Chapter 1 - Acephylus

A large, somewhat Romanic style mansion stood quietly near the center of a large port city. Rays of early morning sunlight cast a long shadow behind the mansion all the way past the edge of the multi-acre property. Every single blade of grass seemed to have been cut evenly as though a landscaper had checked their length with a ruler and dripped with morning dew. A few hanging gardens surrounded the property, giving it a rich natural atmosphere.

On the outskirts of the property stood a smaller building that looked like the merger of an old longhouse and a metal prison. Tall decorative brick walls laced with thick and vibrant ivy vines circled the building, hiding its ugly appearance from prying eyes. This building housed dozens of servants working for the owners of the mansion.

Within one particular room similar in size to an average single-person hospital room, a young man stared out his window with furrowed brows. He observed the neatly manicured property for several minutes before looking down at his own hands. Mental incongruence stifled his breath since his hands looked smaller, less wrinkled, and less calloused than he remembered.

Almost in a daze, he meandered around the small living quarters and investigated the simple furnishings and belongings within. Most of the clothing in the drawers and closet consisted of simple and identical butler outfits. The messy bedding he left behind after waking up in this familiar environment was soft, thin, and plain.

Eventually, he stopped in front of a small wooden desk. His eyes landed on a stack of handwritten letters neatly organized in one corner. Unable to help himself, he narrowed his eyes and grabbed the topmost sheet of paper. Although he did not recognize the language, he found himself perfectly capable of reading it, which made him raise a brow. Despite his curiosity toward his ability to read an unknown language, he set aside the issue in favor of searching for useful information. So, he started reading.

'Dear Acephylus,-'

The young man stopped reading, raised his eyes, and blankly stared at the beige wall. Then, he blinked and sighed. Out of a feeling of necessity to figure out his current situation, he continued reading.

Overall, the letter read as an ordinary update about the family of the addressee, Acephylus. Several compliments and praises regarding Acephylus' status as a butler to the third son of a rich family indicated that the writer was proud of him. The writer then signed the bottom of the letter as 'Mom'.

After he read the first letter, he checked the others. Unfortunately, he found little relevant information aside from the fact that Acephylus was a servant to an important family. At the very least, he learned that Acephylus' family resided in a small town called Greysloe, whereas the city in which this property resided was called Ekruta. Those names only appeared in two of the letters. Aside from that, he did not even learn the name of the country he was in. He did not recognize the city names, either.

"Where am I, then?" The young man wondered aloud in a voice deepened by tiredness. The unfamiliarity of his own voice made him frown.

Immediately, he set down the letter in his hand and beelined for what he assumed to be a bathroom. Upon opening the unusually narrow door, he found a small bathroom barely big enough for him to sit on the toilet. There was also a showerhead sticking out from the wall next to the toilet. His frown deepened upon seeing how cramped the bathroom was, but he quickly shook his head and focused his gaze on the mirror above the sink.

Widening his eyes, he raised his hands to his face and touched it all over in disbelief. Youthful skin lacking the facial hair he had grown accustomed to indented under the light press of his fingers. Unassuming short brown hair and hazel eyes were the only defining traits he could see. Otherwise, the face looked as forgettable as a tree in the middle of a dense forest.

"...Who is this?" He unintentionally grumbled aloud. "Did I die and possess this guy? I don't recall dying, though."

The young man sighed and rested his hands on the sink. He quietly observed his new face for several moments, but eventually, he turned the faucet on and washed his face with cold water.

After washing his face, he belatedly noticed the lack of towels in the bathroom. Assuming he might find dry towels in the main room, he sighed and wiped off as much water as he could with his bare hands before leaving the bathroom. He searched for a towel in the drawers of a small dresser in the room. Before long, he found one.

While drying his face, a distant commotion beyond the door of his living quarters. He heard some yelling, but mostly stomping. At first, he ignored it, but as the stomping approached his door, his lips dropped into a displeased frown. When the loud footsteps neared his door, he assumed they would pass by without bothering him, yet his assumption quickly proved wrong.

Due to the number of footsteps he heard, it sounded like at least half a dozen people halted outside his door, which caused his brow to wrinkle. A muffled voice stated something in a commanding tone. The next moment, his door splintered open. Chips and splinters of the wooden door flew about haphazardly. In the now empty doorway, a few chunks of wood remained attached to the hinges. They squeaked and swiveled back and forth in their sockets like flailing fish.

The young man's frown deepened, and his eyes betrayed a confused and displeased expression upon seeing a massive and bulky leg lowering from the wide open doorway. A tall and burly man wearing a loose-fitting butler suit lowered his leg and entered the room. A few other men of average stature followed him inside. Each of them had strong physiques like a soldier on active duty. Only the first man looked like a bear standing on hind legs, especially due to his abnormally hairy arms protruding from folded sleeves as well as a bushy beard that looked no neater than a warbler's bird nest. Several scars adorned his shaved head in place of hair. Even his eyes looked like those of a wild predatory beast.

At the sight of the giant man, the young man's eyes involuntarily widened. He estimated that the burly man likely stood taller than three meters, which shocked him to his core. However, he quickly gathered his composure and focused his gaze on the person standing in the center of these strong men.

Amidst these strongmen who acted like bodyguards stood a young man in his late-teens wearing an obnoxiously decorated red robe. Perhaps even the Pope would need to add some glamorous accessories to his ceremonial robes to compare. The teenager's face looked neat and pampered. His sharp nose angled upward slightly with a hint of arrogance. His neatly styled curly blonde hair and vibrant green eyes lended to an air of undeserved nobility. After taking in the appearance of the teenager, the young man who had been minding his own business noticed a hint of danger about the young man despite the fact that he looked like a twig of a boy in comparison to the men guarding him on all sides, yet he could not pinpoint why he felt that way.

The blond teenager raised his head slightly, glowered at the young man across from him, and clicked his tongue a few times.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't… hmm…" The blond boy looked at the nearest bodyguard and asked, "What was this little snake's name again?"

"Acephylus, sir."

"I see. I suppose it doesn't matter what this trash's name is," The teenager mumbled to himself. Then, he glared at the confused young man, sneered, and asked, "Now, snake, anything to say for yourself?"

"...I honestly have no idea what is happening right now," The young man grumbled in response. With no idea about his full situation, he tried to take a cautious approach. However, he did notice that the bodyguard referred to him as Acephylus, confirming the name of the body he seemed to have possessed.

"Is that so? Fine. Whether you confess or not, I don't care. Nobody goes behind the back of a Parsavil and lives. Cadmus, chain him up in the cellar for me."

The giant man grunted an affirmation.

Hearing that, the young man, Acephylus, narrowed his eyes. The next second, he widened his eyes. A massive hand flickered almost directly in front of his face. Adrenaline firing on all cylinders, he forced his torso to lean out of the way. The hand brushed by, pulling on the skin of his ear. Feeling somewhat unbalanced due to a lack of familiarity with his new body, he tripped slightly and lost his balance. In that moment, he felt the massive hand clamp his skull from the side like a normal person might grasp a stress ball.

"Gah!" He gasped, unable to even use any expletives due to the pain shooting through his skull. He almost thought he could hear it cracking.

Before he knew it, the giant man dragged him out of the room. Instinctively, he grasped the giant man's arm tightly and clenched his teeth. With one leg, he pushed off the ground. His opposite foot flew toward the back of the giant man's neck. Unfortunately, the flexibility of his new body failed him. His kick stopped more than two feet short, and a sharp pain shot through his hamstring. He sucked in a sharp breath of air and winced.

'Damn this weak body!'

After the failed kick, the giant man looked down at him with an annoyed gaze. One of the other men suddenly moved. Sharp jabs landed on a few spots on Acephylus' neck. Not even a second passed before his vision darkened.