A week had passed since Kai had woken up in this new body. In his old life, he was already exceptional, but here, he had a chance to be even greater.
His daily life was completely different from the previous owner of this body. Every morning, while the rest of the world was still asleep, Kai's eyes snapped open at exactly 5:00 AM. There was no more sleeping in. He would jump out of bed, stretch his stiff muscles, and head outside.
He began a brutal training routine. He started with long runs around the edge of the estate, followed by sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and burpees until his muscles screamed in pain.
Since there was no gym, he had to get creative. He found heavy rocks near the garden and tied them to wooden poles with thick rope. These makeshift weights were ugly and awkward to lift, but they were exactly what he needed to turn his "skinny weakling" body into something stronger.
On this particular morning, Kai was finishing his tenth lap around the grounds. The estate was massive, and ten laps was a huge distance. By the final stretch, his breath was coming in ragged gasps. His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird.
When he finally stopped, he grabbed the water bottle he had left on a stone bench. He gulped the water down, feeling the cold liquid slide down his throat.
Damn, he thought, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. I knew this body was out of shape, but this is even worse than I thought. Just a little bit of running and I feel like I'm going to pass out.
As he stood up to stretch, a prickling feeling washed over him. It was that strange sensation you get when someone is watching you. He didn't turn his head right away. Instead, he waited a second and then glanced toward the corner of the giant mansion.
For a split second, he saw a flash of long, silver hair and the hem of a dress before it vanished behind the stone wall.
It was Aria, his stepsister.
She's been watching me every day this week, Kai thought. He didn't let a smile show on his face, but he felt a sense of victory. This was all part of his plan.
The System had given him a "Main Quest." The goal was simple but difficult: Seduce Your Sister. And the first step of that was to stop being the "useless bum" that everyone looked down on and prove he was "competent." If Aria—who used to ignore him or look at him with disgust—was now curious enough to spy on him, then his plan was working.
Instead of calling out to her or waving, Kai did the opposite. He acted like he hadn't seen her at all. He wiped his face with a towel and started walking back toward the house with a serious, focused look on his face. He knew that playing hard to get would only make her more curious.
As he walked, he looked around at the estate. It was a beautiful place with wide-open green spaces, perfectly trimmed hedges, and the massive mansion sitting right in the middle. He passed several guards standing at the gates and maids carrying baskets of laundry.
They all bowed their heads as he passed. "Good morning, Young Master," they would say.
Kai nodded back, but he kept his eyes open. He noticed the same strange pattern again. Every single guard was a woman. Every single maid was a woman. From the person sweeping the floors to the person guarding the main gate, there wasn't a single man to be found.
In this world, men were rare. The ratio was 1 man for every 100 women. Even so, it was weird to have zero men around. It felt intentional.
The Duchess must have done this on purpose, Kai realized. She probably cleared out every man in the estate so I'd be the only one here.
He thought about his mother—or rather, the woman who was his mother in this world. From the memories he inherited, she was a mystery. She was never mean to him, but she was never loving either.
She never hugged him, but she never hit him. She was just... there. She treated her own daughters the same way—with a cold, neutral attitude.
Despite her coldness, Kai didn't hate her the way he disliked his stepsisters. At the very least, she provided for him. She made sure he had a roof over his head and the best food to eat. She did her duty as a parent, even if she didn't provide any warmth.
But she hasn't been home in a long time, Kai mused. The memories say she's been gone for weeks. I wonder what kind of business keeps a Duchess away for that long?
He pushed the thought aside. He had enough to deal with just trying to finish his daily quest.
He entered the mansion through the side door and walked down the long, silent hallways to his room. Once inside, he locked the door and headed straight for the bathroom.
He stripped off his sweaty clothes and stepped into a hot shower, letting the water wash away the dirt and the soreness.
Afterward, he wiped the steam off the mirror and looked at himself.
The boy in the reflection was still lanky and thin, but there was a change starting to happen. His shoulders looked a little wider, and his stomach was starting to show the faint lines of muscle.
He was undeniably handsome, but the most striking part of his face was his eyes. They were a sharp, golden color—bright and piercing like a predator's.
"I guess I should thank my father for these," he whispered, looking into his own golden eyes. "At least he gave me a face that looks like it belongs to someone important."
He took a deep breath, ready to face whatever the rest of the day had in store for him.