June Marrow looked at his face in the mirror and saw a young man with black hair and blue eyes. He gently touched his face, still unable to believe it. In his past life, he had never been handsome.
From the memories left behind by June Marrow, he learned that the original owner of this body was a swordsman with low mana. Despite that weakness, he had been accepted into Zenith Academy because of his intelligence. He was not only skilled with a sword but also a scholar.
His father was Robert Marrow, a man with black hair and brown eyes. His mother was Jenna Marrow, who had brown hair and blue eyes. That explained where this body inherited its appearance from. He also had a little sister named Lucy Marrow. She was smart, talented, and known as a prodigy. The original June Marrow had been jealous of her. He was one year older than Lucy, and she had long black hair and bright blue eyes.
The Marrow family name was briefly mentioned in the novel about Zenith Academy. The Marrow Count family was filled with prodigies who possessed incredible strength and excellent swordsmanship. They were always seen smiling, which earned them the title The Smiley Marrow.
Before he could stand up, a blue, square, transparent window appeared in front of him. It reminded him of a game status screen, though this was clearly no game.
The window displayed a message.
[Hell banned you and Heaven banned you. They have decided to reincarnate you into June Marrow's body. The souls are fully merged.]
He frowned.
"Huh? I got banned from Hell and Heaven? What did I even do wrong?"
He recalled his past mistakes and muttered, "People could do that too, you know."
The system gave no response.
Curious, he reached out and touched the window. His status appeared.
[June Marrow]
[Age:16]
[Tier 2 Awakened]
[Strength: 80]
[Durability: 90]
[Speed: 80]
[Mana: 100/100]
[Low Swordsmanship]
[Skill: Auto Pilot]
[Ability: Sixth Sense]
[System Points: 0]
[Lifespan:120 – 180 years]
[To obtain points, you must kill monsters, humans, or other species.]
[Special Trait: Smile (y/n)]
[You can smile forever, or turn it off at will.]
[Shop]
"Is that all?" he thought. "And what exactly are Sixth Sense and Auto Pilot?"
He opened the descriptions and froze.
[Ability: Sixth Sense]
Description
An innate awareness that detects danger, killing intent, and sudden threats, forcing the body to react before conscious thought.
[Skill: Auto Pilot]
Description
An autonomous control mode that takes over the body, analyzes threats, and executes optimal actions with machine like precision until danger has passed. It does not consume mana and was bestowed by the system. You may use it however you like.
His eyes widened.
"This is amazing. Auto Pilot is basically auto play, and it does not even cost mana. I am seriously blessed."
He silently thanked the system.
After standing up, he pushed the door open and stepped out of his room. The system window appeared again, highlighting the special trait.
[Special Trait: Smile (y/n)]
He touched yes.
A warm, cheerful smile spread across his face.
At that moment, a maid arrived at his door. When she saw him, she bowed slightly.
"Young master, breakfast is ready. Count Marrow requests your presence at the dining table."
"Okay. Lead the way," June Marrow replied.
The maid guided him to the dining hall, where he saw his little sister, his mother, and his father already seated.
"Good morning, Sister. Mother. Father," he said with a happy tone.
"Good morning, Brother," Lucy replied brightly.
"Good morning, dear," his mother said warmly.
"Good morning, son," his father added with a smile.
June took the vacant seat on the left and began eating elegantly, never once dropping his smile.
The Marrow Count family was truly a happy family.
As he ate, a dark thought crossed his mind.
I just hope I do not end up killing them in the future.
The memory of slaughtering his family in his past life still haunted him.
---
[Lucy Marrow POV]
Lucy tilted her head slightly as she watched her brother eat peacefully. It felt strange.
She knew her brother hated her. She had always known. Her ability allowed her to read emotions, and the jealousy and resentment he felt toward her were impossible to miss in the past.
But now, she felt nothing.
No jealousy. No hatred. No irritation.
Only a smile.
That was what unsettled her the most. His expression was cheerful, yet beneath it, there was nothing she could read. It was as if his emotions were sealed away entirely.
Lucy was known as a prodigy and was considered one of the top six most beautiful girls in the world. Normally, people's emotions toward her were easy to read. Admiration, envy, desire, awe. Yet her own brother had become unreadable overnight.
She was surprised. Confused. And oddly relieved.
The reason she had always ignored her brother's hatred was simple. She loved him. He was her older brother, and she believed jealousy mixed with resentment was something natural. Even if it hurt, she accepted it.
But when he said "Good morning, Sister," it felt genuine.
For the first time, it did not feel forced or bitter.
Lucy smiled softly as she continued looking at him, her heart feeling lighter than it had in years.
---
[June Marrow POV]
Why is my sister staring at me like that?
June assumed she was just happy. Curious, he decided to test the system and focused on her, activating something like an appraisal.
A window appeared.
[Lucy Marrow]
[Age:15]
[Tier 3 Adept]
[Strength: 100]
[Durability: 90]
[Speed: 101]
[High Level Swordsmanship]
[Skill: Enhancement, Copy]
[Ability: Read Emotions]
[Lifespan:180 – 300 years]
June froze.
"What the hell? She's completely overpowered. And she can read emotions too?"
That explained a lot.
So she must have known the original June hated her. Judging by her expression now, she was clearly surprised. The only conclusion he could reach was that his special trait was blocking her ability.
From the memories he inherited, Lucy loved her brother despite knowing she was hated. That alone impressed him.
"Well, that's all in the past now," he thought.
He waved at her with a genuine smile. Lucy waved back, just as sincerely.
As he observed her more closely, a single thought crossed his mind.
Pretty.
Not romantically. Just objectively.
In the novel Zenith Academy, the rankings listed the top ten most beautiful girls, and Lucy was placed sixth. But looking at her now, June felt that ranking was off.
"With that face and figure, she should be top three at least," he thought. "The author must have terrible taste."
He briefly observed her body out of habit, and Lucy noticed. Her face turned red.
From June's perspective, she just seemed shy.
"I don't think this world is exactly the same as the novel," he thought. "Maybe it was only inspired by it."
He finished eating and stood up.
"Mother, Father, may I leave now?"
"You may go, dear," his mother replied with a smile.
His father nodded and gave him a thumbs up.
June left the dining hall.
Lucy, however, was still blushing.
"He looked at my body," she thought. "Naughty brother. And why am I blushing anyway!"
After a moment of hesitation, she stood up and followed him without saying goodbye to their parents.
June's Sixth Sense suddenly activated.
Someone is following me.
He changed direction, disappeared behind a corner, and waited.
Lucy stopped, confused.
"Huh? He was just here."
She took another step forward and was suddenly pulled from behind.
She gasped and turned around, only to see her brother standing there.
"Lucy?" June asked calmly. "Why were you following me?"
"I was just curious," she replied quickly, then frowned. "And why were you looking at my body anyway?"
"I was just observing," June answered. "What exactly did you think I was doing?"
"Naughty brother," Lucy said, turning away. "I didn't know you were a pervert."
"Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding," June said. "I was just thinking about other things."
She peeked at him. "And what were you thinking about, Brother?"
"Secret."
He gently patted her head.
"Stop judging me, okay?"
Lucy froze.
Her face felt hot, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Okay…"
For the first time in her life, her older brother had patted her head. It felt like he had finally acknowledged her.
Lucy was happy.
June returned to his room, lay down on his bed, and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting elsewhere.