Capítulo 2: Waking Up to a New Life
As I came back to consciousness, I heard a sound of… crying.
To be honest, I could not make it out clearly. My head and thoughts were still fuzzy and the sound was too quiet to make out. A jolt from whatever I was sleeping on managed to clear my mind further, but not by a large margin
Then, I noticed something else.
It was freaking cold, like a house in winter without a proper heating on.
I could feel a blanket covering my form from my feet to just below my neck, but I could also tell that it was frankly a thin blanket because the chill was setting in with every second I spent trying to get my bearings.
Come on, eyes. Open!
Finally, the eyes graciously decided that they had enough rest, and slowly, painfully slowly, opened to allow me the view of my immediate surroundings.
It was blurry at first. Then, I was looking directly up and a brown, probably wood by the appearance of it, ceiling greeted me.
I could see from the corner of my vision that there was someone else sitting not very far from me. I still could not look down at said someone since I could not move my head and my entire body felt tired to the bone.
Another jolt.
It was at this moment that I decided that the cold was getting more than a little bit uncomfortable, especially with the state of my weak body, and called out to the person near me.
"I- it's… co- cold."
Huh. My voice sounded like it was younger than what my voice was before this entire transmigration ordeal. Of course, it also sounded scratchy and dried because it felt like my throat had not been in use for a long time.
At least, my intention was accomplished and I could feel the person near me starting to move. I also noticed that the crying had completely stopped.
"F- Frey. You are awake. How… how can this be?"
I heard a faint whisper in the form of a feminine tone from my side. My head was still facing the ceiling but I could tell that person had either kneeled or bent down so that they could look at my face.
"Frey! You are awake!"
Yes. Yes. You just said that earlier.
Also woman, please use your indoor voice. Your mouth was quite literally beside my ear. You should not be shouting near a person's ear.
It did not help that I could feel from her tone that she was a bit hysterical at the moment. The trembles in her voice were obvious.
Also, Frey was probably my name in this new life. Good to know.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted as a body, quite larger than my own, crashed into my lying form and squeezed me. Oof… this was the same woman who was crying earlier, than shouting my name near my ear. I just knew it.
Were you trying to kill me, woman?
Thankfully, the body was soft and the squeeze with her arms was not as forceful as I had anticipated. So, I could withstand it somewhat, even with my currently weak-as-fuck body.
Also, it was still freaking cold. So, I made the problem known via my still sketchy voice.
"It's… cold."
"By the grace of Adum! You just woke up and it must be really cold!" The female who was hugging me continued in a hysterical voice.
It was… what I was telling you from the start.
"Let… let me get you another blanket!"
The voice distanced from my location in the middle of her talking and I also felt the body heat of her body leaving me, making the temperature even more insufferable. Then, another layer of blanket was put on top of the previous one and I could feel my body getting warmed up.
I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes…
Only to reopen them swiftly.
No. I could not relax in this kind of situation. I did not know where, how, and with whom I was currently with. This was the start of my new life and I needed to be prepared for the 'obstacles' the man who transmigrated me mentioned.
I needed to know what kind of situation I was in. I needed to gather information ASAP.
Thus, I tilted my head - with great difficulty - slightly downward, catching the person who had been with me the entire since I woke up. And as I had expected, it was a woman.
A middle-aged woman, to be specific.
With my vision getting clearer now, I could easily make out the characteristics of the person.
The woman who was kneeling beside me screamed soft and kind vibes all around her. She had slightly plump but not fat features, her eyes were as dark as her long wavy hair, and her face was an oval shape that announced a noble look. I could not see her whole body but from what little I could observe, she was wearing silky black clothes with intricate designs and a white fur overcoat.
Her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she smiled down at me.
In two words, the woman was aristocratically beautiful.
"Wh… who?"
But I had no idea who she was.
I was transmigrated, clearly. And the woman beside me knew my name. But I did not have any recollection of her. There was not a sudden slam of memories from the previous owner of this body as I expected, just because it was usually what happened in many of the reincarnation or transmigration situations like mine.
I had to play this by the nose, for now.
It seemed like my words just now took the wind out of her sails. Her smile froze as the previously unshed tears started to spill.
Ugh. Now I felt bad.
Trust me. A beautiful and kind-looking woman crying because of what you said, it did not feel good.
That said, I also did not know how to make the situation better. Fortunately, the decision was taken from my hand as the woman opened her mouth again.
"Of course… you have been unconscious or addle-minded since your birth and till now. It is… it is only natural that you have no idea who I am."
Here, the crying had mostly retreated into quiet sniffing. Still, it did not help with the guilt.
Then, the woman put her hand on my cheeks as she looked down with a tender and teary smile. This woman had so many conflicting emotions running across her face that I had difficulty identifying any of them.
"You, my dear, are Frey Hartmann; son of the late Duke Mikkel Hartmann and the sole heir to his title and lands."
Oho. It seemed like I was some kind of big shot in this new life. This was probably what that man mentioned as a favorable starting situation. Thank you, you car salesman lookalike.
"… and I am Sarah Hartmann. The wife of Duke Hartmann and your mother."
Ohhh… it turned out she was my mother. I had my suspicions, but my guess was between my elder sister and mother. It checked out.
Outwardly, I gave her a small nod because it was all I was capable of at the moment.
"It's… good to see you… mother."
I crocked out with my dry throat since this was the least I could do to make up for making her cry. Her growing watery smile made it worth my efforts.
Another jolt interrupted our conversation, no matter how short it was, as I had to actively try to not fall from whatever I was lying on due to the turbulence. I was beginning to suspect I was within a carriage of sorts with what little I could observe. What I was lying down on seemed like the wooden seating usually found inside carriages.
This also surprised my mother as she suddenly stood up.
"Right… you have just woken up from your lifelong coma. You must be feeling pretty weak and tired. You need rest."
The concern in her voice was obvious.
"I will tell them to stop the carriage. You cannot rest if we keep on this journey."
It seemed like I was correct. This was indeed a carriage.
With that thought in mind, I could feel my eyelids starting to close. I might be feeling pretty tired as the lady… my mother stated. And since she was allowing me to rest, I would happily capitalize on this.
I let go of my mind once more and it was darkness that awaited me.
*** *** ***
When I woke up again, it was to hushed whispers between two distinctly different female voices, one of which I recognized as my, this life's, mother, Sarah.
"You need to be quiet. Your brother just recovered from his sickness. I don't need to remind you that he is still feeling quite weak, and according to the physician, we must let him rest and recover for as long as required. If the diagnostic is not wrong, and I do not doubt it is, something happened to your brother's body that forced him to wake up from his coma. And whatever it was, it depleted a lot of your brother's energy reserves. So, keep your voice down!"
Keep talking mother. I needed to gather information as much as possible.
"I know, mother! But this is the first time brother is awake with a clear awareness. I have been waiting for his moment my entire life!"
This time, the hushed whisper sounded young with a squeaky and girly tone. And since she was calling my mother, her mother, it seemed like this was my sister.
The only question was, older or younger?
Let's find out.
I opened my eyes slowly for the second time in, what I hoped was, the same day. The familiar wooden ceiling greeted me but I felt much more rested at the moment and could move my head in all directions without much struggle.
I could immediately see the two individuals who were talking a moment prior, my mother and sister. They were sitting on the opposite side of the carriage I was in. This time, I could take in the full characteristics of my mother, and the little girl currently sitting beside her resembled her a lot.
They had the same wavy black hair with oval-shaped faces. Two pairs of dark piercing eyes complimented their noble features and both of them were wearing black silky clothes and white overcoats.
"Big brother!"
The little girl shouted as soon as she noticed me waking up again. I now knew her to be my little sister, which helped with identifying my approximate age.
"Dear!"
My mother in this new life was not far behind as the two of them rushed to my side and hovered from above with concerned looks.
"How are you feeling?" Mother asked with a soft voice.
"Much better," I whispered back. "Can you help me sit up?"
"No!" Mother shouted in reply before my sister could say or do anything. The little girl seemed almost eager to help me get up.
"You need to rest more. The physician said that you need to recover your energies to restore your body's functions."
It was a good suggestion, only that I felt like my body had been asleep for as long as it had been alive, which might not be that far from the truth from what I heard. It was begging for me just to move, and I was inclined to oblige.
"I am feeling better already. From what I can observe, I have been lying down for forever. My body is requesting me to move."
I replied with the firmest tone I could muster. Mother looked at me searchingly for a moment, but agreed with my request in the end.
With mother's permission, my sister eagerly helped me get up. It took a while due to my weakened body, but with my mother also joining in to help, I was finally sitting straight up.
"Mother…" I acknowledged my mother, then turned toward my sister. "… and you must be my sister, right?"
"Big brother, you are finally up! You have finally recovered!"
The energy from the little girl was quite infectious, and I found myself smiling in return.
Before I could stop myself, my hand was already moving on its own and I started patting the black hair of my cute sister.
Alright. I was weak to cute things in my previous life and the habit followed me to this life also.
Which was fine. I did not mind.
And judging by the happy expression on my sister's face, she also did not mind. My sister was really just a younger and cuter version of my mother.
But… all good times must come to an end. As I pulled away my hand from my sister's head with great difficulty, she pouted up at me.
Nevertheless, I would not be swayed from my mission.
I awkwardly looked at my mother.
"Mother, I know this is an extraordinary situation and I just woke up from my lifelong coma. But I found myself in a moving carriage with no idea of where we were… or where we were going. You also told me that I am the son of a Duke. So, I would like to ask you to clarify a few things for me, starting with what is happening at the moment."
There… I said it, and my mother's expression darkened a little as a bad feeling started to settle deep in my stomach.
I was not going to like the answer, was I?
*** *** ***
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