My First Friend

Lord Leonis Sanguis was an enigma to all his servants, especially Evelyn. His personality had changed so much that he had become unrecognizable. This piece of news did not leave the manor, though all the maids and servants were discussing their lord's abnormal behavior.

It had been only one day since the incident in Greenbell Forest yet everyone noticed the change. Leonis Sanguis holed up in his office, only coming out to eat or wander around the manor for no apparent reason. He did not flare up at anyone, even his personal maid, nor did he complain about the food or how some decorations were positioned, as was his wont.

In fact, Evelyn went a step further, instructing the chef to cook food that Leonis would usually not like, however, to her surprise, he finished his plate and even praised the chef he had 'never' met.

Morning of the second day, Evelyn knocked on the door of his bedroom, planning to wake him up and see his reaction, but it didn't go as expected. He was wake and energetic, already wearing an appropriate outfit and reading old parchment that the town guards retrieved from Latif's corpse.

"Oh, it's Evelyn. Is something wrong?"

He faintly smiled at her but that only made her uneasy and feel the creeps. That smile seemed to fake and perhaps even a little evil. He became so unpredictable and unreadable, so much that she wasn't able to freely express her opinions.

Before the incident, Evelyn did not shy away from ridiculing her master or saying things he might not like, all for his own good, of course. Now, on the other hand, everything she says would backfire or be met with a mocking smile, which, quite frankly, was annoying and humiliating. She was someone who was an expert at hiding her emotions and coping with the situation but such an unanticipated change had greatly affected her.

She wanted to get to the bottom of this and see if this was just an act or something really happened to him during that incident in that short period she was away, busy baiting a beast.

"Breakfast is ready, master."

"Oh? Lovely. Do lead the way."

She silently nodded her head and turned around, walking a pace or two ahead of him. She snuck a couple of glances but found nothing of interest, he was absent-mindedly looking to the front. Contrary to before, he almost always had the same amicable friend, as if he was a caring and gentle individual. It did not fit him at all and made him look somewhat creepy, or so she thought.

"Master, is something bothering you?"

"Hm? Why would you say that?"

"Pardon my honesty, but you seem different."

"Must be old age, I guess."

"No, I mea-"

He cut her off with a laugh as he picked up the pace and lightly tapped her back in a reassuring way.

"Your master is contemplating life in a different way. I'm sure it's better than nagging you all day, is it not?"

Evelyn didn't like being touched and she did not mask her disgusted expression, "It's a bit creepy, master."

"Ah, my dear Evelyn, must you be so blunt? Maids should not be so insufferably inflexible."

"I worry about my master's mental health."

"You almost sound like a broken disk, you know?"

He flashed a bright smile at her and continued, "Anywho, when is the next banquet?"

"Lord Lerandal is celebrating his daughter's sixteenth birthday tomorrow night. May I ask why you want to know?"

"To attend it, of course!"

As she heard that, the maid halted her steps and tilted her head, looking more perplexed than ever.

"Master… you're attending?"

Leonis Sanguis abhorred banquets, especially those involving the childish and arrogant noble youngsters. To hear him actually say he wanted to attend on his own accord was unimaginable, even for Evelyn, who was starting to get used to his awful eccentricity.

"Why, yes! Socializing is a big factor of being a noble. I should do my part and make some friends."

He paused for a couple of breaths, stared back at her, his expression changing ever-so-slightly though remaining totally unreadable.

"Come to think of it, you're my first friend."

"I'm master's maid, not his friend."

"It hurts me to be rejected so fast. Maybe you'll change your mind in the future, but do remember that I'll be giving you only one more chance, understood?"

Evelyn bowed her head in silence and repeated,

"I cannot be master's friend."

"Sure, whatever you say."

As he sat down on the comfortable high chair and enjoyed the feast presented before him, Arthur's already good mood elevated even more. Ever since he switched bodies, his life changed a lot, whether it was his daily routine, the food he consumes, or the books he reads.

It has been a bliss so far, and even though people were questioning hsi clearly odd behavior, he didn't care that much. He was a noble, or pretending to be one, and even if people do not like what he says or does, they can only gossip about it. After all, no sane person would openly insult or provoke a noble, especially if their social status was lesser.

He had thought Evelyn would be a big obstacle to overcome, however, it wasn't that case. She might be good at masking her emotions and hiding a few things, but she was still young and inexperienced in some fields.

Arthur was inherently a businessman, and he did not acquire all that wealth and power while purely relying on hard work. Almost, if not all, businessmen were shrewd and calculative, and reincarnating into this world did not rob Arthur of those useful qualities.

He neither lacked shrewdness nor trickery, which made the parasite race a perfect pick for him.

He would do what he wanted to do while impersonating Leonis then he'd either discard the body or leave Wilsden. Though he did not need to worry about the Baron, he was still interested in Latif's experiment as it could prove useful in acquiring more physical and magical powers.

Arthur's goal was not to live Leonis' life and enjoy the delicacies all day for the rest of his life. Nay, acquiring unachievable strength was undeniably one of his top priorities. However, unstoppable strength, at least for him, was meant to be used in desperate times only.

Most of the problems could be solved using one's mind and a little bit of thorough planning. Whatever enemies or obstacles he might face in the future, they could and probably would be solved using minimal violence. Put simply, absolute strength was more like a safety precaution to Arthur, an alternative to save himself in case of the appearance of an unexpected variable.

One such variable was Lexander Biax, Leonis' protector and friend. The old knight did not return yet, but he soon will, and as a long-time comrade of Leonis, he would surely notice something was amiss.

Arthur needed to take care of him, but it wasn't an easy feat. He either had to dispose of him in secret, which wasn't possible considering how strong Lexander was, or he had to find a way to send him away for a while.

Just as Arthur was done eating a pretty luxurious breakfast which filled his empty stomach to the brim, Evelyn appeared in front of him like a ghost.

Seemingly never annoyed by her abrupt appearances and how she follows him almost everywhere, he gave her the usual smile and asked,

"Anything else, Evelyn?"

"I've sent people to investigate the Baron's daughter, as you've ordered, master."

"Excellent, but there is no need to report to me everything you do. I'm going to read so... you're free to do whatever you want."

He stood up and started heading to his office, which was less than a minute away from the dining room. He hasn't been here long and although Leonis' manor was decently big, he was slowly but surely memorizing the layout of the estate and remembering where each room was, even though most remain unused.

Even after reaching his office and returning to his favorite cozy spot, Arthur did not fail to notice the maid glued to his back. He sat down on the wide couch near the chimney, grabbed a leather covered brown book and opened but he didn't immediately start reading.

"Isn't it boring just watching me read? Surely you have more important affairs to attend to."

"As my master's maid, my only job is to follow you and flawlessly do whatever you command."

"That's an awfully shallow perspective of being a maid. It's as if you enjoy doing it and I don't really think any maid is glad to be serving any master, no matter how much they deny it. They are doing it out of necessity."

"That's your opinion, master."

Hearing her cold-sounding retort and her raised eyebrow, Arthur chuckled and waved his hand at her.

"It's a fact, actually. No one would be willing to spend the rest of their lives obeying narcissistic and self-centered aristocrats."

"You're insulting yourself, master."

"No, I'm criticizing the way nobles live their lives."

"You're a noble too, master."

"Indeed I am, but I have become different." He mockingly puffed his chest and added, "The incident at the forest enlightened my feeble mentality and inspired me to live a better and kinder life."

"..."

Evelyn refrained from any more remarks, she walked to a corner and motionlessly stood there, trying to be inconspicuous, but, ironically, her actions had the opposite effect.

Although it wasn't comfortable being stared so intensely at while he was reading, Arthur did not raise any complaint and focused on the contents of the book. Fortunately, half an hour later, Evelyn was called outside by an older maid.

One of the perks of impersonating Leonis was the many books in his possession. They were mainly about aristocracy, their culture and traditions, the ancient lineages, and so on. Nevertheless, such minor knowledge was helpful to the ignorant Arthur.