Ugh…It's so painful.
Draco tried to open his eyes, but found it extremely difficult.
After several minutes, a crack of light finally opened up before him, slowly.
The dim light in the room slowly reveals a grand, spacious private room.
Where…am I?
Wasn't I playing one of those cultivation games?
Before he could understand what was happening around him, a panicked voice erupted beside him.
"Lady Charlotte's heart rate is decreasing rapidly! Immediately, bring in the house healer!" The woman who had helped Charlotte give birth immediately shouted.
One of the maids immediately ran out in a hurry, and a few seconds passed before the healer arrived.
Healer? What's going on here?
The healer who had just entered immediately took the head maid's place and began calling out a spell.
Suddenly, light erupted all over Charlotte's body as the healer tried to stabilise her condition.
Draco listened for several minutes as the healer and everyone inside the spacious room panicked.
He was still unable to understand anything happening around him, his mind was fuzzy, and his body was almost unresponsive. Everything was so hazy around him.
"Lady Charlotte…is dead." The healer muttered with a grim expression as he cancelled his healing spell.
The head maid panicked even more than before, sweat beads forming on her forehead.
"Master Thornwyck…Marquis Lucas has been called to clear a gate in his post. Once he comes back…he will…" The maid didn't dare finish her words, as she spoke with her eyes slowly losing their colour.
The healer nodded, a grim expression on his face.
"I know…Lady Charlotte was his favourite concubine. He will not take this lightly."
He turned towards the newborn on the small bed and muttered. "Poor child…he lost his mother so early on."
What is this guy talking about?
….
A few months had passed since Lady Charlotte had died. In those months, Draco found out many things that he didn't understand back then.
Draco had come to understand that he was not dreaming but had been…reborn.
The place he was reborn into was nothing like the modern Earth he was in, but it was the Aetheria Realm.
In this world, there were monsters just like the video games he used to play, swordsmen, magicians, and healers.
Fortunately, the kingdom of Aethon was powerful; whenever a gate opened, many powerful awakeners were sent to clear that gate. After clearance, teams would be given a rota to clear the gate every so often, to ensure there was no gate break.
Draco had also found out that the deceased Charlotte was actually his mother. Lucas Von Ashblade, the Marquis of the North, was his father.
He had been born into a powerful family, a family known for its swordsmanship.
Unfortunately, unlike he had expected from such a noble birth, he was being treated…terribly.
After finding out that his favourite concubine was dead, Lucas Von Ashblade had gone into seclusion for about a week before coming out.
Naturally, before entering seclusion, Lucas had ended the lives of everyone who was supposed to take care of his lover, Charlotte.
The healer and the head maid had both died.
Once he was out of seclusion, Lucas Von Ashblade decided to visit his son for the first time.
Draco could still remember the look on Lucas's face as he looked at his young body. Draco had shat his diapers, thinking that his own father was going to kill him, just after he had just been reborn.
Thankfully, no such thing happened.
Despite leaving him alive, his father had completely ignored his existence; it was as if he never existed. Draco had only seen the man once, and after that, he simply vanished.
Not that he truly cared, but his disappearance came with contempt.
His step-mother, Lady Vivienne, who was the second-in-command in the estate, was not naturally pleased. She had given birth to her own son a few months prior to him, and she made sure that even the maids called him a bastard.
His meals were always delayed, and most of the time, they tasted like dog food from his previous world.
…
Time passed, and ten years of mistreatment had passed with it.
Despite everything he went through for the past ten years, Draco was incredibly excited today.
Today was the day he would awaken his talent after all. In the world of Aetheria, those who reach the age of ten unlock their hidden talent.
As the marquis, Lucas was given privileges that others weren't given. Hence, in his own house, the awakening crystal was naturally available.
Draco had already witnessed the awakening of his half-brother, Glade. The young man had awakened an A-rank swordsmanship talent that he had been flaunting, considering that it was the exact same talent as his father, the marquis of the north.
Stepping onto the altar, where the crystal was situated. Draco prayed to god that he would awaken a decent talent at least.
As someone who had been reborn, he naturally had high expectations. But still, to avoid disappointment, he decided to wish for a C-rank talent at least.
As he was about to touch the crystal, Draco couldn't help but steal a glance at the stoic-looking man seated on the chair with a bored look on his face.
His father, stepmother, including his stepbrother and all the maids, were in the room, watching as Draco awakened his talent.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to finally end his anxiet and placed his hands on the crystal.
He closed his eyes in anticipation, a few seconds passed, and nothing happened.
Anxiety grew in his heart as he forced himself to open his eyes and stare at the result of his awakening.
Unlike his brother's, his crystal did not shine brightly enough to illuminate the entire room. The crystal in front of him remained as stoic as his father's expression.
Draco clenched his hands on the crystal, praying that it would work. Praying that he was simply being anxious and that he would awaken soon. But nothing happened.
"Hmph. Not only are you a bastard, but you are also an untalented one. You are truly a curse to this family," His stepmother spat, her voice shaking slightly.
Lucas remained stoic, as if the result never truly mattered. He had simply gone through the traditions of the family that had been passed down from his forefathers.
He stood up from his chair and walked past the shaking Draco as if he never existed.
I'm…talentless…damn it.