"Your Highness."
The low, cautious voice woke Rein from his deep sleep, and the gentle pat on his shoulder further roused him.
'Who is it?'
Rein opened his eyes curiously, only to see an unfamiliar face.
A man with long black hair, tied back and wearing glasses, seemed pleased to see him awake at once.
"Who are you?" Rein asked reflexively as he sat up and looked around.
Then, he looked back at the man, who for some reason had an odd smile on his face.
"Your Highness, I am your new personal servant assigned to you starting today. Your previous personal servant has resigned from their role," the man replied smoothly, his voice pleasant to the ear.
After hearing the man's explanation and seeing his luxurious room filled with items from the fantasy kingdom in the comic, Rein immediately realised the reality of the situation.
'This is clearly a transmigration!'
His heart raced with anticipation and fear. He needed to confirm which world he was in.
"Then, what is your name?" Rein wasn't sure if he would remember all the stories he had read, but he still wanted to know the man's name.
The man maintained his odd smile and replied, "My name is Elie Wonhart, Your Highness."
'So, his name is Elie... Wait! Elie Wonhart?!'
Rein quickly turned his face downward to hide his surprised expression.
Even though he didn't remember the various novels he had read, he was certain he remembered the last novel he had read before sleeping.
Strangely, Rein couldn't remember the title, but he knew the story and the characters in it. Elie Wonhart was an important character, specifically the main villain. A cunning and cruel person who viewed everyone as ants under his feet.
It was impossible for there to be a character with the same strange name as the main villain. At least, as far as he could tell, only the last novel he had read had a character named "Elie Wonhart."
"Your Highness, are you still feeling dizzy? The doctor will come after you have breakfast. I will prepare warm water for your bath," the man didn't mind Rein's silence and chose to do what he deemed appropriate. He left without waiting for Rein to respond.
Rein dared not ask the man the name of the body he had possessed. Even a hint of suspicion from the main villain could kill him. He did not want to die; more accurately, he had to find out who he was now and why he was here.
From Elie's words, it was clear that this body's status was quite high, and it also seemed that his health was not good, as a doctor had been mentioned.
Additionally, Rein was having some difficulty breathing; the tightness in his chest felt more pronounced when his heart was racing. He was also aware that his limbs felt weak and lifeless.
While calming his heart and trying to regulate his breathing, Rein got out of bed and struggled to walk toward the full-length mirror in the corner of the room near the door to another room.
When Rein saw his appearance, he was stunned.
"Is this a walking corpse?!"
His face was pale white, and the dark circles under his eyes were extremely dark. His lips were also slightly black, as if he were suffering from a chronic illness. His body was emaciated, like someone who had been starving for days.
The only thing that still looked good was his shoulder-length pink hair.
"Hah!" Rein snorted in disbelief that he would possess this body.
There was only one terrifying character with pink hair. The famous imperial prince who was chronically ill and had only days left to live.
Actually, he had suspected it since hearing the name Elie Wonhart, but confirming it had a greater impact. There was only one person who had ever been served by the main villain and was also the person he killed, namely Reinhart de Elvis.
The pale face in the mirror was losing its colour, and his magenta-red eyes looked desperate.
"It's over; my fate has been decided. Can I join the next transmigration trend?"
Rein prepared to dig his own grave, as there was no chance of surviving the main villain. Moreover, this body would eventually die from an incurable disease.
He returned to his bed and lay down calmly. Though he did not want to die, he felt it was too troublesome to fight, as it would ultimately be in vain. In the novel, the nature of Reinhart's illness was not mentioned, and its cure was unknown.
Even holy power was useless. Only a doctor using alchemy could still create a medicine to prolong his life.
Besides, Rein thought simply: according to the transmigration routine, if he died in his original world, he couldn't return. However, he clearly hadn't died in his original world; he was just asleep. There was still a chance he could return there.
After reaching this realisation, he felt much calmer and no longer feared facing Elie Wonhart. If he were killed sooner, wouldn't he return sooner?
That's good; Rein would act as he pleased.
A few minutes later, Elie Wonhart returned to his room pushing a trolley containing several dishes for the patient. At the bottom of the trolley was a silver basin filled with warm water and a small towel.
It seemed the bath meant wiping his body. That made sense since Rein was already extremely exhausted despite only walking a few steps, his breath growing shorter.
It appeared there was a temperature control device in the room since the temperature was stable and warm.
"Your Highness, let me wipe your body," Elie said, bringing the basin to the bed.
Rein snatched the basin and refused his offer, "No need, I can do it myself."
He didn't want that vicious villain to touch him. So, he quickly washed his face and wiped his body parts.
After finishing, he handed the dirty basin and towel to Elie, who was standing quietly beside him.
"You're really different from what I expected," Elie commented suddenly, his expression amused.
'What did you think I was like?'
Rein didn't want to respond to the psychotic killer and told him to bring his breakfast.
He wouldn't hesitate or be afraid, even if the psychotic killer were to press a fruit knife to his throat.
Unfortunately, nothing happened; he ate his breakfast smoothly and enjoyed it. It didn't taste too bad, at least his sense of taste hadn't completely faded, or perhaps the food had been adjusted to suit the palate of someone like him.
Next was a walk in the park as part of the imperial doctor's advice. As a personal servant, Elie had to make sure Prince Reinhart got enough physical activity.
'Strange, why is no one here?!'
Rein didn't know what kind of life the character named "Reinhart" had lived, that because the only line that described him was when "Reinhart" was killed by the main villain.
He is clearly an imperial prince, so he has his own palace and should have many servants and guards protecting him.
However, there was no one else in the palace besides himself and Elie Wonhart.
"It's so quiet," Rein muttered unconsciously.
His palace is beautiful and the garden has various types of plants, but it feels like an empty palace.
"Your Highness, you are sensitive to sounds and crowds, so the imperial doctor suggested that the servants and guards not appear before you. They are elsewhere now," Elie Wonhart explained, implying that he knew Reinheart's condition in great detail.
The corner of Rein's mouth twitched once before he continued walking. Finally, after walking for a few minutes, he could no longer continue and sat down on a garden bench, breathing heavily.
'Damn body!'
He had never felt this weak before. How could the original Reinhart have survived in such a body for so long?
Rein himself already wanted to return to his original world immediately, where his body was healthy and well.
Even though his life in his original world wasn't that great, he didn't have to worry about when his life would end due to being killed or suffering from a painful illness.
At first, he thought this transmigration trend was a good thing; he would receive a new life in a new world where no one knew him. He would live well and not do anything reckless. It seemed like fate was playing with him.
Rein's eyes darkened as he decided to do something tonight.
"Let's go back inside," he said after making his decision.
He didn't see Elie, so he didn't know that at that moment, Elie had already erased the strange smile he always wore on his face.
***