I sat in the dining hall, forcing myself to observe and catalog every detail—the morning light filtering through stained glass windows, the servants moving with practiced grace, the gleaming silverware arranged with military precision. My internal monologue waxed poetic about the beauty of it all, even as my stomach waged a full-blown civil war against the rest of my body.
Then I felt it. A sudden impact against my midsection.
My stomach, previously the commanding general of the rebellion, instantly deserted its post and fell silent as a vacuum. My heart had to step up and take command—and it did so with all the subtlety of a war drum, beating so hard I wondered whether it or my lungs would be the first to escape this cursed body.
The hunger vanished. The poetry died.
In its place came pure, crystalline fear.
I knew this world was dangerous. Eldritch horrors roamed freely beyond the cities. Even if you climbed the mountain of power by overcoming those monsters, there would always be someone waiting at the peak to push you off. In this world, power alone meant nothing—political struggles were so vicious they either turned you into a psychopath who trusted no one and killed everyone, or made you cannon fodder for someone else's ambitions.
I knew all this. And yet I was still a man from the modern world, someone who had died once already but clung to a false sense of security. I was in a duke's palace, after all. Surely political assassinations wouldn't go this overboard here... right?
My entire life in this world—maybe a day, maybe just hours—began playing in flashback.
Then I heard a voice.
"Brother, you're so hateful!"
I looked down.
A small girl was hugging me tightly, her face buried in my chest, her arms trembling slightly with effort.
Lily.
Around the same age as my cousin Alaric. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, contrasting sharply with her pale skin, and though her distinctive red eyes were currently squeezed shut as she buried her face against my chest, I knew they'd be brimming with tears.
Seeing her, I felt a confusing tangle of emotions: annoyance at being shocked like this, exhaustion at having to reconsider every decision that had led me to this moment, but also—stronger than everything else—love, protectiveness, and a dozen other feelings I couldn't even name.
The positive emotions won.
I opened my mouth to scold her for nearly giving me a heart attack, but her next words stopped me cold.
"I missed you, brother." Her voice cracked slightly, and when she looked up at me, her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.
All my anger and overthinking melted away like frost under sunlight.
"Here, here," I murmured, gathering her properly into my arms. "Why were you missing me? I was just in my room. I wasn't away from you."
"But I couldn't see you," she whispered, then lowered her head. "And you were punished because of me."
My chest tightened. "Hey, sweetheart, it wasn't because of you." I lifted her chin gently so she'd look at me. "It was because his face was extremely punchable."
She blinked.
"Really, I was doing God's work. He made a mistake when He designed that face, so I decided to do Him a favor and fix it."
A giggle escaped her, and she quickly tried to cover her mouth—but not before I saw the smile.
The tension in the dining hall, which I'd been too panicked to notice before, suddenly shifted. I glanced around.
My cousin Serenya was hiding a smile behind her teacup, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. The Duchess—my aunt in this life—had one hand pressed to her lips, though her eyes crinkled with amusement. Even the servants who'd frozen during my moment of panic had relaxed, some of them exchanging knowing glances.
Only the Duke, my uncle, remained stern, though I caught the briefest flicker of something softer in his expression before it vanished.
"Come," I said to Lily, guiding her to her seat beside mine. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
She nodded eagerly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
The breakfast was, predictably, excessive. Servants brought out dish after dish in practiced synchronization: golden pastries still steaming from the oven, fresh fruit arranged in elaborate patterns, three different types of eggs, smoked fish, cold cuts, various jams and preserves, and breads ranging from dark rye to milk-white rolls. Crystal carafes of juice and pots of fragrant tea appeared at regular intervals along the table.
It was the kind of breakfast that screamed wealth and status—the sort where half the food would probably go uneaten, not because it wasn't delicious, but because there was simply too much for any reasonable number of people to consume.
Lily sat beside me, still pouting. She poked at her bread but didn't eat.
"Still mad?" I asked gently.
She nodded. "You didn't even tell me you were fine."
"Hey, I'm fine." I smiled. "See? Perfectly alive. Except maybe the ribs you tried to break."
Her eyes widened. "Did I hurt you?"
"Of course not," I said, ruffling her hair. "But next time, try aiming a little lower — save my ribs, will you?"
She giggled, the sound like a chime. "I missed you, brother."
Something warm spread through me.
"I missed you too, Lily. "But promise me something — don't cry again because of people like him."
Her small hands clenched. "I won't."
"Good."
I was reaching for a pastry when the Duke's voice cut through the pleasant morning atmosphere like a blade.
"Rishi."
That single word carried the weight of mountains. The servants froze mid-pour. Serenya's teacup stopped halfway to her lips. Even Lily went still beside me.
I set down my fork carefully and met my uncle's eyes.
"Yes, Uncle," I replied.
He regarded me for a long moment, then spoke, "We will discuss your recent... incident after breakfast."
The words hung in the air, calm but sharp enough to pierce steel.
Lily flinched slightly, lowering her eyes. Serenya glanced at me with a look that said I warned you.
I could almost hear my stomach groan in betrayal again.
And just like that, the peaceful morning sun seemed a little dimmer, the food a little less inviting.
After the breakfast his voice sounded again.
"Rishi."
His voice alone silenced the room. It was deep, measured, the kind that carried power naturally — not forced, but ingrained through decades of command.
I turned to face him. "Yes, Uncle."
"You've recovered from your confinement?" he asked, tone measured.
"Yes, Uncle," I said. "A little hungry, but alive."
Even though I said I was fine, but I was very angry as that old coot confined me in my room without any food and just water and air to survive on and block all the phones and televisions to let me die a boring death.
Yes, the world of Aldoria is technologically advanced, advanced enough to have teleportation portals but not enough for the things like AI, because here technology is based on mana and runes.
He nodded slowly. "I heard the Marquis's son still limps."
"I call that mercy," I said before thinking.
Serenya sighed. "Rishi…"
But to my surprise, Duke Avish's lips curved slightly — not quite a smile, but close. "Mercy, hmm?"
"Yes," I said carefully. "If I'd gone for the other leg, he'd crawl instead of limp. I restrained myself."
For a moment, silence. Then a low chuckle escaped him — faint, but genuine.
"You remind me of your father," he said finally, eyes softening just a little. "Same recklessness. Same love for family."
That sentence hit harder than expected. I didn't know the man he spoke of, but his tone carried weight — something deep, nostalgic, and proud.
"I'll… try to be better," I said.
He gave a single nod. "Good. You'll need to be. The world outside these walls is not forgiving."
The table fell quiet for a moment. Even Lily looked down, sensing the tension beneath his words.
To break the ice, I said "Uncle, I need a trainer."
Although I just said five small words they were enough to everyone who hear my words to widen their eyes in shock.
But my uncle was not shocked instead his smile widened," Remember, this is what you are requesting, so this is also your responsibility to complete the schedule your trainer will design." he said with a heavy voice "So, are you sure?"
Even though his face looked like a normal human smiling happily, but to me it looked like devil' eerie smiling who is looking at its toy.
I clenched my fists and hardened my heart and said, "Yes"
"Very well" he said with now a neutral tone. As if hiding his true emotions.
I got up from my chair and took Lily in my arms and left the dining hall>
Even though I said that but I didn't know what hell was waiting for me tomorrow.