A motorcycle was moving through a mountain road that didn’t have any lights in the dark. The only things that could relied on for visibility were the moonlight and the motorcycle’s headlights.
“It’s still so dark here… I wish they would maintain the roads a bit better,” the man on the motorcycle muttered as he continued at a steady speed. This road was the shortest route from his workplace to his house, so despite complaining about it, he used this road every day.
“Sigh. I want to get home early and sleep.” The man was a young adult who lived alone. While driving, he thought about what he was going to do once he got home. It was just another ordinary and peaceful day for him.
However, there were days when routines would break. For him, this was one of those days.
“Huh?” It was abrupt. The man gasped subconsciously and widened his eyes.
A small shadow darted out of the forest and onto the road. Illuminated by the headlights, the shadow was revealed to be a cat. The moment he saw the cat, he reflexively steered to the right to try to avoid it.
He tried not to hit it, but things didn’t end up well.
“Ah.” It was a weak and dumbfounded voice from someone without the power to do anything. By the time he understood the situation, it was already too light. Just ahead of him were the guardrails meant to prevent people from falling over. There was no time to think.
The only thing that came to his mind was the word “death”.
The motorcycle’s front wheel crashed into the guardrail at full speed, and the impact lifted the rear wheel of the motorcycle, throwing his body over the rail and down the cliff.
“Ah!!”
The feeling of being lifted into the air. The feeling of floating in the air. The feeling of falling along with the motorcycle. By the time he understood everything, it was too late.
“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
How many seconds had passed since that scream…?
The sound of his body slamming into the ground was the last thing the man heard.
But…
“Aaaahhhhhhhh!!!!”
He screamed and jumped up, but he quickly realized that something was amiss.
“…Hmm!? Huh? Eh?”
The body that had fallen off the cliff was intact. Or rather, his body was thinner than it should have been, and there were no tans or sunburns on his arms.
“…Huh? Wait. What is this…” Wrapped in soft, fluffy pajamas, he found himself lying in a spacious bed.
“N- no way…” He failed to understand what was happening. I was just driving a motorcycle and fell off a cliff. So how come I’m here? He cautiously put his feet on the floor and explored the spacious bedroom with warily.
At that moment, his reflection in a brightly decorated dressing mirror caught his eyes.
“Huh!?”
When he saw his reflection, his jaw dropped, and his mind went blank. Wh- what’s with this handsome face…
Reflected in the mirror was a person with short and neat brown hair, large green eyes, and a face with clean features from the nose to the mouth. He stared at the unfamiliar face. He rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked again, but nothing changed.
“N-no, no, no, no, who is this… Wait, Beret… Huh? Why do I know that name!?”
Suddenly, a strange sensation enveloped his whole body.
“…”
While looking at his reflection in the mirror, he made a difficult expression for a few seconds. And finally, he understood. “Ah…”
Memories of the person who fell off the cliff and memories of Beret were mixing together.
Th-this is unbelievable… This… is this reincarnation or possession?
He couldn’t explain why such a phenomenon occurred. However, despite such an unrealistic phenomenon occurring, he found himself to be strangely calm.
Because Beret’s memories were working well, the only thing that confused him was being reincarnated. He knew everything else.
He was in a country called Giselpain. He was 18 years old, and he was part of a Marquis Family. His parents were out exploring another territory. He also had a maid serving him, and other stuff.
“Sigh… Let’s just eat something for now. I have to go to school too.” He recalled the situation he was in from his memories and calmly pieced everything together. He would like to take his time to organize every detail thoroughly, but it was probably best to rest and not draw attention.
“Let’s do our best… It’s better than struggling to make a living. I can’t explain why this happened, and no one would understand…” I made up my mind at that moment.
Knock knock.
“Huh?” Beret heard a knock on the double doors connected to the hallway.
“B- Beret-sama. It’s morning…” The voice from behind the door was faint and timid.
This voice must be from the maid, Shia-san. It’s kind of her to come wake me up every day, even though she must be busy… It was natural for a maid, so Beret didn’t think much of it.
“Yes…” Just as he was about to reply, a jolt of electricity ran through him.
…
A girl dressed in a maid outfit. Yellowish-white hair tied with pink ribbons into pigtails. Round blue eyes. With a petite stature and a slightly childish face, she, Shia, faced Beret, who had an irritated expression.
“Hey, Shia. You woke me up late today, what the hell were you doing? Don’t you remember you’re a maid? You-”
“I- I’m terribly sorry! B-but I knocked at the usual time, and B- Beret-sama didn’t respond-”
“Sigh. If that was the case, I wouldn’t go back to sleep,” Beret said sarcastically, frowning. “As usual, you’re useless, aren’t you? I might need to replace you soon.”
“I’m deeply sorry… please, not that… please…”
“Isn’t this the umpteenth time I’ve said that? Get your act together. I don’t need a useless maid like you.”
“I’m truly sorry… I’ll do my best to be of service next time…” She bowed her head, apologizing for her unreasonable behavior.
Shia’s family had served Beret’s family for generations. She was 16 years old, two years younger than Beret. She was also a student at the same academy as him and someone who earnestly supported him. But Beret continued to treat her cruelly and coerced her, making her live in fear of him.
Beret, being the heir of a marquis family, had became arrogant due to the lack of opposition and had become a tengu. He looked down on those who couldn’t oppose him and maintained an aggressive attitude toward people.
The terrible treatment toward Shia.
The rumors circulating about him being a vicious person.
All of it flooded his mind.
Translator’s Notes:
Idk Japanese, this is edited mtl.