As I gazed upon the lovely full moon with its immaculate, cold beauty, sparkling with an endless number of stars in the black night sky of Arcedia, I had the impression that I was in a magical world, which I actually was.
Even though I have grown quite accustomed to this world, there are still some things that are always able to catch me off guard, and I simply can not help but become engrossed in the mystery that hides behind them.
Turning away my attention from the alluring silver moon that was visible through the window on the first floor corridor, I instead focused on the elegantly decorated white marble staircase in front of me.
Though it was already dark, the entire Steeline castle was beautifully adorned with flowers, enchanted lights, and other opulent and magical decorations.
The area around the Steeline castle gates was filled with luxurious carriages.
The hall below was crowded, and although I couldn't see it with my eyes at the moment, I could tell the situation below from the sound of everyone chatting.
We both slowly started walking downstairs while my left hand was being held firmly in the soft, jade-like hands of my mother. I was wearing a white, regal, three-piece suit with blue accents, gold detailing, and medals. There were also brooches, and epaulettes that conveyed to others that I was the only heir to the Steeline family.
Tonight, my mother was naturally responsible for leading me downstairs to make my first social debut because my father was already in the hall attending to the guests.
My mother had her hair styled into a royal princess bun with various ornaments, and she was wearing a floor-length, corset-style, light pink gown with a large number of rose-gold coloured flowers embroidered on it.
She looked so stunningly beautiful that she momentarily caused my heart to stop.
"Mother, you look beautiful."
When she heard what I said, she paused momentarily, turned to face me with a breathtakingly beautiful smile, and replied in the most sincere, tender tone while pinching my cheeks.
"Thank you! My little Luke, I love you so much. Did anyone tell you that you broke your own record for being the most attractive boy today?"
"Mother." Her actions made me blush, and my heartbeat accelerated at her honey-sweet words.
She was the only person in the world who has the ability to melt my ice-cold heart.
Otherwise, not even those aristocratic noblewomen, their daughters, or even the affection of my father could make my emotions tickle, much less make me so bashful that my eyes became somewhat foggy with love.
To be completely honest, even though my mother is very attractive, she still pales a little in comparison to some of the female protagonists in the novel or the so-called beauties of the kingdom.
However, to me, those bitches were just extras; only my mother, in my opinion, is the most attractive person.
It was my mother's charm—her kindness, her unwavering love for me, her presence by my side since I was born, her treatment of me as if I were her best friend, and our seven years of sharing a bed.
It is not quite difficult to explain my emotions, because even a stone hearted person will eventually fall in love with such conditions, let alone someone like me who finally found a mother's love after years of suffering and longing for it in my previous life.
My young body and my mother's maternal affection overwhelmed my mind, and I ignored the advice of my adult mind, which was trying to convince me that it was immoral for me to feel this way about my mother.
Today I can proudly declare, like many other children, that my mother is my first love, and only now have I realised why those children used to shout that they would marry their mothers in those fantasy stories.
A mother really is a boy's first love.
Of course, I only felt this way because I was my mother's son, and I can say with absolute certainty that, even if I never find a girl to settle down with, I will still be happy as long as my mother still loves me like this.
'Ahem! Don't doubt the innocent me.'
Anyway, I don't intend to remain single because I've already endured enough pain on Earth.
Instead, now I want to be the only person in this world at the top, with all the beautiful women, wealth, and endless happiness, in my possession.
My hold on my mother's hands became a little tighter as a result of this thought.
It just took a brief moment for my mother and I to share this touching moment, before we again started our descent.
The vast hall and its inhabitants soon came into my view from the staircase, and the lovely scent of roses, blended with different types of perfumes from these aristocrats, as well as the fragrances of various delicacies below, hit me in the face.
These aromas were potent enough to get a normal person drunk just by inhaling them.
But since I'm not a normal person, the effect of these scents was sufficient to just refresh my head.
However, the smell of the food did make me a little peckish.
Our steps on the stairs drew the attention of the majority of those below, who were Aura users with extrasensory perception.
As I cast a glance down at them, the people below also noticed me standing beside my mother.
And all of a sudden, I was the centre of attention.
Even though it wasn't the first time in the past seven years that I've drawn this much attention, the pressure was undoubtedly very different now that everyone in high ranking positions in society is watching me compared to when I was only being observed by ordinary people.
And although I was aware that it was only a delusion, as everyone's attention was directed here, I felt as though the gravity around me suddenly increased.
The pressure was spiritual rather than physical.
However, since I already had spiritual strength greater than that of an adult human, all it took was a shrug of the shoulder for me to completely disregard the pressure. It also had no effect on my expressions or my composure, which remained neutral but calm throughout the entire ordeal.
"Woah!!"
Everyone's face changed when I maintained my composure, and some people even had their mouths open in surprise at my phlegmatic demeanour.
They then nodded with satisfaction, as if they had anticipated such a result and were delighted with the assessment of the Steeline family's genius, who've been in the spotlight these years.
While the remainder of the crowd, who didn't have a good expression, immediately turned away and began interacting with one another as if they had nothing to do with the earlier probing.
Nevertheless, I didn't appreciate such inquiries and assessments from outsiders, but since politics is all that matters in these scenarios, and I lack the necessary strength at the moment, I concealed my inner resentment.
However, I did make a mental note to one day drag these men to the ground under my pressure, and then evaluate who among them deserves to live.
Because I am such a petty person, it is what it is.
When I was having such thoughts, a sweet voice gently drew my attention.
"Congratulations, my baby, hehe! Beautifully done."
Without giving me a chance to respond, my mother began rubbing my head with a broad, proud grin on her face.
"My good son, you are exactly like I used to be back in the day; you always make mama proud."
To her enthusiastic gesture without giving a care about anyone else, I can only sigh inwardly and let her ruin my hair
'Mom and her habit of rubbing my hair while boasting about my accomplishments will never change'
But I know that if I don't stop her right now, she won't leave me without further embarrassing me with her lovely gestures.
"Stop, Mom, my hair"
Even though I said that and attempted to shake my mother's hand, my actions lacked conviction, and my hands lacked strength.
And why would they have strength?
To be completely honest, I always enjoy being spoiled by my mother. This was the case when I was a newborn, and it is still the case today.
Even my mother is aware of this; therefore, she constantly shows her affection for me since she is aware that doing so makes us both happy.
It's just that, to put it bluntly, it feels awkward in public to receive her attention while maintaining my adult perspective.
But I have come to terms with it, so after an instinctive Tsundere complaint, I just let my mother do whatever she desires.
Anyway, the more of this motherly love there is, the merrier, as there can never be enough of it.
We barely needed a few seconds, max, to get to the ground.
However, within those few seconds, I had already swept my gaze across the entire crowd and had located my target.
In addition to her, I had also discovered a number of other targets, some of whom I had anticipated and others who were completely unexpected.
In any case, it does not matter who shows up today; the more the merrier, as my plans have not changed.
Nonetheless, it didn't take me long to turn away my gaze after pausing for a few moments on a few specific people.
With those distinctive green hairs—a sign of the Greenberg family's direct lineage—and their shiny sky-green eyes, which remind me of a certain anime girl, I can never fail to recognise these people.
In my previous life, there were no illustrations in the novel, but after I entered this world, I made it a priority to learn everything I could about my enemies. So their appearance was certainly not a secret from me.
Because of this, even though we had never met before, it was easy for me to identify her.
However, she wasn't alone; there were a few people in the area who belonged to the Greenberg family who were gathered around her.
Although it was typical for someone to accompany the young girl of a noble family like hers, their appearance today was undoubtedly suspicious.
Because I was familiar with them, I instantly realised their identities.
But before I had a chance to think further, my mother drew me over to where my father was standing on the platform.
My father's hands were extended in the air, and he was tapping the wine glass with a fork. He shouted and attracted everyone's attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, could I please have your attention here?"
"Today, on the auspicious day of my son's seventh birthday, I request that everyone bless my son for a happy and prosperous life. Please raise your glasses and take a sip for my son's great future."As if being sentimental about his paternal love for me, my father raised his glass of wine with a proud face and then, under everyone's eyes, emptied the whole glass in one sip."May my son have a life full of good fortune," he wished as he set the glass down.Watching my father's actions, the people below followed suit, and one by one, they raised their glasses and chugged down the whole drink in one sip like my father. Even though I was a little taken aback by their gesture, a feeling of pride and appreciation welled up in my heart.Following that, there was a major increase in the volume of the crowd's hollering."Happy birthday, Luke!""Happy birthday, young master Luke!""Long live, Luke!"........Naturally, our own relatives as well as the vassal families who served under our duked
"You all may already be aware that Luke is an early-stage sword apprentice. And I know it is quite surprising, as children are typically not permitted to train until they reach the age of seven."As my father took a pause in the middle, I flared up my aura for all the bigwits standing below to sense my rank.My aura suppressing ring was well hidden below my white gloves, so it wasn't a problem that someone would notice it and make weird assumptions.Woah!As soon as my aura spread, there was another commotion down below, but this time I could see that it was only from the side of our family members and some vasal families.The other guests, no matter how small or high their ranking, only had a superficial smile on their faces, and I could sense their scrutinising gaze and jealousy filled eyes.Although they smiled on the outside, I am sure they were cursing me to die inside because who would want the children of others, especially their competitors, to be geniuses?no one, at least no
Silence! A chill inducing, pin drop silence shrouded the hall. Crack! which was only broken by the splintering sounds of the silver sphere that could not withstand the force of my title for more than a few seconds. Crumble! turning into dust with a clattering sound like sand falling. Looking around the hall, I saw everyone dumbfounded, as if they couldn't believe their eyes. Taking this moment of silence as an opportunity, my father, who wasn't shocked as he knew the result years ago, announced the end of the title ceremony. "Today, I'd like to tell everyone that my son, Luke,'s title has been successfully awakened, which is an S rank, Ruler of Light." "This....!" His words made everyone come back to their senses, making them realise that everything happening in front of them was real. Impossible! Unbelievable! Nonsense! They all came to their senses after hearing my father's words, and as they did, some of the people who were sitting among them couldn't help but instinc
My left ear twitched slightly as soon as the spy charm was activated. It immediately muffled the surrounding voices, and a crisp, melodious sound of a female entered my ear. "I have added her blood to it; now all that's left is to make that boy drink it." When I heard the voice, I immediately recognised it as Stacey's, and the boy she was referring to was me. But I didn't know who she was talking to because after she spoke, there was a silence from the opposite side, as if the other person were in deep thought, and because the Greenberg family's members were in a group behind a column, I couldn't see clearly from my peripheral vision who Stacey was talking to. Actually, the spy charm also allows the user to view the person being spied from a third person's perspective so as to have a clear view of their surroundings, but since I have to close one of my eyes for doing that, which was inappropriate at the moment, I just focused on their voice as I knew that I would know about their i
Despite the fact that my mind was engaged in nefarious plotting, my exterior demeanour remained unchanged as I popped one meat-cheese ball after another into my mouth and slowly savoured their flavour.Do I even need to explain how melty, cheesy, and gooey these balls with a cheese filling that was flavoured with garlic and Italian seasoning were?All of this makes them really tasty!Some well-known dancers and singers from the royal capital, who had been booked especially for this night, took the stage and began their performance, adding to the evening's entertainment as the crowd got into the festive spirit, moving their bodies to the beat of the music and devouring the food with great gusto.However, the clear and crisp female voice that entered my ears from behind me captured my attention more than the performers on the stage or the cheese balls I was munching."Chloé, you are looking more beautiful than ever tonight."When I turned my head in the direction of the voice, I saw a s
"Okay, mom, but first please bring your ears here; I have something to say."As I agreed to my mother's eviction order that she gave me, I first gestured for her to bow down to my level with the excuse of telling her something important in her ears, and then quietly I gave her a kiss on the cheek."Muah!, hehehe... bye bye!"And before she could react, I instantly turned around and started walking away, towards an empty seat located slightly away from my mother's position."You kid...!"However, before I could even walk a few steps, I was instantly grabbed by my mother, who then gave me a few return kisses before allowing me to leave.And only then, I started walking again as I took my cheese-meat balls' plate from the table with me when some conversation between Stacey and my mother fell on my ears."He really loves you.""Of course, he's my son after all.""Gosh! If only Selina could be as obedient and talented as your son, even 10% of him would have made my life much easier."Heh!
Noticing the glass in my hand and the warm smile on my face, a gleam flashed past in Selina's eyes, and she got a little elated, thinking that I was finally going to drink the beverage mixed with potion.However, she soon suppressed her excitement and controlled her emotions, turned her head and looked sideways to avoid catching my attention after confirming that I hadn't noticed her change, and acted as if she didn't care whether I would drink it or not.And this was exactly what I wanted, because as soon as she looked away, I slid the glass under the table and, without making her or anyone else notice, poured nearly 80% of the drink into the Spatial pouch I had gotten as a gift earlier.After that, under the eager eyes of Selina, who was looking at me with her peripheral vision, I pretended to drink by lowering my head slightly, covering the entire glass with my both hands, and bringing it to my lips as though I were actually consuming the liquid inside.To be truthful, my initial i
After the initial whispering and unrest that came from the surprise of Selina's misery and the Archbishop's words, the room fell into a heavy silence as everyone processed the weight of the situation.The whole Greenberg family was almost on their knees in fright, and even the arrogant Selina was like a scared cat at this time, hiding in her mother's arms as she looked at the surrounding situation, which was getting worse and worse.She now finally understood the predicament they were in.That is how her arrogance had led to this situation, and she should have listened to her mother's words and behaved more politely.According to her, she did everything correctly, but she messed up afterward because she overestimated the effect of the potion.When such a thought crossed Selina's mind, she couldn't help but resent her mother; she didn't want to believe that everything had happened because of her.Selina's innocence and vulnerability were on full display at the moment, and it was clear