Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Cold North and the Duke

Kai closed the door behind him and stared at the room before him. 

For hours, he had wandered into this castle that is larger than a palace. If it weren't for the lack of people in this place, he would've actually thought he was royalty with all the riches, grand paintings, and gold everywhere. Everything was simply too expensive and fancy, his eyes were almost blinded. 

Though the castle was filled with riches, it was cold and gloomy. Other than himself, there was no other sign of life. 

He felt that this kind of situation is familiar. 

Kai walked forward and headed for the bed with a contemplating expression. 

A grand castle without personnel to take care of it… Then is there magic behind the scenes that take care of what servants usually do? Then, Kai's really in a fantasy-medieval setting. 

Or maybe the servants just had a synchronized day off. 

Nevertheless, Kai still felt that it was all weird. 

He exhaled softly as he untied the white tie from his neck and then loosed the belt on his waist. Noble clothing is complicated, "I don't understand how these people wear these kinds of clothes every day." It hasn't been a day yet but Kai already misses the comfortable t-shirts and pants from his world. 

Kai was successful in taking his top clothes off on his first try and immediately strode towards the large mirror. 

"... Same face, same hair, same height… but why is it that this body is more muscular than mine in my original world?" The scars on his hands weren't his and the unfamiliar masculinity of this body proved that this body wasn't his. But that still leaves the mystery as to why his face and this body's face are literally the same. 

It's not like he measured his hair length but just by looking at it, Kai thought, 'It's like my whole head was copy-pasted here…' the way he phrased it was a bit uncomfortable but Kai ignored it and touched his face instead.

After a short pause, he ran his fingers through his hair. His forehead was exposed and Kai got a clearer look. "Even this is here." The small scar, barely visible unless one looks closely, was there. The same scar he had on his original body. 

He couldn't remember how he gained that but his mother said that when he was a kid, he fell and got that scar. She didn't explain it any further and he didn't ask either. It was just a normal scar after all. But now, seeing so many similarities and differences between this body and his original body, Kai felt that it was not just some kind of coincidence. He has read too many to just rule this out as a coincidence. 

But Kai simply sighed and pushed his suspicions out of his mind for a while. 

If there really is something, then everything would just reveal itself eventually. He has more things to worry about, not just this mystery that he has no clue about yet.

Thinking of that, Kai changed into a new set of clothes. This time, however, he wore a set of comfortable clothes. But that didn't mean he lost the elegance and majestic aura this body had. Kai really couldn't help but admire, 

This was his face but he feels much more handsome!

-

After checking the whole castle, Kai left the place to head to the nearby village. He found a large map plastered on the wall in one of the rooms. This castle is near the kingdom’s border, apparently. 

The border, a river.

Since this place is quite far from civilization, there were no roads or anything. There is one but because of it never being used, the path has disappeared with the grasses and plants growing on them. Surrounded by forest, it was impossible to see any other structures inhabited by humans. 

But there is an easy way to reach the nearest village. It was to follow the river east. 

Kai recalled the map and sighed, what kind of trouble did the original caused to be placed in the most barren land of the kingdom? He was even placed in the most dangerous area of all places. The castle is literally by the border of the kingdom and Jereiah Empire. 

As he continued to complain in his heart, he felt something click in his head. 

Jeremiah Empire? Rukadius Kingdom?

Haha!

What a coincidence, aren't those the name of the kingdom and the empire of the antagonist and male lead in the novel he recently read?

Hahaha!!

Also, wasn't the male lead also named Kai? And that he was the duke of the abandoned duchy?

Hahahaha…

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Kai fell to his knees, he held a handful of snow in his hands as he was struck speechless. Why didn't he notice this before? For once, Kai felt stupid.

Of course, it was a common trope to transmigrate to the last novel you've read. He had read that hundreds of times already so why couldn't he connect that to his situation right now? Only after he left the castle did he remember such an important concept!

"Fuck, I have to go back to the castle!"

He rarely cursed but knowing what his fate would be if he stayed here a second longer, he couldn't stop his mouth from running. 

This place is not desolated for nothing!

The reason why the nearest village is so far away that he needed the river to guide him and the reason why he was the only one in that large castle, everything is finally coming together. 

The person he had transmigrated into is the male lead of the BL novel he had previously read himself!

Kai Zein, the Lord of Zein Duchy!

And this forest is the home of the northern beasts!

Thousands, if not millions of hungry beasts reside in this restricted area. The numbers are not even exaggerating as the whole north-west region of the continent and the kingdom belongs to Zein Duchy with no other nobles in this area. In other words, if he dies here, it's most likely that he won't be found until a few years later.

In such an isolated and dangerous place, nobody is willing to go to such a place.

Kai pushed himself up and immediately turned back. Heavy and thick snow on the ground slowed his movements but he nevertheless pushed himself forward.

'As expected…' he heard rustles and some low growling from afar, crimson eyes stalking his every moment and not missing out a single detail.

The hair at the back of his neck stood up and he shuddered, yet, for some reasons, Kai didn't feel fear. 

He stopped moving to take a deep breath. And now he finally noticed that he was already surrounded by a bunch of hungry beasts, creeping around and ready to pounce at him. 

"I feel like crying, ngh…" he winced painfully without a single wound.

He didn't fear but he was overwhelmed. Nevertheless, he kept a calm state of mind and he raised his guards. 

Inside his coat was a sword for safety purposes. It fit his hands quite perfectly, as if it was made solely for him. But that didn't change the fact that he didn't know how to use a sword. He swallowed and yet, he didn't draw the sword. He was only on guard but waited for these beasts' first moves. 

And when a large wolf-like beast with a black and messy fur howled, the rest started to finally move. They all jumped towards Kai from every direction, leaving him no escape. 

His eyes flashed and Kai raised his sword in perfect timing, but he was not used to the weight and his movements were slow. This resulted in him missing his targets. 

"Hah." A cold voice rang out. 

And when these beast's claws almost touched Kai, a strong gust of cold, winter wind blew his coat away from him. At the same time, a large pillar of fire surged from the ground, burning and turning the beasts into ashes.

Those pillars of fire were just barely a centimeter away from Kai's skin. And now that he was startled, he instinctively stepped back and almost burned his hair to dust.

What came after the fire was water.

Kai's tip of the hair that was burning was immediately put out when gallons of water dropped from the sky this time. Thankfully, he didn't go bald but now he's drenched in the middle of this cold place. The water dripping down his hair and clothes turned to ice not long after. 

But still, at least the beasts were driven away! 

Kai fell to the ground, trembling and shuddering from the cold. But he still gathered his strength to raise his head to look at his cruel savior. 

Long black hair tied up high with a golden accessory, eyebrows raised arrogantly while his purple eyes looked at him with belittlement. Black suit, with the buttons on top not properly buttoned, revealing a part of the person's pale white chest and finally, a white long coat. 

"What is this? It has only been a while but Zein, you've fallen so far that you can't even fend off a few low-level beasts?"