In the three-story mansion they spoke of was mine—mine by birthright.
At present, I sat on a long wooden chair draped in white fur cushions, nestled inside a cozy living room on the mansion's first floor. A warm, muted light filled the space, making it feel almost too peaceful for the storm of thoughts in my head.
In front of me sat the same three people as before, each perched on a small wooden stool.
A maid. A knight. And a hermit.
They looked straight into my eyes, one after another, taking turns as they explained who I was—who this body belonged to.
"You are our young master, the head of the Libertas household," the maid said with a warm, reassuring smile. Libertas "Victor" von Vindia, and the current ruler of the city of Vindia."
"You are also the one now in command of our army," the knight added proudly, his chest rising. "This barony may be small, but I can personally vouch for the loyalty of its soldiers. They are devoted to the clan."
The hermit spoke last, his voice low and heavy.
"You are the final surviving member of the Libertas bloodline," he said grimly. "Your parents… the liege lord and the lady, as well as all of your siblings, perished during the pox plague."
His eyes met mine, unflinching.
"Young sir, you alone prevailed."
The three of them fell silent, their eyes fixed on me, waiting for my response.
I drew in a slow breath.
"Understood," I said at last. "I will rule this city to the best of my ability."
The words felt heavy as they left my mouth—like an oath spoken before I fully understood its weight.
Yet the moment they were spoken, I knew there was no turning back.
And so I say to them. "Please, Tell me everything"
---
The Barony of Vindia was the name of a small fiefdom at the northern edge of a kingdom called Hyefelt on a continent of Ol'Aetes—both names I had never heard in my entire life, even as a history nerd. That alone confirmed it. I hadn't been sent back in time.
I might had been sent to another world altogether.
The fiefdom of Vindia was home to eight to ten thousand people. It encompassed the main city and several surrounding villages clustered beyond the city's wooden palisade walls.
At the heart of the city stood Frosthearth Manor, an ancient estate that had housed generations of my family, the Libertas household. Its halls had once echoed with voices of a lineage that had ruled over this land for centuries.
That was before the pox plague came.
It swept through the land without mercy, claiming every one of my relatives. Lords and ladies, brothers and sisters—none were spared.
All except me.
Or rather, this body survived.
The mind that once inhabited it had perished, and in its place, I had inherited everything—the name, the title, and the crushing weight of noble responsibility.
I was now the lord of this land…
And the last remaining Libertas.
That was the conclusion of everything they told me about myself.
Quite overwhelming, wasn't it?
With so much already pressing down on me, I decided that the first thing I needed was more information—not about myself, but about the world I now inhabited.
I looked up at the three of them.
"Where is the library?" I asked.
The question felt small, almost harmless.Yet it was the first step toward understanding everything this world has to offer.
---
The Frosthearth Manor's library—a funny name for it, because it was nothing more than an ordinary room with a table, a couple of chairs, and a single bookshelf that was nearly empty.
I stared at the meager collection for a moment before sighing.
"Is this all the books we have?" I asked, unable to hide my disappointment. "Miss…?"
I let the question trail off, slipping in a quiet prompt for her name.
"Yes, of course, young master!" the maid replied brightly. "Books are luxury items, after all. Oh, and my name is Daisy, sire. I'm your personal housekeeper maid!"
She smiled as if the room were overflowing with knowledge rather than dust and empty space.
I looked back at the bookshelf.
Only six books rested upon it.
Strangely enough, all of them were written in plain, semi-modern English.
Two of them were records of my bloodline, a kind of family chronicle detailing the history of the Libertas household. Their worn spines spoke of pride and legacy of generations long gone.
The remaining four were far more practical.
One was a religious scripture, its pages yellowed from age. Another was an encyclopedia detailing the local fauna and flora of the region.The third was a volume on laws and court customs, likely used to govern disputes and pass judgment.The last was a population census report—one that hadn't been updated in at least a hundred years.
I exhaled slowly.
It seemed my education about this world would begin far more humbly than I had hoped.
I gathered the four books into my arms and turned toward the door. Even as I stepped out of the room, my mouth was already moving ahead of my feet.
"Please guide me through the mansion," I said. "I need to know where every room is."
It was a small request, but an important one.A ruler who didn't know his own house was already at a disadvantage.
Daisy, the maid, nodded respectfully in response and quickly followed at my side.
---
We continued through the mansion, Daisy guiding me onward.
She first led me into the pinewood hall, a long wooden corridor lined with cloudy glass panels that softened the light filtering through. From there, she showed me the various bedrooms scattered across the third floor, then several more on the second.
Most of the beds lay neatly made, untouched, their fur blankets smoothed as if waiting for occupants who would never return. Personal belongings had been removed or sealed away, leaving behind only an atmosphere of silence.
There was nothing else to see here—only a faint coldness of the wind of the tundra-boreal forests brushing against my skin due to the room being unlit.
Even if I wasn't truly this man—the one whose body I now inhabited—I could still feel the sadness clinging to these rooms. And with it, a quiet sense of sorrow for his loss.
Daisy lead me next to the council room on the second floor.
It looked as though it had been inspired by some grand Arthurian legend—just executed on a far smaller budget. A round wooden table dominated the center, its surface scarred by age and use. Modest banners bearing the Libertas sigil of a white dove holding an edelweiss flower on a blue background hung along the walls. High-backed chairs encircled the table, noble in intent if not in extravagance. It's feel so grand yet so underwhelming.
So I instruct daisy to led me next to the first floor which the destination is the dining doom.
It resembled a small Viking dining hall more than a noble's chamber. Long wooden tables stretched across the room, their surfaces thick and sturdy. It was flanked on both side by a sturdy built wooden dining chair. At the head of the hall stood a broad stone hearth, its fire burning steadily. Warm light spilled outward from the flames, crackling softly and painting the room in hues of amber and gold.
Above it all hung the most striking feature—a 3 meters in sized dragon-like skeleton suspended from the ceiling, its ribcage and wings arranged as a chandelier. Candles burned between the bones, casting flickering shadows. That's another confirmation, that I was in another world.
"What's that thing?!?" I asked, staring upward.
"It's a frost wyvern!" Daisy replied, her voice bright with excitement. "Your grandfather's most prestigious hunt and the pride of Libertas household!" Her smile widened as she spoke.
After I soaked in a grandeur atmosphere of the dining hall we comes next to the kitchen.
It was a busy room, ancient cooking appliances lined the walls—cast iron pot, pan and caldron are being used by a group of kitchen maids moved with practiced efficiency, filling the air with warmth and motion. The scent of food greeted me at once.
Salmon seasoned with thyme, pepper, and salt sizzled over the open flame, its aroma rich and comforting. It was paired with buttered garlic bread heavy with pepper, alongside a wooden mug of an iced water.
For this era, I guessed the dish must have been reserved for nobility—pepper and salt were being used far too nonchalantly for common fare.
But in that moment, one of the maids' hands slipped, and the mug fell to the floor, shattering as ice and water spilled everywhere.
Daisy immediately confronted her, her voice gracefully sharpen as she condemned the mistake in front of everyone present.
It was harsh, but understandable. For a servant attending nobility, such treatment was considered normal—at least no physical punishment followed.
Still, the silence that settled afterward felt colder than the spilled ice, So I quickly asked Daisy to lead me to the next room, eager to change the atmosphere as soon as possible. So we left.
We passed through the living room where I had first awakened, the place where my three subordinates had explained who I was. There was no need for further observation.
From there, Daisy guided me through a series of mostly unassuming, unimportant storage rooms—until we arrived at what I considered one of the most important rooms in all of human history.
"The toilet" she announced.
What I saw inside was nothing short of a nightmare made real.
It was a damp, wooden room, poorly ventilated and reeking of moisture. A simple wooden latrine sat in the corner, accompanied by a wooden tub filled with stagnant water. That was it.
Hygiene? Forget it. Sewage? Nonexistent. Soap and shampoo? Don't even dream of it.
Worse still, Daisy explained that this was the standard toilet and bathing room for the entire manor.
I nodded calmly on the outside.
On the inside, I immediately made a mental note to fix this as soon as humanly possible
And that concluded the tour of the manor's interior.
After observing every room, I parted ways with Daisy, who still had housekeeping duties to attend to. Alone once more, I stepped out through the mansion doors and looked around.
Waiting to greet me were the knight and the hermit, standing side by side as if they had been expecting me for some time.
For reasons unknown, they're waiting for me here.