"Prince Leonard Lawson, please wake up! It's time for your investiture." From outside a large door, an elderly man exclaimed in anxiousness.
This man was dressed in a long, formal, draped robe. Despite his age, one could still sense a powerful air of dignity emitting from him.
Standing nearby the elderly man were two guards, their expressions full of vigilance as they guarded the door. Yet, despite being vigilant, their eyes were filled with nothing but respect towards the man shouting before the large door.
Within the palace of Prince Leonard, only this person could behave in such a manner. After all, he was none other than the famous Eighth Circle Mage: Spencer Reed.
"Prince Leonard, the investiture cannot be delayed. Many other princes are currently vying for the position," Spencer shouted. "As such, being late would give them an excuse to criticize you."
Contemplating whether to barge into the room or not, he could only sigh. Usually, he would have already done so. However, the prince had warned him the night before that he would be testing some magic theory.
The crown prince could not afford a single form of mishap. So, unless he explicitly gave permission for someone to enter, no one was allowed to take a single step into his chambers.
'It can't be that Prince Leonard became afraid because of the numerous incidents before, right?' The elderly man tapped his foot lightly on the ground.
Prince Leonard was neither the youngest nor the eldest offspring of the emperor. His mother was said to have been banished to the barren lands after a certain incident unknown to most people.
As such, when the news of the emperor appointing the title of crown prince to Leonard came, many were shocked.
Ever since then, many terrible things have happened, inevitably forcing Leonard to confine himself to his room.
As Spencer pondered over whether Leonard had gotten cold feet, inside the very room that was enclosed, a person was lying on the bed. He had black hair and brown eyes; his facial features were neatly refined, giving him an elegant and composed appearance.
However, those were only features on the surface. Deep inside, this crown prince was panicking like crazy.
'There's no way I actually transmigrated.' Leonard sweated profusely. Others had always dreamt of being transmigrated to another world, but definitely not him. He had never even once thought about it.
After all, his life was already great.
Just before this, he was about to succeed in the company after a great deal of effort. There were many beautiful women just waiting for him to call and enjoy.
A life full of pleasure was just before him. He had everything!
He had won the succession war and became someone that many cursed and yearned to become. Yet, before he could even enjoy the fruits of his labor, he was poisoned. Poisoned to death by his most trusted aide.
And who was Leonard now?
He was originally someone called Vincent.
"If this is a prank played by god, then I surrender. Please send me back to my original world!" The now former Vincent prayed sincerely. He even clasped his hands together to create a praying gesture.
Suddenly, Leonard felt his head aching. He had thought his prayer had been answered.
'Yes, send me back, god or goddess.' He cheered silently. But that cheer lasted for only a fleeting moment as what he received was but a painful sensation of Leonard's memories.
From his very birth to his current age of 15.
There was only a single word that could describe Leonard's life: Tragedy.
'You've got to be kidding me. This guy is utter trash.' He inwardly cried out. Not only was Leonard a coward, but he was also a complete bona fide stepping stone for others!
As if the real Leonard had discerned his thought process, his soul completely dissipated. Now, Vincent — no, Leonard felt like the exchange of bodies had been completed. There was no refund.
"Wait, don't leave! I'm sorry! Take back your body! I don't want it! I want my old one back!!!" Leonard teared up as he felt like his connection and emotions towards Vincent's life had been cut. Although he still retained his memories, Vincent's life felt extremely foreign to him.
Unfortunately, no matter how much he cried out loud, there was nothing that he could do to cancel this transaction.
From now on, he was Leonard, and Vincent was just some foreign memory in his brain.
'Ugh, should I drink some poison?' Leonard suddenly thought. He had consumed poison, but he never witnessed or experienced his own death.
Maybe he survived. Granted, there were vital signals on his smart watch. The bodyguards and those tasked to monitor his vital signs would've called an ambulance to rescue him.
Right when Leonard found hope in this, the door to his room was suddenly swung open. There, a ferocious elderly man emerged with a strong level of killing intent surrounding him.
"How dare you harm the future Crown Prince!" Spencer's aura rose tremendously. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning every nook and cranny of Leonard's room, seemingly on the search for intruders or assassins.
Spencer had initially planned on waiting. But after overhearing the crown prince's pleading, he realized that something was amiss.
Yet when he arrived, Spencer was not able to sense a third party in the room. His magic presence covered the entirety of it in the blink of an eye, so it was impossible for him to miss a single thing.
"Prince Leonard, are you alright?" Spencer turned to him, asking in a soft tone, completely void of the previous threatening one.
"Uh, yes. Do you have any poison?" Leonard didn't respond to his question and instead requested lethal poison to consume. He had no intention of taking over a messy life like Leonard's.
Crown Prince?
Oh, please. That kind of title was just asking for trouble and death.
He would much rather go back to his old body and enjoy the glorious life. Of course, that included deposing his trusted aide, the one who betrayed him.
Though little did Leonard know, his sudden request for poison frightened Spencer deeply.
"Immediately signal the highest emergency. Someone dared to bewitch the Prince!" Spencer turned to the two guards outside and ordered.
"Bewitch?!" Startled, the two guards swiftly signaled the highest emergency alert.
In no time at all, the entire palace descended into chaos. Maids, guards, servants, and even soldiers all reacted wildly to keep the palace on lockdown, all in search of that single non-existent culprit.
The spies that were stationed outside were also astonished by the palace's sound of an emergency.
While this was happening, Leonard wondered if everyone had gone insane. 'Isn't it just a request for poison? Why are you all being such drama queens?'
Less than half an hour later, two guards brought over a maid in front of Spencer and Leonard.
"Reporting to Sir Reed, this maid was found to have contained traces of poison in her possession." A guard knelt down on one knee and relayed the news.
"Poison, huh." Spencer's expression darkened. His suspicion of someone bewitching and intending to harm the prince magnified. "Where is the poison?"
A few seconds later, another guard carefully brought forth the poison, which was sealed in a small vial.
Spencer received the vial and opened it slightly. He gave it a quick sniff and closed his eyes. As an Eighth Circle Mage, such poison posed no danger to him. But, for the crown prince, who had yet to form a single magic circle in his life, this poison would be considered lethal enough to take his life.
"A poison that contains ingredients from the Kharnavos Continent. How amusing." Spencer chuckled softly.
Meanwhile, the maid was sweating profusely upon hearing the elderly man's deduction. She was restrained by the guards and couldn't move an inch.
"Forgive me, Sir Reed." She cried loudly. "My family was heavy in debt, and someone offered me a high sum to lace this substance in the prince's food. They said it was just to hinder the prince from attending his investiture. They never once mentioned anything about poison!"
The maid's face was extremely pale.
What she thought was some laxative or some other substance turned out to be poison intended to kill the prince.
Even if she were given the permission or courage to do so, she would never dare kill a prince of Aldros!
Moreover, this prince was to be appointed the crown prince today.
Having heard her statement, Spencer believed that she wasn't lying. The poison appeared no differently from regular medicine, and it didn't evoke any smell resembling poison.
It was found out because Spencer had already covered the entire palace with his magic, and anything out of place would illuminate. This was also the reason why the guards were able to pinpoint this particular maid.
"Were there any other traces of poison elsewhere?" Spencer turned to a guard and questioned.
"Replying to Sir Reed, the poison had only come into contact with this maid. According to the investigation, the maid is named Bea. She entered the palace at the age of 13 and worked for 25 years." The guard responded. His response effectively eliminated all other suspects.
Spencer nodded. He had taken the guard's words into account, but he would investigate and verify the statement at a later date. For now, his attention turned to the prince.
"Prince Leonard, please forgive this old subordinate for allowing this incident to happen." Spencer solemnly bowed, apologizing deeply.
Leonard's face remained stoic on the surface. But silently, he was shocked to the core. 'What kind of mess did my request turn out to be?'
Initially, he wanted to use poison to hopefully return to his original world. But after thinking about it, he realized it was quite ridiculous of him.
He was about to brush the matter aside once Spencer's search resulted in nothing. But who would've possibly imagined that there was actually a conspiracy at play here?
Having received Leonard's memories, he only knew some of the people. As a cowardly person, he only ever interacted with Spencer the most.
Nevertheless, he recalled some memories about Bea.
Bea was a veteran maid with 25 years of experience. She was someone whom the original Leonard had stumbled across numerous times. She was meticulous and never had any demerits in her name.
Therefore, nobody would have once suspected her of being the culprit, attempting to lace the crown prince's food.
'Spencer said the poison's ingredient hailed from the Kharnavos Continent. But it can't be that simple.' Leonard thought to himself.
The current world he resided in was known as Aetherion.
Aetherion was home to five dominant continents, each representing unique cultures, strengths, and philosophies.
Kharnavos lay in the frozen north, a land of war-hardened survivors and icy magic.
Vel Serentha rested in the mystical west, cloaked in forest and fading glory.
Xundraeth stretched across the sprawling east, ancient, massive, and fiercely ordered.
Valdoria stood at the center, the diplomatic and arcane nexus of Aetherion. This was where the Aldros Empire, Leonard Lawson's homeland, was located.
Dregalia lurked in the shadowed south, fractured and feared by all.
Leonard was the 5th prince of Aldros and the soon-to-be crown prince. At the current political stage, Valdoria was allied with Kharnavos due to the latter's need to resist Xundraeth's expansion.
To summarize, it would be ridiculous for Kharnavos to be harming him at this critical juncture. Another possibility would be that Xundraeth had hoped to frame them for such a crime.
However, Leonard didn't believe that Xundraeth was the main culprit either. Although Xundraeth's disdain towards Valdoria was an open secret, they still wouldn't foolishly provoke Valdoria for a mere 5th prince.
As the 5th prince, otherwise known as the weakest and cowardliest prince to the outside world, Xundraeth would have been pleased to see such a person crowned as the crown prince.
Why would they want to kill someone like him?
After a brief moment of ponderment, Leonard nearly laughed out loud. The complex intrigues in this world were much more complicated than Leonard's original world.
The reasoning behind this conclusion?
It was simple.
This world had magic and many more fantasy elements.
"Very interesting." He muttered.
"Prince Leonard?" Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"
Spencer had already done an analysis on Leonard earlier and confirmed that there was no foreign magic or substance within his body. Hence, he was startled when he heard Leonard calling the incident interesting.
If it were before, then Leonard would have reacted in complete fear and begged Spencer to let him stay holed up in his room.
Spencer even thought about a number of convincing reasons to persuade him to begin heading out to complete the investiture.
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Leonard glanced at him and asked. "I requested poison, and somehow, there really was poison available. My palace sure has an abundance of resources. Is that not interesting?"
"Ah, yes. Interesting indeed..." Spencer smiled awkwardly and nodded, unsure of what else to say.