Chapter 3: The Truth of the Reincarnated One

  I started feeling strange two weeks before turning sixteen.

  It all began when I dreamed of my old face one last time. When I saw it, I couldn’t recognize it immediately. The person I used to be was slowly fading from my memory; the places and moments would never disappear, but personal details—my height, appearance, build, even my hair color—were no longer clear to me. I was beginning to see “Esau” as a stranger.

  I had his memories and knowledge, yes, but I didn’t feel connected to him anymore—not in any way.

  Was this a side effect of reincarnation?

  Or was I doing it consciously?

  I need to confess the truth now. I’ve lied long enough.

  A part of me wanted to do it. I had already moved past my own death and begun a new life. I knew it the day I cried in Mother’s lap. But maybe there was still one thing left to close.

  Something I had been avoiding ever since I was reborn.

  Accepting what I truly was: a reincarnated soul.

  Until now, I had been fooling myself by living as “Esau in Ulric’s body,” but as the days passed, I felt more and more like “Ulric, who once had a distant past life.”

  I thought about it countless times under my pillow, and in the end, I decided to confess the truth to two people: Girasol and Ingrid Wall.

  I chose to leave my sister Alda out of it. Her mind wasn’t ready to receive news like this, and the truth wouldn’t change much for her anyway.

  I summoned the two women shortly after lunch.

  This time I didn’t use a memorandum or a signed note like before. Instead, I spoke to both of them during breakfast and told them I wanted to speak in private about an important matter.

  “Of course. We’ll be there,” Mother said.

  Girasol definitely wasn’t expecting this conversation.

  Who in their right mind would?

  I wanted to confess to free myself from the guilt that had tormented me since my reincarnation. Accepting myself as reincarnated was part of it—but perhaps the most important reason, the true reason I would confess…

  Was to see how they would look at me afterward.

  Would they see me as a stranger?

  Would they ignore the truth and keep everything the same?

  Or would our personal relationships change?

  Those questions terrified me. A hateful part of me wanted to bury these emotions and continue living with the false sense of security I had until now.

  No one knew I was reincarnated.

  And for years, I thought I would keep it that way.

  But no longer recognizing Esau’s face as my own—and the fact that I was feeling new reactions in this body—made me doubt my true identity.

  Who was I, really?

  I need help defining who I am. And maybe Mother and Ingrid are the right people to help me.

  “Welcome, Mother, Ingrid…”

  I received them inside the empty dining hall. I ordered the servants to take two hours for themselves. There was no one else in the corridors right now—not even the guards patrolling nearby. This was serious, and there was no turning back.

  “Good day, son. What do you want to discuss with us?” Mother came casually. No protocols, no bows. She spoke to me the way she always had since I awakened in this world.

  “Is something wrong, Ulric?” Ingrid did the same. Neither of them was prepared to hear the truth.

  No one in this world was.

  I took a steady breath and gestured toward the wooden chairs they always used. Fine. The moment I’d been waiting for since that dark night—when I opened my eyes in this world—had arrived.

  “Mother, Ingrid, there’s something I want to confess. I don’t know how to explain it, and I don’t know if you’ll believe me. E-Everything I’m about to say is true. There’s no lie in me.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I paused to breathe. Damn it—my body started sweating and my hands trembled with panic.

  I was truly afraid.

  The confused expressions on Mother and Ingrid didn’t help either. Both of them looked completely lost.

  “Son… are you alright?”

  “Mother, do you remember when I almost died from blue fever? Years ago.”

  “How could I forget? You nearly died that day. If you had died then, I probably would have killed myself. Your father had just died—I couldn’t have endured another loss like that.” Girasol confessed something she had never said before.

  If the original Ulric died, then in a way my reincarnation saved Mother too. That realization gave me a strange satisfaction I wasn’t proud of.

  Ingrid stayed silent, listening.

  “In truth, Mother… I died that day…”

  My words left the two women more confused than a Catholic at a Sabbath. Ingrid raised her left eyebrow in disbelief, and Mother stared at me, still as stone.

  “A-And I’m not Ulric, not exactly. I actually died twice.”

  I said it.

  I said what I had been most afraid to say.

  I knew I wasn’t clear. I knew they didn’t fully understand. But speaking the truth out loud lifted a crushing weight from my chest.

  “You… died?” Ingrid whispered.

  “I died in another distant world—very, very different from ours. My name was… Esau. I was an ordinary person, nothing special. I wanted to change my country, but I was killed by corruption. And then, when I opened my eyes, I woke up in Ulric’s body. He did die that day. And the person I am now… I don’t know who I truly am.”

  After my confession, silence.

  Mother’s eyes widened and her right hand rose to her mouth.

  “T-That explains why you changed so much after that illness… your unusual intelligence, your maturity, your mental strength…”

  Girasol’s expression confused me even more.

  Was she happy?

  Disappointed?

  Sad?

  I couldn’t read it. The revelation was too much for her—and even I struggled to process it.

  “And what was the world you lived in before like?” Ingrid, on the other hand, looked at me with fascination. Her eyes sparkled, full of curiosity and excitement.

  “You… you really believe me?”

  “Of course I believe you. You said you wouldn’t lie. Now tell me—what was that world like?”

  “M-My world was different. There were metal machines with wheels that moved on their own… and huge devices that flew. Long-distance communication. Many kinds of food. Languages similar to this world’s, and other wonderful things. Technologically, it surpassed this world by far. Not even the mythical era could compare.”

  I had a flash of my former world.

  Enormous cities, cars, the internet, comfort…

  How could I have started forgetting all of this? The more time I spent here, the less I remembered the blessings of my beautiful Mexico.

  “It sounds like a fun world,” Ingrid said softly, smiling. She nodded twice and looked at me without fear. “But you live here now, Ulric. I never knew who you were before… For me, you’ve always been Ulric.”

  “T-That explains everything.” Mother came out of her trance and sighed. “Now I understand. When you said you had struggled so much… you meant your death in that other world, didn’t you?”

  “Y-Yes…”

  “The person called Esau is dead,” Mother concluded. “My original son, Ulric… also died that night…”

  Girasol’s face went pale.

  M-Maybe she hadn’t taken it well.

  “But I’m still alive. Mother, Ingrid—these days I’ve felt more confused than ever. I’m not Esau, and I’m not the original Ulric. So who am I? I reincarnated into this world as King Ulric I… but at the same time, I still see myself as someone else. I don’t know what to think anymore. I… I’m lost.”

  I said it with my head down.

  Who was I really?

  Esau?

  Ulric?

  No matter how much I thought, the answer wouldn’t come.

  “It’s easy to understand,” Mother said sharply—so sharply it felt out of place. Ingrid turned to her, and so did I. “If what you’re saying is true, then you are my second son. Maybe the original Ulric died that night—but the child I raised with my own hands, the one who climbed this hard path for the sake of the kingdom, is you, Ulric. You may not be the same person. Your origin may be different… but you are still my son!”

  “M-Mother…”

  “A part of me always knew. The night I saw your eyes, I knew my true child was gone. Then I confirmed it when you cried with me—something inside me told me. But I chose to love you. You don’t have to fill a void. You don’t have to live as a dead man. No—no—you are free to live, Ulric! I will always accept you exactly as you are. The person I love is you—the boy who has suffered so much to become a powerful man.”

  “Lady Girasol is right,” Ingrid said, stepping in. “No matter your origin or your differences, I care about you too. You saved my life more than once. Because of you, I was able to change and chase my own dreams. I don’t care if you’re reincarnated or not—the person Girasol and I care for will always be you!”

  God.

  No… I can’t— I think I’m going to cry. Damn it. I can’t cry here. I should be smiling.

  “Do you really mean that?” I asked.

  I failed miserably.

  My tears poured down like waterfalls across my pale cheeks.

  “You don’t have to live like a dead man.”

  She was right.

  I wasn’t Esau anymore. I wasn’t the original Ulric either.

  I was both—combined—and my life truly started from zero.

  When I closed my eyes, I saw Esau and the little Ulric looking at me and smiling.

  “I think it’s time to go,” Esau said, his face finally peaceful. He lifted his left hand in friendship and respect. “Use my knowledge and skills well, Ulric.”

  “Take care of the kingdom,” the little Ulric said, satisfied as well. He raised his right hand to show respect. “I trust you’ll be the best king in history.”

  “We’ll always be together.”

  After those words, both of them merged into me, and at last I accepted them within myself.

  Ulric—original—and Esau.

  Both were me.

  And in a way, we would always be united by the fate we were given.

  “Of course, my son.” Mother’s voice pulled me back to reality. When I realized it, she had crossed the distance between us and wrapped me in her arms without warning. “Thank you for trusting us. And don’t worry—we won’t tell anyone your secret.”

  “Thank you so much…”

  “Can I join the hug too?” Ingrid asked, smiling innocently. The expression reminded me of when she still feared showing her emotions—maybe she thought she’d be interrupting something personal.

  “Of course you can. You don’t have to ask permission,” Mother replied calmly.

  Ingrid nodded, stepped forward, and wrapped her thin arms around both of us.

  God… I’m unbelievably lucky. I’ve received love from so many people. I hope more moments like this come in the future. I’ll work to create more memories with everyone I love.

  With a new determination in my soul, I decided to step forward and leave behind the prejudices of a dead man.

  It was time to fully embrace my life as Ulric.

  And the best way to do that… was to lead this kingdom straight toward greatness.