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Chapter 3
Hans could never have believed it unless he saw it with his own eyes. He started running like a madman, heading straight for the place where he had stayed back in his days as a servant.
“Huff… huff…”
Out of breath from running without pause, he arrived at the doorway of the servants’ quarters where he had once stayed. All the other servants seemed busy; there wasn’t a single soul in sight.
“Phew.”
Taking a deep final breath, Hans flung the door open. Fortunately, the room was empty.
But the room that had been his just yesterday now seemed to have a new owner. The arrangement of the bed and table was completely different, and all the clothes and belongings were things he had never seen before.
If one’s heart were to stop, it would feel exactly like this.
Hans stood there silently for a long time, staring blankly, before suddenly going berserk, tossing things around the room like a madman.
Objects from the table and the drawers fell to the floor, and in an instant, the room became a complete mess.
Yet, among all the chaos, Hans couldn’t find a single one of his belongings.
Having spent his childhood here, Hans’s memory was precise. As Alman and Claude had said, he no longer existed here.
His strength left him, and his legs gave out.
Thunk.
Hans collapsed to the floor. A sense of emptiness washed over him, as profound as the feeling he had when he was dying and realized the futility of life.
What on earth had happened?
Had his original self simply disappeared as the price for living in someone else’s body?
His life hadn’t been something to boast about, but the thought that his existence had vanished without a trace filled Hans with pity. A life that had never truly bloomed, wasted in vain.
“Well… maybe it’s better this way…”
Sitting in a daze, reminiscing about the past, he found himself thinking that if his original self were still here, that would mean there were two of him. Otherwise, someone might have entered his body just as he had entered another’s.
The horrifying thought made him frown instinctively.
Perhaps it was better that his original self no longer existed. Sad as it was, thinking this way brought some comfort.
“I’ve become a noble, haven’t I?”
Back in his room, Hans guzzled down the water on the table, his throat parched.
Looking around the castle with a clearer mind, he saw that everyone he met had reverted to their past selves. Moreover, all of them bowed respectfully to him.
He was the only thing missing. Everything else remained unchanged.
He had to accept it now.
He had died and come back to life, returned fifteen years into the past, and gained the body of his master.
Yes. He had become a noble.
A rise in status he had longed for but had given up on because wanting it wasn’t enough to achieve it.
Could he live as a noble now?
Would all of this turn out to be a dream when he woke up tomorrow?
Rather than joy at becoming a noble, only unease and fear weighed heavily on Hans. He felt uneasy, as if he had stolen his master’s body.
“Brother, are you awake?”
Some time later, while sitting in a chair trying to calm his tangled emotions, a youthful voice came from outside the door. Startled, Hans leapt to his feet.
“Brother?!”
There was only one person who could call him that now.
It was Regina, the younger sister of his master, who had been forced into marriage years ago because of her brother. Though still young, it was unmistakably her voice.
“Brother, aren’t you here?”
When he didn’t answer, she asked again.
He wanted to answer, but words got stuck in his throat. Speaking formally seemed unnatural in his current situation, and speaking casually also felt impossible.
“Ugh…”
For an ordinary servant like him, this situation was overwhelming. Everything had happened too quickly, leaving no time to adapt.
“I’ll come in, okay?”
When there was still no response, Regina opened the door and entered. As expected, she had the face of a fourteen-year-old girl from fifteen years ago.
While Hans’s master, the same age as him, had wasted away the family fortune in indulgence until his thirties, his sister had been mature beyond her years from a young age.
Three years ago, when the previous lord passed away and their mother collapsed from the shock, she was only eleven. Despite her young age, she devoted herself to caring for her mother and managing the household with remarkable responsibility.
Hans had admired her greatly. Though young and inexperienced, she was the exact opposite of her reckless brother.
Now he was expected to act as her older brother. Hans had little confidence in himself.
“I heard from the nanny that you were unwell. Are you feeling better now?”
Regina, now right in front of him, looked at him with concern. Her proximity made Hans blush.
“Do you have a fever?”
She brought her hand to his forehead. Instinctively, Hans stepped back to avoid her touch.
“I’m fi—”
Before he could stop himself, formal speech escaped. Fortunately, he quickly closed his mouth, but his tension only increased.
“You don’t look well. Don’t just stand there—lie down, brother.”
She suddenly pulled him by the arm, and Hans ended up lying on the bed.
“Here, take this blanket.”
Hans felt a warm sense of care from her gentle attention.
‘Is this what family is like?’
He remembered that even when she eventually married a wealthy older man, she had never blamed her master. Though she did not have a bright expression, her eyes held no resentment toward him.
He had been shocked that the master, lacking money, sold his own sister to an old man. But as a mere servant, there was nothing Hans could do.
But now was different.
Even if he wasn’t her real older brother, at least he could prevent her from being sold to that old man. Now that he was the master, he could protect her.
He felt no special emotions—just the simple affection for someone he had watched over all his life, regardless of status.
“Mother worries a lot about you. She keeps asking me how you’ve been doing lately—it’s exhausting.”
Sitting on a chair beside the bed, Regina spoke about their mother. At this time, their mother was still alive.
“Are you listening?”
“…Yeah.”
“Since you’re sick, rest today. Tomorrow, go see Mother yourself. You haven’t been recently, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Promise?”
“Mm-hm.”
“All right. I’ll go now. Rest well.”
Regina smiled brightly as she left. Though all he said was simple affirmations, Hans was sweating all over.
He was about to live as a master, ruling an entire estate, yet was already struggling with something so small. It felt somewhat pathetic.
Then, he heard it.
“Please, just this once! Our sister can’t go! I’ll get the money within a few days, I swear! Just this once, please!”
A desperate voice from outside the window drew Hans to it.
‘Scott…?’
Though it was getting dark, Hans recognized the voice immediately. Even fifteen years ago, he wasn’t so foolish as to not recognize a friend.
‘Why is he here?’
As he tilted his head in confusion, a booming voice rang out from somewhere nearby.
“Where do you think you are causing such a ruckus?! I told you yesterday, will you only understand if you get punished?!”
“She’s always been weak! Please consider our situation!”
“I don’t care about your situation. I’m only doing my duty!”
“Please give us a few more days…”
“Quiet! If I grant special favors, everyone will expect them, and the one in trouble won’t be you—it’ll be me! Do you want the lord to hate me because of you?!”
“Please…!”
Hans watched his friend kneeling on the floor, crying, and the memories of the past flooded back.
Scott had a beloved older sister who lived with him on a small farm. Weak as a child, she stayed indoors, but her beauty was renowned in the village.
Scott had been proud of his sister, often boasting to friends about her. He had been a happy, lively child.
But when she was taken, his laughter disappeared forever.
Officials had imposed unreasonable taxes on poor farmers and, when they couldn’t pay, took his sister instead.
By then, the corrupt officials had gone too far.
The young master, only twelve, had lost his parents and been forced to inherit the estate, and their mother had collapsed from the shock, leaving the estate under the officials’ control.
Scott’s sister became a servant to the officials and died a year later. The tragedy claimed his parents as well, and Scott survived in a half-mad state.
Years later, he regained his sanity and worked hard on farming, but a shadow always lingered over him.
Hans had always wanted to see that shadow lifted and his friend smiling again.
“No! Show him what happens!”
While Hans was lost in thought, two strong servants, well-known to him, grabbed clubs and approached Scott.
‘No!’
Hans could not watch his friend suffer a second time. He had no choice before, but now he had the power to protect him.
He ran downstairs as fast as he could.
“What is this commotion?!”
Just before the servants could strike Scott, Hans’s angry voice thundered.
Perhaps because he had already acted as the master’s stand-in, there was no trace of the servant he had once been.
“My lord!”
Startled by the unexpected presence of the lord, everyone froze, lowering their bodies. The most surprised was Flynn, the official in charge of the farmland. He rushed forward, standing before Hans.
“I heard you were unwell. Are you feeling better?”
“What’s going on here?”
If he were the original master, he would likely answer Flynn’s question. A large man, Flynn was an eloquent schemer who controlled the master.
He flattered the master openly while secretly embezzling wealth—a typical corrupt official.
“It’s nothing, my lord. I… I just…”
“I could hear this boy’s voice all the way to my bedroom. It sounded so unfair. Even if it’s nothing, speak up.”
The cruel act had ruined a woman’s life and her entire family. Flynn calling it “nothing” ignited a fire in Hans.
He wanted to tear Flynn’s mouth apart and remove his tongue.
But Hans knew there was a time for everything. To destroy someone completely, preparation was necessary.
After all, he had lived his entire life as a servant. His patience would not lose to anyone.
