Taking a deep shuddering breath, Five threw his eyes open. Pain immediately registered in his mind, but it was dwarfed by fatigue and a heavy sensation pressing over the body. He struggled against it, blindly thrashing around, and his panic increased as he got entangled in the thing holding him down.

Freeing himself, he looked around, but the darkness blanketed the surroundings and hid everything from view. The jumbled thoughts clashing inside his head couldn’t make sense of the few objects he noticed. Taking deep breaths, he calmed down and let his eyes adjust to the darkness.

The first thing he noticed was a haphazardly tossed bloodstained blanket and the soft bed he was lying on. Blood pooled out of a tiny cut present on his chest and stained the clothes. It healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and after a few moments, there was no indication he was ever injured.

The surroundings didn’t make any sense. Objects such as swords, paintings, and gold-plated figurines decorated the room. The lab he grew up in lacked any artistic objects, so he wasn’t the right person to comment but something felt out of place with the decorations. It was like something from a different time or civilization.

Clashing sounds distracted him from the exploration. Is that Zeta, or maybe Alpha? Are they still fighting? Did they come back for me?

His heart rose in elation, and he disregarded the strange things happening around him. Figuring out a solution to the odd events wasn’t important. He had to rejoin his friends and help them win.

Extending his arm, he sought support from the headboard and tried to get down. His short hand didn’t reach all the way, and he lost balance, tumbling to the ground. Only after falling did he notice the small body size. Examining himself, his breathing sped up when he noticed nothing remotely close to his body.

The first time he touched the artifact, it left a rhombus-shaped symbol on his palm. No matter what the scientist did, they could never erase it, but it was no longer present. It wasn’t just that, the signs of abuse accumulated over the years were absent.

Panicking more by the moment, he shouted, “Light.”

The surroundings didn’t brighten up and the sounds of clashing had stopped. A lot of people rushed towards his room, but the group didn’t contain a single voice he identified.

With terrified eyes, he watched the door as it burst open, bringing with it a lot of strangers. His eyes fell on a regal lady carrying a sword dripping with blood. When she saw him, her expression shifted from terror to relief. Letting the sword drop, she rushed towards him. Her presence acted as some kind of trigger, and he felt something invading his mind before he blacked out.

**********

Five sighed as he looked at the maids moving about his room. Ever since the assassination in which the previous Alan died, security around his room drastically increased. The number of guards had doubled, and there were always three maids stationed in his room. While he appreciated his mother's concern, his privacy became non-existent.

It took Five the better part of the month to sort and absorb the memories of Alan. They were broken and incomplete, leading to a stressful first week. There were so many things that could have gone wrong.

Worried about speaking in english, he gestured for the things he needed during the initial week. The thing he wanted to avoid most were the visits by Doctor Amos. He used checkups as an excuse to ask Five some weird questions. He didn't know if the doctor was suspicious about his identity, so he wanted to avoid Amos.

The only time he could really relax was when his twin sister Lilliana came to visit him. She was a really enthusiastic and wild person. Her triumphant expression when she believed she had successfully sneaked into Alan's room always made him laugh.

Staying in bed and being taken care of was comforting, but he got bored of it. He wanted to figure out how he ended up in Alan's body and learn more about the world. Five informed the head maid he would like to meet his mother and was waiting for her to visit him.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor, interrupting his thoughts. The door opened, bringing his mother into the room. Apart from knowing she was a doting mother and inherited the duchy at a young age, Alan knew little about Duchess Alayah Ross. His father Kayden was the third son of the Duke of Lester and married into the Ross family. Alan also had an elder sister, Iris who was currently studying at Ricardo Academy.

Gazing at the woman who was both a stranger and a familiar person, Alan had to agree she was a beautiful woman. She was 32 years old but didn't look a day older than 20. Her blond hair complemented her soft green eyes.

Sitting beside him, she gently rubbed his face. "How are you feeling?"

"I am feeling really good mother. I am completely healed. Can I please go out?" Five had a pleading look on his face. Acting like a five-year-old was embarrassing, but he still put up with the act.

A worried look crossed her face as she gently said, "I know you are tired of being cooped up, but I don't think it is safe. The assassins who tried to kill you haven't been caught."

Her face took on a hard edge. "I don't even know why I employ these incompetent fools. Not only have they allowed the assassination to happen, but their investigation produced zero results. If not for your father, I would have executed the lot of them."

"Please, mother. There haven't been any incidents since then. I think the assassins escaped after you increased the security, I don't think they would dare to come back." Five pleaded, trying to get his mother to change her mind.

Alayah stared at her son's face and didn't know how to dissuade him without hurting his feelings. She decided to pass the baton to her husband. "Sweetie, your father is returning this evening. Why don't we discuss this with him, and then we can come to a decision?"

Five knew she was buying time, but he didn't insist as he knew arguing would be meaningless. So, he put on an excited expression and said, "I didn't know father's returning today. I will get ready and greet him at the gates."

She laughed at Alan's excited expression. "Your dad will be happy knowing you are excited. See you in the evening Alan."

He watched her leave with a complicated expression. In his previous life, he neither had a family nor did he understand the concept of parental love. He didn't know how to act around them, but Alayah didn't care about his strange behavior. She always came to his room before he slept and either told him fairy tales or hummed so he could sleep better. While he was embarrassed by the amount of care she showed him, he also felt incredibly happy. The only blemish on his happiness was his guilt from replacing their son.

***********

Five waited by the castle gates with his mother and sister for his father's return. He nearly laughed when he saw Lilliana trying really hard not to jump around and act in a dignified way.

A blare from the signal horns indicates the arrival of the knights. Most of the procession split up and made their way to the barracks. Only Duke Kayden and his core knights proceeded towards the castle.

Duke Kayden was a handsome man with black hair and eyes. He had an easy-going smile with a very friendly and approachable aura around him. He wasn't as rigid as the other knights and casually chatted with them.

While most of the knights were wearing silver armor, Kayden wore a majestic golden armor that had more similarities to an art piece rather than armor. An elegant sword hung on his hip. Alan was stunned after looking at his father's horse. Even the armor couldn't cover the beast's elegance, but what caught his attention was the horn on its head.

He stared at the horn in disbelief. Until that moment, he believed he was in a world similar to Earth. His father's horse shattered the illusion. With a stunned expression on his face, Alan turned to his mother and asked, "Mother, the horse ...."

Alayah looked at Alan and laughed. "You won't be getting a unicorn any time soon. The only way you will be able to earn a unicorn's respect is by proving your worth."

Unicorn, Alan thought to himself, Unicorns exist? Is it some kind of a mutated horse or is this actually a fantasy world?

At that instant, Alan wanted to run to the library and read the continent's history. He held himself back as he impatiently waited for his father to enter the castle and finally gain permission to move about freely.

**********

Alaya caught a glimpse of Lilliana jumping into her father’s lap and scolded her. “Mind your manners around the dinner table.”

Hearing the rebuke, Lilliana’s enthusiasm deflated like a balloon. With a pout, she got down her father’s lap and sat in her chair.

Kayden grinned. "Cut them some slack. They haven't seen their father in 3 months."

"Don't you dare start encouraging such behavior. Iris is so well-mannered and polite. These two on the other hand always skip classes and play around. If their behavior continues, people will start thinking they were brought up by a bunch of trolls," Alaya reprimanded.

Not bothered by it, Kayden shrugged.

"Dad, Dad, where did you go this time? Was the place beautiful? Can you tell me some stories? Mom didn't allow me to play around, and the mean old hag who followed me kept nagging at everything I did. Now that you are back, can I go out and play?" Lily gazed at Kayden expectantly.

Noticing her mother’s expression transform into anger, she slapped her hands to her mouth.

“Mind your language,” Alaya snapped, causing Alan and Kayden to burst into laughter. The simple yet happy exchange made a heavy feeling settle in Alan’s heart. He took over the body of someone irreplaceable to these people.

The conversation shifted from the pleasant tone. A grim look replaced Kayden’s expression. "They haven't caught the assassin yet, have they?"

"Forget catching them, they haven't found a single clue. If we killed some of these useless fools, it would motivate them to work harder!" The assassination was a sore note in her otherwise happy life. She had never been more frightened than that night. If anything happened to Alan, she would never forgive herself.

"Don’t blame them too much. When the assassins attacked, even Bryce was nearby. Their ability to withstand his attack, injure Alan, and escape speaks volumes about the assassin’s skill."

"It just doesn't make any sense. Why target Alan? I mean if they were targeting someone—"

"Be that as it may, we can't just keep them home. Iris' training started as soon as she was five. These two are already four months late. We cannot put it off any longer."

Alaya noticed his obvious attempt to divert the conversation. She knew he didn't want the children to know the truth. While she disagreed with his decision, she didn't want the children to witness any arguments between them. "I was waiting for you to come back before I started their training. The city will be safer with more knights around."

Alan was curious about what Alaya was about to mention, but he didn't ask them as he knew he wouldn't get an answer.

Kayden shifted his attention to his children. "From tomorrow, the two of you will start your knight training. The classes will take up most of your morning while your language, etiquette, and history class will be moved to the evening. I know it will be difficult, but I won't tolerate any slacking off.”

"But dad, I won't be able to play anymore. Can I skip some classes? Please?" Lily stared at Kayden with a pleading expression.

She usually got her way with him, but for once, he wasn’t swayed by her expression. "No. These lessons are important, and if you can finish them early, you can play during the remaining time."

While Lily was upset about her lost playing time, Alan worried about the training. In his previous life, even with his stellar performance in academics, he never excelled at the physical exercises the scientist put him through. He blamed his subpar skill on his lack of commitment, but he knew it was an excuse. He hoped it would be the one characteristic he didn’t carry from his previous life.

"Alan, you will go down to the warrior training ground every morning where you will be instructed, and Lily will train with her father," Alaya said.

Both Alan and Lily became confused after hearing her instructions. "Why can't Alan train with me and dad? Why does he need to go somewhere else?"

"Because you are a girl and it would be inappropriate to train with the others."

Lily readily accepted the answer but Alan knew for a fact she was lying. There were a lot of women training at the grounds, and before joining a squad, they had their separate quarters.

Another question plagued his mind. Knights had a separate training ground. There was no need to train with the soldiers choosing the warrior path.

"Didn't you say I will be starting my knight training? Why do I need to go to the warrior training ground instead of the knights training ground?" Alan asked.

"It’s because you can’t sense Ki. Specialized training will only start when you can utilize Ki. Before that, the training methods are the same for everyone," Kayden explained. "Generally, it takes a hardworking person two to three years to reach the threshold for developing it. With the resources at our disposal, you will be able to reach the threshold within a year."

A stern expression appeared on his face. "I hope the two of you don't waste the resources you have been provided with. Having a lot of money doesn't mean we get to squander it. You have to make the best use of your abilities to surpass your peers."

Looking at Kayden's unusually stern face, Lily responded with a "Yes, Sir" making those at the table laugh.

After dinner, everyone retired to their rooms. An entourage of guards followed Alan, and judging by their numbers, they increased rather than decrease.

Before allowing him to enter, the guards checked every nook and cranny. They didn’t leave after he went to bed. Some of them stayed inside while the others stood guard outside the door.

Alan felt an intense dislike towards their actions. In his previous life, someone constantly monitored his actions making him resent the feeling. While the guards were only doing it out of concern for his safety, the situation left a bad taste in his mouth.

If this is how my life will be for the foreseeable future, then it is going to be quite tiring. It was his final thought before he fell asleep.