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He looked at Zeldryn's reflection in the mirror once again. The wounds covering the body raised countless questions, while the memory fragments now inside his head were still far too disorganized to provide any clear answers.
Reka eventually closed his eyes and took a long breath.
"All right, Zeldryn. You miserable fucking bastard."
When he opened his eyes again, Zeldryn's reflected face was still staring directly back at him.
"Since I've inherited your body, I'm going to live this life to its fullest. I'm also going to bring out every bit of potential this body has."
His hand slowly tightened into a fist while the corner of his lips began to rise. The smile did not come from simple happiness, but from the realization that he had just been given something he had never possessed in his previous life: an opportunity to start over and repair the things he had once wasted.
"From now on, I am Zeldryn!"
Reka's voice echoed loudly throughout the room. A few seconds after shouting those words, he stared at his own reflection with a slightly embarrassed expression.
"Fuck. Why did I yell that out loud?"
Reka shook his head and began putting his shirt back on. When the fabric brushed against several wounds on his body, his face immediately twisted in pain.
"Fuck. Slowly."
After finally managing to dress himself again, Reka walked toward the bedroom door. His body still hurt, and even a few steps were enough to send pain through his waist and legs. However, he knew that he could not remain inside the room forever.
He knew almost nothing about this place. The memory fragments he had received contained only several faces, a number of names, Zeldryn's terrible habits, and random events that were not arranged in any clear order. Reka did not even know the layout of the mansion, who lived inside it, or where his own bedroom was located within the estate. If this continued, sooner or later someone would notice that something about him had changed.
Reka reached for the door handle and pulled it open slowly. The large wooden door swung outward with a faint creak, but just as he was about to step into the corridor, his gaze stopped on a servant standing beside the doorway.
The girl immediately lowered her head.
Reka watched her for several moments before a name surfaced naturally in his mind.
"Hera?"
Along with the name came several more fragments of memory. He saw Hera standing outside his bedroom door for hours, bringing food for Zeldryn, and kneeling while begging for forgiveness. In another memory, Hera was struck simply because she had arrived a few minutes late. There had even been a time when she was forced to remain outside the bedroom for an entire night simply because the previous Zeldryn had been angry for no clear reason.
Reka looked at Hera again. Both of her hands were still trembling, while her head was lowered so deeply that her face was almost completely hidden. The disgust he felt toward the former owner of this body returned, but he immediately restrained his expression because this was still not the right time to reveal any change.
He did not understand the situation inside the mansion. Reka had no idea who could be trusted, who might be watching him, or whether someone would try to take advantage of a sudden change in his behavior. For that reason, he would have to remain the Zeldryn everyone knew for the time being, at least on the surface.
Reka hardened his voice before addressing the girl standing before him.
"Oi, Hera."
Hera's body immediately tensed.
"Why are you still here? Didn't I already tell you to leave?"
Hera immediately panicked. She lowered her head even further and pressed both hands together in front of her stomach.
"P-please forgive me, my lord," Hera replied in a trembling voice. "B-but you previously ordered me to always wait outside your bedroom until you personally told me that I no longer needed to remain here."
She paused briefly before continuing in an even quieter voice. "I thought your previous order only meant that I should leave the room, not that I should leave this place."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hera dropped to her knees.
"Please forgive me if my actions have offended Lord Zeldryn."
Reka stared at Hera kneeling before him while cursing inwardly.
'Wait outside the door? What the hell for? The previous owner of this body was completely absurd. What a bastard,' Reka thought.
He actually wanted to tell Hera to stand up and stop behaving that way, but treating her too gently all of a sudden might look even more suspicious than allowing her to remain kneeling for a few moments. In the end, Reka merely clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Enough. Stand up."
Hera's body trembled again when she heard his voice. She looked slightly surprised because the Zeldryn she knew would normally not have stopped after giving such a simple order. Even so, Hera did not dare question his words and immediately rose with stiff movements.
Reka then turned his attention toward the long corridor stretching out before him. The floor was made from smooth, expensive-looking stone, with most of its surface covered by a red carpet. Paintings and decorative ornaments hung along the walls, while sunlight entered through the large windows lining one side of the corridor.
Several servants could be seen in the distance carrying cloths and cleaning equipment. The moment they noticed Zeldryn leaving his room, their pace immediately slowed. Some lowered their heads, while others changed direction in an obvious attempt to avoid coming too close to him. Their reactions alone were enough to explain what kind of reputation Zeldryn had inside the mansion.
Reka looked back at Hera.
"Show me around the entire mansion."
Hera slowly lifted her face, although she still did not dare look directly into Reka's eyes.
"S-show you around the mansion, my lord?"
"Yes. Show me every room, every important place, and anything else I need to know about this mansion."
The confusion on Hera's face became even more obvious. The previous Zeldryn had never asked anyone to show him around the mansion. Normally, he simply summoned servants by shouting things such as, "Oi, lowly creature!" before ordering them to retrieve whatever he wanted. Even when he left his room, he usually went wherever he pleased without caring about anyone around him.
When Hera remained silent, Reka raised his voice in order to preserve the impression that he was still the same Zeldryn she had always known.
"Do not tell anyone about this, and don't ask any questions. You only need to follow my orders. Understood?!"
Hera immediately flinched.
"Y-yes, my lord!"
She quickly turned around and stood stiffly in front of Reka.
"Please follow me, my lord."
Reka nodded slowly.
Hera began walking down the corridor while Reka followed behind her, continuing to endure the pain spreading throughout his body. Every step still felt agonizing, but at that moment, the pain was no longer his greatest problem.
Reka needed to understand the place that had now become his home, identify the members of Zeldryn's family, and learn about the relationships between the people around him. Above all, he needed to discover why the body he had inherited was covered in so many injuries, as though someone had beaten it nearly to death.