The hunchback's corpse still warmed the floor as Kael walked away, stepping in pools of blood without flinching. The corridors of the Medici mansion, once indifferent to his existence, now vibrated with cutting murmurs.
"Did you see that? He won't even bury it," a gardener whispered, turning away in fear and superstition. "The seventh young master...changed."
Lydia followed him silently. Her thoughts were a whirlwind. That was not the seventh young master she knew. The Kael from before would have stammered excuses, maybe even cried in helplessness. But the one who walked before her now had a cold look, a mysterious air.
What on earth had brought about such a change?
Lydia wanted to know what had caused the sudden change in the seventh young master.
"Young master...," Lydia broke the silence, in a voice that barely managed to hold its own. "If the fourth young master asks for his servant..."
Kael paused. He turned and, with a smile:
"Don't worry... My dear older brother won't do anything." His tone was soft, almost ironic, but his eyes revealed nothing.
Lydia tightened her grip on the pommel of her sword, feeling a shiver. Was that Kael speaking? His voice was the same, but something felt different; it reminded her of the Clan Chief.
"But... young master, how are you so sure that the fourth young master won't do anything?"
Kael didn't answer right away. He turned and walked. Calm. Almost relaxed.
"My older brother wouldn't make a move for a mere stable servant..."
A croak echoed.
On the sill of an open window, a three-eyed white raven watched the scene. Its pupils, two as black as night and one as red as freshly spilled blood, seemed to absorb every detail with supernatural intelligence.
Kael looked at the bird for a brief moment and gave it a soft smile.
"Well... it won't yet," he murmured, more to himself than to Lydia. "Not until after the Awakening Ceremony..."
He let the sentence hang in the air, but thought in his heart with some amusement: Ah, dear big brother.
Kael was looking forward to the future.
He passed by the portrait of his mother, the commoner, without lowering his gaze as he usually did. Now, his eyes were fixed on the painting with the same indifference with which he had ordered the hunchback to be killed.
He continued walking.
Lydia remembered the last time Kael had seen that portrait: twelve years ago, his knuckles white from clenching his fists, muttering "Forgive me, mother" as if his very existence was an offense. Now, his back was straight, and his eyes... they were those of a real Medici.
...
It did not take long for the news to spread throughout the mansion. The hunchback, in charge of the prized Blue Horses of Three Horns, had been executed by order of the seventh young master.
"He directly challenged the fourth young master!" a servant exclaimed, sanctifying himself. "Even the third son didn't dare so much after the incident last winter!"
"The creepiest thing was how he did it," replied another, lowering his voice. "With that calmness... as if he were the Patriarch."
"Did the seventh young master do it out of anger? Or did he have some hidden agenda?"
"Could it be that all this time he was hiding his true intentions?"
However, another servant intervened without showing too much surprise:
"What's all the fuss about? The seventh young master, in his fury after being beaten by a blue three-horned horse, ordered his execution."
"Hahaha, that's true," added another with a chuckle. "How can someone change so drastically?"
The comment provoked laughter, dissipating the tension. After all, what was so special about it? The young masters had always been like that. But since Kael had never executed a servant before, this obvious act had taken them by surprise, making them forget, for a moment, the cruel nature of this world.
As the servants speculated, the white raven on the windowsill took flight toward the north garden.
Among the beautiful Lycoris radiata flowers that adorned the garden, a woman with jet black hair and eyes as deep as night gazed at the landscape with serene elegance. Her black dress, simple but refined, fluttered lightly in the breeze. Her face, with impeccable features, showed fine lips, long eyelashes, and perfectly delineated eyebrows.
It was Alessia Medici, Kael's mother.
Seated in front of a wrought iron table, she was enjoying a cup of black chamomile tea, accompanied by a piece of exotic fruit cake grown exclusively in the Medici territories.
Suddenly, a servant girl approached with a hurried step and, after a bow, announced:
"My lady, the young master has been struck by a blue three-horned horse. Moreover... he has ordered the execution of a servant."
Alessia stood up immediately, the teacup forgotten in her hands.
"What!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling between disbelief and concern. "Where is my son?"
"My lady, the young sir is in his room," the maid replied immediately, with a slight nod.
Alessia, knowing where her son was, quickly left the north garden. At first she took long, hurried steps, but soon broke into a run, not caring about the curious glances of the servants who were watching her.
In one of the rooms of the Medici mansion, a young man of about fourteen stood in a luxurious bathtub. His black hair, straight and short, framed a face of common features, but his dark eyes, like the abyss, gave him a mysterious attraction.
Kael touched the bandage covering his head and let out a sigh, but immediately hardened his gaze. When he reached his room, he asked Lydia to run his bath and then dismissed her; he needed to be alone to gather his thoughts.
Most importantly, I have lost all my strength... and there are still six months to go before the Awakening Ceremony, when I can finally create my Mana core and access its essence.
Kael was an incredibly level-headed person, but even so, he felt a weight on his heart for what he had lost. However, he had no regrets. Now he had the opportunity not only to regain his former strength, but to overcome it and reach the Divine Throne. Moreover, he had invaluable knowledge: that of the future.
But the knowledge of the future was a good thing, although the most precious were his life experiences: of battle, of loss, of regret, and so on. All those experiences were the most valuable thing Kael possessed.
"Having wisdom of the future guarantees you nothing," he muttered to himself. "Memories only give a small advantage, but life is constantly changing. If you don't use them carefully, that knowledge can become useless."
Kael closed his eyes for a moment, trying to organize his memories. Most of them lay hidden under a thick layer of mental fog, as was always the case. Four hundred years of life was too much for a human mind; it was normal not to remember everything clearly.
"The human mind is not made for that long," he muttered, focusing on what was important.
He didn't think much about his fourth oldest brother's reaction, because, as he had mentioned before, his brother cared too much about his reputation within the family to make a move just because of the hunchback's death.
Moreover, the family rules did not allow him to act either, unless Kael went through the Awakening Ceremony, as he would then enter the succession fight to, in the future, command the Medici Clan.
But he was not interested in becoming the successor of the clan. He did, however, need its resources to strengthen himself.
For Kael, the Medici Clan was a cage that, while limiting his aspirations, also provided the security he needed to grow with some stability.
Kael closed his eyes. Then...
Ding!
"Uh?" Kael's eyes widened from the shock, and he looked at his surroundings with extreme caution.
What was that sound? His expression began to darken.
Ding!
[■■■■■ Installing ■■ ■■■■...]
[■■Patch■■■■■.]
[Patch■■■■■ ■■■■ed.]
[Player■regis■■■■■]
[■■■■ha ■■■■ed.]
Seeing the small translucent windows, Kael quickly realized what was going on.
So it's a system, as in many of the novels I read before transmigrating to this world. He thought. Remembering the time he spent reading novels and watching anime, a chuckle escaped his lips.
At first, when he transmigrated to this world, he thought he would have one of those systems that would give him unparalleled growth or that he would have a talent that would challenge the heavens. But, as expected, he got nothing.
However, now that I had returned to the past, I was getting a system like the ones I had longed for.
I just hope the system isn't talking, or forcing me to do annoying missions. He thought with a sigh.
The translucent windows continued to appear.
[■■■■■ It has been installed ■■■■■■ Success■■■■...]
[■■■■ Complete patch ■■ ■■■■...]
[■Lifted■■■■ Curse ■■ ■■■ Imposed■■■...]
[The curse ■■■■ Eliminated ■■■ Success■■■...]
[Player's innate talent awakened...]
[Innate talent awakened!]
[Talent Rank: SSS]
"What!" Kael opened his eyes in surprise and disbelief. Even someone like him, who has lived so long and seen so many things, couldn't help but be surprised.
With this talent alone, he has an unprecedented future!
And one last window appeared before his eyes.
[Status Window]
Kael Medici
Title: Strayed Demon.
Talent: SSS.
Mana Core: No awakening.
Traits: Refinement (A), Swordsmanship (A) Melee (S), Tamer (C)...
Strength: 5
Endurance: 6
Agility: 7
Vitality: 10
Mana: No awakening
---
Kael looked at the status window with curiosity, especially his traits, of which there were quite a few. But looking at his stats, he wasn't too surprised; it was something he already knew, only now it was shown to him in numeros.
What caught his attention most was its title:
"Strayed Demon..." he muttered to himself.
At that moment, he heard accelerated footsteps in the corridor, the rustle of silk tearing against the door.... A second before the impact, he knew who was coming.
Bam!
The bathroom door burst open, crashing against the wall with a clang that echoed through the small space.
Alessia burst into the room, her face marked by worry. Her eyes scanned the bathroom urgently until, at last, she found Kael submerged in the tub, gazing at her with a calmness that contrasted with his abrupt entrance.
When she noticed the bandage on her son's head, her heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, she rushed to him, kneeling by the bathtub to hug him tightly, not caring that the water soaked his clothes.
"Son, are you all right? Does any part of your head hurt? Why didn't you go and get your wound dressed?" Alessia bombarded him with questions while her hands tenderly checked him over.
Kael restrained the urge to pull away and said calmly, "Mother, I'm fine, it was just a bump."
"I told you to stay away from the stables!" cried Alessia, gripping his shoulders tightly as if she feared he would disappear. Then, in a whisper that only he heard, "Was it him, was it your fourth older brother who ordered this?"
Kael did not look away. In his past life, he would have lied. Now, he let the silence speak for him.
Alessia hugged him tightly. He didn't reciprocate, but he didn't pull away either.