← I was wrongfully killed, and I was reborn as the youngest member of my enemy's family.It was deep into the night.
Kaisen lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. A time when no one passed by. When all the servants had withdrawn and family members had shut themselves in their own rooms. That moment when the mansion's breath slowed.
He rose.
His footsteps were light, leaving no trace. The knight training from his past life still remained in his body. It had been five years since he'd held a sword, but his movements showed no rust.
He had already mapped out the mansion's structure. Three days of exploration had drawn the layout of major corridors, rooms, and staircases into his mind like a map. But the basement was different. The basement was intentionally hidden from anyone's reach.
What Kaisen needed to find was the entrance.
He passed through the first-floor library. Beyond the window, the darkness of the garden was visible. He moved toward the kitchen through a corridor with the lights off. Behind the kitchen was a storage room, and inside the storage room...
His finger pressed against a specific point on the wall.
Cold, smooth stone. A texture different from the other walls. Recent construction. It appeared to have been made somewhere between two to three years ago. That period coincided with when Valentina had greatly expanded her political influence.
Kaisen's hand felt across the wall. The surface bore no marks. But his finger stopped at one point. A barely noticeable groove. A depression that could only be detected with the tip of a fingernail.
He pressed there.
A metallic sound rang out. Low, brief, and very deliberate.
The wall moved.
There was almost no sliding sound. It was an intricate mechanical device. Probably an enormously expensive construction. Given the Kardian family's wealth, it was entirely possible.
Darkness opened its mouth.
Kaisen entered without hesitation.
Stairs descended. Stone stairs. As he felt his way down the wall with his hand, the texture of the air changed. The deeper below the surface he went, the colder it became. There was moisture, and a mixed smell of mold and metal. And another scent. A scent Kaisen knew from his past life.
The scent of Essence.
It was similar to stone dust, but more pungent. Like the smell of air burning when struck by lightning—very faint but distinctly electric in aroma. A scent he had smelled thousands of times walking through cracks in his past life.
The stairs ended.
Kaisen's eyes gradually began to adjust to the darkness. His eyes were better than those of ordinary people. Probably a byproduct of his knight training from his past life. If even a little light remained, it was enough.
The basement unfolded before him.
The space was larger than expected. It appeared to be about half the area of the mansion's entire first floor. Iron shelves were installed along the walls in rows, and on top of them...
Essence.
Dozens. No, hundreds.
Each Essence was contained in a small glass vessel. Faint light emanated from within. Blue, green, red, white. The color varied depending on the grade of the Essence. The brighter the color, the higher the purity, the more powerful it was.
Kaisen moved forward slowly. His finger brushed against one vessel. Cold, solid, and within it a vibration so faint it was almost imperceptible. Like something alive.
"This is..."
His voice was very low. A whisper-level utterance.
This was the Kardian family's true asset. A scale unknown to other nobles in the kingdom. An amount of Essence that even the kingdom's king could not precisely grasp. With this much Essence, they could create several knights. No, not just several knights but could produce almost super-powerful-class Essence users.
Then why was Simon so weak?
Kaisen's eyes swept across the shelves again. The arrangement of the Essences. There was a pattern to it. The brighter ones were in one corner, the dimmer ones in another. And in the innermost part...
There were much larger vessels.
Kaisen walked in that direction. His footsteps remained silent. Knight training had taught his body silence.
The innermost vessel was about the size of a finger. Inside it was an Essence that was nearly transparent. That meant its purity was extremely high. It might have been made by refining dozens of ordinary Essences.
Beside it were other vessels. Same size, same transparency. Several of them. Probably between five and ten.
When Kaisen's finger touched one of them, it moved.
It had a handle. A metal handle. Sealed like a medicine bottle. When Kaisen carefully picked it up, its weight was lighter than expected. But the pressure exerted by the Essence inside was very great. Like holding a star. An almost tingling sensation arose in his fingers.
"Top grade. No, beyond that."
Kaisen placed the vessel back in its exact position. Precisely, without wavering.
He knew what these were. These were personal Essences. Probably Valentina's own, or stockpiled for a specific person. If someone in the kingdom regularly received Essences on this scale, their engraving capacity would be beyond imagination.
Kaisen's gaze shifted to another part of the basement.
Beyond the shelves, on one wall was an iron door. A smaller door. Probably a safe or storage room. When Kaisen moved toward it, he stopped before it.
Beside the door, on the wall, were several finger-sized grooves. And beside them, something was engraved in very faint lettering.
Kaisen leaned in. No, he focused his eyes. The lettering was extremely faint. Carved so deliberately that it was almost unreadable.
But his eyes could read it.
"Gate of the Crack. Entry by authorized personnel only."
Kaisen's breathing deepened.
He knew what a Gate of the Crack was. During his time as a knight in his past life, he had heard that in certain areas, cracks did not appear naturally but were artificially created. It was very expensive construction, and only a handful of the kingdom's most prominent families could do it. This meant the Kardian family was one of them.
Then when was the crack here created?
When Kaisen reached out to examine the door, a sound came from behind.
Footsteps. Footsteps descending the stairs.
Kaisen moved immediately. Instead of heading toward the door, he threw himself between the Essence shelves. His body melted into the darkness. He stopped breathing. His heart nearly stopped.
Knight training. Hunter's instinct.
The footsteps drew closer. And they were very quiet footsteps that Kaisen had not noticed. In other words, this was someone who visited here frequently.
One corner of the basement brightened.
A lantern held in hand. And not a very bright lantern, but a weak flame barely at candlelight level. An adjustment to avoid damaging the eyes in this place.
The person holding that lantern came into view.
Lucia.
A woman in servant's clothes. One of the oldest servants Kaisen had seen in the mansion. She appeared to be in her mid-forties. Her face bore deep wrinkles, and her eyes were very cautious.
Lucia entered the basement and took a few more steps before stopping. Then she took out a glass vessel from one of the shelves. Green Essence. Medium-grade purity.
She picked it up and put it down repeatedly. As if weighing it.
Next, Lucia took out a cloth from a small pouch. She carefully wrapped the Essence and placed it in the pouch. Her movements were very practiced. The movements of someone who had done this many times.
Kaisen observed Lucia from within the shadows.
When Lucia turned around with the lantern again, Kaisen's eyes saw her face. On that face were guilt, fear, and almost every emotion mixed together.
And beneath those emotions was despair.
Lucia headed toward the stairs.
Kaisen waited until she completely disappeared. Until her footsteps climbed to the upper floor, until the storage room wall closed again, until silence enveloped the basement.
Only then did he rise.
His hands were trembling slightly. No, not trembling but responding to the Essence's aura. The Essence concentration in this basement matched that of the interior of an ordinary crack. That was why his body was reacting.
Kaisen went back to the door. He looked at those finger-sized grooves again.
Five grooves. Probably a fingerprint recognition device. Or it could be a more advanced mechanical device that detected bone structure or Essence response in the fingers.
Then what was inside this door?
Kaisen tried to find that answer, but had to stop. Another sound came from the stairs. This time it was different footsteps. Heavier, faster, more hurried.
Kaisen immediately hid himself in the darkness again.
This time there were two. And one was a very familiar voice.
"You're late."
It was Simon's voice.
The sound of footsteps completely faded, and a long time passed before Kaisen moved.
The basement air still vibrated with Essence. His body detected the waves and responded. The tips of his fingers emitted a faint heat. It was a sensation he had experienced in his past life. The kind he felt when encountering high-concentration Essence deep within cracks.
Kaisen climbed the stairs. Slowly, carefully. The kitchen storage room's wall was closed. Since Lucia had confirmed a position where he could hide his body, he followed that method. He found a gap in the wall with his fingers and pushed inward. A mechanical sound rang out.
The mansion's hallway was filled with the silence of night.
He returned to his room. He lay in bed, but sleep did not come. He raised his hand and stared at the ceiling. A subtle warmth still remained at his fingertips. It meant that the Essence's energy was causing some reaction within his body.
The next morning, Maria Helen knocked on Kaisen's bedroom door.
"Young Master Leon, it is morning."
Kaisen woke up. Though he had stayed awake all night, he was careful not to show a tired expression. The person named Leon was known for his weak constitution, incompetence, and lethargy. He had to move within that framework.
Maria entered the room and opened the curtains. Morning sunlight poured in. Her movements were efficient. Not like those of a servant, but like someone in a higher position.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
Kaisen sat up in bed and yawned. Like an incompetent child.
"Yes, Teacher Maria."
Maria took out today's clothes from the wardrobe. Her hand paused briefly. It was a very short moment, but it was clear to Kaisen's eyes. She was thinking about something.
"Young Master, did you perhaps go somewhere last night?"
Kaisen's heart skipped a beat. But nothing showed on his face.
"No. I only slept."
Maria looked at him. Her eyes were cold and deep like black jewels. In that moment, Kaisen realized something. This woman was not a simple tutor.
"I see. That's a relief."
Maria smiled again. But that smile was incomplete. Part of it was omitted.
After breakfast, Kaisen met Maria in the library. It was no coincidence. She had called him.
"Young Master, do you have a moment?"
Kaisen nodded.
The library door closed. Maria sat in front of Kaisen. She was still smiling, but now it was not an act. Rather, it was reality.
"I have worked in this household for ten years. From shortly after you were born."
Kaisen remained silent. He waited for her to continue.
"You went somewhere last night. And you came back. As your tutor, I know that. Because..."
Maria raised her hand and showed Kaisen the back of his hand. Fine dust was clinging to it. The kind from the basement.
"...because there is basement dust on your hand."
Kaisen's breathing deepened. But he did not change his expression.
"The basement is..."
"An unauthorized space, isn't it? That's right."
Maria cut off his words. Her voice was soft but firm.
"I have entered that place before too. For different reasons than you. But we both know. What is there."
Kaisen looked at Maria. There was no fear in her eyes. Only something like confirmation.
"You are special, Young Master."
Maria said.
"From the moment I first met you, I felt it. That your eyes are different. Your body is weak, but there is something different inside it. And last night, you confirmed that."
"Teacher, what do you—"
"Trust me, Young Master."
Maria cut him off again.
"I am on your side. In this household, I am your only true ally."
Kaisen's hands began to tremble again. But this time it was not because of Essence.
"Why?"
"Because I know what you are."
Maria's voice grew lower.
"You are not just a weak child. Your eyes, your movements, the speed of your thoughts. Everything is different. As if... someone else is borrowing this body and wearing it."
Kaisen's world stopped.
She knew. He didn't know exactly what she knew, but she knew something.
"I will not ask who you are. What you are either. I only..."
Maria stood up.
"...hope that you will learn everything about this household. Especially the things in the basement. And I want to know what you will do with them."
"What if I were to harm you?"
Kaisen asked.
Maria smiled. This time it was a complete smile.
"You won't do that. Because from the moment you saw this household's secrets, you had no choice. You came here to do something. To fix something. Or to unravel something."
Her words were precise.
"I have worked in this household for ten years. I know all of this household's secrets. The secrets of the family head Valentina, of Young Master Simon, of Miss Elia. And Lucia's secrets too."
Maria stood in front of the door leading to the garden.
"If you need me, Young Master, call for me anytime. If you need my help."
"Why you?"
Kaisen asked.
Maria did not turn around.
"Because this household is wrong. And you... you seem like the only person who can change that."
She left the library.
Kaisen did not move for a long time. That afternoon, Simon went down to the basement again. This time, no one followed him. But Kaisen knew. From the sound of the basement door closing.
And Maria stood by the library window, looking down at the garden. In her hand was an old diary. Everything about this household was recorded in it.
When night came, Kaisen went to find Maria's room.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in, Young Master."
Maria answered from inside.
Kaisen opened the door. Maria was sitting on the bed, and beside her lay something like a thick folder.
"What is this?"
"All the records of this household. From the past twenty years."
Maria tapped the folder with her finger.
"This is probably what you need."
Kaisen picked up the folder. It was heavy. From its weight alone, he could tell it contained many stories.
"Teacher, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Are you betraying this household?"
Maria laughed. It was a genuine laugh.
"No. I am fulfilling my position. As a tutor."
Her eyes grew brighter.
"A tutor must protect her student. Whoever you are, whatever you are. You are my student."
Kaisen left with the folder. Maria lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. A smile still lingered on her lips.
Her fingers turned the pages of the diary. Inside were names. Valentina. Simon. Elia. And other names.
On the last page, new handwriting had been written. It was written tonight.
"Young Master Leon. Or an existence by another name. I believe you will save this household."