"Your Majesty."
That low, cautious call stirred Rein from his deep sleep, and a gentle pat on his shoulder roused him even more.
「Who is it?」
Rein curiously opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar face.
A man with long black hair tied neatly back and glasses perched on his nose looked pleased that one attempt had been enough to wake him.
"Who are you?" Rein asked reflexively, sitting up and scanning the surroundings.
Then his gaze returned to the man, who—oddly enough—wore a strange smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, I am the new personal attendant assigned to serve you starting today. Your previous attendant has resigned from his post," the man answered smoothly, his voice pleasant to hear.
Upon hearing the man's explanation and seeing the luxurious room filled with items that seemed straight out of a fantasy kingdom in a comic, Rein quickly grasped the reality.
「This is definitely transmigration!」
His heart pounded with anticipation and fear. He needed to find out which world he had landed in.
"Then, what's your name?" Rein wasn't sure if he could recall the many stories he'd read, but he still wanted to know the man's name.
The man kept his strange smile and replied, "My name is Elie Wonhart, Your Majesty."
「So, his name is Elie… Wait! Elie Wonhart?!」
Rein quickly turned his face downward to hide his shocked expression.
Even if he couldn't clearly recall all the novels he'd read, he certainly remembered the last one he'd read before falling asleep.
Strangely, he couldn't remember the title, but he knew the story and the characters in it. The name Elie Wonhart was definitely among them—specifically, the main villain. A cunning and ruthless man who looked down on everyone as ants beneath his feet.
There was no way a character with such a distinctive name could appear coincidentally. At least, from what he remembered, only that last novel had a character named "Elie Wonhart."
"Your Majesty, are you still feeling dizzy? The physician will come after you've had your breakfast. I shall prepare warm water for your bath," the man said casually, unaffected by Rein's silence, and went off without waiting for a response.
Rein didn't dare to ask the man the name of the body he now inhabited. The slightest hint of suspicion from the main villain could very well get him killed. He didn't want to die—rather, he had to figure out who he was now and why he was here.
From Elie's words, it was clear that this body had a high status and, apparently, was not in good health since a doctor was expected.
On top of that, Rein was already finding it difficult to breathe; the tightness in his chest became more pronounced as his heartbeat raced. He also realized how weak and powerless this body felt.
Trying to calm his heart and steady his breathing, Rein slowly got out of bed and dragged himself to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room near a doorway to another chamber.
The moment Rein saw his reflection, he was stunned.
「Is this a walking corpse?!」
His face was ghostly pale, with deep dark circles under his eyes. His lips were tinged bluish-black as if afflicted by a chronic illness. His body was alarmingly thin, like someone who hadn't eaten for days.
The only thing that still looked decent was his shoulder-length pink hair.
"Hah!" Rein scoffed in disbelief that this was the body he had ended up in.
There was only one terrifying character with pink hair. An imperial prince known for his frailty and whose days were already numbered.
He had suspected it the moment he heard the name Elie Wonhart, but having it confirmed hit much harder. There was only one person ever served by the main villain and also the first person he murdered: Reinhart de Elvis.
The pale face in the mirror grew even more colorless, and his magenta eyes looked hopeless.
「It's over. My fate is sealed. Can I sign up for the next transmigration trend instead?」
Rein was ready to dig his own grave, for there was no surviving the main villain. Besides, this body was doomed to die sooner or later from an incurable illness.
He returned to the bed and lay down quietly. Though he didn't want to die, fighting felt too troublesome when the outcome was bound to be the same. Even in the novel, it was never mentioned what exact illness Reinhart had, and thus, no cure was known.
Even holy powers couldn't help. Only physicians who used alchemy could make medicines to extend his life a bit longer.
Besides, Rein thought simply: according to transmigration logic, if he died in his original world, he couldn't go back. But clearly, he hadn't died—just fallen asleep. There was still a chance he could return.
With that realization, he felt much calmer and no longer feared facing Elie Wonhart. If he got killed sooner, wouldn't that just mean returning sooner?
Perfect. Rein would do as he pleased.
A few minutes later, Elie Wonhart returned to the room, pushing a trolley with a few dishes suited for a patient. At the bottom of the trolley was a silver basin filled with warm water and a small towel.
Apparently, the "bath" he mentioned meant wiping his body. That made sense, since even a few steps had left Rein breathless.
There seemed to be a temperature control device in the room, keeping it stably warm.
"Your Majesty, allow me to wipe your body," Elie said as he brought the basin to the bed.
Rein snatched the basin from him and refused, "No need. I can do it myself."
He didn't want the cruel villain to touch him. So, he quickly washed his face and wiped himself down.
When he was done, he handed the now-dirty basin and towel to Elie, who had been standing silently beside him.
"You're quite different from what I expected," Elie commented suddenly, a hint of amusement on his face.
「What did you expect me to be, exactly?」
Rein didn't bother responding to this psychotic killer and instead told him to fetch breakfast.
He wouldn't cower or be timid, even if the psychopath decided to hold a fruit knife to his throat.
Unfortunately, nothing dramatic happened. He ate his breakfast smoothly and enjoyed it. The taste wasn't bad—at least his sense of taste hadn't fully deteriorated, or perhaps the food had been customized for someone ill like him.
Next on the schedule was a walk in the garden, as recommended by the imperial physician. As his personal attendant, Elie had to ensure Prince Reinhart got enough physical activity.
「Weird. Why isn't anyone else here?!」
Rein had no idea what kind of life "Reinhart" lived. The only line about him in the novel was when he was murdered by the main villain.
He was clearly an imperial prince, so he should've had his own palace with many servants and guards.
Yet, no one was in the palace except himself and Elie Wonhart.
"So quiet," Rein unconsciously muttered his thoughts.
The palace was beautiful, and the garden held various types of plants, but it felt like an abandoned castle.
"Your Majesty, you're sensitive to noise and crowds. The imperial physician recommended that the servants and guards stay out of your sight. They're stationed elsewhere right now," Elie explained, implying that he knew Reinhart's condition in great detail.
The corner of Rein's mouth twitched once before he continued walking. Eventually, after a few minutes, he couldn't go on anymore and slumped into a garden chair, panting heavily.
「Damn this body!」
He'd never felt this weak before. How had the original Reinhart managed to survive for so long in such a state?
Rein already wanted to return to his original world, where his body was healthy and whole.
Even if life back there wasn't great, at least he didn't have to worry about dying at any moment—either from illness or from being murdered.
At first, he'd thought this transmigration trend was a good thing: a fresh start in a new world where no one knew him. He would live a peaceful life and avoid doing anything reckless. It seemed fate had other plans.
Rein's magenta eyes darkened as he made a decision for tonight.
"Let's head back inside," he said once his mind was made up.
He didn't see Elie, so he didn't notice that, for once, the man had dropped that ever-present strange smile from his face.
***