As Gao Linyuan slowly woke from his dream, the first thing he felt was the cold, hard surface beneath him. Next came the damp air entering his nostrils, thick with the stench of rot and decay. Finally, a dull ache inside his head throbbed in time with his heartbeat, as though something were stirring within it.
Did I sleep with my neck crooked? I knew I shouldn't have changed pillows... It's not even warm out. How did the kitchen trash start stinking overnight...? Thoughts kept surfacing in his muddled mind. Before opening his eyes, he reached toward his pillow with one hand to check the time on his phone, while the other went to pinch his nose and block out the strange smell.
But he found neither his phone, which should have been plugged into its charger, nor his nose.
Or rather, the nose he pinched wasn't his own... Instead, he felt a straight nose with smooth, delicate, slightly cool skin, and equally soft cheeks on either side.
Whose face is this?
Gao Linyuan jolted awake and forced his eyes open. His surroundings came into view.
He lay curled up in a narrow alley, with rough cobblestones digging into him. On either side stood old-fashioned brick and stone houses, their second stories jutting outward and making the already narrow passage feel even more cramped. Several heaps of unidentified rubbish lay piled in the corners, giving off a pungent, foul stench.
I'm not at home?
Where is this?
Questions flooded Gao Linyuan's mind. The headache that had just begun to ease returned, followed by a succession of fragmented memories. Forgetting the pain, he struggled up from the ground, his body swaying as uncontrollably as if he were hungover. He raised his forearms and examined his hands in the faint crimson light.
They were pale hands with well-proportioned flesh and bones, their knuckles slightly prominent from thinness. Beyond them were slender forearms with faintly visible veins, a body with a shapely waist and rounded bust, and a plain long dress covered in irregular black stains.
Just as I thought, this isn't my body at all... And most importantly, this body...
...This body is female!
With a thunderous rush, more disjointed fragments of memory suddenly flooded his brain.
Charlotte, born in Trier, capital of the Intis Kingdom, currently living in Suhit City, and soon to celebrate her eighteenth birthday...
Her mother had died young, and her older sister and brother had also left this world, one after another, through accidents and war. Now she and her father had only each other...
She believed in the Eternal Blazing Sun, but was only a casual believer. She occasionally went to church to pray, and couldn't even properly perform the gesture of spreading her arms to embrace the sun...
She had received a good education. Besides her native Intisian, she had also studied some Ancient Feysac and its derivatives, Loenese and Feysac...
Intis? Feysac? Loen?
Clinging to one last shred of hope, he slowly turned his stiff neck and looked up at the sky, squeezed into something resembling a straight line by the buildings on either side.
Against the pitch-black night, half a crimson moon peered out beside a rooftop. Its light bathed the entire alley. The crimson glow that allowed Gao Linyuan to see his surroundings came from it, draping everything in a thin veil, at once eerily beautiful and uncanny.
It shattered Gao Linyuan's last lingering hope.
A red moon he had never seen before, low houses resembling medieval buildings, a linen dress on his body that looked like a costume... There could be no doubt: this wasn't Earth.
He really had transmigrated-and through what people called "soul transmigration," into an unfamiliar woman's body!
Judging by the memories gradually returning to him, this world was still in the period before the Industrial Revolution. There were no steam engines, no electricity, and certainly none of the internet modern people knew so well. Even flush toilets had yet to be invented. For most households, dumping the contents of chamber pots wherever they pleased was part of daily life.
His gaze slowly settled on the foul rubbish in the corner, and Gao Linyuan's mouth twitched. He realized that transmigration wasn't nearly as wonderful as the webnovels he'd read made it sound, especially when he had appeared in a dark alley in the company of unidentified excrement... Wait!
He jolted, forced himself to calm down, and quickly searched the fragmented memories in his mind for the reason he was here in the middle of the night.
But unlike the earlier knowledge, which had been fragmented yet still connected, the recent events were like a jigsaw puzzle missing its crucial pieces. Viewed from above, its outline was recognizable, but its details remained hidden.
All that remained of Charlotte's final memories were piercing screams, violent shaking, thick blood, a cold body, and profound darkness.
Blood... Gao Linyuan instinctively lowered his head and realized that the black marks staining his dress were actually dried blood, made darker by the Crimson Moon's light.
Could Charlotte's body have already died, with my transmigration becoming the trigger for its "resurrection"...? As he speculated, his hands reached toward his body. He hesitated for a moment over the soft chest and slender waist, then felt them without further restraint.
There are no injuries. Even the clothes aren't torn. The blood belongs to someone else... Wait, what's this?
The hand searching Gao Linyuan's waist pressed against something hard. He carefully drew it out from beneath the linen waistband and, by the moonlight, identified it as a short dagger in a sheath.
Instinctively, he drew the dagger. Its sharp edge gleamed coldly, but a black smear covered most of it.
It's stained with blood!
Bloodstained clothes, a bloodstained dagger tucked away... Could the owner of this body be a murderer on the run...?
His worries about transmigration, the recurring headache, and the memories surfacing in fragments all tangled together in Gao Linyuan's mind, making it impossible to keep thinking.
He carefully slid the dagger back into its leather sheath and tucked it into his waistband. Moving his still-stiff body, he used the moonlight to find his bearings, braced his hands against the wall, and pushed himself along with his feet. He left the dark alley and emerged onto a broad street.
The red moon still hung high above, but it was no longer the only source of light. A bulky oil lamp was secured to a nearby corner by an iron bracket. Its orange glow enveloped Gao Linyuan, lending a hint of warmth to his stiff, cold body and making him feel as though he had returned to civilization.
By its light, he quickly surveyed his surroundings. His gaze passed over the alley he had come from, the differently shaped doorways and columns on either side, the crude railing across the street, and the shimmering yet unusually quiet river beyond. For the moment, he had no idea where to go.
The memories Charlotte had left him were still awakening. All Gao Linyuan could remember just then was that "his" home was in the Saint-Roc District, in eastern Suhit City. He had no idea where he currently was, or even which way was east.
Fortunately, he soon had no need to worry about that.
"Who's there!"
An angry shout reached his ears. Gao Linyuan looked up and saw two men appear on the other side of the oil lamp's glow. They wore grayish-white shirts and trousers with cloth caps. One walked ahead carrying a glass oil lamp, while the other held a round-tipped staff nearly as long as he was tall. Both stared warily in his direction.
The man carrying the lamp had shouted. Though the pronunciation of those few words was unfamiliar, their meaning immediately surfaced in Gao Linyuan's mind. He realized it was Intisian, the language this body knew best, and instinctively replied:
"I'm just lost."
The clear, bright voice that came from his mouth startled even him. The two men, dressed like Night Watchers, exchanged equally puzzled looks. The one who had shouted frowned and looked Gao Linyuan up and down, his gaze lingering on the patch of black stains on the skirt.
"There have been several murders in the Old District at the same time. The Police Commissioner said everyone suspicious on the streets has to be questioned." The man with the lamp clearly regarded the bloodstained girl before him as a suspect, and his expression was hostile. "Lost or not, you're coming with us."
His forceful attitude made Gao Linyuan step back, leaving the lamplight to retreat into the shadows.
At the same time, as though a keyword had been triggered, more memories began stirring in his mind.
The Police Commissioner was the official responsible for maintaining order in each district, equivalent to a police chief, and was also known as the Sheriff. Apart from a small number of paid patrolmen, most of his subordinates were citizens serving voluntarily as Night Watchers. These two probably belonged to the latter group. Ordinarily, they merely went through the motions on their nightly rounds, but with murders having occurred, they wouldn't let any suspicious person go.
And Charlotte was covered in blood, carrying a weapon, and standing in a dark alley, with her memories muddled by transmigration. If she were arrested, she could very well become the scapegoat if the murderer couldn't be found, thrown into prison without ever knowing why-or even hanged outright.
At that thought, he took another step back, his eyes darting toward the dark street beyond the lamplight in search of an escape route.
His movements made the two Night Watchers even more certain that the girl before them was suspicious. The man carrying the lamp drew a short club from his waist, while his companion leveled his round-tipped staff like a spear at Gao Linyuan. Working together, they advanced from different angles, apparently trying to drive him into the alley behind him.
Having just emerged from that dark alley, Gao Linyuan knew it was a dead end.
I'm done for. I should have pretended to cooperate, then looked for a chance to escape on the way... Regret washed over him, but it was too late. He knew his last chance was to slip into the darkness before they closed in. Just as he was about to dash past the man whose lamp occupied one hand and whose short club had limited reach, risking a blow to escape, he suddenly noticed a shadow behind them.
Thud.
With a muffled impact, the Night Watcher holding the staff, who stood a pace behind, sank into the darkness and vanished from sight. His staff rolled to Gao Linyuan's feet.
The man with the lamp realized his companion had fallen and whipped around, only to take a heavy blow head-on. His club flew from his hand, the oil lamp was flung upward, and his body toppled backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
Gao Linyuan instinctively looked at the staff that had rolled to his feet, then at the two motionless Night Watchers.
They didn't struggle or twitch. They hadn't even cried out in pain.
Before the oil lamp tossed into the air could fall, a white-gloved hand caught it. As the lamplight swayed, the shadow revealed its form.
Standing before Gao Linyuan was a tall man wearing a black tricorne and a thick, fitted coat that reached his thighs. A white silk cravat showed at his chest. Below, he wore tight breeches, taut white stockings around his calves, and black, square-toed leather shoes.
The respectable attire, as though lifted straight from a film, left Gao Linyuan a little dazed. The ease with which the man had dealt with both Night Watchers lent his identity an additional air of mystery.
But before he could decide whether to run, the man in black had removed his tricorne, revealing slightly curly white hair. He brought his feet together, bowed slightly, and greeted him:
"Miss, I'm Etienne. Your father, Baron Raoul Sauron, sent me to fetch you."
Sauron... A baron?
More memories surfaced in Gao Linyuan's mind.
The sole relative on whom the current owner of his body depended, Raoul Sauron, was a member of the ancient family that had founded the Intis Kingdom. Though the Sauron family still controlled the country, Raoul belonged to a distant branch with only a thin blood connection. He possessed the title of baron, but none of the power to match it. After running into financial trouble, he had even fled Trier in disgrace and returned to Suhit Province, where his estate was located.
Still, Raoul Sauron had noble blood and a hereditary title. He was a respected aristocrat.
Wait, doesn't that mean I'm actually a noble too now?
Gao Linyuan-no, Charlotte Sauron-felt a surge of delight. Even her back, which she had bent to conceal herself, straightened a little. She was about to offer a few words with aristocratic grace when Etienne spoke again:
"The situation is extremely urgent. Please come with me immediately."
Charlotte nodded, glanced at the two Night Watchers lying on the ground, their fate unknown, and skirted around them. She followed Etienne, who had put his hat back on and was carrying the oil lamp, at a brisk pace along the riverbank.
Perhaps stimulated by the succession of events, the memories belonging to the original Charlotte Sauron continued awakening in her mind as they walked, with the alternating light and darkness of the street lamps.
...The river beside the street should be the Sona River, one of the two major rivers flowing through Suhit City. Following it south would bring us to a bridge connecting the eastern and western banks, where we could enter the Saint-Roc District and return to Baron Sauron's residence...
...In a world where nobles and commoners are fundamentally different, I only need to get home, change out of this bloodstained linen dress that isn't remotely appropriate for a noble, and dress as I usually do. Even if those Night Watchers wake up and identify me in person, no one will believe them...
Only then did Charlotte's nerves, stretched taut ever since her transmigration, finally relax. She looked up at Etienne walking ahead with the lamp, his leather shoes clicking against the uneven paving stones, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember who he was.
He seems to know me, but I've never seen him... Growing increasingly puzzled, Charlotte hesitated, afraid to ask lest she expose her "amnesia." Finally, when they left the riverside street for a broader road with enormous lamps suspended overhead by ropes, she spoke:
"The Night Watchers said there had been murders in the Old District. Is that connected to the emergency you mentioned?"
Apparently surprised by the question, Etienne slowed a little. His tricorne-covered head turned toward her, and he glanced at Charlotte out of the corner of his eye before nodding.
"The Church and the garrison have both mobilized, and there are Night Watchers all over the streets. If they catch you on the spot, even the baron will have trouble getting you out."
The Church... Does he mean the Eternal Blazing Sun, or the Intis Kingdom's other major religion, the Church of the Artisan? Etienne even mentioned them before the military. Is that because religion holds enormous power in this world? Combining the fragments of memory with her own reasoning, Charlotte speculated, then pressed further:
"Then will I be all right? Those two Night Watchers saw my face and took me for a suspect. There really is blood on me, and I was in an alley in the Old District..."
"As long as you aren't caught on the spot, your father will take care of everything."
Etienne answered with certainty.
Charlotte wasn't nearly so sure. She now remembered that the street they were on was the main thoroughfare across the peninsula in central Suhit City, and she remembered the locations of the municipal square and the exchange along it. But she had no memories of what had happened to this body before her transmigration, or why the original Charlotte Sauron had collapsed in an alley wearing a commoner's clothes. She seriously doubted that the father she had never met could truly resolve everything.
Besides, the steadily returning memories had confirmed another important fact...
"Mr. Etienne, you said you were taking me back to see my father." She slowed, gradually moving beyond the light of the black-hatted man's lamp, just as she reached the darkness between two street lamps. After he murmured an acknowledgment, she continued, "Then why are we heading toward the docks?"
The fairly regular footsteps abruptly stopped.
Charlotte hesitated no longer and darted into another street beside her.
She had already noticed that Etienne, despite claiming he was taking her to her father, was leading her farther from home. He had also shown no restraint when attacking the Night Watchers. She suspected he wasn't a rescuer sent by Raoul Sauron at all, but had held back because she feared that, still unfamiliar with her new body, she would be caught after only a few steps on the open street.
But not far down the road she had chosen was the municipal square, where officials and nobles lived. Among them were plenty of upper-class people who knew Baron Sauron and Charlotte.
As long as she reached them and identified herself, she would be safe!
Yet she had barely run a few steps before the familiar sound of leather shoes came from behind. After a brief hesitation, Etienne had given chase and was closing the distance at an astonishing speed.
I'll never make it to the city hall like this. Even if I do, the night guards will probably arrest an unidentified, bloodstained person like me first... Listening to the rapidly approaching footsteps of her silent pursuer, she had a flash of inspiration. Among the rows of doorways and windowsills on either side of the street, she found one familiar from her memories.
With a bang, Charlotte slammed into a dark brown wooden door about three meters tall. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she pounded on it and shouted:
"Is Baron Gustav here?
"I'm Baron Sauron's daughter!
"Help!"
Only after pounding twice more did she turn around, press her back to the door, and look in the direction she had come from.
Dressed in black with a black hat, his white cravat and gloves swaying, Etienne appeared nearby carrying the oil lamp, his movements seeming slow yet bringing him forward swiftly. The light fell on his face, revealing more confusion than anger.
He seemed unable to understand why his employer's daughter had suddenly fled from him like a madwoman.
Just then, the heavy wooden door slowly opened inward, revealing a gap barely wide enough to pass through. A short man dressed as a servant appeared.
Before he could speak, Charlotte slipped swiftly through the opening into a spacious open-air courtyard.
Unlike the dark, deserted street, this place was brightly lit by several oil lamps. A few male and female servants who had been busy with their work were looking over in surprise. On the stairs at the far end of the courtyard, a tall, middle-aged man with medium-length chestnut hair was slowly descending. The turned-collar coat he had hastily thrown on was still unbuttoned, and he watched Charlotte with an inquiring gaze.
Only when she saw Baron Gustav, who was on friendly terms with the Sauron family, did Charlotte truly breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, she sensed another gaze upon her and instinctively looked up toward the second floor overlooking the partially open-air courtyard.
Behind a newly opened window, a head with slightly curly chestnut hair, a high nose, and rather thin lips poked out. Blue eyes watched the unexpected visitor below with curiosity.
It was Baron Gustav's only child, Roselle Gustav, who was around Charlotte's age.