"Big Brother, this is the estate where my family is staying." Cedric said while looking at the man in the cloak next to him.

Klaus was standing there and looking at the sprawling estate with a jealous expression on his face.

’Damn... If I was a noble, I could have been living in places like this as well...’ Klaus thought bitterly.

The Arlain estate rose before them like something out of a fantasy painting. The main building was a massive three-story manor constructed from pristine white stone. Multiple pointed roofs covered in dark blue tiles created a dramatic silhouette against the sky, each peak topped with ornate iron spires bearing the Arlain family crest.

Tall arched windows lined every floor, perfectly manicured hedges lined the cobblestone pathway, and marble fountains decorated the courtyard and water flowing upward in defiance of gravity which was a clear display of the family’s magical specialty.

’This is really damn unfair...’ Klaus finished the thought with his jaw tightening.

It was reminding him what his life could have been if he had even a tinier bit of luck. At this point, Klaus wouldn’t have even minded if he got reincarnated as a noblewoman... at least then he’d have access to resources, education, proper equipment, and wouldn’t have to scrape by as a commoner.

’Or perhaps there’s some special bloodline that Klaus had?’ Klaus thought while blinking, trying to find some silver lining.

Thinking back at it, maybe there was some super secret legendary bloodline this commoner body possessed that made him eligible for the wheel of the Legendary Spin Wheel in the first place. That had to be it, right? Some hidden dragon bloodline or ancient hero ancestry that was dormant?

’That settles it... I’ll have to get my hands on a Bloodline Awakening Pill or something.’ Klaus decided.

Those pills were rare and expensive, usually reserved for nobles who wanted to confirm their lineages, but if there was even a chance he had some hidden potential, it would be worth investigating.

"It looks nice..." Klaus finally said while looking at Cedric diplomatically.

He raised up his arm and sniffed under his armpits, making sure he was completely clean. The last thing he needed was to smell like sweat and blood while entering a luxurious noble estate.

Thankfully, he’d used Cleanse on himself multiple times during the walk here.

"Are you happy now?" Klaus asked. "Do you want to go back to your parents?"

That was a stupid question to ask, honestly. What kind of noble kid would want to stay with a commoner—

"Honestly, I want to stay with you, Big Brother, and keep doing some fun stuff..." Cedric said with a genuine smile on his face. "Like how we helped the owner move out all of those herbs in that shop! Though I’m concerned about where you’re going to put all of those herbs, Big Brother."

Klaus almost spat out in shock.

After they had escaped from the hole leading upward and ended up back in the Herb Shop, he had done the needful and looted everything there since the owner was dead anyway.

However, he couldn’t actually get anything in the end. Apparently, Zephyr had used an attack so catastrophically strong that it completely destroyed the foundations of the ground below, causing the entire building to sink underground. Along with several other shops on that street, creating a massive sinkhole.

The authorities were still trying to figure out what the hell had happened.

"Don’t worry, I’ll put them in a very good plac—"

POW!

Klaus got hit on the side of his face. The impact was absolutely devastating. It felt like getting struck by a meteor wrapped in a steel gauntlet.

His vision immediately turned completely white as the sheer kinetic force caved the entire side of his face inward and a visible shockwave exploded outward from the point of contact, kicking up dust and debris in a violent radius.

Klaus’s body was sent flying backward, skidding across the cobblestone ground with his face dragging along the rough surface.

He tumbled multiple times before finally coming to a stop several meters away, completely unconscious before he even finished sliding.

A blue-haired woman with golden eyes twitching in barely contained rage retracted her fist from where she’d been standing... over twenty feet away from where Klaus had been.

She’d closed that distance in a fraction of a second and delivered a gravity-enhanced punch that would have killed a normal person instantly.

"How dare you?!" she snarled.

She ran over to Klaus’s unconscious body and immediately sat on his stomach, pressing her hand against his throat with enough pressure to crush his windpipe. Her other hand was cocked back, ready to rip his head clean off his shoulders.

"How dare you kidnap my brother?!" Marcellina screamed as her voice was shrill with a week of accumulated stress and rage. "Do you have any idea what you’ve put this family through?! I’ve been searching for a week! A week! I’ve torn through everywhere in this city! I’ve killed dozens of cultists! I’ve barely slept! And you... you have the audacity to stand here with him like nothing happened?!"

Her hand tightened around his throat.

"I should snap your neck right now!" she continued ranting. "I should crush every bone in your worthless commoner body! Who do you think you are?! You think you can just take a noble’s son and—"

"Big—!" Cedric started, running toward them desperately.

Marcellina immediately relaxed her hand around Klaus’s throat, her expression shifting instantly to a warm, gentle smile as she turned to face her beloved little brother.

"Don’t worry, little brother..." she said sweetly, her voice completely different now. "I’ve apprehended this useless cultist that—"

"Brother!" Cedric completed her sentence, but not in the way she expected. He fell onto his knees and clutched Klaus’s shirt desperately, shaking the unconscious man’s shoulders.

"Big Brother, wake up! Wake up!"

The blue-haired woman blinked and her world turned fuzzy around the edges. She stood up slowly, taking a stumbling step backward.

’What did he mean by Big Brother?’ she thought, her mind refusing to process what she’d just heard.

’Have I been replaced?’ The thought hit her like a physical blow. ’Does my brother not love me anymore? This person became his "Big Brother" while I was searching? While I was killing cultists? He replaced me... He actually replaced me with a nobody. What did I do wrong?’

The thoughts spiraled faster and faster and her eyes rolled back into her head.

Marcellina collapsed right there on the cobblestone ground, her body hitting the floor with a heavy thud. She was out cold as her mind shut down completely from the emotional overload.

Cedric looked at his knocked-out sister in horror and ran to her immediately.

"Big Sister! Big Sister! Are you okay?!" Cedric asked with horrified eyes, shaking her shoulders. She didn’t respond... Both his savior and his sister were unconscious.

With no more options available, Cedric opened his mouth and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"HELP!!!!!"

...

"Ugh..." Klaus blinked groggily as he raised his hand to his head and rubbed it. "What the hell happened?"

One moment he was talking to Cedric, and the next moment everything had turned completely white then he woke up here in this unfamiliar place. He didn’t feel any sort of pain, which was strange, but where was he?

Klaus slowly sat up and saw that he was in a luxurious bedroom. The room was massive... the bed had silk sheets and a canopy but what really caught his attention were the walls.

Pictures lined every surface. Dozens of portraits of Cedric at various ages and the paintings of a blue-haired woman at different points in her life, Some showed them together as children and a chill ran down Klaus’s spine.

’What the hell is this obsessive shit?’ Klaus thought, genuinely disturbed. This wasn’t normal sibling affection... This was bordering on unhealthy attachment, the sheer number of portraits was concerning then he felt a weight around his leg.

Klaus slowly looked down.

There was a woman resting her head on the edge of the bed with her hair splayed across his leg in a curtain of blue. She was sitting on the floor in what had to be an uncomfortable position, like she’d been keeping vigil while he was unconscious.

She slowly looked up with a groggy look on her face.

Klaus found himself staring into the beautiful face of Marcellina Arlain and her golden eyes met his. Up close, she was striking with high cheekbones, perfect skin that were distinctive noble features but there was something intense in her gaze that set off alarm bells.

’How the hell did I get in here?’ Klaus thought frantically.

Thinking about it more carefully, whenever he fainted because of mana exhaustion, the surroundings didn’t turn white in the first place at all. That was usually a gradual dimming and he felt the exhaustion building but this had been instant.

’Did I get punched or something?’

The woman blinked once, and once she realized that he was fully awake and looking at her, she immediately fell to the ground.

She hit her head against the side of the bed as she dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor in a full prostration.

"I’m so sorry!" Marcellina’s voice came out muffled against the floor. "I punched you without asking questions first! I saw you with Cedric and I just assumed you’d kidnapped him! I’ve been searching for my brother for over a week and when I saw him with a stranger I just reacted! I broke several bones in your face and I’m so, so sorry! The healers fixed everything immediately but I felt so guilty! You saved my brother and I repaid you by nearly killing you!"

"I think—" Klaus tried to interject.

"And Cedric was so upset! He kept calling you ’Big Brother’ and I realized I’d attacked someone he cared about! I’m the worst sister! You probably hate me now and you have every right to!"

"Alright, that’s enough," Klaus said firmly.

The woman looked up at his face, her golden eyes slightly red from what looked like she’d been crying earlier.

"As a noble, you shouldn’t be prostrating to a commoner like me, Lady Marcellina..." Klaus said. Her face turned red and she sat up.

"That’s not okay!" she protested. "I broke your neck!"

Klaus’s hand shot to his neck. It felt normal with no pain but she’d broken his neck? That should have killed him.

’She’s even stronger than Taula somehow...’

The door opened suddenly, and a maid stood there, looking at the two of them then she cleared her throat politely.

"My Lady," the maid said with a small bow. "The Lord told me to inform you that if he is awake, he should come downstairs. Your father wishes to speak with him."

She bowed again and left, closing the door quietly.

"What was that about?" Klaus asked.

"My father wants to see you..." Marcellina explained, standing up and brushing off her dress. "We should get going. He’s been waiting to properly thank you."

Klaus got off the side of the bed as well, testing his balance. Everything seemed to work fine, despite having apparently died and been resurrected.

"Follow me," Marcellina said.

They exited the room together and Klaus found himself in an ornate hallway. There was a high ceiling, chandeliers, portraits of generations of Arlains lining the walls.

A grand staircase led downstairs. Butlers and maids positioned throughout turned to stare at Klaus as he passed and he could feel their judgmental gazes.

"Let’s go," Marcellina said.

She took his hand without warning and began pulling him down the spiraling steps. Klaus had to accelerate his pace just to keep up with her speed, nearly stumbling several times as they descended.

Soon they reached the ground floor. It was a really spacious place. The entrance hall was probably larger than Klaus’s entire inn with marble floors, chandeliers, paintings in gilded frames, sculptures... it was luxury everywhere.

It was crazy to imagine that this wasn’t even their main residence like rich people back on Earth with vacation homes, This was the Arlain vacation home and their main estate was much bigger.

’Nobles really are a different breed...’ Klaus thought.

They approached a dining room. At the head of a long table sat a tall, muscular man with blue hair and gold eyes. He wore luxurious robes of deep blue with silver embroidery.

Lord Cassius Arlain looked every bit the powerful noble patriarch with a strong jawline, broad shoulders, and an aura of authority.

He nodded at Klaus, gesturing to the seat opposite him. Klaus let go of Marcellina’s hand and took a seat, feeling small in the ornate chair.

Lord Cassius looked him over from head to toe then suddenly, the man bowed his head deeply.

"Thank you," Lord Cassius said boldly. "Thank you for saving my son. There are no words to express my gratitude... You brought him back when we had almost given up hope."

"It was nothing really..." Klaus said awkwardly.

’At least he doesn’t rant like his—’

Lord Cassius raised his head and began speaking again.

"It’s been over a week since our son was taken..." Cassius said. "We’ve been searching everywhere. Every guard, every contact, every favor we could call in. We turned Rivera upside down. My wife hasn’t slept. My daughter has been hunting cultists non-stop and when we feared the worst, you brought him back. Not just alive, but unharmed. He calls you ’Big Brother’ with such affection. Whatever you did to rescue him from the Death Cult—"

Klaus sighed silently. It took everything in his power not to let his eye twitch in annoyance.

’Why do they like talking so much?’ Klaus thought.

From the game, when the protagonist met the Arlain family, all of them had been grief-stricken and suicidal, barely managing to speak more than a few sentences. They’d been broken shells of people but now, since they had their son back, they just kept talking and talking and talking.

Cassius continued for another minute, detailing their search efforts and emotional turmoil and finally, he raised his head fully..

Klaus sat up straighter in his chair, trying to look properly respectful. The man coughed into his hand, seeming to realize he’d been rambling.

"I apologize for talking so much." Cassius said. "I’m simply... overwhelmed with relief."

He composed himself with his expression becoming more formal and businesslike.

"Now then," Cassius continued. "What would you like as compensation for your heroic deed? We owe you a debt that can never truly be repaid, but we will do everything in our power to—"

"Father, if I may," Marcellina suddenly spoke up as she placed both hands on the table. "I have a perfect proposal for compensation."

Cassius raised an eyebrow, looking at his daughter with curiosity.

"And what would this proposal be?" he asked.

Marcellina took a deep breath. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but her gaze was determined. She looked directly at Klaus, then back at her father.

"Father, I would like your permission," Marcellina said clearly. "I wish to offer myself in marriage to this man as proper compensation for saving Cedric’s life."