The palms that had once been thick with calluses and scars were gone.
In their place were soft hands that looked as if they had never held a sword, let alone a pen. They were so pale from a lack of sunlight that the blue veins were visible beneath the skin.
It wasn't just his palms.
From his bone structure to his musculature, nothing matched his old self. Muscles waste away during a long coma, but this wasn't a change that could be explained by that alone.
It was as if his head had been severed and stitched onto an entirely different body.
'No way.'
The sudden thought made Jake flinch. He scanned his surroundings and, spotting a small hand mirror nearby, snatched it up to check his reflection.
"…!"
In the mirror, instead of a mercenary with a patchy beard, a silver-haired boy stared back with his mouth agape. It wasn't just the body—even his head had changed!
'Wait, this face looks familiar.'
"Young Master? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
The boy standing beside him tilted his head in confusion at Jake's bewildered state. Jake steadied his breathing and turned to the boy.
"Who is my father?"
"Pardon?"
"My father. Whose son am I?"
In truth, he wanted to ask who the owner of this body was, but asking that directly would lead to a situation he couldn't talk his way out of. He intended to frame it as the nonsensical rambling of someone who had just woken up and use the answer to deduce his identity.
Perhaps it was still too bizarre a question, as the boy tilted his head for a long moment before answering.
"Why… you are the son of His Grace, Grand Duke Sigmund, the pillar of the kingdom."
At the boy's answer, which required no further clarification, Jake clutched his head. He finally remembered who the owner of this body was.
'Lucian Valdek.'
The Third Young Master of the Grand Ducal House of Valdek, the Emperor's closest confidant.
He was also the boy who had died at the age of sixteen, fifteen years ago, back when Jake was still serving as a city gate guard.
*
"Good grief."
A hollow laugh escaped Jake's lips as he processed the situation. It was shocking enough to have died and returned fifteen years into the past, but to be in someone else's body was another thing entirely.
He was confused, but at the same time, he realized this was an opportunity to change his life. This was noble blood—the blood of a Grand Duke, no less. For Jake, who had spent his life crawling through the dirt because he couldn't overcome his lowly birth, this was the ultimate jackpot.
'And more than anything, I like the face.'
Jake looked at his new face in the mirror once more. He was a bit gaunt, but his features were top-tier, even among the most beautiful. If he walked past the village girls, they'd likely faint from dizziness. In his past life, he had often wished he could be handsome for just one day; he never imagined it would actually happen.
"Hehehe."
"Young Master? Are you sure you're alright?"
"Ahem. I'm fine."
At the words of the servant boy, Hans, Jake cleared his throat and stood up. He had no lingering attachments to his old body anyway. Lineage aside, his father—his only remaining family at the time—had already passed away. With no kin left, there was no reason to go back.
Since things had turned out this way, he intended to live not as the mercenary Jake, but as the Third Young Master, Lucian. He'd have to check on what his original body was doing later, just in case.
"Let's take a walk for now. My body feels stiff from lying down so long."
"Pardon? You should rest a bit longer…"
"No, I don't think lying here will make it any better. I need to breathe some fresh air in the garden."
First, he needed to get a handle on his surroundings. Jake—no, Lucian—stood up with Hans's support. After a quick change of clothes, he headed to the garden, and old memories began to resurface.
'I used to pass through here often. I was here for guard duty, though, so I never had time to enjoy the scenery.'
Come to think of it, he had worked for the House of Valdek for quite a while. He had spent ten years there, starting as a guard after leaving his hometown. If he hadn't been framed for his superior's embezzlement and forced to flee, he might have climbed even higher. Well, even then, as a commoner, he would have peaked at Guard Captain or Centurion at best.
"…But why is the atmosphere like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone is staring at me."
Everywhere Lucian went, eyes followed him. The servants working in the distance and the guards on duty all turned their heads as he passed. Some even stopped what they were doing to stare openly. It didn't feel like they were just admiring a handsome face.
"Well… it's because it's been a year since you last came outside, Young Master."
"What? A year?"
"To be precise, it's been a year and two months."
"I haven't gone out for that long?"
"No, you haven't even stepped foot outside your room."
"…!"
This was insane. He knew the original owner of this body was a recluse, but to not leave his room for over a year? Even if all his needs were met, it was staggering.
'No wonder I'm so out of breath.'
At first, he thought he was suffering from some terminal illness because of how thin he was, but it turned out to be a simple lack of exercise. It was a miracle he hadn't gained weight living such a mess of a life. It was much easier to bulk up a thin body than to lose weight on a fat one.
'Actually, this might be for the better.'
This was a man who hadn't left his room for over a year. In other words, almost no one had been able to observe him closely. Even if his personality or lifestyle changed, people wouldn't notice much.
The only exception would be his family.
'Speaking of which, why hasn't his family come to see him? If a child refuses to leave their room for over a year, shouldn't they have dragged him out?'
Lucian knew the current Grand Duke, Sigmund, very well. He was an uncompromising, single-minded man and a loyal subject of the Emperor. While he was far from corrupt, he was equally strict about duty and discipline. He had a strong martial temperament and was known to be merciless toward soldiers who whined.
And yet, he had sat idly by while his own son rotted away in his room?
'Strange. He's not the type to allow that.'
As he pondered various possibilities, his body began to fail him. He hadn't walked far, but this weakling of a body was already exhausted. Just as Lucian sighed and prepared to head back to his room—
"Third Young Master."
Someone called out from behind him. He turned to see an elderly butler with a salt-and-pepper beard bowing his head. Though it had been a long time, Lucian recognized him instantly.
'Head Steward Edwin.'
His body flinched at the appearance of this unexpected figure. Edwin was a man who had come to the house as a hostage from a rival family in his youth but had eventually become the Grand Duke's most trusted confidant. He had heard that Edwin's influence was so great he could even weigh in on the family's succession. In his past life, Jake had seen the Grand Duke's own children trembling in Edwin's presence.
"It has been a long time. Have you been well?"
"…Yes. My body feels a bit heavy, but I am healthy."
Lucian replied to the polite greeting while glancing at Hans, hoping for a hint as to why the Head Steward was here. However, Hans was frozen stiff, completely missing the look. He would have to rely on improvisation without any information.
"By the way, what brings you here? I don't believe you've sought me out recently. Has something happened to the family?"
"Hmm."
Because Edwin was effectively the Grand Duke's right hand, Lucian's tone naturally became respectful. Edwin's eyes sparkled at Lucian's composed attitude. But it was only for a moment. Quickly regaining his neutral expression, Edwin smiled and shook his head.
"It is nothing like that. The Grand Ducal House is at peace, so do not worry."
"Then what is it…?"
"His Grace the Grand Duke summons the Third Young Master."
"…!"
*
Lucian kept his head slightly bowed, stealing glances at the man before him.
Sigmund Valdek, the current head of the Grand Ducal House.
Though his beard was beginning to turn white, there was no hint of frailty in him. He possessed the aura of a lion that could easily tear a wild beast apart with its bare hands. His presence was so fierce that Lucian's skin prickled just being near him.
The Grand Duke stared sharply at Lucian for a moment before spitting out a single, short sentence.
"Pathetic wretch."
Lucian blinked at the voice filled with blatant displeasure. Wait, why so sudden?
"Is your protest finally over?"
"Pardon?"
"I heard you swallowed just enough sleeping pills to avoid death. You certainly timed the dosage well."
What was he talking about? As Lucian's eyes darted around in confusion, the Grand Duke's tone grew even sharper.
"After rotting in your room for over a year, was this the best scheme you could come up with? You succeeded in making me call for you, so I suppose you won. Though you've lost far more than you've gained."
"I'm not sure what you mean…"
"I intended to see how long you would use your mother's death as an excuse to act like a spoiled child, but I've had enough. I thought you might come to your senses with time, but I was the fool."
Lucian's eyes widened. He finally understood what was happening.
'The Grand Duke has four sons, all from different mothers. When I worked here, only the Third Young Master's mother had passed away from illness.'
Because the original owner of this body had died young, Jake had assumed it was due to a weak constitution inherited from his mother's side. But that wasn't it. After his mother died and the Grand Duke's attention waned, the Third Young Master had staged a sort of protest. Locking himself in his room for a year was a desperate cry for attention. When the Grand Duke didn't respond, he had resorted to taking sleeping pills to cause a scene.
'Of course, it was a protest, so he didn't intend to die. But taking sleeping pills near the lethal dose with a body this weak is a guaranteed death sentence.'
The original Lucian's mistake was failing to understand his own physical condition. A "lethal dose" is calculated based on a healthy person. But taking that much after a year of inactivity, with a body that gets winded after a short walk? He might as well have bought a one-way ticket to the afterlife. Jake had heard in his past life that the boy died in an accident, but he never imagined there was such a backstory.
'Damn it.'
A sigh escaped him as the situation became clear. The original owner of this body was more pathetic than he had imagined. Grand Duke Sigmund was the Emperor's closest ally and the head of a Great Family—a titan in the Imperial political arena, which was crawling with jackals and hidden blades. Naturally, he would be cold toward children who tarnished his reputation. It wouldn't be strange for him to raise only the "lions" and discard the rest, yet here was his son throwing such a tantrum.
"Fine. You've gotten what you wanted, so say what you have to say. This may be the last time we see each other."
The Grand Duke's cold words snapped Lucian back to reality. At first, it sounded like he was just going to continue ignoring him, but the tone was ominous. In the worst-case scenario, he might be planning to cut him off entirely. Sending a disappointing child to the borderlands or a monastery was a common occurrence among nobles. If he wasn't careful, the opportunity he had just gained could vanish because of the previous owner's stupidity.
'I have no choice.'
There was only one way out. He had to face this head-on, even if it meant taking a risk.
Lucian straightened his back and looked the Grand Duke directly in the eye.