"Where am I? Where is this place?"
The words left Nathan's mouth before he could stop them, thin and uncertain in the quiet room.
So many questions ran through his mind as he slowly sat up and looked around his unfamiliar surroundings. The ceiling above him was too high, the patterns carved into it too detailed to belong to any place he remembered. Light slipped in through tall windows, reflecting softly off the walls and making the entire room shimmer faintly, as if dust itself had learned how to glow.
The curtains were heavy and finely stitched. The furniture was polished, carved with unfamiliar symbols. Even the bed beneath him felt different. The mattress was wider, softer, and far more expensive than anything he had ever owned.
This wasn't his room.
His heartbeat picked up as that realization settled in.
Slowly, he swung his legs off the bed and placed his feet on the wooden floor. The moment his soles touched the cold surface, a sharp headache struck him. It came fast and heavy, like something snapping inside his skull. He winced and placed a hand against his head, breathing slowly until the pain dulled enough for him to remain upright.
Before he could think any further about what was happening, the door suddenly opened.
Nathan flinched.
A young lady entered the room, holding a bowl of water in one hand and a neatly folded towel in the other. She looked no older than her late teens. Her clothes were modest and old-fashioned, clearly not modern. The moment her eyes landed on him sitting upright, her entire body froze.
For a second, neither of them moved.
"L-Lord Finn… you're awake!" she muttered.
Her grip loosened.
The bowl slipped from her hands and shattered against the floor, water splashing outward and soaking the hem of her dress. The sound echoed sharply through the room. She did not even attempt to clean it up. Instead, she turned and ran, her footsteps hurried and panicked as she disappeared down the hall.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Nathan stared at the closed door in silence.
'Who the hell was that?' he thought.
His heart was still racing when he slowly stood up. The movement felt strange, unfamiliar, as though his body did not move the way he expected it to. The first thing he noticed was his height. The world seemed slightly lower than before.
He was taller. Much taller.
Then came the second thing.
His balance felt different. His weight felt evenly distributed, grounded. When he looked down at himself, his breath caught.
Abs?
Clear, defined muscles stretched across a bare torso that was absolutely not his. His hands trembled slightly as he touched his stomach, fingers pressing against firm muscle. It was solid. Real.
How did he suddenly have muscles?
Just yesterday, he had been a skinny boy of average height. He remembered that clearly. Too clearly.
At first, he tried to rationalize it. Maybe he was in some kind of hotel. Or a motel. The old-fashioned setting and ancient-looking artifacts could be part of a theme. Maybe someone was playing a prank on him.
But the moment he clenched his fists and felt the strength in his arms, that thought shattered.
This wasn't his body.
The last time he checked, he definitely didn't look like this.
His breathing grew shallow as panic crept in.
Then he noticed it.
A standing mirror rested against the far wall, tall and framed with carved wood. He hadn't seen it earlier. Slowly, cautiously, he walked toward it, each step feeling heavier than the last.
He stopped in front of the mirror. And froze.
The face staring back at him did not belong to Nathan.
It was handsome. Too handsome. Sharp features, clean lines, and eyes that looked older than they should. His hair fell past his shoulders, smooth and richly colored like red wine under sunlight.
"What the fuck…" he whispered.
He reached up and touched his face, half expecting his fingers to pass through an illusion. The skin was warm. Real. He dragged his hand through his hair, feeling the unfamiliar texture slide through his fingers.
"Who are you?" he asked the reflection.
The reflection asked the same thing.
"…Wait a minute. You're me. And I'm you."
To make sure he wasn't dreaming, he blinked several times. Hard. Then he threw a few punches into the air. The movements were smooth, powerful. He even danced around the room in a short burst of frantic motion, laughing once, breathless and unsteady.
Everything felt real.
'Did someone give me plastic surgery?' he wondered. The thought was ridiculous the moment it formed. No surgery could change an entire body overnight. No surgery could rewrite bone structure, muscle, height, or hair color.
Was he in a coma?
His eyes darted to the bedside table. No machines. No wires. No beeping sounds.
Nothing.
So what was happening?
"Oh, my son is awake."
The gentle feminine voice broke the silence like a blade.
Nathan turned sharply.
A middle-aged woman dressed in elegant Western clothing rushed toward him, her face pale with relief and emotion. He reacted without thinking, stepping back quickly. She nearly lost her balance, but steadied herself just in time before pulling him into a tight embrace.
"My baby… you're finally awake," she said, her voice trembling. "I thought I would never see you alive."
Nathan stiffened.
'My son?'
He didn't hug her back. He couldn't. His arms hung awkwardly at his sides as his mind struggled to catch up.
Over her shoulder, he saw the young lady from earlier standing near the door. She was smiling now, eyes bright and watery, clearly relieved.
Before Nathan could say a single word, loud footsteps echoed from outside the room.
"Oh, my only son is alive! Thank goodness!"
A man in fine clothing rushed inside. His foot hit the spilled water, and he slipped hard, crashing to the floor with a loud thud. The maid froze, her face draining of color as if she expected punishment.
But the man didn't even look at her.
He scrambled back to his feet and wrapped his arms around Nathan, joining the embrace with overwhelming force.
Nathan felt the air leave his lungs.
He stood there, trapped between strangers who held him like he was something precious, his mind spinning wildly.
'What the hell did I wake up into?'
After some time filled with hugs and kisses, the truth became impossible to ignore.
The middle-aged woman who refused to let him go was his mother.
The man who hugged him so tightly he felt his soul nearly leave his body was his father.
And with that realization came another, far more unbelievable one.
He had transmigrated, isekai'd, reincarnated.
Words he had only ever read in Webnovel stories. Fantasies meant to pass time. Stories he never once believed could happen in real life.
Yet here he was.
Awakened as the only child of a baron.
Lord Finn Boldon.
The room was eventually cleared, the adults stepping out to give him space. Left alone once more, Nathan, no, Finn, paced back and forth across the floor. His steps were restless as he tried to remember what had happened before he woke up here.
He had been in his final year of high school.
His classmates had organized a party to celebrate their last day as students. At first, he didn't want to go. He already knew how it would end. But his mother had forced him out of the house, telling him to be social instead of locking himself in his room all day.
The rest of the night had been predictable.
He went to the party and tried to mingle, standing awkwardly near groups, forcing smiles that no one returned. As always, no one paid attention to him. That had been the story of his school life from day one.
He watched from the edges as others laughed, flirted, made out, and drank. Girls whispered and laughed when he passed. Boys talked over him as if he wasn't there.
Eventually, he left.
He went back home, lay on his bed, and pulled out his phone.
Out of habit, he opened Webnovel to read one of his usual smut novels. A flashy win-win banner popped up. Without thinking, he tapped it. The moment he read the first line, he felt himself get drawn in.
Then sleep took him.
He didn't remember anything after that.
And when he opened his eyes again, he was here.
"Lord Finn."
Finn flinched.
The young lady from earlier was standing beside him again. He hadn't even noticed her enter.
"It's time for your bath," she said politely.