[Arise, World Tree Guardian...]
I slowly opened my eyes as light seeped through my lashes. Finally... I was finally awake! I could feel my heart pounding with excitement.
Never again will I lock myself inside a room! Goodbye to the previous me! In this life, I'll be an extrovert! I'll explore the world and live peacefully!
'But where exactly am I? And why does my body feel strangely... strong? Wouldn't a coma patient be weak? Is this because of magic?'
I blinked once, clenching and unclenching my fist. A warm current of energy flowed through my body. It felt violent, like a raging river.
Well, ignoring that for the time being, I sat upright and began to look around. I was in a fully furnished room. It looked incredibly extravagant. I guess I was technically a prince after all. But for everything to look this expensive...
"!"
"What's this...?" I murmured softly, picking up the object on the bed that had caught my attention.
It was a rugged, translucent crystal, giving off a faint blue glow. I could feel my body absorbing the cold energy emanating from it.
'Where have I seen this before?'
It felt familiar. I closed my eyes and tilted my head, trying to recall exactly what I was holding.
I think it was from a book I once read. A book that fell from the sky in that white void. It was titled "An Introduction to Alchemy", if I remembered correctly.
Opening my eyes, I stared at the unprocessed gem.
"So this is a mana crystal..." I mumbled, before another realization struck me as I inspected it. "Wait. If that book had information about this, doesn't that mean that place and this world are connected?"
It made sense. If that was the case, then there was also a chance that the other books I read in that space correlated to this world as well.
But before researching that further, I needed to learn more about my situation first...
'I should keep this on me for now.' I thought, moving toward the edge of the bed.
Just then, the door slowly opened. A girl carrying a bucket and mop stood frozen in the doorway.
She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Doll-like features, dressed in what looked like a maid's uniform. Did she work here?
I called out to her, but the bucket slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a dull thud, interrupting me.
Water splashed across the floor, soaking her clothes.
"Prince Grey...?!" she exclaimed. Her face was blank, but her voice was filled with shock.
With those words as her last, she bowed deeply and ran out of the room before I could ask her anything.
What exactly was going on here?
Why did the maid run away?
I stood up from the bed, the questions still lingering in my mind. Was I that ugly? That couldn't be the case, right? I was fairly handsome in my past life, even if I was unsociable.
To check my appearance, I walked toward the window. For some strange reason, there wasn't a mirror in the room.
Standing in front of it, I caught my reflection in the glass. Blue eyes. Blonde hair. Was this really me? Forget handsome, this face could get me into trouble with both men and women!
And why was my heart pounding?! It felt like I had somehow enchanted myself. My flushed cheeks slowly returned to normal when I noticed something else—my pupils had sharpened, slit like a cat's.
'Don't tell me... please don't tell me I've become that creature afraid of garlic...'
I blinked, trying to force my eyes back to normal, but they remained slit. That was when I suddenly felt the air pressure change, like a warm spot appearing in an otherwise cold space. I immediately turned toward it.
"Young prince..." an elderly woman called out as tears streamed down her face.
She fell to her knees, sobbing, her tears mixing with the water the maid had spilled.
Why was she crying?
I walked toward her. She reminded me of myself, someone who had given up hope, only to finally grasp the thing they had longed for. That feeling was both unbearably painful and overwhelmingly joyful.
Crouching down, I placed a hand on her back. The only words meant for someone who had endured such suffering, the words I myself wanted to hear after escaping that hell—were:
"Thank you for not giving up."
At my words, her tears fell endlessly as she gasped, sobbing loudly. I wrapped my arms around her, and we stayed like that until she finally calmed down.
After regaining her composure, she stood up with my help, her eyes faintly swollen.
"Young prince... I'm so glad you woke up. You must be hungry, right?" she said, her face bright with joy. "What am I saying? You haven't eaten for sixteen years. Of course you'd be hungry!"
I couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't even give me a chance to speak. Still... sixteen years. So that was how long I'd been trapped in that dark void.
"But, young prince, how are you able to walk? And even talk already?" she asked.
Oh. I had completely overlooked that. Someone who'd been in a coma since birth shouldn't be able to do either. Should I tell her the truth?
"Because I'm a... genius?"
Not that she'd actually believe such a blatant lie.
Her smile widened. "A genius... I always knew the young prince would be a genius! To think you could walk and talk without any learning at all..."
What? She actually believed that? Or was she just indulging me because I was the "young prince"? No, before that, what exactly was our relationship? She didn't feel like my mother or family.
With that in mind, I began to ask her about my current situation.
In this new life, my name was Grey Luxeria, the third prince of the Luxeria Kingdom, who had fallen into a coma the moment he was born, only to awaken sixteen years later.
I was currently residing in the Duke of Everfield's mansion, sustained by his magic that kept me alive all this time. The woman's name was Daisy Longcloth, a maid who had once served my mother, who had passed away due to strange rumors claiming I was cursed.
She also briefly told me about the current king—Leonhardt Luxeria, my father.
After that, she told me to change and led me to the dining room, where I would eat for the first time in what felt like an eternity.
I was very excited.
***
Dining room...
A long table draped in a white cloth stood at the center of the room, filled with all kinds of meats, bread, and fruit. Servants lined the walls, bowing their heads as I passed by.
They showed the proper respect due to my status, but I could tell they were nervous and on edge, as I took my seat.
"The prince is awake?"
"Was the curse finally lifted?"
"Shhh... be quiet. You're being rude," said a beautiful girl with almond-shaped eyes.
She glanced at me with a gentle smile before bowing her head.
I turned toward the man seated at the head of the table, Duke Christopher Everfield.
He wore simple clothing: a white shirt and black trousers. His hair was gray, his eyes a light sky blue. A monocle rested over one eye, and a smile sat permanently on his face.
He looked to be in his thirties.
"I see the prince is very gifted," he said, his gaze probing. "To speak and walk without prior teaching... truly remarkable."
His voice was deep yet smooth, like someone accustomed to hiding their true intentions behind a silver tongue.
Still, thanks to him, I was alive. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all, though the air around him felt cold, unlike the warmth I'd felt from Daisy.
Just what was that energy coming from his body?
And why was I the only one who could see it?