I stood on the palace terrace. A gentle evening breeze swept past, bringing a sense of tranquility I rarely had the luxury to feel. In the distance, the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in breathtaking strokes of amber and crimson.
From this vantage point, I could oversee the vast lands I had spent the last three years uniting. Nations that once bled each other dry in endless wars now stood side by side under a single realm.
Watching the peaceful expanse, a quiet sense of accomplishment swelled within my chest.
"Ugh—?!"
Suddenly, an agonizing pain ripped through my abdomen.
I looked down, my breath hitching.
A blade had pierced straight through me from behind, its bloody tip protruding from my stomach. Warm blood pooled rapidly, dripping down onto the stone floor beneath my feet.
With trembling limbs, I forced myself to look back. My eyes widened in momentary shock, but despite the searing agony, I quickly forced my composure back.
"F-forgive me... Your Majesty..."
The voice was raspy, broken.
Victor.
My right-hand man. The person I had cherished like my own younger brother.
His head was bowed, unable to meet my eyes. The hand gripping the hilt of the sword shook violently. His muffled sobs echoed clearly, heavy with the weight of a man tearing his own soul apart.
Slowly, the blade was wrenched from my body.
A sharper wave of agony followed as a fresh torrent of blood spilled onto the floor. My legs buckled, losing all strength, and my body collapsed onto the stones.
Sprawled on the ground, I fought against the suffocating pain to squeeze out a few words. With what little strength I had left, I offered him my forgiveness.
"It's... fine. You must... have your own... reasons, right?"
I looked up at Victor. He stood there trembling, his gaze initially glued to the ground, but upon hearing my words, he snapped his head up. His eyes wide, a turbulent storm of fury, sorrow, and crushing guilt swirling within them.
"Don't forgive me, Your Majesty! You should be furious! You should curse a wretched traitor like me!"
He put on a fierce, angry facade, but I knew him too well. He was only trying to force himself to be the villain. I knew the kind of man Victor truly was, and my trust in him would remain unshaken, even as death came knocking at my door.
"Even if you say that... I still can't bring myself to hate you... you know?" I wheezed, a faint smile touching my lips. "If it weren't for you... I probably would have never made it this far..."
I tried to chuckle, but it only triggered a fit of coughing that brought up a mouth full of blood.
"I only... have one... request. I don't care... what your motives are... but please... keep my people prosperous... I beg of you..."
Victor clenched his fists tightly, meeting my gaze with fierce, unyielding resolve.
"I will! I swear I will!"
I smiled, completely satisfied with his answer. With that promise, peace finally washed over me. Placing my ultimate trust in Victor one last time, I exhaled my final breath.
As darkness took me, I felt my consciousness drifting aimlessly in the void. Suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice echoed inside my head.
*{Synchronization successful. The individual will acquire skills aligned with their inner self.}*
*{Searching for compatible skills...}*
*{Skills found. The individual is granted two Unique Skills: [Observe & Learn] and [Uptake].}*
*{You may now open your eyes.}*
—
My body moved on its own, obeying the command. My eyelids felt heavy as I forced them open. I found myself lying on a luxurious bed, draped in soft, comfortable sheets adorned with intricate, elegant patterns.
My body felt incredibly light, brimming with a strange vitality. I held up my hands—the wrinkles of old age were entirely gone.
As I tried to process what was happening, my eyes scanned the room. The walls were made of opulent white marble, decorated with elegant ornaments.
My gaze locked onto a large mirror across the room. My eyes widened slightly.
The reflection staring back at me was my own self, reverted to when I was roughly twenty-one years old.
"Did I... regress to the past?"
The soft sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence. From the light, delicate stride, I was certain it was a woman. Slowly, the door creaked open.
"Alden-sama, you're already awake? How unusual."
A maid stood at the doorway. But she had cat ears and a matching tail. A demi-human? If beast-folk existed here, then I hadn't traveled back in time. This was an entirely different world.
"Uh... who is Alden? And who are you?"
From the immediate shift in her expression, it was glaringly obvious she held no affection for me.
With a slight scowl hardening her features, she explained coldly.
"It seems you drank far too much last night. You are Alden, a prince of the Kingdom of Galdia. *
"And I am Sophia, your personal maid."
Galdia? A prince?
I fell silent, digesting the situation. The simplest conclusion was that I had been reincarnated into another world after being stabbed by my right-hand man, inheriting the body of a kingdom's prince.
The question was, why? This couldn't just be a coincidence.
For now, there was no use overthinking it. I climbed out of bed and walked over to the window.
My breath caught. Outside lay a sprawling slum. The houses were decrepit and unstable, the citizens lived in wretched poverty, and unlawful acts were seemingly ignored in broad daylight.
A surge of hot anger flooded my chest. I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white, fighting to suppress the rage.
*Tch... What kind of ruler leaves their own people to rot like this?*
I turned back to Sophia, forcing my voice to remain calm despite the storm inside.
"Um... Sophia. Could you tell me more about myself, and about this kingdom?"
Sophia looked visibly annoyed by the continuous questioning, but she forced herself to answer.
"Hmm... Galdia is a kingdom located in the northeast, ruled by King Corvin Magnus and Queen Marcella Magnus."
She paused for a moment, taking a sharp breath.
"Regrettably, King Corvin and Queen Marcella only cared about wealth, leaving the populace completely abandoned. They accumulated massive debts from neighboring countries just to line their own pockets."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Now that the debts have piled up beyond their ability to pay, they simply fled, dumping the entire responsibility of the kingdom's financial ruin onto you."
I could feel the biting resentment in Sophia's voice, and honestly, I couldn't blame her. I clenched my fists again. Greed-driven hypocrites who only cared about hoarding wealth were the scum I detested most.
Still, a ruined kingdom wasn't an impossible hurdle. With my past experience, I was confident I could stabilize Galdia's infrastructure.
The real issue, however, lay in the workforce. Judging by Sophia's open hostility, my current reputation was utterly abysmal. The original Alden and King Corvin likely shared the exact same rotten personality.
"So, how much of the kingdom's funds are actually left?"
"Zero desu."
"Great. That's more than enough to—"
"Wait, what?"
"Zero desu."
"For real...?"
They really didn't leave a single copper behind?
I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting off an impending headache. Just how bottomless was the Galdia King's avarice?
"Sophia... can you take me to the storehouse?"
Sophia blinked, caught off guard. Her gaze turned deeply skeptical. Well, it made sense. The old Alden would never willingly set foot in a dusty old storage unit.
"Follow me."
We walked down the palace corridors. Marble walls, crystal chandeliers, gold engravings—everything was excessively lavish for a kingdom on the brink of bankruptcy.
Of course. A greedy king would never skimp on his own comfort.
"We have arrived."
The doors were massive. Far too grand for a mere storehouse.
I stepped forward and gave them a push. They felt incredibly heavy—in fact, they barely budged.
Realizing physical strength alone wouldn't cut it, I focused and controlled my breathing, using a technique I had mastered in my previous life. With a deep, scraping groan, the massive doors slowly ground open.
I turned back to Sophia.
"Is something wrong?"
She stared at me for a long time in utter disbelief before letting out a sharp sigh.
"Those doors are specially enchanted, Your Majesty. They are designed to be opened only through magic.
" It is practically impossible to force them open with raw physical strength due to their extreme weight."
"Oh..."
So that was the case. Now came the hard part: making up an excuse.
"I didn't entirely rely on brute force... I used a bit of mana."
Sophia knitted her brows. "Mana?"
"Uh, you know, magic energy? Isn't it called mana?"
She quickly covered her mouth, clearly stifling a reaction. A faint smile played on her lips—though it looked a lot like mockery.
"Where on earth did Your Majesty learn such a bizarre term? Did last night's alcohol short-circuit your brain?"
She cleared her throat, instantly reverting to her stiff, formal demeanor.
"Magic energy is called arca."
*Arca.*
So it differed from the standard terminology I remembered. Well, the core mechanics should theoretically be the same.
I stepped into the storehouse.
—It was completely empty.
I slapped my forehead in sheer exasperation at the king's thorough greed. They had plundered everything of value, leaving behind nothing but heavy labor tools like shovels, axes, hoes, and basic iron swords.
Walking over to a far corner, I spotted a sizable wooden crate sitting on a shelf. I pulled it down, blew off a thick layer of dust, and inspected the contents.
—Ledgers and documents. Specifically, Galdia’s massive debt registries.
*Tch. And here I thought I stumbled upon something useful.*
I shoved the crate back onto the shelf, picked up a shovel and a hoe, and turned to Sophia.
"Can you show me to the palace garden?"
Sophia stared at the tools in my hands, completely bewildered. She was undoubtedly wondering what a spoiled, pampered prince intended to do with a shovel and a hoe.
"Follow me..."
As we walked, I noticed how eerily quiet the palace was. Were there no guards at all? Why was Sophia the only one here? For a palace this massive, the lack of staff was unnatural.
I was fairly certain she had a deeply personal reason that forced her to stay behind—be it a family financial crisis, an inescapable debt owed to the crown... or perhaps a burning desire for revenge against the prince.
"We're here."
I stopped in my tracks. Before me lay a vibrant garden, the gentle breeze carrying a sweet, intoxicating fragrance. It was much larger than I anticipated, blanketed by rows of roses, orchids, and tulips of every imaginable hue.
My eyes locked onto a specific row of flora.
I walked over and knelt down, gently touching a soft, purple petal.
"Lavender... my favorite."
These flowers always brought back fond memories of my mother.
"Who planted all of these?"
As usual, Sophia hesitated to answer, looking rather reluctant before finally speaking up.
"The servants. We planted this garden together, under the guidance of the head maid."
"Heh... So you worked on it too? Which ones did you plant?"
She looked away, her voice dropping to a quiet murmur.
"The lavenders..."
it was just a coincidence right?
I stood up and surveyed the layout of the garden. Initially, I had planned to dig up this courtyard to cultivate food crops, but this place was simply too beautiful. Moreover, it clearly held precious memories for Sophia.
I glanced back at her. She was gently tracing the petal of a lavender flower, her expression softening into a rare, tender smile.
*‘Never mind,’* I thought, discarding the idea. I would just have to find another plot of land elsewhere.