Chapter 3: Whispers of the Unseen

The woman's face contorted in concern as she stared at Zenyph, who was still reeling from the encounter.

"I'm just going to the library, Mother." answered Zenyph hesitantly.

"Really? I thought you hated reading? It's why you haven't enrolled yet in Lusean Academy. Not to mention you never wake up this early." said Hina with a tone of uncertainty.

Hina looked at Zenyph with a mixture of concern and suspicion as she waited for his reply. Zenyph could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to process what she was hearing.

"I just woke up with a strange urge to read, that's all." replied Zenyph.

Hina sighed, her face softening as she looked at him with a sad smile. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she spoke softly.

"I know you don't want to disappoint me by telling me you don't want to continue your studies. Please don't worry about what I think. You can do whatever you want, and I'll support you regardless. But please don't lie to me."

Zenyph swallowed hard, his throat dry and his palms sweaty as he tried to formulate a response.

"I'm sorry, Mother. I don't know what else to say."

"It's okay. Just let me know when you're ready to talk, alright?"

Hina stiffened at Zenyph's unexpected embrace, unsure of how to react. Her initial shock quickly turned to relief as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, squeezing him with a fierce love that she hadn't felt since he was a child.

"I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood your intentions. It's just... it's been a while since you've shown me affection, and I thought you were avoiding me. I'm sorry."

Zenyph was taken aback by the emotion in his mother's voice. He had never heard a person sound so vulnerable, and he didn't know how to handle it.

Looking at Lynette's expression, her mouth completely open as if she had seen a ghost, Zenyph realized he did something out of a character again.

After a few moments of silence, Hina pulled away from the hug and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I'm going to leave you to your reading now. Take care of yourself, Aqualet."

"Farewell your majesty Hina." Lynette bowed and her eyes briefly took on a shade of blue.

With that, Hina hurried away, her face flushed with embarrassment, leaving Zenyph alone with Lynette.

Lynette, unable to contain her curiosity, asked, "Your Highness, why did you hug your mother like that?"

"I thought I'd try to be kinder today." answered Zenyph in hopes of lessening Lynette's suspicious.

Before being interrupted by his mother, Zenyph's mind raced with possibilities as he followed Lynette through the empty corridors of the palace. He wondered how much she knew and why she had reacted the way she did.

He could see the wheels turning in her head as she puzzled together his new behavior, but he wasn't sure what she would eventually conclude. He concluded that the person whose body he took over was some sort womanizer and wasn't very kind to Lynette. After hearing how Lynette addressed his mother and himself, he's certain he's a prince.

"Lynette why didn't you add "Aqualet" after "Your highness", but you added "Hina" after "Your Majesty" when talking to my mother?".

"Well, it's because I know what you're hiding."

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Zenyph.

Lynette stared at Zenyph with a knowing look in her eyes, "You're not Aqualet, aren't you? I see the way you walk and talk. Whoever you are, you're not him."

Zenyph froze. How did Lynette figure it out so fast?

"Have you gone mad Lynette? I'm Aqualet, a prince of this empire and you are my maid. A maid shouldn't insult his master in such a way."

A red magic circle appears on Lynette's right hands as she approached the wall, another teleportation door appeared in front of Lynette. This one decorated with mouth-less faces.

"If you're truly Aqualet then you wouldn't mind if I ask you a few questions in there." Lynette pointed to the door.

"Lynette, don't be ridiculous. Let's just go to the library and we can talk more there."

Lynette smiled, "That's not going to work. Now come with me, or I'll force you."

Zenyph eyed the door warily, while he followed behind Lynette. After entering through the door, a small room with no windows and just one candle in the middle of it greeted Zenyph.

"What is this place? What's going on, Lynette? What do you want from me?" demanded Zenyph as he glanced at the chains on the wall.

"As a personal maid of the Drakonhart family, I have a sworn duty to protect my master. "

A red chain made seemingly out of blood shoots out from the wall and binds Zenyph's wrists before he can react.

"Lynette, what the hell!" shouted Zenyph as he struggled to break free from the chains.

"Who are you? Why do you look like Prince Aqualet?" said Lynette as she stared at Zenyph intensely.

"As I said, I am Prince Aqualet." pleaded Zenyph.

Lynette scoffed, "Aqualet isn't your name, it's a term of endearment between water dragons. Do you think I'd accuse my master without any proof? You didn't know my name, you thanked me, which is something the prince has never done before since that incident. You asked me where the most prestigious place in the palace is, and asked me to accompany you. Now those usually could be blamed on a hangover or simple confusion. But in the bathroom, all five crystals turned red. You have the mana color of a baby that didn't even use mana to breathe yet. Don't tell me you somehow manage to achieve advanced level of mana control in your sleep. "

"So allow me to ask you again who are you? Answer truthfully before I kill you and then kill myself for failing in my duty."

Lynette ignored Zenyph and conjured a small blood dagger in her hand and aimed it at Zenyph throat.

Zenyph could feel a cold sweat forming on his forehead as Lynette's threat rang in his ears. He knew that he needed to tell her the truth in order to save himself.

"I am Zenyph, a soldier from Earth. My soul was transported to this body. I woke up in this body and I have no idea what happened to the previous owner."

"Earth? Soldier?" Lynette repeated, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Zenyph lets out a sigh, "Yes a soldier, my last memory is of sparing an enemy only to be left to die alone by that same enemy."

Lynette lowered her blade slightly as she listened to Zenyph's story, "And you say your name is Zenyph? And you're not from here?"

"Yes, I don't remember how I got here or why I look like Aqualet."

Lynette was silent for a moment as she processed Zenyph's words, "I'm sorry for acting rashly, it's just that I swore to protect the prince with my life, and I can't afford to fail my duty. So I did what I thought was necessary to get the information."

"What do I do now?" mumbles Lynette to herself as she paced around the room.

"I understand your concern, but I assure you I mean no harm. I just want to figure out what's going on "

"Let me think about this for a moment, Zenyph."

"Sure, but can you remove these chains? They're really uncomfortable."

Lynette reluctantly waved her hand and the chains disappeared, leaving behind a bruise on Zenyph's wrist.

"Thanks." mumbled Zenyph as he rubbed his wrists.

After a long pause, Lynette finally spoke, "Alright, Zenyph, I think it's best for both of us to keep this a secret. Technically the prince is still alive so I have no reason to kill you. If you want to learn more about this world and find a way back home, you can trust me. I want to help you."

"Why do you want to help me? Aren't you just a maid?"

"Truth be told I wasn't particularly fond of the prince, but you seem different. I don't know why, but I don't feel any danger coming from you. Besides, if you really are from a different world, I'm curious to find out more."

Zenyph looked at Lynette with admiration, "I can't thank you enough for all your help, Lynette. You've been more than understanding in this situation. I don't know what I'd do without your guidance."

"You don't have to compliment me, Zenyph." Lynette replied with a small blush on her face.

"I just want to help you. Let's start with the basics before we head down to the library."

Lynette began to explain the history of Eldrithia and the seven races. She told Zenyph that she was half-vampire and half-angel.

Zenyph gasped at the revelation, "So you're a hybrid?"

"Yes, it's rare but not unheard of. Hybrids have special constitution that other races don't possess, like the ability to use both angel and vampire magic without harming oneself." Lynette explained while swinging a dagger made of blood and a dagger made of light at each other.

"We don't have magic on Earth." remarked Zenyph as his eyes were glued to the daggers.

"How are you a soldier if you can't use magic?"

"We relied on science to fight our wars, we essentially managed to turn metal and dust into a devastating weapon."

"But you did not have healing magic, right?"

"Correct if we did I probably wouldn't have died."

Lynette nodded, "Right, I forgot that your soul ended up here. Well, I can teach you how to use mana if you want, it can be very helpful in combat or day to day life."

"That sounds great, Lynette, but before we go to the library, can you tell me more about the Drakonhart family?"

"Certainly, the Drakonhart family is known as the ruling family of Eldrithia. Notos Drakonhart, your father, won the Grand Ascendance permitting his majesty to rule for 50 years before another is held."

"Shockingly you are Zenyph Drakonhart, son of Hina Drakonhart, the fourth concubine of his majesty. You're infamous around the palace for being fourth in line to the throne and complete lack of ambitions."

Zenyph shook his head at the irony of it all. His soul was placed into the body of a 20 year old man who was so apathetic towards his own future that he could hardly care.

"Well, I plan to change that." Zenyph stated confidently.

Lynette looked at him with surprise, "You do?"

"Yeah, I need to do something with this life after all."

Lynette nodded in understanding, "Fair point. But how about we go to the library first before making any drastic decisions. We need to gather information before taking action."

Zenyph agreed, and they headed towards the Nexus royal library.

While walking through the corridors, Zenyph noticed something odd. He saw a servant girl carrying a basket of laundry towards the opposite direction, but he noticed a blue light coming from the back of her head.

"Hey, what was that light?" Zenyph asked Lynette.

Lynette frowned, "Oh, that's a sigil of an angel. It's used to track individuals and monitor their actions. They are usually hidden, but you can spot them if you know what to look for."

"So, angels have surveillance on everyone in the palace?"

"No, only selected people of interest or servants. The sigil can be removed by the caster. In this case the third prince." Lynette answered with a hint of disgust in her voice.

"The third prince? Why is he spying on a servant girl?"

"Because she's his slave. The third prince, Nytio Drakonhart, is known for his perversions and sadistic tendencies. He enjoys playing with his prey before killing them."

"That's horrible, why doesn't the emperor do anything about it?"

"The emperor is preoccupied with his own affairs. He doesn't bother himself with the antics of his children. That's why the third prince gets away with so much."

"This is sickening." Zenyph muttered under his breath as they continued their walk.

They entered the library, and Zenyph immediately felt overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. There were endless rows of bookshelves stretching as far as the eye could see, and Zenyph couldn't even begin to imagine how many books were contained within.

"Wow, this place is magnificent." exclaimed Zenyph.

"Indeed. It's one of the most extensive libraries in all of Eldrithia, and it's always expanding. The royal library also houses a section dedicated to research and development, including various artifacts and magical items. Not to mention the archives of the royal records, which contain the history of the seven races dating back thousands of years."

"Is the library restricted to members of the royal family?" inquired Zenyph.

"Only certain sections of the library are restricted. There is a gateway connecting to the public part but it's far more crowded."

"Not to mention the grand magus practically lives in the library and will immediately know something is up with you." Lynette said with a smirk.

"You do not want to end up on locked in a cage and being probed like a hobgoblin right?" teased Lynette.

"Hah, I'll take your word for it." Zenyph replied with a nervous laugh.

They spent the next couple hours browsing the shelves and reading random books, hoping to uncover some useful information regarding reincarnation. While reading, Zenyph noticed Lynette watching him with a curious expression.

"What's on your mind?" asked Zenyph.

Lynette paused before replying, "I was just wondering why aren't you looking for a way to go back home?"

Zenyph looked at Lynette with a deadpan expression.

"Did you already forget? I died."

"Oh... right." Lynette looked down awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not bitter about it, really. I'm just trying to make the best of the situation."

"Understandable. Sorry for being insensitive."

"It's fine. Let's continue looking."

They continued reading until the sun began to set, and they realized that they had spent the entire day researching.

"In all of these books not one mention of reincarnation? Is there no god of reincarnation or something similar?" asked Zenyph.

"There are mentions of gods, but none that are associated with reincarnation. I suppose it's just something that happens naturally in this world."

"Maybe, but I still want to figure out how I ended up here."

"Let's continue tomorrow. I need to take care of some business before retiring for the night. I'll see you tomorrow at dawn, Your Highness."

Zenyph watched as Lynette left the library with a sense of unease creeping up inside him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to feel afraid of this new world.

"She didn't tell me how to get back to my room..." mumbled Zenyph as he realized he's going to get into another troublesome situation