Swoosh!
As soon as I opened my eyes, an arrow whizzed through the air and struck the wooden cart right in front of me.
The tip was less than ten inches from my face.
The arrow had such force that the shaft continued to tremble even after embedding itself in the wood.
It was just like my heart, pounding wildly in fear.
The last thing I remembered was that sneaky, pointed-eared demon kicking me from behind before I fell into the portal.
"Honey, oh, you're finally awake," a young woman's voice pulled me out of my daze.
Suddenly, another arrow flew through the air and struck a nearby corpse.
"What the fuck!" I jolted to the side of the cart, breaking into a cold sweat. "That was close. If it had been any worse, I might have been shot dead and become the unluckiest reborn guy ever…"
Still shaken, I began to survey the unfamiliar surroundings when a warm body suddenly threw itself into my arms.
"Honey, are you alright? I was so worried about you. I tried calling you, but you didn't respond. I was terrified," the beautiful woman in my arms sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she held my face.
The scent of her perfume tickled my nose, and the soft, warm touch of her flesh made my heart race.
I looked at the pitiable woman before me.
A beautiful woman, truly beautiful.
I'm holding an absolute beauty in my arms, and she's calling me "honey"?
I pinched myself hard. This can't be a dream, can it?
At that moment, my anger towards the demon faded somewhat. It didn't seem so bad, right?
"Beauty, what's your name?" I asked, immediately regretting my choice of words.
Sure enough, the woman in my arms stopped crying and looked at me with concern. "Honey, what's wrong? Did you hurt your head when you fell from the cart?"
"No, I'm okay, Sofia," I reassured the beautiful woman in front of me, and the name slipped out naturally, making me pause in surprise.
As I started to probe my memory, a sharp pain shot through my head, and fragments of memories and images began to flood my mind.
It turned out that the owner of this body was Thomas Compton, the second son of a small craftsman family in England, while the woman in my arms was Sofia Spencer, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Spencer family. Her father is current Duke of Marlborough.
They had fallen deeply in love. However, due to their vastly different social statuses, their romance was strongly opposed by Sofia's father, Lord Spencer.
But lovers in the throes of passion would never yield to the rigid and decaying aristocratic class system.
So, they decided to run away.
Their destination: Colonial America.
Colonial America?
Wait a minute!
Something doesn't seem right.
The term "Colonial America" startled me. I was supposed to be reborn as a noble, but here I am, the second son of a small craftsman family, running away to the wilderness of the American colonies, with danger at every turn.
Can it get any worse for a reborn?
Thinking of the stories I'd heard about Native Americans smashing skulls and washing their hands in brains, I shuddered.
At that moment, the pointed-eared demon's sinister professional smile reappeared in my mind.
How do I feel like I've been tricked again?
Recalling that kick he gave me from behind, my male intuition told me this must be another of his schemes.
Could it be that he wanted me to die as soon as I traveled, so he could handle things according to the normal procedures?
The thought of this possibility made me wish I could go back right now and strangle that fucking cunning demon.
While I was still seething with anger, Sofia clung to me again and said, "Honey, what should we do? Everyone is dead, and I'm so scared."
Her words wiped all my thoughts away. I looked around once more.