I used to think that mornings in a noble’s mansion would be much quieter.

I imagined waking to the songs of little birds.

A maid would gently open the curtains.

There was a time when I pictured mornings as elegant as that.

But the reality of mornings in this mansion was surprisingly busy.

The sound of footsteps striking the hard floor.

The soft, clear clink of water pitchers brushing together.

The sound of doors opening and closing.

The subdued voices of servants calling to one another in the distance.

I awoke to those sounds, pushed aside my thin blanket, and slowly sat up.

Outside the window, the sky had only just begun to brighten.

It was still the kind of morning that made me want to stay in bed a little longer.

My name is Vanhart Yukiya.

I am the fourth son of the Vanhart family, a noble house that governs a province of the Kingdom of Aldoria.

I am six years old.

However, my position in this family is more complicated than simply being the fourth son.

Everyone in this house sees me as the fourth son who has no magic.

Since they call it magic power, it goes without saying that this world has magic.

In my previous life, I believed such things only existed in stories.

But in this world, magic power isn’t used only for casting spells.

Running.

Lifting objects.

Maintaining your posture.

Even ordinary movements like those depend heavily on magic power.

Because of that, children with weak magic are believed to have weak bodies as well.

At least, that’s what everyone around me believes.

As for me, I never really felt that my body was particularly frail.

Even so, in a world where magic power is the foundation of everyday life, simply being seen as someone with little magic puts you in a very difficult position.

Some people worry about you.

Others don’t know how to treat you.

And some simply make fun of you.

Still, I never accepted it as complete despair.

There was only one reason for that.

I have memories of living in another world.

A place filled with towering buildings instead of stone mansions.

A life surrounded not by magic, but by machines and electricity.

And memories of another life, where my name was Naoya.

Those memories felt both incredibly distant and strangely recent.

At the end of them, I vaguely remember hearing a voice.

“It may take a little time before your body and the power of this world properly synchronize.”

Even now, I don’t know whose voice that was.

Perhaps it was only a dream.

Or perhaps it was a hallucination I experienced at the moment of death.

Even so, those words remained with me.

That’s why I can’t help but think…

Maybe it’s not that I’m missing something.

Maybe things simply haven’t synchronized yet.

…Though not knowing what exactly hasn’t synchronized is the real problem.

I lowered my feet from the bed, and the cold floor sent a chill through the soles of my feet.

The body of a six-year-old is light.

But if you asked whether it moved exactly as I wanted, the answer would still be no.

Even in my previous life, I wasn’t someone who could control my body well.

Running.

Jumping.

Simply walking without tripping.

Things that were effortless for other people always felt just a little out of reach for me.

Even after being reborn into this world, that feeling never disappeared.

That’s why I paid just as much attention to controlling my own body as I did to my lack of magic.

Just then, a gentle knock sounded from outside my door.

“Young Master Yukiya, are you awake?”

“Yes, I’m awake.”

The door quietly opened, and an elderly maid named Emilia entered.

Emilia often looked after the children’s quarters, and she had always treated me kindly.

She wasn’t my personal maid, but whenever she had time, she would help me get ready like this.

“Good morning, Young Master Yukiya.”

“Good morning, Emilia.”

“The mornings are still rather chilly, so please put on another layer.”

As she spoke, Emilia draped a jacket she had prepared over my shoulders.

It wasn’t particularly thick, but the fabric felt soft against my skin.

“Thank you.”

When I replied, Emilia smiled gently.

It was the smile of an adult worrying about a child.

But I understood.

Her concern wasn’t directed only at the cold.

I don’t believe I’m especially strong.

I’m only six years old.

If I fall, it hurts.

If it’s cold, I’ll get a runny nose.

But that doesn’t mean I’m so weak that I can’t even move.

Even so, I still don’t know how to explain that to anyone.

After getting dressed, I thanked Emilia and left my room.

The hallway was already filled with the flow of people keeping the mansion running.

Maids walked past carrying folded linens.

Attendants transported stacks of documents.

A young servant hurried by with a small bucket of water held in both hands.

I quietly stepped to the side so I wouldn’t be in anyone’s way.

“S-Sorry, Young Master Yukiya!”

A servant apprentice named Nico noticed me as he passed and hurriedly bowed his head.

He was carrying folded cloth and a small wooden box in his arms.

“Good morning, Nico.”

“You don’t have to rush.”

“Good morning, sir.”

“Um… I’ll get everything put away right away.”

“Alright.”

“But be careful not to drop anything.”

“Yes, sir!”

Nico relaxed his shoulders ever so slightly before continuing down the hallway.

When we first met, simply speaking to him was enough to make him stand perfectly straight and freeze.

I’m only a six-year-old child.

I wish he’d relax around me a little more.

But that didn’t seem possible in this mansion.

Even if I was the fourth son…

Even if I was a child no one expected anything from…

To Nico, I was still a young master of the family he served.

“Young Master Yukiya.”

A calm voice called out, and I looked up.

Standing farther down the hallway was the butler, Oswald.

He carried himself with perfect posture, and his emotions were difficult to read.

“Good morning, Oswald.”

“Good morning.”

“Breakfast has been prepared.”

“I believe the rest of the family will be arriving shortly.”

“I understand.”

Oswald bowed politely.

He always treated me with proper respect.

But there was also a clear sense of distance in that respect.

He wasn’t devoted to me personally.

He served the Vanhart family as a whole.

Within the order of this household, I simply wasn’t very high on the list of priorities.

Even a child could understand that much.

The atmosphere of this house was structured well enough to make it obvious.

And within that atmosphere…

I wanted nothing more than to live as quietly as possible.