To the present times...
My vision is dim.
My limbs feel heavy, unresponsive.
This… isn't my body.
So, the reincarnation worked.
A forced one, though… which means that body is lost forever. There's no going back.
And with my origin magic sealed, I can't use that either.
(Sigh)
Just great.
I hear a woman's voice.
I squint to see her.
Her face slowly comes into focus — she's a beautiful woman.
And... her chest is big.
She walks toward me, speaking in a language I don't understand.
Must be the local tongue of this world. I'll have to learn it eventually.
With my small body, tiny hands, and oversized eyes, I shift slightly.
(This body definitely belongs to a baby.)
I glance around.
The room is massive — decorated with luxurious items that look like they belong in a museum.
Several women are present, dressed like maids.
These things aren't found in a regular noble's house.
Royalty? A regional count's mansion?
No… a duke's, perhaps?
Through my blurry baby vision, I spot a crest on the wall — ornate, regal… and familiar.
Definitely a duke's mansion.
I say that as I fix my gaze on the large crest mounted on the wall.
While I'm looking around, I notice another crib close to mine.
(Could I have a sibling around my age?)
Through the gaps in the baby bed, I see a baby girl crying.
And then, for some reason, my baby instincts kick in — I start crying too.
It's been so long since I felt this kind of raw emotion.
One year later…
The planet is called Atlas, a world divided into regions for each race.
Within each region lie multiple kingdoms and empires.
I was born in the wealthiest human empire — the Saloum Empire.
Here in the duke's mansion, the duchess and her personal maids take care of the children.
"Isn't he a beautiful boy?"
"Yes, my lady. He truly is a gem."
"Ogya!"
"Look, Ras replied!"
"That he did, my lady."
It's been a few months since I was born.
At first, I couldn't think properly — my days were filled with crying, sleeping, and feeding.
But now, I'm finally calm.
I've even begun to understand their language.
Learning from scratch as a baby wasn't easy, but I pulled through.
"Kiana is also sweet, quiet, and looks like a little angel~"
I didn't know at first, but it turns out I have a twin sister.
Her name is Kiana. She has our mother's light blue hair and carnelian eyes. I, on the other hand, have silver hair with a blue mesh. That's how we're different — otherwise, we look pretty much the same.
From my mother's conversations, I've gathered that she's the older twin.
We have other siblings too, but they're grown up and working across different parts of the empire.
When we were born, my mother fell into a deep sleep from the strain of delivering twins, so I didn't see her when I first opened my eyes.
My father wasn't there either — he was attending a meeting at the castle.
My mother, it turns out, is the emperor's younger sister. Today, she and my father — Duke Lloyd — are heading to the imperial castle for a high-level meeting.
Once my dad finishes his duties as duke, they'll leave together.
Just then, the door opens and the head maid, Martha, walks in. For some reason, she is always expressionless and gives off a weirdly dangerous vibe despite being a maid.
"Your Excellency, Duke Lloyd is ready and waiting for you by the carriage," she says gracefully.
My mother replies, "Understood. Tell him I'll be there in a few minutes."
She then turns to her personal maids and instructs them to take care of us.
She also tells the head maid, Martha, to stay behind and assist.
The maid who was praising me and Kiana earlier — Edea — assures my mother that they'll look after us well.
Meanwhile, near the Silford Mansion, two masked persons hide in bushes. They are waiting for the carriage to leave so they can do their assigned task.
"When will that carriage leave? We've been hiding here for four hours."
"Patience, Mahito. The head maid just appeared — let's wait and see what they're planning."
"Okay, Kokichi, if you say so then I will wait more, but if I stay more than 1 hour, I am going to strike."
They observed Duke Lloyd as he talked with head maid, Martha. Shortly after, the 2nd duchess of Silford Mansion, Sarah stepped out with a few maids in tow, her usual air of importance unmistakable.
Suddenly, Sarah turned her gaze to the bushes. The two masked men flinched and dropped lower, panic tightening in their chests — had they been seen? They make sure they are perfectly hidden but that was not the case.
Lloyd sees her and asks, "What is it, Sarah?"
"Nothing, I just saw some wild skyrabbit!" Sarah replied.
She continued her talk, "Martha, make sure the garden stays secure. I don't want any more wild skyrabbits creeping in."
Her voice was light, but her eyes… they lingered on the bushes for just a moment too long.
"Don't worry, I will make sure that they don't cause any trouble." Martha replied.
The carriage leaves and Mahito feels relief that they don't get caught and now they can do their shady task. But Kokichi was panicking, he knew that duchess words mean something else.
"Mahito, we have to do tasks quickly."
"What? You said we'd do the job carefully and slow. If we rush it, we'll get caught!"
"I'm afraid… we already are."
He spoke calmly despite the sweat on his brow — trying not to let his panic ruin the mission.
Suddenly, thorny vines burst from the soil, coiling tightly around their legs.
Mahito shouted in panic. His legs wouldn't move no matter how hard he tried. The thorns completely paralysed his legs.
Seeing this, Kokichi asks, "Who is there? Show yourself!"
A figure emerged from behind them.
She wore a maid's uniform — a white apron over a black dress, brown stockings, Mary Jane shoes, and a classic mob cap. Her jet-black hair partially covered one sharp, dark eye." She looked at them with an expressionless face.
Seeing her the two masked men were surprised and wondering how she appeared behind them when she was supposed to be infront of them.
That deadpan stare, that air of utter control.
It was her — the maid from before.
Martha.
She stepped forward, expressionless as ever, her gaze razor-sharp.
"Intruders… in the duke's garden?" she murmured. Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Her eyes narrowed. "Unforgivable."
A chill swept over them. Neither could move — not because of the vines, but because of her.
To be continued…