Maxine Rosevonte the third, woke up in a white room on the day he was to be banished from the noble house: Rosevonte.
To the left of the bed on which he laid, stood three women dressed in maid uniforms. On their faces were looks of what seemed like pure disgust, all directed at the young boy who had just broken free from his eternal slumber.
What is this? Maids? Why the hell are there maids in my room?
As he thought to himself, his eyes widened in an expression that seemed to be full of nothing but disbelief.
Before his eyes could wander anymore, to fully take in the rest of the scene— his face contorted as he grimaced while grabbing onto his head in pain.
Memories… memories filled his head. They all flooded his head in a single go.
The pain he felt made his head feel like it was splitting apart. It felt as if his brain was being torn out from his head. The pain made him scream in agony.
It lasted only a mere 5 seconds or so, however, to Maxine it felt like a lifetime…I did.
His screams were loud. So loud, that they had the maids, who initially seemed like such cold people, panicked and flustered completely unaware of how to react to the situation.
By the time his screams had come to an end, two maids had already disappeared from the plain white room.
His breathing was heavy, beads of sweat ran down his face along with a few drops of tears and his hands still remained clutched onto the top of his head .
What was that?! Maxine…Maxine is going to die?!
Wait…I'm Maxine!
Chaotic thoughts ran rampant in his head as his breathing gradually calmed down, his eyes still wide open.
I don't remember what happened. I was on my laptop, now I'm here… in this body.
The maid who stayed behind while the other two maids ran out, flinched heavily, almost falling to the ground when Maxine began to move again.
He turned his head slightly to look at her, but remained silent, just staring at her with a dazed look on his face.
Damnit! I died! That's it, I died! I remember someone… no, some people breaking into my house while I was on my laptop. As soon as I saw them, I just suddenly woke up here.
Coming to this realization made his brows furrow while he narrowed his eyes, clearly deep in thought.
The maid remained silent, not daring to move an inch while he sat on the bed.
Execution… so I died, woke up in another world just to die again in the same day?
He chuckled, with a hopeless look on his face.
You've lived a horrible life Maxine.
A sad expression appeared on his face while he thought of this.
Maxine was the last born son of the head of the noble: House Rosevonte. At the age of three, which was supposed to be the age of mana awakening for the mana-borne, Maxine never awakened. It was the first ever occasion where a Rosevonte failed to awaken mana.
Maxine became an outcast to the family, bullied, excluded, hated then eventually, hidden from the world. The failure of the Rosevonte family was secluded to this white room, the right to see the outside world again forcefully ripped off from him.
Books, he began reading books, scriptures, grimoires… until eventually one day, he learnt how to awaken mana on his own. A true genius.
Mana? A world with magic? How ridiculous is this.
He sighed to himself, shaking his head in disappointment.
What a waste, I'm about to die again, getting excited about magic isn't going to help me now. Should I do something about this or just die and get this over with?
The maid stared at Maxine Rosevonte the third, her gaze clearly insinuating he has lost his mind.
He kept changing expressions, even shaking his head, and earlier he screamed his head off like a maniac. Clearly there was something wrong with him to her.
"M-Maxine are you okay?"
He looked at her, his expression dropping from what seemed like confusion, to a cold stare which seemed to carry little emotion.
I see what's going on here. Maxine has always been a timid and soft person, so it gave people the idea that unlike his siblings, he carries no sense of pride.
"Maxine? Did you just call me Maxine?"
He spoke in a flat tone, only adding more menace to his cold expression.
To the maid, it felt strange. Although she had always been disrespectful towards Maxine along with the rest of the staff, he never once retaliated.
Right then though, she could feel his cold and gripping pressure. His words, his gaze it all seemed to have a new found purpose.
Although he only uttered a few words. It sounded dangerous.
Under his cold and intense gaze, she yielded quickly, submitting to his unspoken demand.
"I-I'm sorry young Lord, please forgive my rudeness."
Maxine maintained his cold demeanor while he stood up from the bed.
This could work. It's way more effective than being timid or being too energetic.
He turned his head to speak to her again, his eyes not showing even a trace of emotion.
"I die today, get me something nice to where to the occasion."
Maxine had never left this room since he was 8 years old. He is was now 15, on the day of his execution.
The maid quickly came back with clothes and respectfully handed them to her young Lord.
He wore black bangs, a white shirt, a white formal vest with golden lace patterns and buttons, and wore a black suite with similar patterns on it.
His entire appearance screamed 'noble'.
"There is still time until the…" the maid paused, looking a bit flustered.
He looked at her with a bored expression while he finished her sentence. "my execution?"
"Yes, young Lord" she looked relieved once she heard him.
"The grand Lord has allowed you to leave your room and join everyone at dinner. The entire family is present for the occasion.
Except… except madam Gianna."
Maxine ignored her and walked to the door.
"Let's go, you have to show me to where they're having dinner. I haven't been here in a while."
She bowed, nodding her head slightly in approval.
"Ofcourse young Lord." She lifted her arm pointing towards the direction of where they were headed.
"Right this way sir."
Maxine followed right behind her, every step they took gaining the attention of a different worker.
The maid dropped her head in embarrassment, looking down at the floor as she took one step after another.
Maids, servants, chefs, every worker we passed by gave the same look, so ignoring them while doing so, some making it blatantly obvious. They all despised… not they were all disgusted.
When they passed by a mirror, Maxine suddenly stopped and turned to it with a curious expression.
He walked towards it slowly, maintaining his cold demeanor. When he got to it, he stopped and examined himself.
He had bright blonde hair, pale white skin and golden eyes that seemed seemed strangely much livelier than the cold demeanor he put on. Ofcourse he masked this trait his eyes had almost to perfection.
He wasn't tall at all compared to peers around his age. Infact he would be considered a bit short for a 16 year old. Only slightly.
He turned around and continued to walk with the maid who had stopped and waited for him to finish without a word.
After a few more turns in the luxurious white white palace with golden decorations, they reached the dinner table.
The maid paused, bowing her head in respect to the figures before her.
Maxine's father, Grand mage Rosevonte sat at the end of the table, slowly savoring his meal. On his left sat Maxine's mother, Mrs. Rosevonte. And on his left, sat Maxine's aunty, Grace Rosevonte.
On each side of the table were 5 chairs. Besides the mentioned elders, sat exactly eight other people, all the children of house Rosevonte.
The eldest was a beautiful woman with golden eyes similar to Maxine and similar blonde hair. She had a cold bearing and only stole a quick glance at Maxine before returning to her meal.
Though she was in her early twenties, the rest all seemed like teenagers. All but the eldest brother, who also seem to have reached 20 years of age.
He too looked cold. He had blue eyes and blonde hair however, a clear difference from Maxine and the woman. The only other person who had golden eyes in the room was their mother.
Everyone ignored him when he walked through, some continued chatting quietly, the rest continued to eat.
I see what's going on here. They left no space open for me yet they invited me? The only space open is on the other end of the table. Heh, okay then…
Maxine walked up to the dinner table, his demeanor still cold and full of disinterest.
"Good evening, father."
Everyone froze when they heard him speak. Although it was their father, they were all taught to use the honorific title when addressing him.
Grand master Rosevonte lifted his head slightly, meeting Maxine's gaze. Maxine however only looked at him, feeling no pressure and showing no fear.
His father nodded his head slightly, then reverted his gaze back to the meal.
While he did so, he spoke in a low and hoarse voice replying to the boy, surprising everyone in the room.
"Good evening, young one."
Maxine turned his head and continued.
"Good evening mother, aunt. And good evening to the rest of you."
His words were met with silence, a silence which he comfortably ignored. He started walking, passing by every chair on the side he walked on, he walked to the opposite end of the table.
This is too much of a gamble, they might actually kill me for this.
Although he kept his composure on the exterior, his thoughts were extremely chaotic.
Silently, with a cold expression on his face, without showing any visible regard to anyone at the table, he pulled the chair and took a seat on the opposite end of the table
directly across grand master Rosevonte.
Everyone at the table was shook, but Maxine only closed his eyes shortly, as if in prayer, then he reached for the utensils and started eating.
His mother was the first one to speak up to his actions.
Her tone was soft, one of her eyebrows slightly raised but her face overall seemed calm.
"Maxine, that seat, do you understand what it means to sit there?"
Maxine nodded his head slightly, a gesture confirming he knew what he was doing. But he spoke nonetheless.
"A seat reserved for the one with the second highest authority in this house."
His father looked up at him once more, sparing only a glance before getting back to the meal.
This is quite different from what I've heard. I haven't seen him in more than five years. Why respect your executioners I suppose.
His father remained silent as he thought to himself, leaving the mother to 'educate' him.
His mother continued to speak, lowering her eyebrow and adopting a cold expression on her face.
"Then why are you seated there?"
Maxine paused for a second, looking at her with a cold gaze. After a brief moment, he shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"I was invited to dinner and the only seat open happened to be this one. I assume that means I hold the second highest authority in this house then."
As he spoke he held in a strong desire to just burst out in laughter.
Some of those at the table showed clear expressions of hatred towards him and his words. His eldest brother and sister however kept silent and remained composed.
So did his mother, father and his aunty at his incredibly taunting words.
He smiled slightly, a little warmth appearing on his expression. He looked to his left, sweeping his gaze past everyone there, then he did the same to this on his right.
His gaze stopped when it landed on his eldest sister— then he lingered for a moment.
This caused her to lift her face up, curiosity written all over her face.
Maxine saw, 5 older brothers and 3 older sisters. It was amazing how similar they all looked.
He turned his gaze to his eldest brother, then once again he lingered only for a moment.
His brother too lifted his head to face him. They both had cold expressions on their faces, but the curiosity slipped through regardless.
Maxine chuckled lightly, then he shook his head slightly.
"It's okay, I'm leaving. I just came here to see my siblings one last time, they are my brothers and sisters after all. Aunty too and my parents as well, I'm glad I got to see you all after so long.
It's a shame Gianna isn't here."
Maxine shoved his chair back gently then turned his gaze to his maid who had been standing a few meters behind him the entire time.
He retracted his gaze and reverted to his cold demeanor once more.
"Let's go, it's almost time. I wanna read a book before that happens."
Everyone remained silent at the table, his siblings, his mother, his aunt and his father.
His mother watched him walk away slowly. Before he could exit the room, he heard a deep and hoarse voice speak from behind him.
"Do you not hate house Rosevonte for this? An execution for someone who had no choice in whether or not mana would awaken in his body."
Maxine turned around completely to face the family head once again.
He paused for a moment and looked at everyone at the table in a daze.
"You had no choice in it either. Having a cursed child in the family would result in more than just a ruined reputation, so no, I deserve death. It's for the good of the family, I can't hate that.
Maxine turned around again then chuckled.
"I don't like pain, so make certain I don't feel anything."
Then he chuckled loudly once more as his footsteps echoed in the hallway, his figure slowly vanishing into the dark corridors of the mansion.
I understand Maxine's decision, that's why I choose to do it the same way.