"Umm... hmm...? mmm?"
Niveus was asleep soundly.
However, when his senses were returning, he felt a strange sensation that should have been impossible to feel.
As far as he remembered, he was lying on the rough surface before falling asleep. But what was this cozy and soft texture he felt beneath?
Still half-conscious, Niveus's eyes opened slowly. Then, as he grasped the situation, his body jolted up immediately, his face a mix of shock and confusion.
"This is... my room?"
He looked around like a lost person and only stopped when a voice echoed in his head.
["Good morning. You are finally awake,"] Nono said, her voice soft. [Also, congratulations!"]
"Uh? Ah? Congratulations? For what?"
["For finally having a lovely appearance."]
Niveus's ears twitched while his eyes frowned.
"A lovely what?!"
["Take a look in the mirror."]
Blinking, Niveus got up from his bed and looked into the standing mirror in the corner of his room.
Surprised, he closed his mouth in shock as he gasped, letting out a squeaking voice.
"N-no... no way!!!"
Niveus stood before the mirror, staring at the reflection that had always been a mystery to others.
His face had always been the subject of quiet curiosity among his fellow knights—his slender form and soft, delicate features had led many to speculate the face behind the mask would be just as feminine.
They weren't wrong, but now... it had become something more.
It began with his mother's wish for a daughter. Since then, his appearance had been on the softer side, with large golden eyes and a soft jawline that gave him an androgynous look.
But now, his features were more refined, more delicate—prettier and undeniably cute. His hair, a silken cascade of snow-white, fell in soft waves around his face and down his back, accentuating his features.
His eyebrows, naturally thin and perfectly arched, only served to enhance the large, expressive eyes that dominated his face. His eyes were a striking shade of gold, wide and framed by thick, dark lashes that curled naturally, giving him an almost doe-eyed appearance.
His soft lips had a natural pink hue, adding a touch of innocent charm to his face. It was the kind of beauty that could easily be mistaken for a girl's—pretty, cute, and impossibly delicate.
Despite knowing he was male, the reflection before him had the appearance of someone who could effortlessly make people question otherwise.
Niveus swallowed hard, his gaze tracing the contours of his face.
There was no denying it—he looked more like a beautiful girl than ever before.
Even though it was a few days ago, he had looked into his face in the same mirror... today was different.
'Unbelievable... I thought I would finally get a handsome and cool face in this life...'
Niveus glared at his reflection, his eyes burning.
'This is not any different than my previous life!'
Before reincarnation, Niveus was born with a face that would be a blessing to other girls but a curse to him. Because of his pretty face that could match the popular and prettiest female students in his school, Niveus had always been teased.
His school life was like hell to him so he decided to have a private lesson at home instead.
When he died, he had wished that if he were to reincarnate, he would be born a handsome and cool boy. Alas, he was born into a tribe within his comic.
The tribe's, or the clan's name that was once a part of Celestia was called Veilborne. They possessed two unique traits.
First, when they were still Celestial, Veilborne, unlike other Celestial clans, could wield both divinity and abyss; the reason why they were kicked out of Celestia.
And second, they were born faceless. Hence the custom of hiding one's face behind a mask. They could gain a face and change features but in a troublesome way. Their looks could be influenced by how others perceive them.
In Niveus's case, since his mother's wish for a daughter couldn't come true, she perceived and raised Niveus as a daughter despite being born a son. So, unlike many of his clan, Niveus had gained a face from birth.
The problem was it was the kind Niveus didn't want to have again.
Fortunately, since only a few shared the same perspective as his mother, his features looked androgynous, albeit seemed to lean toward feminine because of his slender frame.
That face, he managed to maintain until he was an adult. Niveus also had been planning to make everyone around him believe he had a cool and handsome, or at least ordinary-looking hidden behind the mask.
But his shyness and uncommitted resolve led for the worse.
Because of that, now he had to face the consequences.
Actually, he could have had the face he wished for if the knight who first found him unconscious was another person who hadn't yet thought and believed he had a pretty and cute face underneath the mask.
Alas, it was that kind of person who had to find him. Especially when he started talking about Niveus's looks and the knights believed his words were when Niveus screwed up.
"I can't believe it..." Niveus was still unaccepting. "I can't believe I have to live with this face!"
Nono's voice chimed in, soft yet amused.
["I told you, Niveus. Lovely, aren't you? You should be proud."]
"Proud my ass!" Niveus muttered. "This... this is going to attract unwanted attention and misunderstandings. Ha... so troublesome..."
As Niveus suddenly grasped his chest, acting like someone who had a heart attack and walking backward to bury himself in his bed, someone knocked on his door.
Niveus didn't bother to move even an inch of his lying body as he asked who was knocking on his door.
"It's me. Can I come in?"
A familiar voice. Very very familiar to his ears. That low and soft voice that could heal someone's soul when they talked sweetly but made someone want to rip their vocal chord when they were annoying.
"S-starling?! W-wait a second, don't op—"
Niveus hurriedly searched for his mask to hide his face, especially knowing it was Starling in front of his room.
If she were to know about it, she would never stop teasing him. Not until he died.
However, it was already too late. All too late.
As the door opened, it revealed the commander with a smile formed in her face.
Then when she noticed Niveus was busy rummaging through his room, Starling pulled out something.
"Do you still need this?"