Pain was the first thing Subaru felt.
It was not the kind of pain that flashed once and vanished. It was a slow, heavy pain that spread through his entire body, as if every bone, every muscle, and every breath had been crushed and stretched too far. His head throbbed with a dull ache. His chest felt tight. Even opening his fingers took effort.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The ceiling above him was cracked, dark, and old. A small candle burned on a wooden table nearby, its flame weak and unstable, throwing shaky light across the room. The air smelled of dust and old wood, with a faint damp smell that made the place feel long forgotten.
Subaru stared at the ceiling in silence.
"…Where am I?"
His voice came out rough and weak.
He tried to sit up, but the moment he moved, a wave of dizziness rushed through his head. He had to stop and hold onto the bed until the room stopped spinning.
Then the memories came.
Not his memories.
Another person's life crashed into his mind like a flood breaking through a dam.
A noble house.
A broken family.
Cold hallways.
Servants whispering.
A boy being mocked for being useless.
And then a name appeared again and again.
Lucas Veyl.
Subaru's breathing slowed.
He sat very still, letting the strange memories settle.
Lucas Veyl.
The second son of a fallen noble family.
Weak. Sickly. Ignored. Looked down on by nearly everyone in the estate.
Subaru stared at his hands.
They were not his.
They were pale, thin, and weak, with long fingers that had no strength in them. His arms looked fragile too. His whole body felt like it belonged to someone who had never known a single day of real training.
Subaru clenched his fingers.
"This body is really weak…"
His voice was calm, but inside, his mind was already moving.
Another memory flashed in his head.
Bright headlights.
A loud crash.
The sound of metal breaking.
Pain.
Then darkness.
Subaru went still.
So he had died.
The realization did not bring panic. It brought a strange kind of quiet.
He had been Subaru in his old world.
Now, somehow, he had awakened inside another body.
Inside another life.
He slowly looked around the room again. Small. Plain. Poor. There was a bed, a chair with one broken leg, a wash basin, a table, and an old mirror on the wall with a long crack running through it. Nothing here looked like the room of an important noble heir. It looked more like a servant's room that had been cleaned only enough to keep the dust from becoming too obvious.
Subaru gave a small breath and tried to sit up again.
This time he succeeded.
His legs trembled when he moved them off the bed.
He almost laughed.
"Pathetic."
His new body was so weak it hurt just to move. But Subaru did not feel hopeless. If anything, his mind had already adjusted to the situation. He had always been the kind of person who noticed details quickly. He saw patterns. He remembered what others forgot. He understood when people lied, even when they thought they were clever.
That was one thing he trusted.
His mind.
Subaru forced himself to stand.
The moment he did, his knees almost gave out, and he had to grip the bed frame for support.
"Really pathetic," he muttered again.
Slowly, carefully, he walked toward the mirror.
The boy staring back at him looked around sixteen or seventeen years old. Black hair. Pale face. Sharp features, but tired eyes. A face that looked like it had learned too early that the world was unfair.
Subaru stared at the reflection for a long time.
Then he lifted a hand and touched his cheek.
"So this is Lucas Veyl…"
The words felt strange on his tongue.
Lucas was the name of this body.
Subaru was the name of the soul inside it.
Two names. Two lives.
One person.
He was still looking at his reflection when a voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
[Ding!]
Subaru froze.
He looked around the room instantly, but no one was there.
The voice came again, cold and clear, as if it was speaking directly into his soul.
[Truth-Seeker Core has awakened.]
Subaru's eyes narrowed.
"A system?"
He had read enough web novels in his old life to recognize the pattern immediately. A transmigration. A new body. A strange world. And now a system.
The voice continued without emotion.
[Host confirmed: Lucas Veyl.]
[Original soul identity detected: Subaru.]
[Primary function: detect hidden truths, lies, anomalies, and concealed power.]
Subaru's expression changed slightly.
So it knew both names.
Interesting.
The words in front of him changed again.
[First mission generated.]
A new line of text appeared.
Mission: Investigate the strange disappearance of servants in Veyl Estate.
Reward: Unknown
Penalty: Unknown
Subaru stared at the mission.
Then, slowly, a small smile appeared on his face.
"A mystery right after waking up?"
That was much better than a boring life.
He felt something awake inside him now. Not excitement in a childish way. Something sharper. Something deeper. A hunter's interest.
If this world had secrets, he would find them.
If this world had lies, he would uncover them.
If this world had hidden power, he would reach it.
Subaru took a deep breath and focused on the room again.
Something felt different now.
The shadows in the corners looked darker than before. The candlelight flickered strangely. The air in the room felt uneven, like something invisible had touched it and left behind a trace.
He frowned.
Then his eyes moved to the wall on the left.
It looked normal.
But it did not feel normal.
A faint line appeared in his vision.
[Anomaly detected.]
Subaru stared at the wall.
Then he heard it.
Scrrrrch…
His body went still.
The sound came from inside the wall.
Not outside it.
Inside.
Slow. Dragging. Thin and strange.
Subaru's heartbeat picked up a little, but not from fear. From interest.
"So there really is something here…"
He stepped closer.
The closer he got, the more he felt a cold pressure in the air. Not enough to hurt, but enough to tell him that something was wrong.
He raised a hand and pressed his palm against the wall.
Cold.
Too cold.
A normal wall should not feel like that.
The system reacted again.
[Hidden layer detected.]
[View truth?]
Subaru smiled faintly.
"Yes."
The moment he made that choice, the world shifted.
The plain wall in front of him seemed to peel apart like a thin sheet of paper being pulled away from reality. Behind it, Subaru saw darkness.
Not empty darkness.
Something else.
A shape moved within it.
Thin. Twisted. Crawling.
It looked like a shadow, but it was not attached to anything. It moved by itself, like a living thing sliding over the hidden side of the world.
Subaru's eyes sharpened.
He stared at it without moving.
The thing behind the wall seemed to notice him too.
It stopped.
The room was silent.
Then the shadow slowly turned, as if it had eyes, and faced him directly.
A chill ran down Subaru's spine.
He took one step back.
The thing followed the movement from the other side of the wall.
Subaru stared at it for a moment longer.
Then, instead of fear, he felt excitement.
This was not a dream.
This was not imagination.
There was something strange in this estate.
And he had found it on the first day.
Before he could do anything else, a knock came from the door.
Knock. Knock.
Subaru turned his head sharply.
A woman's voice came from outside.
"Young Master Lucas? Are you awake?"
The moment the voice sounded, the shadow behind the wall disappeared.
The room returned to normal.
The wall looked like a wall again.
Subaru looked at it one more time, then walked to the door and opened it.
Two servants stood outside.
One was a middle-aged man with a worried face and tired eyes. The other was a young maid with black hair tied neatly behind her head. She looked nervous, but also relieved to see him standing.
The man bowed quickly.
"Young Master, thank goodness you are awake."
Subaru studied them quietly.
The system reacted immediately.
Above the man's head, faint words appeared in Subaru's vision.
Bert
Emotion: fear, guilt, concern
Hidden truth: knows something about the disappearances.
Then the maid.
Mira
Emotion: nervousness, loyalty, confusion
Hidden truth: saw something last night.
Subaru's eyes sharpened just a little.
So both of them were hiding something.
The man named Bert glanced past Subaru, looking toward the room behind him.
Subaru noticed it immediately.
The man was nervous. Very nervous.
Bert cleared his throat. "Young Master, you should still be resting. Your body is weak. You should not be standing yet."
Subaru looked at him for a moment.
Then he asked, "What happened?"
Mira opened her mouth first. "We heard strange sounds from your room, Young Master. That is why we came to check."
Bert nodded quickly. "Yes. Strange sounds. But it is probably nothing. This old estate makes noises at night."
The system flashed instantly.
[Lie detected.]
Subaru's expression did not change, but his eyes grew sharper.
So Bert was lying.
Maybe not about everything. But enough to matter.
Subaru folded his arms slowly.
"If it was nothing, then why are you both so worried?"
The two servants became silent.
Mira lowered her head.
Bert's face stiffened.
Subaru watched them carefully.
This was the first time he had spoken to them like this, and he could already feel the change in the air. The weak and useless young master they knew before was not standing in front of them now.
Bert tried to recover. "Young Master, perhaps you should return to your room and rest. Lord Veyl would not want—"
"Where is my father?" Subaru asked.
Bert paused for a fraction of a second.
"The lord is in the main hall with the family elders."
The pause was enough.
Subaru noticed it.
There was something being hidden.
He did not push yet.
Instead, he said, "Take me there."
Both servants looked shocked.
"Young Master—" Bert began.
"I said take me there."
His voice was calm, but firm.
Bert swallowed his words and nodded.
"Yes, Young Master."
The three of them left the room.
Subaru walked slowly through the hallway, keeping his steps steady even though his body still felt weak. The estate was old and quiet, and the silence inside it was almost unnatural.
The halls were wide but dim. Paintings hung on the walls, but many had faded. The carpets were worn down. Some candles had gone out completely, leaving dark corners in places where no one seemed willing to stand for long.
As Subaru walked, he looked carefully at everything around him.
A servant hurrying away with his head down.
A broken frame on the wall.
A strange black stain near a corner that had been cleaned badly.
A smell that faded the moment he stepped closer.
The system kept giving him little signs.
[Suspicious trace.]
[Residual anomaly detected.]
[Hidden presence nearby.]
Subaru's interest deepened with every step.
This estate was hiding something.
That much was clear.
Soon, Bert and Mira led him to the main hall.
The large doors were already open.
Inside, several people were gathered around a long table. At the head of the table sat a man with sharp features and black hair. His posture was straight, his face cold, and his eyes looked as if they had never known warmth.
Subaru recognized him from the inherited memories.
His father.
Lord Kael Veyl.
The moment Kael saw Subaru standing at the entrance, his brows tightened slightly.
"You are awake," Kael said.
There was no warmth in his voice.
No worry.
No relief.
Just a flat statement.
Subaru stood at the doorway and met his gaze without lowering his head.
The room became silent.
Several elders were seated nearby. A few servants stood at the edges of the hall. Everyone looked in Subaru's direction with different expressions.
Some were annoyed.
Some were pitying.
Some were tense.
Kael folded his hands on the table.
"Why are you out of bed?" he asked.
Subaru answered, "I heard there is a problem in the estate."
One of the elders frowned. "You should not concern yourself with such matters."
Subaru looked at the old man.
The system flashed.
[Lie detected.]
Subaru did not react on his face.
But inside, everything was becoming clearer.
These people were all hiding something.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Go back to your room."
Subaru did not move.
"How many servants have disappeared this month?" he asked.
The hall went completely silent.
The question hung in the air like a blade.
A few people shifted in their seats.
One elder coughed and looked away.
Kael's expression darkened a little.
"You should not listen to foolish rumors."
Subaru tilted his head slightly.
"Then answer me. Are they rumors, or are you hiding the truth?"
Kael stared at him.
And Subaru stared back.
The silence stretched.
Then a servant at the back of the hall accidentally let a tray slip from his hands. It hit the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
Everyone flinched.
Subaru's gaze turned at once.
The servant looked terrified.
The system reacted quickly.
[Emotion spike detected: fear of what was seen last night.]
Subaru narrowed his eyes.
So someone had seen something.
Kael's voice turned colder. "Enough, Lucas. Return to your room."
Subaru did not answer immediately.
He looked at the men in the hall. The elders. The servants. His father. Every face told him something, even when they tried to hide it.
Fear.
Guilt.
Tension.
Secrecy.
This estate had a secret.
A real one.
Subaru asked one final question.
"You know the truth, don't you?"
No one answered.
That alone was enough.
Kael's jaw tightened.
"There are things you do not need to know," he said.
Subaru almost smiled.
That was not a denial.
That was a warning.
A confession wrapped in control.
Subaru lowered his gaze for a brief moment, then looked back at the hall again.
The answer was not here. But the pressure in the room told him that he had stepped onto something buried deep under the estate.
Something dark.
Something dangerous.
The system flashed again.
[New clue discovered.]
[Hidden location detected: Forbidden Basement.]
Subaru's eyes changed.
Forbidden basement.
That was where the truth was.
He took a small step back and said, "I'll find the truth myself."
The words echoed in the hall.
No one spoke.
Kael's expression hardened.
The elders frowned.
The servants looked shocked.
Subaru turned and walked away before anyone could stop him.
Even though his body was weak, his back remained straight.
He could feel the eyes on him as he left the hall, but he did not care.
For the first time since awakening in this world, he felt something new.
Purpose.
As he walked through the hallway away from the main hall, the estate felt even quieter than before. The silence was deep enough to feel unnatural. Subaru was just about to continue forward when a whisper brushed past his ear.
"Do not go to the basement…"
He stopped walking.
Turned.
There was no one there.
The hallway behind him was empty.
No servant.
No maid.
No shadow.
Subaru stood still for a moment, his eyes narrowing slowly.
The whisper had not come from outside.
It had come from somewhere deeper.
The wall?
The house?
Or something hidden inside the estate itself?
The system reacted at once.
[Warning.]
[A deeper anomaly has appeared.]
Subaru slowly smiled.
A strange voice.
A shadow behind the wall.
A hidden basement.
A room full of lies.
This world was already far more interesting than he had expected.
He had awakened in a weak body.
But weakness was only the beginning.
Subaru took one slow breath and looked down the dark corridor ahead of him.
His body was weak.
His rank was low.
He had no power yet.
But he had something more dangerous than strength.
A mind that could see the truth.
And in a world built on secrets, that was enough to begin.
Subaru stepped forward.
One step at a time.
Deeper into the mystery.
And somewhere inside the Veyl Estate, something that had been watching him finally began to move.