Rian, the head butler of the Zevreil Dukedom, stood quietly beside the young master who was sleeping on the bed.
His thoughts were more heavier than the knocks on the door, as if one knock and it would break them.
He couldn't understand the condition the second young master was in.
It had already been three days since the incident and although the young master had woken up, there was something deeply wrong with him as he couldn't remember anything not even his own name.
Due to the incident, Rian had been personally assigned to serve the second young master, it was pretty much because of a security issue, but....there's more to it.
He tried to wake him up, and eventually the second young master opened his eyes.
But the pain inside the body was difficult to bear for a 16-year-old child.
Rian's heart ached at seeing the pain twisting through the young master's body, knowing he couldn't do anything to ease it.
It was a miracle that the young master hadn't sustained any lasting injuries after what happened. Even the priest had praised the resilience of his body.
But the same couldn't be said for his mind.
He had seen the panic in Lucien's eyes earlier, as if the world before him was unreal, he refused to acknowledge this world.
Then came the raw and sudden scream that tore from his throat as he clutched his head in pain.
Without wasting another second, Rian had rushed to the priest's room.
"Please, come with me at once!" he urged the priest.
The priest nodded, and then they returned to the room within a few minutes.
Lucien was unconscious by then, his breathing was ragged and shallow as though his lungs struggled to draw even the smallest breath.
Seeing his condition, the priest stepped forward quickly, placing a calm hand on Lucien's forehead and immediately a soft white glow bloomed from his palm casting a warm light over Lucien's face.
Slowly, Lucien's breathing eased.
His expression softened.
After a long moment, the priest stood upright and turned to Rian.
"The physical condition has stabilized," he said calmly, "but mentally… I'm not sure."
He glanced back at the sleeping boy.
"From what you've told me, it seems he's lost his memory following the incident. There could be two causes. First, the spell cast on him may have backfired, damaging his mind and leading to memory loss. Or…" he paused, his voice dipping low, "his consciousness may have chosen to forget, as a defense against something too painful to remember."
Rian's eyes narrowed slightly. "If that is the case… what can we do?"
"If it's the former," the priest said, "then I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. But if it's the latter… there's still hope. His memories might return with time, depending on his mental state and the trigger."
Rian bowed deeply. "Thank you for your help, sir priest."
The priest shook his head gently. "It is my duty to serve. And beyond that… he is one of the heirs to this Dukedom. I will continue to offer whatever help I can."
With that, the priest took his leave.
Rian remained in the room for a while longer, standing quietly by the bedside.
Lucien slept peacefully as his breathing was more normal and peaceful.
The butler gazed at him for a moment more, then turned and exited with slow steps.
Silence returned to the chamber, broken only by the faint sound of Lucien's breathing.
--------
For the third time, Alex felt like he had woken up from a deep slumber.
Not once, not twice, but literally the third time.
It felt like sleeping and waking up from nightmares had become a new habit of his.
"Ugh…"
He groaned feeling the now familiar pain, his mind throbbed with a certain pain that refused to leave him.
Opening his eyes, he muttered under his breath.
"The pain is still here, but somehow, I feel a lot better than before."
His gaze wandered around the room, only to find it completely empty.
"Looks like the butler's gone… what a headache."
Now that his mind was finally working almost fine with little to no malfunctioning, he decided to properly think about the bizarre situation he was in.
"It seems like this weird situation is real, but how could this be? Hmm… there might be a possibility."
"Think, Alex or...Lucien, whatever. How could you have died and transmigrated here?"
He closed his eyes and tried to recall how he ended up like this.
"The last thing I remember… I was at the café, chatting with friends, and then there was this sudden flash of light—"
His eyes widened.
"I died. That was… a freaking truck. A whole damn truck crashed into the café… inside the café!"
What were the chances of that happening? A truck crashing into a building instead of hitting someone on the road?
"…What about my friends? Are they also here?!"
"There's a probability, but I can't be sure. I'll think about it later."
Oddly enough, Alex didn't feel sad about dying. He didn't really have anyone who would cry for him—no family, no real attachments. But the same couldn't be said for his friends. They had parents, people who would mourn their loss.
He sincerely hoped he was the only one who had died.
That would be less tragic, right?
Anyway, moving to the next bizarre revelation:
He was literally inside a game.
Not some virtual reality or simulation, but a real world with flesh, blood, and solid ground.
Whether this world simply resembled the game or was directly based on it, he wasn't sure.
For that, he needed to know more.
But if it really was based on the game's story…
Then yeah...he was screwed.
"Lucien, huh? Of all the characters… did it have to be this bastard I had to end up as?"
He cursed his luck under his breath.
It wasn't that Lucien was just a bad character…or some mindless villain type character.
He was probably the worst.
"I'm not asking for the protagonist's body or anything, but come on. It could've at least been someone decent. Sigh… can't be helped now."
Letting out a deep breath, Alex sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Alright… let's try something that most protagonists in these Isekai stories do. One of the first things—"
He held his breath.
"—is to summon the system."
Alex wasn't exactly sure if he'd have something like a system, but honestly… it would be really damn cool if it turned out to be real.
His headache had finally subsided, leaving only a dull echo behind. At least now, he could think without wanting to scream.
He sat there in silence for a few seconds, then glanced around the quiet and unfamiliar room.
Then, with a calm and quiet voice almost as if embarrassed by what he was about to do, he muttered:
"System."
"—!"
Nothing happened.
He waited a few more seconds, half-expecting some glowing screen or robotic voice to respond.
"...."
Still nothing.
"…Figures."
He let out a tired sigh and leaned back a little.
But a part of him wasn't surprised.
He had played enough games and read enough fantasy novels to know how these things usually went.
Some protagonists got their systems immediately, while others had to wait for a specific trigger or moment to occur.
Still, he couldn't help but hope.
"I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer," he muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his neck.
But one thing was clear: whether a system appeared or not, he needed to get his bearings soon.
Because if this really was the world he thought it was… then trouble wasn't far behind.