“Young Master, I think it would be better if you rested…”

  I really liked spring. The flowers, the warm but not hot weather, the revitalization of life. They reminded me of mother.

  “It’s fine Fabian… I don’t really have long anyway.”

  “Young Master! Please don’t say such words!”

  What a kind man, truly. As my personal servant, I felt like I could rely on him fully. Sadly, my condition wasn’t meant for such a matter.

  “It’s the simple truth… life sometimes plays with one’s emotions like this.”

  “…”

  Ever since I was young I had a weak body and constantly got bedridden just to survive. However, as if it made things more fair, god had given me unmatched intellect.

  “Isn’t it funny? No matter how smart I am, how talented I am, I’m still fated to perish at a young age.”

  Fabian just kept his mouth shut in response. Well, it was to be expected. As the bastard second son, my life was hard to begin with. It was only thanks to my intelligence and talent in magic that I was accepted into the household.

  But I was weak by nature. No matter how many elixirs I consumed, no matter how much medicine they invested into me, I was destined to perish.

  “Twelve years… That is hardly enough time to be remembered.”

  Even walking in the garden like this put a great strain on me. Coughing up blood a few times was a given. But still, my condition was deteriorating far too quickly.

  Why was I given such a life?

  Sometimes I wondered, was fate just making fun of me?

  I, the bastard son of the Topia family, became a shining beacon that was under everyone’s envy and respect.

  But the stars that burn brightest also die out the fastest.

  At the age of nine, my condition deteriorated rapidly and I indulged myself in all sorts of reckless behavior. My mood had massive swings and as the years passed, my impressive image slowly faded and all that was left was a sickly young master.

  I lost my position in the family, my siblings distanced themselves and I was left to rot away, slowly dying to an unknown illness.

  “Fabian, do you know why I like White Irises?”

  “Please don’t say something ominous again, Young Master...”

  I smiled faintly.

  “They symbolize purity and sympathy.”

  My eyes drifted to the row planted along the stone path.

  “They’re used at weddings… and funerals alike.”

  The breeze carried the scent of spring.

  “Each blossom only lives for a few days, yet they bloom without hesitation.”

  I coughed softly, crimson staining white fabric of my sleeve.

  “They know their time is short… but they still grow tall. I find that admirable.”

  “Young master…”

  What is a grown man crying like that for?

  Although it was a short while, I was glad to live. Of course, I wish could enjoy this a bit more, to show those that doubted me panicked, but that was impossible.

  My vision was already spinning and my breathing hitching. I was glad I could smell the flowers one last time.

  “YOUNG MASTER! MAIDS QUICKLY TAKE HIM INSIDE! INFORM THE COUNT!”

  “YOUNG MASTER!”

  “YOUNG MASTER! YOUNG MASTER! PLEASE NOT NOW!”

  I often wondered, what came after ones demise? Was it simply eternal nothingness, or do you return to god’s side like the church preached?

  Was there a heaven? And if there was, did that mean that a hell also existed?

  They weren’t questions that could be answered, but curiosity was one of my driving factors. They said that those closest to the peak understood things more clearly about our world.

  Like it was a whole different scale.

  But what is this? I was simply standing in a white space with no end in sight. My feet were stable on the ‘ground’, if it could be called that, but I couldn’t comprehend what was up and down.

  At first I thought this was the after life, but soon a man appeared before me.

  He looked unique… that’s the best way to describe him. The clothing he wore didn’t quite belong to that of a noble, but his demeanor and gaze were anything but ordinary.

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  It reminded me of myself.

  “Twelve years, huh? To think they restricted us so crudely.”

  The man’s voice was deep, at least deeper than father’s. His eyes were cold yet for some reason I felt that they were pitiful… yes, like mine.

  “Who are you?”

  The man laughed at my question, which I found a bit offensive.

  “Are you seriously asking yourself who you are?”

  “Myself?”

  What was he talking about…

  It was then that a massive amount of information flooded my mind. A life that was not mine, a normal life in another world. The man wasn’t a genius, but he was competent. Sadly, his ending was his own undoing, failing to get his emotions back together.

  It was a failure of a life.

  I felt bad for him… no, rather, I felt bad for us.

  After all, I was this poor bastard.

  “Oh, the irony, huh?”

  “I know right? To think only now we could return to normal.”

  Such a deliberate constraint set by the gods… they really didn’t want me to use my advantages that early and yet they cursed me with such a bad fate.

  It was hilarious in a way.

  The man in front of me was just ‘me’, or rather, the ‘me’ from my previous life.

  So the world I had been living in till now was…

  “Shenvora.”

  ‘He’ smiled faintly.

  The white expanse between us crumbled bit by bit, like pieces of a puzzle collapsing into the void.

  ‘His’ figure slowly faded and the ‘us’ finally returned to I.

  After all, both lives were me.

  [Resonance Confirmed.]

  To think I would experience an awakening at this time as well. It really was my lucky day today.

  [Welcome to Shenvora, Ledion Topia.]

  That game like prompt… How deceptive.

  But thank you anyway.

  I won’t waste this second chance.

  My body felt heavy, as if I was tied down at the bottom of the ocean. My senses were barely able to perceive my surroundings, yet I could hear the shocked voices around me just fine.

  “An awakening? He really experienced one right now?”

  “Yes, that’s why his condition suddenly got better…”

  “It’s a miracle! Our young master is blessed by the heavens!”

  “Don’t get excited too quickly, we have to make sure he truly is better or this is just the last…”

  The man’s voice was cut off by the sudden opening of a door.

  It was hard to hear what was going on after this, but I understood that the one that entered was my younger sister, Nora.

  Out of the five of us, Nora and Armend were the two supported me, while the others simply ignored my existence. It wasn’t due to malice, but rather, a count household had too many responsibilities.

  They were already of age and were assigned positions which made it hard to even interact with them. Our Topia household was a margrave ranked noble family, which meant military responsibilities along with power.

  I struggled to raise myself from the bed and glanced at the group struggling to keep Nora back.

  She was crying, aggressively at that, punching and kicking her guard who was holding her in place.

  “LET ME SEE HIM! HOW IS MY BROTHER!”

  “Calm down Young Miss! The Young Master’s condition…”

  “LET ME GO ADRIAN! I HAVE TO SEE HIM!”

  She was loud like always. Well, at least she was worried enough about me to cause such a scene.

  The maids and physician noticed that I was struggling to get up and assisted me, questioning me non-stop about how I was feeling.

  “I… am… fine…”

  Well, speaking was harder than I thought it would be but at least I was alive.

  “Ledion!”

  Nora somehow managed to get free, which was probably because her guard let her go, and immediately grabbed my hands in worry.

  What a worrisome sibling… really brought back some memories.

  “Take it easy Young Miss! The Young Master is nowhere near recovered to be able to withstand your force!”

  “I know, you don’t have to state the obvious…”

  At least she understood. My entire body hurt and even keeping my eyes open took effort, but that was to be expected. I was supposed to be dead and awakening should have been impossible with my previous condition.

  “Nora…”

  She looked at me like a wronged cat the moment I called out her name. I wasn’t scolding her, but I guess it was something I usually did when she acted like this.

  “Brother…”

  Well, it was fine. I was happy right now…

  “Thank… you.”

  Confusion immediately etched her face.

  “W-what?”

  “Your… brother… is an awakened too…”

  “What!?”

  “Status…”

  It was my first time seeing it in this world, and I was curious about my stats.

  Awakeners, also known as ‘users’ by the people of Shenvora, were people who had access to the Akashic Records, where one could awaken unique skills and classes.

  Of course with this came the ability to view one's status window.

  【 STATUS WINDOW 】

  Name: Ledion Topia

  Age: 12  Class:

  Traits

  [Ruler] [Master Mind] [Eloquence] [Innate Weakness]

  [Cursed by Dominion] [Shadow] [Noble]

  [Elegance] [Magic Control] [Dragonic Bloodline] [Hero]

  Damn.

  At first I had hoped that my status would at least be decent… but I don’t know if I could call this broken or completely doomed?

  If a native of this world were to awaken with these traits, then reaching first grade was impossible even if they trained since birth… they would probably die just like I was about to.

  “LET ME SEE! LET ME SEE!”

  Nora immediately tried peaking at my window and so did the servants and the physician. Even Fabian didn’t want to miss out.

  But it was pointless, the status screen was private to begin with.

  “IT’S BLANK!”

  “…”

  “Young Miss, it needs to be shared first…”

  “Oh… I forgot about that.”

  I was glad it didn’t devolve into a mess due to my status screen… but still, sharing my condition with physician is a priority.

  [Esenca Poisoning] wasn’t a simple ailment and it needed to be treated quickly.

  Esenca was the fundamental energy of Shenvora, functioning like a combination of mana and aura. It flowed through every living being and the world itself. Having it poison you was like having your own blood turn toxic.

  Thankfully it was a relatively simple cure.

  “Everyone… except Fabian, Nora and Physician Malek… please exit…”

  The servants exchanged glances. One of the maids looked like she wanted to say something, but a sharp look from Fabian silenced her. They filed out quickly, the door closing with a soft click that felt louder than it should have.

  "I… need to show… you something”

  It took a lot of effort just to say a few words. It felt like chest had caved, my lungs collapsing due to sudden pressure.

  “And I need you to… stay calm..."

  I met each of their eyes in turn. I adjusted the status window's privacy settings, filtering to show only my conditions. The three of them leaned in.

  [Chronic Illness], [Malnourished], [Esenca Poisoning]

  The blood drained from their faces, with Malek having the most severe reaction.

  "Esenca Poisoning... Young Master, that means-"

  I raised a hand to stop him. He was already being loud and it was unnecessary to point out the obvious.

  Someone had deliberately poisoned me.