Free Web NovelChapter 16: Proper Master
James opened his eyes. Looking around, he found himself in a hospital bed.
It was early morning, and a window flooded with bright light stood right in front of him. It was open, and when he looked outside, he saw buildings piercing the sky.
He took a deep breath, feeling an endless weakness.
’I... became James Wube again...?’
He stammered mentally, feeling an indescribable despair, as if he had been thrown back into purgatory.
He was back on 21st-century Earth.
The strong smell of disinfectant in the room was nauseating.
The lights were too bright, forcing him to close his eyes for several seconds. freēwēbnovel.com
The constant sound of machines monitoring something that never seemed to improve also irritated him.
His body was heavy. Weak. It always had been. Even taking a deep breath hurt.
He tried to get out of bed on his own... but failed.
He always failed. He was born sick and lived sick until the end, almost always lying in a bed.
"Don’t push yourself."
The voice came from beside him.
When he turned, he saw Bruno.
He was his second cousin, and perhaps the only constant presence in his life. He always showed up with books, movies, games, and anything that could pull James out of that suffocating world for a few hours. Even when his own parents started drifting away, Bruno stayed.
It was thanks to him that James didn’t break inside.
It was thanks to him that, even alone, he managed to build a rational, curious, and resilient mind.
"If you die before I finish this game, I’ll find you in hell."
James tried to laugh.
He couldn’t.
But for some reason... that was enough.
...
James quickly realized that this wasn’t him traveling back in time. It was a dream... no, it was a nightmare from his past life, forcing him to relive everything. But...
It felt absurdly real. He could feel everything, as if he had truly returned to that time.
...
With Bruno’s encouragement, James began searching for a purpose in life.
He knew he would die very young. That was inevitable. So he at least wanted to do something with the little time he had.
He studied.
Read everything he could.
Learned programming, cybersecurity, engineering, and anything his mind could reach.
At first, he did it just to fill the emptiness. Later, he started discovering things he should never have seen.
...
Time passed in fragments.
Screens glowing in the dark.
Lines of code reflected in tired eyes.
While hacking, he found files that shouldn’t exist. They were things connected to the Wube family, his family.
Names appearing where they shouldn’t.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until it all made sense.
And when it did... the world became smaller.
Much smaller.
James stared at the screen for a long time.
He was alone in the hospital bed at that moment. So thin and fragile that he could die any day.
His hands trembled.
Not from weakness.
From understanding.
"This is wrong..." he muttered.
It wasn’t just wrong.
It was rotten.
And it was inside his own home.
...
"You need to see this."
James showed his cousin the truth about the Wube family. They were responsible for all the evil happening on Earth.
Bruno remained silent as the evidence appeared one piece after another.
The color drained from his face.
No jokes.
No teasing.
Just silence.
"I’ll come back tomorrow," Bruno finally said, slowly standing up.
James nodded.
It was the last time he ever saw him.
That night, the room felt quieter than usual.
A doctor he had never seen before walked in.
A practiced smile.
Empty eyes.
"We have an alternative. It hasn’t been fully tested yet... but it might help."
A syringe.
A transparent liquid.
James looked at it for a few seconds.
Then looked away.
"Whatever," he muttered.
There wasn’t much left to lose. He also couldn’t refuse to stop him.
The needle pierced his skin.
Cold.
Strange.
Heavy.
His eyelids began to fall.
The sound of the machines grew distant.
Very distant.
His last thought wasn’t fear.
It was understanding.
So that’s how it was...
And everything went dark.
...
...
...
"!"
Priam opened his eyes in alarm.
He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.
As he sat up in bed, he found himself in the room he had been given to sleep in, inside the Ylisse clan annex.
He calmed down quickly. This dream wasn’t unusual. In fact, he had seen it many... many times.
It was like a message from his subconscious, telling him not to forget who he used to be.
But this time...
"?"
Priam felt the Nexus Seed in his soul vibrate slightly. Then something inside him faded away.
He had never noticed anything like that before. Perhaps because he had finally become a Mage now, and his senses were more developed.
"These dreams... is the system influencing them? No... it must be a coincidence."
He muttered as he took a deep breath. Then he got out of bed.
---
Time passed, and nothing had happened.
Although Priam expected some kind of punishment to be imposed on him for leaving Shione, a member of the main clan, in that state... the annex remained completely peaceful, as if the "duel" had never happened.
Frankly, that surprised him. However, while nothing that could properly be called an incident had occurred, it wasn’t as if nothing had changed.
After the duel, the servants’ attitudes had changed. They were now cautious of Priam’s mood and avoided staying within his line of sight whenever possible.
They probably didn’t want to get dragged into the consequences along with him.
His first night in the annex had ended, and it was already the next morning.
He and his maid arrived at the dining hall on the first floor and discovered they were still the only ones there. Even so, a large variety of dishes had already been laid out across the table.
Priam turned to Flora and asked directly, "Are you okay with this?"
"May I ask what you mean by that?" she asked, confused.
"With my presence," Priam said while roughly cutting off a piece of meat for himself.
The pieces of meat were far too large for breakfast. But the only thing Priam had actually requested among all those dishes was meat. If he didn’t eat properly despite his intense physical training, both his endurance and, of course, his physical conditioning would decline.
While Flora hesitated to answer, Priam lifted the piece of meat he had just cut to his mouth with the knife.
She took a deep breath, then spoke seriously. "It’s not that I’m unaware of the situation... but I can’t do anything to change it. Therefore, as long as Master Priam remains on this estate, I will continue serving as your personal maid."
"You don’t need to show loyalty to someone who’s leaving in at most two months. After all, won’t you still have to work here after I’m gone?" Priam asked while chewing.
"It’s not only because of loyalty. The head butler of this estate assigned me to be your personal assistant." She smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"If I neglected my duties while trying to avoid trouble, that would mean indirectly disobeying orders, and my name and honor would be stained. That’s why I must act according to the situation and continue serving you properly."
"You’re very stubborn," Priam replied with a smile, pushing the empty plate aside.
He then grabbed another piece as thick as his forearm.
"When you said it wasn’t entirely because of loyalty, does that mean you’re at least a little loyal to me?" Priam commented.
"Even if it’s temporary, you’re still my master," she said firmly.
Priam nodded. "Then I don’t have any choice but to act like a proper master as well. If anything I do ends up causing you trouble, don’t keep it to yourself. Tell me immediately."
"Huh?"
"You had the bad luck of becoming my personal maid, and I had the bad luck of ending up with a maid like you. In that case, we should at least try to maintain a cordial relationship," Priam muttered emotionlessly.
"B-But..."
He interrupted her. "Enough. From now on, you are not to question any of my orders. Just obey them. Understood?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Then go get me some wet towels," Priam said without another word, and began devouring his food.
Flora stood there stunned for a moment, but nodded and started walking away.
"I think just the towels may not be enough, so I’ll come back after preparing a basin of water as well," she said after giving him a careful look.
"That’s exactly what I like to see, someone who thinks for herself," Priam said with a smile, even while chewing on a piece of meat.
To him, Flora was a child just like Shione and the others. But he liked loyal people, the kind who didn’t mind inconveniencing themselves to do what was right. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Oh, and since you’re passing by the kitchen, tell the cook to increase the ratio of meat compared to the other dishes for lunch. And instead of trying to decorate the food with fancy culinary techniques, she should simply make sure I’m served more lean meat."
Flora stopped and nodded.
Then she glanced at the table, and her expression became strange. Was he really going to finish all of that by himself?
Priam smiled when he understood the look she gave him.
Of course, he was going to eat everything. He had spent two lives practically vegetating, unable to do anything properly. Now, he was going to eat until he couldn’t eat anymore.
And he was going to live everything he wanted to live, without hesitation.
