The atmosphere in the dining hall was still heavy with shock. My words had shaken everyone, and for the first time, my father himself looked at me with a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
Then, after a moment of silence, he exhaled sharply and said:
"Where the heck did you get this confidence? Did you eat something troublesome?"
For a second, there was only silence.
Then—laughter erupted.
First, Nox chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. Then, my eldest sister, Sera, let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth. The troublesome duo, Karen and Kaile, were still choking on their food, while even my stepmothers smirked slightly in disbelief.
And finally…
I laughed.
A genuine, light-hearted laugh.
"No, Father," I said, a smirk playing on my lips. "It's just that I've had enough of it."
Father looked at me again, this time not with the eyes of a man who saw me as a failure, but as a man trying to understand something new.
He sighed, shaking his head. Then, in a calm yet firm tone, he said:
"Do whatever you like. I won't intervene unless it's something troublesome."
My heart almost skipped a beat.
Whoa.
Did I just get a green signal from my father?
This was the man who barely acknowledged my existence. The man who had never given me any freedom before. And now? He was letting me do as I pleased?
But just as I was about to celebrate, Father's expression turned serious again.
"But remember this, Karlous." His tone was firm. "Every elder here hates you."
The laughter in the room immediately died down.
And just like that, the reality of my situation came crashing back.
The weight of my family's hatred. Their rejection. Their desire to erase me from their legacy.
But instead of feeling discouraged… I felt something else entirely.
I smirked, leaning back in my chair. "Then I suppose I'll just have to make them remember my name."
Silence.
And this time… even my father looked slightly taken aback.
The grand dining hall, once filled with voices and laughter, had now fallen silent.
Everyone had left, returning to their own duties and responsibilities. My father, stepmothers, brothers, and the troublesome duo—gone.
Only two of us remained.
I sat there, enjoying every last bite of my meal, savoring the flavors I had never truly paid attention to before. The richness of the meat, the subtle sweetness of the fruit, the perfectly balanced spices—it was like I was tasting real food for the first time.
And then there was my eldest sister, Sera.
She hadn't touched her food in a while. Instead, she was staring at me, her eyes clouded with a troubled expression.
Something was on her mind.
Finally, she sighed and spoke, "What are you trying to do, Karlous?"
I glanced at her, amused, but let her continue.
"You know that things are only going to get worse for you now. You've challenged the way this house thinks. The elders won't stay quiet. They might come at you harder than ever before."
She wasn't wrong.
By breaking my silence and declaring my own path, I had most likely made even more enemies within this family. But did that scare me?
No.
I leaned back slightly, a smirk forming on my lips.
"Why should it be trouble for me?" I said, my voice full of unwavering confidence. "I have the blessing of fate beside me."
Sera frowned. "Fate?"
I chuckled, then looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Besides, I have you to protect me."
That made her freeze.
Her eyes widened in pure shock.
I placed my hand on the table and, in a soft yet firm voice, added, "Just say the word, my dear sister, and I shall lay my life down for you."
Sera's face flushed red in an instant.
Her usual calm and composed self shattered in an instant as she looked away, clearly flustered.
I smirked.
'Well, that was an interesting reaction.'
For the first time, it felt like I wasn't the one caught off guard.
Sera wasn't just any sister to me.
Unlike the others in this twisted family, she had been the only one who truly knew me.
Growing up, I had spent most of my childhood by her side. She had seen every side of me—my strengths, my weaknesses, my frustrations, my dreams. There was no version of me that she hadn't already figured out.
And that's why, at this moment, she wasn't just shocked by my words.
She was staring at the self she had known long ago—the childhood version of me—the version that had once vanished beneath years of silence and neglect.
This wasn't a new Karlous.
This was the real Karlous, the one she had always known.
But if there was one thing people underestimated about my eldest sister, it was that she was no joke.
Yes, my blood sister got all the attention because of her magical talent.
But Sera?
She was a force of nature.
Once, in her fury, she had almost killed one of the elders.
She had flipped the entire Council Chamber upside down, reducing it to rubble in an instant. If it wasn't for Vice Captain Rose stepping in, the entire Council Hall would have gone kaboom.
That was my eldest sister, Sera Phoenix.
And right now, she was looking at me as if I was the most infuriating person in the world.
Her chair scraped against the marble floor as she stood up abruptly. Without a word, she turned and stormed out of the dining hall, frustration practically radiating off her.
I watched her go, completely unfazed.
Then, with a shameless grin, I called after her, "Sister! You're missing the sweet dish!"
More gasps echoed from the maids standing nearby.
One even dropped the plate she was holding.
Sera froze mid-step.
Her shoulders stiffened for a brief moment, but she didn't turn around. Instead, she let out a deep exhale, as if she was resisting the urge to strangle me.
And then—she just walked away.
I smirked to myself and leaned back in my chair, completely at ease.
'Ah… this is fun.'
After finishing my meal, I made my way back to my room.
Unlike before, everything felt new to me.
I took my time looking at everything—the furniture, the intricate carvings on the walls, the arrangement of books on the shelves. Each object told a story of the old Karlous, the one who had suffered in silence, the one who had been left behind.
As I traced my fingers across my desk, my eyes landed on a small stack of letters tucked inside a wooden box.
Curious, I picked one up. The handwriting was messy, rushed, filled with raw emotion.
I began reading.
Dear Mother, I am feeling helpless. No one is talking to me. Please, Mother, rescue me. Help me.
I blinked.
There were tear stains on the paper. The ink had smudged in several places, as if whoever wrote it had been crying while doing so.
I grabbed another letter—this one addressed to my maternal grandfather.
Dear Grandpa, Please, Grandpa, help me. I am willing to put in a lot of effort. Please don't abandon me.
My grip on the letter tightened.
A cold, sinking feeling settled in my chest.
These letters… were written by me.
The previous Karlous.
The version of me who had desperately reached out, hoping for someone—anyone—to pull him out of his misery.
And yet, these letters were still here.
Unread. Unanswered.
No one had come for him. No one had saved him.
I stared at the letters for a long time, my mind silent.
Then, I exhaled sharply and tossed them back onto the desk.
"Tch."
My old self… the one who cried, the one who begged, the one who felt helpless and abandoned—he was gone.
I wasn't going to plead for help anymore.
If no one had reached out to save me, then I would save myself.
And once I did—once I stood at the top—they would all regret ignoring me.