Whiteclarks

It had been a week since Lucian Whiteclark disappeared. Liana had been worried about her son, who went missing after saying that he would visit his fiancée, the Elder Daughter of the Corallia Duchy. Her husband, Arin Whiteclark, even sent out 20 Elite knights of the Whiteclark Duchy to search for Lucian.

Her face was etched with concern, always looking out the window hoping for her son's arrival. But today, she spotted a cart outside the estate gate as the guard on standby approached it. He was conversing with the driver, and then suddenly, he flinched. He turned around and shouted something to the other guard, after which the guard left his post and entered the estate. Liana was too far from the gate to hear what they were talking about.

'What is going on?' a thought ran across her mind, but before she could contemplate further, she heard a knock on her door. "Your Excellency! It is me, Layla."

It was her assigned maid, Layla, knocking on the door.

"Come in," Liana muttered.

As the door of the room opened with a creaking sound, a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties entered Liana's room and bowed before her. She was wearing a black and white maid dress. Her brown hair was neatly tied in a bun.

"What is it?" Liana asked.

"It is the Young Lord." While still bowing, Layla continued, "He has returned and is waiting in front of the gate."

Upon hearing Layla's words, Liana didn't hesitate. She ran past Layla, out of the room, and rushed down the stairs of the estate. She reached the front door and ran outside. She spotted her son talking with the guards, but what concerned her was his condition—dirt in his hair, his body covered by a brown cloak that reached his thighs.

'Why is he naked?' A question crossed her mind.

But that did not matter to her. She was happy to see her son. Liana sped up and ran towards them, every step she took felt like an eternity. As she neared them, she could hear their conversation.

"About tha—"

"LUCIAN!" she shouted.

Hearing her voice, Lucian tried to turn towards her, but before he could, Liana jumped onto him, tackling him to the ground and hugging him tightly.

"Where were you?" Liana cried while still hugging him, her voice filled with relief as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "Do you know how scared I was? I thought something had happened to you."

She voiced her concerns, but there was no reply from Lucian.

"Your Excellency," Landon, the guard, spoke up, "I think he passed out..."

Liana quickly stopped hugging him and looked at Lucian. Sure enough, he was passed out cold, his eyes rolled back and drool running from his mouth.

"Uhm..." she muttered, panicking. "Call the servants. Hurry! Take him to his room!"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Landon replied as he ran back into the estate.

***

I slowly opened my eyes. A lavish, ornately decorated room came into view, like something out of a palace. The soft warmth of the bed beneath me was comforting. As I slowly sat up, I took in my surroundings, feeling a bit disoriented.

"Are you awake?" a warm voice came from my right.

I turned toward the voice, and there she was—a beautiful woman, probably in her forties, with long auburn hair and concerned brown eyes. 'Who the hell is she?' I wondered.

"Are you okay? Does anything hurt?" she asked, her voice gentle as she tousled my hair. Her face was still etched with worry.

"I'm fine," I replied, gently removing her hand. "But... who are you?"

Her eyes widened, and she stood up, clearly alarmed by my question. Her face filled with panic as she shouted, "Layla!"

The door creaked open, and another woman, dressed in a maid's uniform, quickly entered the room.

"You called, Your Excellency?" the maid said.

"Layla," she choked out, tears forming in her eyes, "my son... he doesn't remember me."

My eyes shot open wide at that. 'Wait, she's my—no, his—mother?' Panic gripped me for a moment. 'What the hell am I supposed to do now?' I thought frantically as she sobbed into the maid's arms, almost strangling her in the process. Yep, there's only one thing I can do...

"Mother..." I said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, but my memories feel... a little hazy."

She turned toward me at the sound of my voice, and in a split second, she rushed forward, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace. 'Oh, come on, this is a bit much,' I thought. But I kept my face neutral. Well, at least I know this Lucian had a doting mother, but this still didn't explain how I ended up in his body or what happened to the original Lucian Whiteclark.

"What happened?" her voice trembled as she pulled back slightly, her face streaked with tears. "Is it because of me? Was it because I tackled you?"

'What the actual fuck?' I thought. Seriously? 

"No, no, Mom—uh, Mother—it wasn't that," I said quickly. "I'm not sure what happened before I woke up in that cave."

Her arms tightened around me again, almost crushing my ribs. 'Holy shit, I'm gonna die.'

"M-Mother, can you please—" I wheezed, struggling to breathe.

"Call me 'Mom,' not 'Mother,'" she interrupted, her tone insistent.

"Y-Yes?"

"I said call me Mom, not Mother!" she shouted, squeezing me even harder.

"Y-Yes, Mom," I gasped. "But seriously, I'm about to die of suffocation..."

She finally loosened her grip and pouted, clearly upset. "Now, tell me what happened," she demanded.

I complied, explaining as best I could without mentioning the ruins or my past life on Earth—yeah, no way in hell she'd believe that. After I finished explaining, she hugged me again. 'Jesus, is this how things are now? So much damn hugging.'

After she let go, she explained the situation—how I'd gone to visit my fiancée but never arrived, how both the Whiteclark and Corallia knights had been sent to find me. Lucian's father, Arin Whiteclark, was currently in the royal capital attending some meetings with the king.

Once she was done filling me in, she scolded me for worrying her, which took way longer than necessary. It wasn't until her maid, Layla, stepped in to help that she finally calmed down and took her outside.

'Fuck, I'm exhausted.'

But it didn't feel so bad. When was the last time someone embraced me like that—9 or 8 years ago? Hell, I don't even know anymore. Looking at her, crying over my well-being, I felt... I don't know how to explain it, but I felt guilty.

I'm not her real son. I'm just a damn soul who somehow ended up in his body. But what happened to the original Lucian? Why was he in the cave? How did he die? Was it my fault? And, most of all, how the hell did I get here?

I lay back down on the bed, closing my eyes. My head throbbed with every passing moment like someone was drilling into my skull. 'What the hell am I supposed to do now?' This world was completely unknown to me. These people, this place—everything was different, unfamiliar. Back on Earth, there was no magic, no bullshit, just technology. But here... everything was new, everything was strange.

I don't even know how to get back to my own world. 'But if it's possible to be brought here from Earth...' I clenched my fists. "Then there's a way back!" I sat up, my mind set, but then...

"U-Um, Young Lord?" A younger maid stood there, looking startled by my outburst.

"Nothing," I said quickly, my face burning with embarrassment. 'When the hell did she even come in?'

Fucking hell. I wasn't about to let myself look like an idiot right now, so I fell back into the bed, trying to ignore the maid and focus on planning my next steps. Can't be caught thinking out loud like that, can I?

***

Three days had passed since I arrived in this world, and let me tell you, things were not going as smoothly as I hoped. At first, I'm having a tough time adapting. The food's great, but other stuff? A pain in the ass. Like, even the simple act of shitting—man, they replaced toilets with cesspits here, and those things are a goddamn nightmare. And don't get me started on etiquette.

My daily routine was a mess. Back on Earth, it was wake up, eat, shit, study, read novels, play video games, hang with family, sleep, and repeat. Yeah, I wasn't a total loser, but socially? Pretty damn dead. Anyway, that was my old life. Here? It's all awkward as hell.

And honestly, how do the main characters in these novels do it? How the fuck do they adapt on their first day after being transmigrated? I'm here, stuck in a completely different world, and everything feels off.

"Sigh..."

But there's one thing going right—my magic studies. If I'm gonna survive in this crazy world, magic's a must. And let me tell you, it's not as hard as I thought. I've been picking up on it pretty fast. I don't know how, maybe it's this body's influence or maybe I'm just that damn smart. Could be that weird old man Hector, too. 'Fuck you, Hector. But also, thanks.'

Anyway, focus. The texts on magic I've been reading have been easy to understand. There are three levels: beginner, adept, and advanced. I've already reached the adept level after only three days. Not too shabby, huh?

"Uhm..." Where was I? Right, magic types. There are a ton of them, but the discovered ones are Elemental, Summoning, and Divine Magic. There's also this thing called "Aspect" magic related to Celestials, but that's advanced stuff. Not something I fully get yet.

Next, there are the mana core stages: Initiate > Adept > Expert > Master > Archon. The higher the stage, the greater the mana capacity, control, and output. It's pretty simple. I'm in the early stages of Adept, so not bad for three days of training.

As for my element? Wind. The moment I focused on it, I felt the change. A pulse of energy surged from deep within me, and before I knew it, a gust of wind whipped through the room. My heart raced as I stood, feeling the wind shift around me, the air growing denser with every passing second.

I reached out my hand, and the wind obeyed. It spiraled around my fingers, lifting objects off the floor. A chair scraped across the room, pushed by the powerful gusts swirling through the air. It was like the wind had a mind of its own, answering my call. I couldn't help but grin, realizing this was just the beginning.

But there was still that second element, that feeling I couldn't quite tap into yet. Maybe tomorrow.

-Knock. Knock.

Someone knocked on the door. "Young Lord, may I come in?" A maid's voice called out.

"Yes," I muttered.

The door opened, and it was Collete—the same maid who'd been looking after me. Black hair, brown eyes, and yeah, she's pretty damn beautiful.

"Young Lord, your room?" She asked, glancing at the mess.

"Ah... Collete," I said, scratching my head. "I was practicing my magic, so..."

"I see," she smiled. "Let me clean it for you, Young Lord."

"Thanks, and sorry," I muttered, feeling bad.

"N-No, Young Lord," she blushed. "It's my duty to serve you!"

Damn, her reaction was way too cute. It made my heart melt. "I see, thanks," I said, trying not to act too goofy.

I moved towards the door, letting Collete clean up.

"Umm... Young Lord," Collete called out.

"Yeah?"

"The Duchess has asked for you."

"Where?"

"In the main hall."

"I see, thanks," I nodded, then left the room. 'Why the hell does she want to see me?' Liana, I mean my... mother, had been pissed at me for the past few days and even holed me up in my room. I get it, though. I mean, telling your mom you're going for a talk with your fiancée and then disappearing for a week? Yeah, not exactly a good look.

Shortly after, I stepped into the main hall. Lian—no, I mean Mother—was waiting there for me.

"You've come, Lucian," she said, her face still cold as ice.

'Is she still pissed?'

"Yes," I replied, my voice cautious. "Did you call me?"

"Yes, son," she said, her tone softening slightly, the coldness in her eyes fading just a bit. "Your father is arriving today."

Wait, did I hear that right?

"Yes?" I asked, confusion creeping into my voice.

"Your father will be arriving here shortly today," she repeated, her voice suddenly colder, her temples bulging as she spoke. "I hope you're ready to face the consequences of running away."

Cold sweat immediately started to run down my back. 'Fuck.' The air around me felt like it dropped ten degrees. The more I stared into her eyes, the colder I felt like I was freezing from the inside out. I didn't say anything; I just stood there, silent, keeping my head low, trying to avoid her intense gaze.

Before anything else could happen, the door of the hall swung open, and a loud voice echoed through the room. "The Duke has arrived!"

I looked up. Slowly walking towards us was a man whose presence immediately demanded attention. His long black hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, and his emerald green eyes—just like mine—glowed with a fierce intensity. A well-groomed mustache sat above his lips, and his every movement oozed authority. This man was a high-ranking noble through and through.

He was dressed in a tailored black tunic, gold embroidery tracing the edges in intricate patterns that screamed wealth and prestige. A deep blue cape lined with red, with quilted detailing, flowed behind him as he moved. The entire look was finished with a golden chain that clasped the cape over his shoulders, adding an extra layer of regal flair.

He stopped right in front of me and Liana, then glanced at me. His gaze was filled with nothing but anger and disapproval. The man before me—standing tall and imposing—was the father of this body: Arin Whiteclark.

'I'm so fucked, aren't I?'