Han's past life on Earth hadn't come with any remarkable talents. If he had to name anything that set him apart, it was his stubborn pursuit of his goal and his willingness to sacrifice for it. Maybe those two qualities were exactly what his awakening needed.
Han contemplated so long he lost track of time.
A maid knocked again, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Young Master Han, your mother's present has arrived," the same elderly maid said.
I don't even know this maid's name… No need to care. She's paid well and doesn't have much to do anyway. If anything, it's a good retirement.
Frustration, hatred, and regret had piled up so much that Han no longer cared about any moral code. He acknowledged the maid and left his room. He knew the small mansion well; he didn't need her to guide him, but she still led him to the front doors.
In the reception hall, two rows of maids waited. A space stood open for his guide, and she slipped into place as they arrived.
Han expected little from them, and they expected little from him. As he walked between the lines toward the doors, he barely looked at them—hardly acting the part of their master. He didn't care. Older maids were surely competent and wise, but he would have preferred younger ones.
As he neared the doors, the two nearest maids stepped forward and opened them.
"Thanks," Han said.
Once again, the maids looked surprised to hear him say something so ordinary.
"Hanna was right…"
"He's really thanking us now?"
Their whispers didn't reach him. He was staring, stunned, at the sight outside: two crimson wyverns hovered over the courtyard. They bore a single steel cage between them, gripping its black bars.
Inside stood a woman with ashen skin.
The color looked sickly, but her full thighs and round breasts were anything but frail. Her eyes were closed; she remained silent despite the doors opening. Black strands framed her face, the rest of her hair a spill of white. She wore a priestesslike outfit: a black long-sleeved bodysuit with a keyhole neckline and a narrow front panel. The cut showed hips and most of her thighs above thigh-high stockings, and the keyhole exposed deep cleavage.
Wyverns... and a woman? Don't tell me the present my mother sent is this woman.
Memories of Han's life, and of the world he'd been born into, asserted themselves. He belonged to one of the Dark Families. Their ethics and methods for maintaining power were far from humane. Even dragons weren't as kind and wise as in most stories from Earth.
"You can drop her," Han said.
The wyverns stared him down. They could sense a trace of Red Dragon blood in him, but it was so faint they felt superior. They were more beasts than members of an intelligent race, so instinct ruled them. They looked down on Han.
Nor were they alone; the maids behind him had never respected him and showed no concern as the wyverns disrespected him. Their silence and blank faces poured fuel on the fire. But the real game‑changer was the prisoner.
She opened her eyes, revealing crimson irises. Her condescending gaze mirrored that of the twin brothers Adam had faced before his death. She smirked.
"I wondered where that dragon bitch would dump me. Turns out she's hiding her trash son," she said, touching the black collar at her throat. "You won't break me. You won't make me submit. Only this collar keeps me docile, and it's all mommy's magic, not yours."
She wasn't wrong.
No one here respected Han. There was no way he could hold on to anything in this life by himself. If anyone found this mansion and raided it, he'd lose everything in a day.
The more he thought about it, the more his frustration rose. His feelings from his life as Adam surged. He had worked day and night for years, rejecting everything and everyone—only to be rejected in the end. Then the feelings from his life as Han surged. He'd been born into a wealthy household, yet his very birth had stolen everything expected of him. Where was the Dark Mana he was supposed to have? Where was the Red Dragon that should have been within him?
All of it crashed over him. His blood boiled.
Until now, Han had lacked the drive to seize anything for himself.
Something cracked inside him. It wasn't bone, blood, or flesh; it was something foreign.
But I do now. The drive is mine. I am Han Tenaxis Akaryuu. I will have what I want. I will return to the Tenaxis household. I will make women like this submit to me. I will crush those who look down on me. I will—
A black spine of bone tore through Han's shoulder blade and unfurled into a wing. His pupils narrowed into slits. His hair bleached white, then inked to pitch black.
He lifted his gaze to the wyverns. In an instant, both dropped the cage and landed, lowering their triangular heads to him. Behind him, all the maids fell to their knees, trembling. In the cage, the woman's lips curved into a broad smile.
Han strode to the nearest wyvern and seized its snout. His fingers dug into the thick hide. With a brutal wrench, he tore the wyvern's head from its spine.
The beast crashed to the ground, dead.
The other met the same fate.
Han stepped up to the cage and opened it.