It is good to view things as familiar or unfamiliar rather than as difficult or easy.
......
The elder maid stood stiffly by the bedside, holding a silver tray like it was a shield.
She had been given a mission:
Wake Lynn up and drag him,
if necessary, to meet the family head.
"Master Lynn?" she called gently.
A muffled groan came from under the blanket. "Mmm..."
"Please wake up," she tried again, tapping the tray nervously.
"Mmm... five more years..." he slurred, pulling the blanket tighter around him.
The maid grimaced.
"Master Lynn, the head is calling you. For your own safety, it would be wise not to make him wait."
A messy head of hair poked out from under the covers.
Lynn cracked one bleary eye open and muttered,
"He's my... so-called fa-therrr, right?"
"Yes, Master Lynn."
"Then tell him to wait his turn... mmmkay?"
He flopped dramatically onto his other side, now fully turning his back to her.
"What kinda dad... won't even let his kid nap after coming back from the dead..."
The maid opened her mouth, then closed it. She had no comeback for that.
"Not like I'm sleeping like this every day, ya know," Lynn added with a half-hearted wave, already slipping back into unconsciousness.
The maid looked at the tray, considered dropping it on his head... then decided she valued her job too much.
"Master, just... wake up, please.
It's not just your father. The High Priest and your sister are also here."
Her voice dropped lower, sharp with urgency.
"So you might want to wake the h-ell up right now, Lynn."
Her words were serious ,dead serious but honestly?
I didn't give a damn.
My sleep was being brutally disturbed by her constant nagging, but who cared about that? Certainly not anyone in this house.
Since the person known as Lynn or more accurately, the current me was just an unwanted presence here.
They wanted evidence that I existed.
Just proof.
Above everything else, I had already decided:
"I would prioritize myself."
That was the promise I made when I decided to join this soul-swapping game.
For one year, my oath would be simple:
"Only me."
So I remained silent, sinking deeper into the soft embrace of the pillow, reaching for my one true friend: sleep.
"Hehe... so soft."
Not just my soul even this worn-out body craved sleep more than anything.
And guess what?
I complied without a second thought.
Just when I was about to finally embrace sleep, the door burst open with a bang.
The impact was so violent, it almost gave me a mild heart attack.
But I didn't panic.
I stayed still, eyes closed, half-asleep, breathing slow and even except for the slight twitch of my foot that betrayed my annoyance.
Even the maid wasn't ever this aggressive.
"What are you doing, Elda? Can't you do anything on time?" a sharp voice barked.
"Sorry... he's refusing to wake up," Elda muttered.
"Refusing, huh?"
I felt her gaze pierce through the bedsheets.
"Master Lynn, your sister is here.
It might be a good idea to stop playing around... right now."
In response, I dramatically snored a long, exaggerated one.
"...Hmm," I grunted after, as if inconvenienced by my own fake snoring.
"Lynn..." the supposed sister called my name,the first time hearing it from her mouth felt awkwardly uncomfortable.
"Lynn."
Her voice tightened, growing colder.
Was I ignoring her?
Absolutely.
And I was getting good at it.
"Father is waiting. Don't waste his time."
"...Mmm... Father... who?" I mumbled, then lazily shifted under the blanket like a worm burrowing deeper into the ground.
"Tch.This brat."
"I don't remember having one,"
I muttered, my voice muffled by the pillow. "So please... mm... leave."
Of course, I was fully conscious.
I just chose to act like the world's most unbothered corpse.
If she really was my sister, she would have said something that mattered not this dry "father is waiting" garbage.
She scoffed loudly.
"Yeah, keep sleeping, you... murderer."
At that word, my hand instinctively twitched curling slightly into a fist under the blanket.
My eyes cracked open just a slit... then shut again, as if it took too much effort to stay awake.
Still, I didn't move otherwise.
"Whether you're dead or alive, Lynn," she said icily, "you're getting kicked out of this house."
"And why is that?" I said without lifting my head, voice slurred like a drunkard.
"Who raises thoughtless brats? Besides, you've already lost what you shouldn't have.
Lynn Blake, the proud mage of this family, he died long ago.
The thing lying here now is just a hollow shell, clinging to a name."
"And of course,Who keeps trash at home, anyway?
Better to throw it out, right?"
The bed creaked slightly as I flopped dramatically onto my other side, blanket wrapped tighter around me like a stubborn burrito.
Elda tried to intervene, her voice small.
"Ms. Lore, please don't...
The Head won't be pleased with this...
Besides, he doesn't remember anything, so please refrain from further—"
I stayed still.
Pretending to be blissfully asleep, even as I listened intently.
Waiting.
Waiting to hear how much uglier they could get.
Lore gave a disgusted sigh.
"Oh please, Elda. You're the one who insisted on taking care of him, remember?
But now even you're starting to clean up this... 'Master' of yours."
"You're just as pathetic as he is.... wasting your time on a child killer."
Talk about a bitchy entrance for a female character.
I knew this would probably be the first move, the villain arc kicking off.
Every tragic fantasy novel starts with this kind of heavy, cruel crap.
But living through it instead of reading it on my phone?
Yeah.
It sucked way more than I thought it would.
Enough of this brother-sister K-drama.
"I'll come. You can go first," I muttered. "Just leave the maid behind since
I don't know the way."
"Fine. Elda, make it quick"
the so-called sister snapped.
The maid nodded silently, and the sister figure left the room just as aggressively as she'd entered.
Finally.
Some peace and quiet.
I guess it's Time to meet the head of the table.
I stretched a little under the blanket, bones cracking, then sat up slowly.
I wonder what he's gonna say.
.....
I slowly dragged myself out of bed, my legs wobbling as if they'd forgotten how to work properly.
The elder maid was still standing nearby, watching me with that judgmental look that said, Let's see what this brat's going to do now with his miserable situation.
I didn't have the energy to care about her scrutiny. I stumbled toward the bathroom, my feet barely lifting from the floor.
I still hadn't had the courageor the stupidity to take a good look at my new face, even though it was technically a face I knew.
I splashed cold water onto my face, wiping it away with shaky hands, and finally faced the mirror.
There it was,the so-called Mystery Man, the tragic villain who had somehow managed to get screwed over not once, but twice,Lynn Blake.
But the reflection staring back at me didn't look like any of the grand, mysterious villain I was supposed to be.
Instead, I looked like someone who had been trapped in a underground cell, forgotten by time and left to wither away.
The white shirt I was wearing hung loosely over me, along with pants that looked almost like pajamas.
And the whole look made me feel even worse. It wasn't a dramatic villain ensemble. It was the outfit of someone who had completely given up, who was too tired to care anymore.
The grey, silk-like hair was long, unkempt, and draped over my face.
My skin had the texture of something that had been left in the sun for too long, dried and cracked, and the eyes, those damn eyes.
Lynn's eyes had been pitch black ominous.
Mine, however, had a strange golden-brown mixture to them, almost like someone tried to add a little something extra to the package but got distracted halfway through.
Before I could truly wallow in my misfortune, the grumpy maid, Elda, decided to interrupt my moment of self-pity.
"Please hurry," she said,her tone sharp.
"You can have your time later, after you meet with the Head."
I didn't bother looking at her.
"Why should I hurry?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right... because I'm getting kicked out of my own home, is that it?"
She didn't even flinch.
Clearly, she'd seen her fair share of disgruntled noble characters in this world.
I glanced back at my reflection, feeling the weight of my appearance.
The messy hair, the faded, oversized clothes everything about me screamed complete disaster.
Normally, I might have tried to fix things up a bit, but I didn't even know where my clothes were.
The only thing I had done since arriving here was sleep.
Because once I was fully dragged into this story, catching a break would be about as likely as me suddenly remembering who I was.
"Your name's Elda, right?" I asked, turning toward her.
"Yes, Master Lynn," she responded, bowing stiffly.
"Stop with the 'Master' nonsense"
I said, cutting her off with a wave.
"You're going to stop calling me that after my disposal ceremony anyway."
I gave her a pointed look.
"Let's just be real, Ms. Elda.
Sure, I love hearing the word 'Master' as much as the next person, but in this situation?
It's kind of meaningless.
Just call me Lynn, for now."
Elda looked like I had just slapped her. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"It's... it's okay, Master Lynn.
Your presence alone, as a member of the Blake family, carries enough weight to warrant that title."
I exhaled through my nose.
"Presence?
Lady, my presence here is as useful as a decaying flowerpot.
Honestly, I'd rather say my presence meant nothing at all.
But here's the thing I don't remember anything.
Not you nor my sister.
Not even my father either.
And most importantly, not even myself."
The words hung in the air, and Elda finally went silent.
A look of pity slipped through her stiff exterior, and I could see her eyes soften an awkward, uncomfortable pity.
She clearly didn't know how to respond to that.
I half-smiled bitterly.
"Go ahead. Feel sorry for me. It's not like I'm not used to it."
Elda opened her mouth, then closed it, clearly unsure of what to say.
She shifted on her feet, trying to think of something comforting. But nothing came.
Instead, she offered a strained
"I'm sure it'll all make sense soon, Master Lynn. Everything... will be clearer when you meet the Head."
I couldn't help but let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, sure"
I rubbed my face again, feeling the roughness of my skin, and sighed.
"Okey, Ms. Elda," I said, straightening up a little.
"How long have you known me?"
Elda clasped her hands in front of her, a small frown appearing between her brows.
"Since you were born, Master Lynn."
Her answer came without hesitation, but there was a strange heaviness to her voice.
I gave a faint, almost tired smile.
"Then, can you do me a favor?
One last time."
She stiffened, pausing like she wasn't sure if she should agree or run for the hills.
"It'll take a few minutes to get to wherever my oh-so-welcoming father is waiting, right?" I added casually.
"So... just use that time.
Tell me about myself.
Everything you know.
Good, bad, shameful, disgusting
I don't care.
I just need facts.
I need something."
Elda's mouth opened slightly, but no words came out at first.
She looked uncomfortable, as if she had been asked to recount a story that didn't end well.
After a long second, she finally nodded, almost reluctantly.
Her voice was quieter this time, almost respectful.
"If that is your wish, Master Lynn…
I will tell you everything I know."
I gave a soft, humorless chuckle.
"I don't need a fairy tale,just be honest about me from your perspective .
And just keep it short too."
Elda lowered her gaze, a complex emotion crossing her face something between sorrow and duty.
It was clear that whatever story she was about to tell, it wasn't going to be easy for either of us.
But at this point, the truth even a bitter one was better than standing here like an idiot in white pajamas, clinging to a life I don't know about.
'Just a few words will be enough too "
I said, brushing past the heavy silence hanging between us.
"Let's go."
Without waiting for her reply, I turned, grabbed the door handle, and pulled it open.
The hinges let out a soft creak, like the room itself was reluctant to let me go.
I stepped out without looking back,out of the space that had been my birthplace in this unfamiliar world.
The room where I had awoken not as myself, but as Lynn Blake.
And now, I was on my way to meet the man who was supposed to be father...of the real Lynn
Or maybe my father from this world
I tightened my grip slightly as I walked, feeling the white, pajama-like fabric of my loose clothes brush against my skin.
It felt almost symbolic like I was walking out of a hospital ward, a half-finished version of a person, heading toward a life that wasn't really mine.
But there was no turning back now.