← I was wrongfully killed, and I was reborn as the youngest member of my enemy's family.The young body was far weaker than he'd expected. Kaisen had experience from his days as a knight, moving across battlefields even while injured. He could wield a sword with a broken arm, ride a horse with cracked ribs. But this body was different. Simply placing his feet on the edge of the bed caused his calves to tremble.
Nearly an hour had passed since Maria left. The mansion was quiet. Morning sunlight streamed through the windows, and the faint voices of servants could be heard somewhere down the corridor.
Kaisen opened the door.
The hallway was long. Portraits hung on both sides—faces recording the history of the Cardian family. One of them was the current head of the household, Valentina. In her portrait, she was smiling. A smile of power. Kaisen paused before that portrait for a moment.
Then he moved on.
The mansion's layout was largely preserved in his memory. Five years ago, Kaisen had come here as a knight. On an investigation. The mansion had been different then, but the fundamental arrangement was the same. A massive three-story building. A structure divided into left and right wings around a central hall. And below—the basement.
Kaisen decided to head downstairs.
The first person he encountered in the first-floor corridor was Lucia.
"Young Master Leon!"
A woman in servant's attire looked up in surprise. Kaisen recognized her. She wasn't in the STORY BIBLE, but she was one of the mansion's servants. Probably a maid assigned to Leon's room. Her eyes held a mixture of innocence and concern.
"Your fever hasn't fully subsided yet. How can you be wandering around alone?"
Kaisen offered a weak smile. Like the young Leon would. The memories from five years ago proved useful. Leon was generally quiet, spoke little, and was frequently ill.
"I just wanted to walk around a bit."
His voice was childlike. Still required adjustment.
Lucia followed him anxiously. "Young Master, please allow me to accompany you. There are many dark places here..."
Kaisen didn't refuse. Having Lucia follow was actually advantageous. She would know the mansion's daily routines and wouldn't suspect him.
"Where is the dining hall?"
"This way, Young Master."
Lucia led the way. Kaisen followed, observing the mansion's details as they passed through the corridors. The patterns on the walls, the positions of windows, the doors leading to other rooms. Everything was input into his mind like a map.
When they arrived at the dining hall, Simon and Elias were already eating.
"Oh, Leon?"
Simon set down his spoon and looked up. There was no surprise on his face. Instead, there was light contempt. Kaisen read it. The colors of emotion he'd learned to discern through countless battles during his days as a knight.
"I thought you were still lying in bed like a cripple."
Elias was more refined. She looked at Kaisen, but her gaze held no interest. As if she were merely observing a piece of furniture. A gaze that automatically confirmed her own status.
Kaisen sat at the table. Lucia quickly served food and placed it before him.
"I'm glad your fever has subsided, Young Master."
"Thanks, Lucia."
That was all. The table fell silent again. Simon continued eating, and Elias gazed out the window. No one spoke to Kaisen. No one asked about his well-being.
Kaisen picked up his spoon. The food was delicious. But that wasn't important. He observed his older brother and sister while eating.
Simon was nineteen. He'd graduated from an elite knight academy and recently became an official member of the kingdom's knight order. His forearms were muscular, and his hands bore the calluses of sword handling. He appeared competent as a knight. But what Kaisen sensed was something else.
There was fear in his eyes.
It was subtle, but unmistakable. His left eye blinked occasionally, and his left hand frequently moved beneath the table. Nervous system instability. Perhaps he'd experienced something during a recent rift entry.
Elias was more interesting.
She was seventeen and officially engaged in social activities as a noblewoman. But her fingers bore ink stains. The fingers of someone who handled documents frequently. And her eyes kept moving. Calculating. The eyes of someone planning something.
"Brother Simon, when is the next rift entry?" Elias asked. Her voice was friendly, but beneath it lay another meaning.
"I don't know. Mother will decide."
Simon's answer was short. And within that brevity lay discontent.
"You need to conquer higher difficulty rifts soon so your stats increase."
"It doesn't matter."
Simon set down his fork. "Anyway, the fourth one doesn't—"
His gaze turned toward Kaisen. Eyes of complete dismissal. The young fourth sibling was a variable not included in the calculation.
Kaisen continued eating.
"Do you still think of me as your brother?" Kaisen asked. His voice was weak. Childlike.
Simon burst out laughing. "Brother? You still care about that? You're just—"
"Stop it, Simon."
Elias interjected. Her voice was soft but commanding. Simon returned to his food.
Elias looked at Kaisen. In that moment alone, something appeared in her eyes. Curiosity. Or calculation. Kaisen couldn't distinguish between them.
"Leon, I heard your fever was severe. Are you better now?"
"Yes. Thank you, Sister."
"That's good."
Elias turned back to the window. The conversation ended there.
Kaisen continued eating. His mind was already elsewhere. The mansion's basement. The secret rift entry point that would be there. And the essence storage.
After finishing the meal, Kaisen asked Lucia, "What's down there?"
"Down there?"
Lucia became uneasy without realizing it.
"Yes, the basement. The head of the household has specifically forbidden entry there. You mustn't go down either, Young Master."
"Why?"
"That is... something I cannot know."
Lucia's face turned pale. It was clearly fear. But not fear of Valentina. Fear of something else.
Kaisen didn't ask further.
Instead, he explored other parts of the mansion. The western wing. The eastern wing. The library. The armory. He passed through every room. And from each, he learned something.
In the library, he found documents regarding Valentina's political network. He couldn't read them yet, but he knew of their existence.
In the armory, he discovered a sword bearing signs of recent use. It must have been Simon's. The blade had fine scratches—marks from combat with monsters within the rifts.
And late in the afternoon, Kaisen encountered Valentina.
In the mansion's central hall. She was with politicians. She appeared to have just finished a meeting.
"Oh, Leon?"
Valentina's expression when she saw Kaisen was peculiar. Not surprise. Just a slight... lack of interest. As if looking at furniture.
"Has your fever subsided?"
"Yes, Mother."
Kaisen bowed his head.
"That's fortunate."
Valentina didn't look at him again. She entered a room with the politicians. And the door closed.
Kaisen stood in the central hall. The massive ceiling looked down upon him. And beyond that ceiling, the truth still remained.
He raised his small young hand. Still weak. But now he knew the structure of this mansion. He knew his family's weaknesses. And he knew that Valentina completely disregarded him.
That was advantageous.
A person who was ignored could move like a shadow.
Kaisen resolved to find the way to the basement.
# SCENE: Valentina's Residence
Three days had passed since encountering Valentina in the central hall of the mansion.
That night, Kaishen learned through Lucia that the head of the household would have time alone in her private office this afternoon. A brief window after lunch, after the politicians had departed.
He waited for that time.
Walking down the corridor with small, childish steps, Kaishen sensed the rhythm of his own heartbeat. It was fast. But there was no anxiety. No anger either. That had been exhausted five years ago.
What remained was only coldness.
Valentina's office was on the second floor, at the end of the north corridor. A door decorated with marble. Standing before it, Kaishen took one deep breath.
Then he knocked.
"Come in."
A voice came. Low. Commanding.
He pushed open the door.
---
Valentina Cardian sat behind her desk. Her desk was enormous. Even to Kaishen's young eyes, its size was overwhelming. Documents were stacked neatly, and her hand held a pen. She appeared to be signing something.
She set down the pen and slowly lifted her head.
"Leon."
Valentina's eyes swept over Kaishen. From top to bottom. As if inspecting. As if assessing.
Kaishen knew that gaze.
He had seen it hundreds of times in his past life. Within the order of knights. The gaze of politicians. The gaze of those in power. Eyes that measured what was weaker than themselves.
But Valentina's eyes were slightly different. Within them lay calculation. Not pure contempt, but a calculation measuring utility.
"Has the fever completely subsided?"
"Yes, Mother."
Kaishen answered. His voice was weak. Like a small child. That was necessary.
Valentina lowered her gaze back to the documents. It was a signal. This interview was already over.
"Good. Medical expenses are not insignificant, after all."
Kaishen's chest sank.
It was a careless remark. As if checking whether something in a warehouse was expensive. Not as a son. As if confirming an asset.
And in that moment, Kaishen understood.
That this woman had let him die. Five years ago, when Knight Kaishen had been falsely accused, this woman had not lifted a finger. No. More precisely, that false accusation had been necessary.
All of Kaishen's senses awakened.
"Mother, I have a question."
Kaishen spoke. His voice was still weak, but something else was mixed within it. Curiosity. The harmless curiosity of a young child.
Valentina lifted her head again. This time there was a hint of surprise. Leon rarely initiated conversation.
"What is it?"
"Father... where is he?"
Silence fell.
Valentina's hand stopped. The hand holding the pen. For several seconds, she did not move.
And slowly, she set down the pen.
"Your father is dead, Leon."
"Yes, I know. But... how?"
"That is not something you need to know."
Valentina's voice changed. It lowered. It grew colder. And within that coldness was something Kaishen recognized—a warning.
Kaishen did not back down.
"If Mother will not tell me, I could ask Simon or Elia. Perhaps they..."
"They don't know either."
Valentina cut him off. Her eyes sharpened. Eyes containing genuine threat.
"And you don't need to know either. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mother."
Kaishen answered. And he bowed his head.
In that moment, one part of Valentina's face relaxed. As if tension had eased. As if she had confirmed the threat was not real.
"You are... strange."
Valentina murmured. As if speaking only to herself.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Leave."
Kaishen turned around. He began walking toward the door.
"Leon."
Valentina spoke again.
Kaishen stopped.
"Yes?"
"Do not ask about the fissure. Do not ask about the basement. And... do not poke your nose into family matters."
Kaishen's back froze.
She knew. Something. About Leon's abnormal behavior. Or that Leon was originally such a child.
"Yes, Mother."
"Good. Leave."
Kaishen opened the door.
---
After stepping into the corridor, Kaishen walked a few more steps. Then he stopped at a corner of the wall.
His small hand pressed against the wall. As if needing support. But in truth, he simply wanted to confirm his own emotions.
Anger. It was there. But not as great as he had anticipated.
Rather, something else was present. Certainty.
Valentina Cardian was not a simple woman. She was a woman capable of killing her own son. She had done it once already, so she could do it again. But she was also, very cautious. She avoided danger. She left no evidence.
And now, why had she issued a warning to Leon?
Kaishen thought.
It was not a mere threat. It was information. Valentina had sensed something. The change in Leon. And that change could interfere with her plans.
Then what was Valentina planning now?
Kaishen's eyes opened sharply.
Simon.
That was it. All of Valentina's attention was on Simon. The eldest son. The heir. And the son who had reached the age to enter the fissure.
Kaishen slowly let out a silent laugh.
Valentina believed she could completely control Leon. That he was a weak child. An incompetent child. So she had only issued a warning. Only given advice.
But that was a mistake.
A person who was ignored could move like a shadow. And a shadow could draw its blade at the closest distance, at the most unexpected moment.
Kaishen bowed once toward Valentina. A bow of gratitude. No, a bow of confirmation.
Now everything was clear.
Valentina Cardian was the woman who had killed him. And she was still prepared to kill her own son.
But this time would be different.
This time, he was prepared.