Gamma Hall was the son of the Hall family, one of four siblings. He was known as a mischievous and selfish young noble. Yet now, no one knew that a soul from another world had entered the boy's body. Gamma was infamous for his ego, born from the arrogance of noble blood. He dismissed servants on a whim, struck people he disliked, and often deliberately interfered with the servants' work in the mansion.
Because of his terrible attitude, he had been forbidden from attending any noble events even after making his debut as a noble three years ago.
And now, at the age of eight, Gamma was standing in the kitchen, staring in confusion at a single carrot. With a serious face and his arms folded, he gazed at it before asking,
"...You use a knife for this, right?"
"No, young master. Please allow us to prepare dinner for you," said one of the chefs.
"I'm not planning to make dinner. I want to learn how to cook."
The chefs were stunned by that statement. One of them bravely opened his mouth to ask, "Why—"
But the moment the word left his lips, memories of past horrors surfaced, and he clamped both hands over his mouth. The other chefs turned to him and sighed. Just asking a question like that was usually enough to anger their young master.
Yet instead of getting angry, Gamma replied calmly, "I'm bored being stuck at home all the time. My two older brothers can go out whenever they want. Why can't I? That's why I want to learn cooking. Is that wrong?"
"It's not wrong, young master, but…" replied the same brave chef.
The others quickly gestured for him to stay silent.
Seeing the unwelcoming reactions, Gamma said, "Looks like I'm disturbing you. Please continue your work. I'll come back to bother you another time."
He left the kitchen, leaving behind chefs who felt an indescribable sense of unease at what they had just witnessed.
Back to Gamma, who was now walking through the corridor toward the lower floor. With an irritated expression, he stopped acting like a noble and began muttering to himself.
"Why am I the only one locked inside this mansion? My brothers can come and go freely. Even my little sister is busy with her noble debut since she's already five. And I'm stuck in this stupidly huge mansion that's basically a labyrinth!? Damn it! …Wait, where am I now?"
Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind him.
"What's wrong, young master? Is something bothering you?" It was Charlotte.
Realizing someone had seen him, Gamma instantly switched back into his perfect 'noble mode.'
"I'm fine. Just training," he said coolly, stopping and turning to look out the window.
"Training? Don't tell me… are you planning to attend tonight's festival?"
"Huh? Festival?"
"Yes. A festival. Our territory is celebrating a new hero who managed to conquer a level-seven labyrinth. I heard there will be a stage play as well. I thought perhaps you wanted to attend."
"How do you know that?"
"Hm? Isn't everyone in this territory know about it?"
Hearing that, Gamma fell silent and chose to stare out the window.
So this is what being bullied feels like. I read in books that victims of bullying are usually discriminated against for being ugly or having weird hobbies. But in my case… it's entirely my own fault.
Gamma cried inside his heart.
Damn it! The maids try to avoid me whenever I pass by. The gardeners keep watching my every move because they're afraid I'll ruin the flowers again—even though it wasn't me! Even the chefs and guards are afraid of me!
Enough! Their stares hurt my innocent conscience. Damn it! What should I do!?
A festival? No! No way! If I go out and get caught, the head of the family might get angry and investigate. I don't even know if soul-detection exists in this world. One wrong move, and I could be executed.
...
But… nothing changes without a cause…
"Young master, what are you thinking about this time?" Charlotte asked, now somewhat accustomed to her strange master.
That strange young master suddenly grinned, looked straight at her, and said,
"You're coming with me to the festival tonight."
"Eh? Me? Why?"
"'Why' are you asking?" Gamma took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling while holding back tears, and said, "Because you're the only one I have."
Damn it! I thought I was finally going to have a better life… but I ended up getting bullied instead.
Meanwhile, Charlotte misunderstood completely. Her face turned red as she covered it with her hands and ran away in embarrassment.
Gamma, confused by her reaction, frowned and muttered, "What's wrong with her all of a sudden?" He didn't realize that Charlotte was hiding a smile on her face as she ran.
With nothing else to do, Gamma looked out the window out of sheer boredom. And then, an idea struck him, one he considered brilliant.
"Hehehe… this might actually work. I really am a genius," he laughed with a villainous grin.
Unaware that a gardener outside the mansion saw that expression and ran away in terror.
Gamma tried to leave the mansion and got lost in dead ends three times. When he finally made it outside, he headed toward the flower garden, where a tea table stood at its center, the place where he first arrived in this world.
What caught his attention, however, was the circular shape of the garden.
He casually threw off his noble shirt and began running with a smile on his face.
What about this plan? I'll exercise, attract the attention of the mansion staff, and slowly change my image from a selfish noble brat into a noble brat who's gradually improving. I can strengthen this useless noble body at the same time. Two birds with one stone. I'm amazing!
However, his pitifully low stamina allowed him to last only nine laps before he collapsed unconscious.
A gardener who found him screamed as if he had just witnessed a murder.
Gamma missed the night festival entirely and slept soundly until the next morning.
For some reason, within a single day, a rumor spread throughout the entire mansion that he was plotting a series of murders.