Growing up in the palace

I wake up.
I hope I'm not reborn as a human again.
Maybe some sexy elf would be nice. Or some kind of mermaid, who can breathe underwater seems exciting, too.

I open my eyes and find myself in some noble room.
Wait, is this still the same room in the palace?
I look at my body, and it's still the same body I knew before.
I'm still the same boy.

And then I look next to my bed.
One of the servants is watching me.
She's a rather chubby one, but she's kind of cute.

Oh, I'm glad you're awake.

They didn't try to poison me?

No, who would do that?
I was the one who prepared your meal.
When one of the servants told me somebody is lying unconscious on the floor, I immediately had to check.

I'm glad you came.
I just thought, they wanted to get rid of me.

Oh, I don't know much about such things.
There are some rumors that my grandma was killed.
She was a noble, too.
But I don't think they are true.

Oh, sorry. I thought you were a servant.

I am. Only my grandma is a noble. My grandpa and my mother were both just servants without any noble blood.

Oh, I see...
So do you know what's wrong with me?

I don't think it was because of the food.
Nobody else had problems.
But you're new here, aren't you?

Yeah.

Maybe you have to get used to our food.
But I think it was unrelated. Maybe you have some disease.
But I just checked you, and you seem healthy now.
So I don't think it's something serious.

Thanks for checking me.

No problem.
But I guess I should leave again.
Just tell me if something is wrong with you again, okay?

Sure, if I still have enough consciousness this time, I'll tell you.

I giggle, hoping she won't understand this as criticism.

She leaves my room and I keep lying there.
I still want to relax a bit.
But I'm glad I'm still in this life.
If this really isn't serious, if they really didn't want to kill me, maybe this will actually become a great life.
I guess I should do my best here.

I get up and explore the corridors a little.
But I decide to take things slowly and get used to this place at first. I don't want to risk anything.

Every day, I explore a little more of the palace, trying to get familiar with all the corridors and buildings.
And I'm also interested to learn what everybody here is doing all day.

After some more days, I start my noble education.
Together with some other nobles, I learn to use the sword.
And I also get some basic education in magic, but I don't really understand how this works. It probably is just some psychological thing. I don't think, the world I've been reborn in has different physics than my old one. Else humans probably wouldn't exist.

And after the training, I just leave on my own.
I don't really like most of these people.
And they don't really like me since I'm the new one.
I still try to leave a good impression, but I haven't been good at that in my first life, so it will be difficult in this one, too.

One day after training I don't go back to my room, but decide to explore some different building, where I haven't been before.
And there I find a huge library.
I look through some books and soon find a bunch of books on magic.
So I decide to look into them. Maybe books will help me to understand the basics better.
If they have so many books, does this mean that the magic is real?

As I look through the shelves, I notice two girls, wearing some cloaks.
They look like they sort and clean some of the books.
Soon one of the girls leaves and the other one grabs a book, hides in some corner and starts reading.

So I get closer and watch her.

Hey, shouldn't you be working?

She starts up and her hood falls off, providing a better view on her face.
I take a closer look at her.
And I remember her.

Hey, it's you!
The one who helped me when I almost died.
How are you doing today?

Oh, hello! I'm doing well, thanks for asking.
I was just taking a little break after some cleaning and organizing tasks.

I see. So what are you reading?

I just picked something.
I'm not good at reading.

Oh, do you need help?

No, I should probably continue working anyway.
Do you need something?

I was hoping to find some books on magic.
But if you can't read, you probably can't recommend anything?

I can! I'd be happy to help.
I've spent a lot of time in this library, so I have a good idea of where to find the books you're looking for.

That would be great, thank you.

As we search for the books together, I realize that she's smart and witty.
I really enjoy the time with her.
Did I just fall in love with her?
I think I didn't really feel this since my first life...
And if you only count people at an appropriate age who really exist, it didn't happen since the childhood of my first life.

I mean, what I had with these men..., no that wasn't love. I just was horny.
And that goblin girl? I think I only felt bad for her from the other guys. She was too ugly that I could really love her. Or maybe this also was love?
Who cares, even if she's still alive somewhere, I wouldn't want her back.
And she probably doesn't want me back, either.

But the servant girl also doesn't look that good.
She's a little chubby.
Some people would probably call her ugly.
At least she's not beautiful in a conventional sense.

Over the next few days, I visit the library everyday.
And occassionally I meet her there.
Even if I mostly ask her for help, we often end up having exciting conversations.

This time she's standing at some bookshelf.

Hey, nice to meet you.

She immediately turns around.
When she notices it's me, she blushes.

It's you! Nice to meet you.
Do you need anything?

Nothing special.
So you're putting books back in place?

Yeah, more or less...
So what about you? Is everything fine so far?

I'm still getting used to my life as a noble.
It's very weird after my life as a normal citicen.

I can imagine.
It would be very weird if I suddenly became a noble myself.

But these children can be very annoying.
I don't know what I should talk to them.
I think they don't like me because I'm different.

Most of them are actually nice.
I almost never got problems when I did something wrong.
It could be much worse.

I'll think about it.
Maybe you're right and I should just join them and talk to them.

Yeah, sounds like a good idea.

But I don't want to bother you any further.
See you!

It's okay. It's always nice to talk to you. See you!

I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get warm with them.
I had difficulties finding friends in all of my lifes.
At least in my first life.
In all my lifes I was able to find friends when I was younger, but that mostly came natural.

I never actively chose my friends.
Usually they came to me first, and sometimes I was able to do something to stay friends for a while.
But only one time I actively asked somebody to be my friend.
In my first life, in elementary school, a classmate got the same game console as me. And so I told him that I have the same console, and asked if we want to play some games together.
And that's what we soon did. From then on, we played a lot of Mario Kart and Pikmin together.
Sadly game consoles aren't a thing anymore. Else I would asked this cute servant girl to play with me.

The next days it seems like I meet the girl more often.
I also meet her in other places almost daily.
Like after training or when walking through some corridors.
Sometimes we talk, often I just greet her and she smiles back at me.
It seems as if she tries to stay close to me.
She probably likes me, too.

One day, while I'm eating, she suddenly appears in my view.
She comes closer and brings me some drink.

Here you are! I thought you might like this.

I take a sip, and it actually tastes pretty good.

Very nice. I wonder why I haven't seen this before here.

It's because I made it myself.

Oh, thank you very much. I didn't think you'd be able to do such things as a servant.

May I sit down? I also have to eat.
And you're sitting here all alone.

Sure. I would like it.

Looks like you still don't get along with the other nobles?

True. And I doubt it would work. I just don't like them.

We just eat, not saying anything.
Is this my chance to ask her?

Hey, would you mind going to my room?

At this time? It's already late.

No, I'd like you to do something for me.

Oh, it's just that.
Well, even if I usually don't work this late, I'm happy to help out.

She blushes.

After dinner, she obediently accompanies me.
She seems very excited.

In my room, I sit down on my bed and pat the place next to me.

Feel free to sit down.

You want me to sit down? I thought you need some help.

Just sit down next to me, if that's okay with you.

She hesitates, but she follows my orders.
I wonder if she wants it or if she just does it because she's a servant and I'm a noble.

When she's sitting there, I put my arm around her.

Hey, would you like to stay this night?

Oh, but I'm not sure if that's appropriate.

I'd be fine with it. So will you stay?

I guess I have to.

She giggles nervously.

Does she really want it herself, or does she feel obligated to stay?

I just take off some of my clothes and get into my bed.
She hesitates, but soon also undresses a little and lies down next to me.

You really became a good friend to me over time.
I'm really glad. I enjoy spending time with you.

I feel the same way.
You're different from the other nobles I've met.
Even if you have a higher status, you don't treat me as a servant.
Maybe it's because you didn't grow up as a noble?

Yeah, maybe...

You know, my father was the son of a noble woman.
A male servant just took that woman by force, when she was still very young.
I didn't know him, but I already fear that I'll become like that servant.

I think she already told me.
But does this mean she's into me?

So..., and what about your mother?

She was just a normal servant. No noble blood.

So that's the reason you have to live as a servant?
Your grandmother doesn't care about you?

I don't know.
She already died in an accident.

So her grandma died in an accident?
And she gave birth to her father when she was still very young?
Could it be that her grandma is my mother?
I think I heard my mother was already rather old when she got me.

Oh, that's sad.

But I should sleep now.
There are things I have to do tomorrow.

Oh, sorry for talking for so long.

The next days, I continue my training in magic and sword fighting, and I start to feel more at home in the palace.

But after a while I learn that I'm supposed to become the next king.
I would have power, but there are too many people interested in power, who know more about this place.
It's likely that I'd just become their puppet.
And it might be difficult to spend time with her then.
I don't want to lose my new friend again.

There also are intrigues going on in the castle.
If I become a prince, it's likely that someone will try to kill me.

There's only one option.

So when I see the servant again, I tell her about my concerns.

Running away seems like the safest option.
I know it's a big ask, but would you consider coming with me if I decided to leave the palace?

I understand your concerns.
It's true that being a prince can be dangerous.
Let me think about it, and I'll give you my answer soon.

We make plans and talk about our future together. She agrees to come with me, and we start making preparations for our escape.
We know it won't be easy, but we're determined to build a life together, free from the dangers and expectations of the palace.