After I was examined by that old man, he began asking annoying questions.
"Do you remember your name?"
"No, but I heard it from someone."
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"That I was in a disgusting cell."
"Do you remember anything before that? What exactly did you feel when you opened your eyes in the cell?"
I exhaled in boredom and then answered,
"Nothing, I only felt a slight headache."
The doctor nodded, then turned to Edward and said,
"He is suffering from memory loss."
Alerion patted his chest in relief.
"I knew it. It's impossible for anyone not to recognize me."
The old man finally left after giving me some useless advice. I turned toward the three standing in front of me and asked,
"So, who are you? Who am I? Where are we?"
Even though I already knew some information from the system, hearing it from the source was more reliable. In addition, the system screen clearly showed that I needed to activate the lost memory, which meant either the owner of this body had suffered an injury that caused memory loss, or there was some other unknown error.
Alerion stood proudly, introducing himself.
"I am Duke Alerion Luxehart, the most beloved man in the kingdom. My fame has spread to…"
I cut him off in disgust.
"Alright, alright, I get it, Mr. Famous."
His eyes narrowed slightly, then he cleared his throat and turned to the white-haired man, whose name I would finally know.
"This is Duke Kailos Darakthail."
I blinked slowly. His name was very beautiful, but it gave off a dark feeling, contrary to his radiant appearance. I listened to them while recording the information at the same time. Before Alerion could introduce Edward, Edward himself approached me. His golden eyes unconsciously drew me in. I almost complimented their beauty, but quickly restrained myself and asked,
"What? Are you going to introduce yourself, or should I guess?"
He raised his eyebrow slightly, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. Our gazes locked for so long it felt like an eternity.
Finally, he exhaled and said,
"I am Edward Vicedivedia, Emperor of the Kingdom of Vigegria. And you are Aaron Vicedivedia, the fourth prince."
I stiffened a little. I had expected this, but hearing him say it so suddenly without warning made me feel uneasy.
"So? You're my father?"
Silence fell over the place. For a moment, I thought I would suffocate. Then that man turned and left the room as if I hadn't asked him anything at all.
Alerion and Kailos stared at me as if I were some strange creature, then they too left.
...
'Shit, did I say something wrong?'
I muttered to myself, thinking about their reactions, but I quickly ignored it when I heard the sound of my hungry stomach.
I looked around the room toward the table in front of the couch. It had some food and fruit on it. I approached and picked up a red apple that looked delicious from afar, but when I held it, I found it was rotten.
"Ew… what the hell is this filth?"
I looked at the food—it was inedible as well.
After thinking it over, I concluded it must have spoiled because I was away from the palace. But honestly, what got me into a human auction in the first place? Was I kidnapped? I refused to think too deeply and settled with that answer. I put the apple back in its place.
"Ding….."
A faint sound rang in my head as the system interface appeared in miniature.
⌈ Memory Retrieval Screen ⌋
[ Memory Retrieval: In Progress... ]
✦ Current Percentage: ▓▓░░░░░░░░ 15%
✦ Status: Distorted
⟡ Retrieved Information:
Part of the user's identity has been recognized
⚠︎ Entity Unstable ⚠︎
[ Warnings ]
Forced retrieval attempts may cause system collapse
Reaching Level 5 is recommended to unlock more memory fragments
⟦ Note ⟧
❝ Access to memory has been restricted by the Higher Authority ❞
I gathered the information and arranged my thoughts. First, I couldn't do anything unless I leveled up. Second, the Higher Authority was watching me and had power over this world. Third, there was an unstable entity—but who was this entity?
Before I could think further, my stomach growled again, demanding food. I sighed in annoyance and left the room.
There was a long corridor stretching to both sides, and although sunlight streamed in, some corners were shrouded in darkness.
'Did I, by any chance, end up in some kind of horror novel?'
That was the first thought I had when I remembered the nightmare I had after I fainted.
I wandered through the corridors but kept ending up in the same place. It felt like I was trapped in a maze.
'Damn castle designs.'
I sighed, and the first idea that came to me was to jump out of a window. I approached one of the nearby windows and poked my head out. There was a garden stretching as far as I could see, separated only by a tall wall from the forest. The height was considerable but not fatal. And as someone from the modern world who had seen countless K-drama heroines escape this way, I tied the sheets together and tossed them out the window.
I descended carefully, fearing the knots might come undone. I sighed in relief when my feet touched the ground, but my moment was cut short by another system screen.
⌈ System Notification ⌋
[ One of the seals has been unlocked ]
✦ Acquired Skill: Silent Infiltration
└ Ability: Move without making a sound, reduces detection rate by 70% in dark areas
[ Congratulations ]
✦ New Title Acquired:
"The Shadow Thief"
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Immediate Effect:
┃ - Agility +2
┃ - Intelligence +5
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Really? The Shadow Thief? Are they joking with me? Is this a skill or a curse? Stupid system. I sighed again—ever since I came to this world, I hadn't stopped sighing.
I strolled through the garden. It was indeed beautiful—the massive trees, the green grass, the various flowers. Everything seemed wonderful. But upon closer look, the plants were dry, about to wither, the grass untended, and the trees in a miserable state.
But I wasn't a gardener, so I didn't care much. I shrugged and continued walking. After about half an hour, I found myself in another garden. This one was far more beautiful than the first, and it seemed someone took great care of it. I ignored that, though, and followed the scent of food that caught my nose.
I stopped at one of the windows. Inside, there were many cooks—obvious from their hats—and servants, recognizable by their uniforms. Dishes of food were neatly arranged on a wooden table. The servants entered, took the plates, and left.
After two seconds of thought, I decided to wait until everyone was gone before sneaking inside.
...
I grew bored of waiting, so I started wandering again until I bumped into a girl. I cursed loudly when I fell to the ground, holding my head after it collided with hers.
"Damn you, do you have a head or a rock?"
I rubbed my forehead, which would probably redden from the impact. I stood up and dusted off my clothes. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck as a slap landed on my cheek. I looked at the girl, who snapped harshly,
"Are you trying to seduce me with these actions, you fool, you damned empero—"
Before she could finish her words, I returned the slap calmly and said, "One more word and I'll shave your head, you idiot."
The girl's expression changed, her brown eyes blazing. She raised her hand high. I didn't understand what she was trying to do, but before I could say anything, a cone pierced my chin from below.
I collapsed to the ground, hissing in pain that engulfed me. I had completely forgotten I was in a world ruled by magic.
'Damn this world, what kind of Demon King doesn't have skills?'
I exhaled in frustration and stood up again. I wouldn't let this go. A 26-year-old man being beaten by a little girl? Where was my dignity? Considering my small body and her strength, I couldn't do much. So I did what anyone would—I grabbed her brown hair and yanked it back and forth violently.
The girl froze for a moment, then screamed,
"Aaron, you bastard!!"
She grabbed my hair too and started pulling.
(ง •̀_•́)ง
Our screaming and insults attracted the servants, who gathered around us to see what was happening.
The girl shouted again,
"Let go of me, you scoundrel!"
"You let go first!"
"No!"
"No!"
We went on like that until my stomach growled again—at the same time, hers did too. Her cheeks flushed red while I turned my head away, trying to fix my hair that she had nearly ripped out.
I looked at the servants staring in shock and yelled,
"What the hell are you looking at? Get the hell out of here!"
The crowd dispersed in seconds, leaving only me and her.
I glanced at her—she was beautiful, but I was never the romantic type.
I turned toward the window and saw that everyone had left the kitchen. I ignored the girl completely, opened the window slowly, and slipped inside. I went straight to the food laid out on the table and started devouring it greedily, forgetting what had just happened.
The girl sat across from me, staring as if I were some creature from another world.
"What? Haven't you ever seen someone eat before?"
She blinked slowly, annoyance etched on her face. I laughed inwardly at the sight of her messy hair.
"I have, but not like you. You look like a pig."
"Well, at least I don't look like a cow that just woke up from sleep like you."
Her face flushed red with anger, and before she could yell again, I shoved food into her mouth to silence the incoming storm.
The girl froze for a moment, then slowly began eating as well.