The quiet of the Knight manor had a strange rhythm to it — distant footsteps, the faint murmur of servants, the echo of a house that was too large for the warmth it lacked. I stood by the window for a moment, watching the pale light creep through the glass. Morning. Or something close to it.
The memories from yesterday still circled in my mind — fragments of another's life, memories stitched to mine like mismatched threads. But one thought stood clearer than the rest: if I was going to survive here, I needed to understand this world. The Aetherium Empire. The Knight Dukedom. The weight of the name I now carried. If this body truly belonged to Sebastin Knight, then his life — his history — was now mine to untangle.
And the best place to start… was knowledge. The library.
I stepped into the corridor, the air cool and still. The manor's halls were lined with portraits of stern men and women, each one carrying the same cold pride in their eyes. I didn't recognize them, but my feet moved with a strange certainty — left turn, straight, another right. It was as if I'd walked these halls before. The realization made my chest tighten. It wasn't my memory that guided me, but his — Sebastin's. The instincts of the body were leading me, and though my mind resisted, my steps did not falter.
As I passed a pair of maids, they bowed slightly but their eyes darted toward me in quiet surprise.
"Didn't the young master just recover?" one whispered.
"I thought he'd still be resting," the other murmured back.
Recover? I frowned. Recover from what? They didn't stop to explain. Their nervous glances were answer enough — something had happened before I woke up. Something everyone knew except me. I kept walking.
A familiar voice stopped me halfway down the hall.
"Well, look who decided to rise from the dead."
I turned. A young man leaned against the stone archway, arms crossed, dressed in a training tunic that fit his sharp frame perfectly. Black hair like mine — but his eyes were cold, pitch-black, carrying a mocking gleam that needed no introduction.
Second brother.
"Alaric," I said quietly, the name surfacing on instinct.
He smirked. "You woke up earlier than I expected. Guess you heal faster than I thought." His tone was laced with derision, the kind reserved for someone beneath him.
And in that instant — like a spark — memory struck. A dim room. Harsh words. A sneer. A fist. Pain blooming across the jaw. Laughter that wasn't kind. He had done this before. He was the one who'd beaten Sebastin.
The realization hit me harder than I expected.
Alaric tilted his head, watching me carefully. "What? Cat got your tongue?"
I forced a slow smile. "Just surprised to see you without your training sword. Usually you need something in your hand before you start a fight."
The smirk on his lips faltered for a brief moment — not gone, but edged with irritation.
"Watch that mouth, little brother," he said, voice low. "Don't start something you can't finish."
I shrugged lightly. "Good thing I don't plan on finishing it, then."
For a moment, silence hung between us. His eyes narrowed, studying me — as if something didn't quite fit. Then, without another word, he pushed off the wall and walked past me, muttering something under his breath. I didn't turn back. I didn't need to. I could feel his stare linger for a heartbeat longer before fading down the corridor.
Something has changed, he must've thought. He wasn't wrong.
Once he was gone, I exhaled slowly. The memory of the beating faded, replaced by something colder — purpose.
The library. That's where I needed to be.
By the time I reached the end of the corridor, the doors loomed tall and carved with the Knight family crest — a sword with wings, gleaming faintly in the morning light. I pushed them open. The scent of parchment and dust met me instantly — quiet, old, and heavy with knowledge. Rows of shelves stretched into the dimness, each one holding stories, records, histories — answers.
I stepped inside. The door shut softly behind me. And for the first time since waking in this world, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be.