In a region of the vast Zerynthia Empire, more precisely at the location of the empire's Seventh Legion, the birth of the successor of the prestigious Amatsu family was taking place.
Inside a room of the enormous mansion, several people were gathered. Most of them were servants of the estate, diligently assisting in the labor of Lumiére, the wife of the ruler, Dorian.
"I need you to push one more time, my lady," said Yue, the head maid and Lumiére's best friend.
Lumiére was completely drenched in her own sweat. She had spent several agonizing and painful minutes pushing continuously so that her child could finally be born.
"¡Aghh!" she gasped in deep pain as she exerted her strength once more.
She was exhausted. She could feel her body opening in an almost inhuman way to allow the child to come out, and worst of all, none of the servants were allowed to use healing magic on her.
Any use of magic during pregnancy or childbirth was strictly forbidden, as it was known to cause severe complications to the baby's well-being.
Yue expected the infant's head to appear after so much effort, but it did not… not until her lady gathered the little energy she still had left for one last, desperate attempt.
That final effort was so effective that part of the baby's head finally became visible.
"I can see the head, my lady… just one more push!" she exclaimed with evident excitement.
"¡Aghh!" Lumiére cried out one last time, using all her strength, before collapsing onto the bed, staring at the ceiling through blurred vision.
'…It's— it's over,' she told herself in a mental whisper.
But she did not hear her child crying.
With visible concern in her eyes, she turned her head to one side, searching for the gaze of one of her servants. When she looked at them, she noticed that every single one of them had an expression of absolute fear etched onto their faces.
With effort, using her arms for support, she lifted her upper body and looked forward.
Her eyes widened in disbelief at what she was seeing.
Yue, who had assisted her throughout the entire delivery, was completely frozen in fear. Her eyes trembled visibly as she held the child in her arms.
This was no ordinary child in the eyes of those present in the room. Even for his mother, who had feared something might be wrong because he had not cried, what she saw surpassed any negative expectation.
A vast amount of mana enveloped the baby, leaving no room to see him clearly. It was an energy completely different from anything they had ever known; it was repulsive, and for some reason, simply seeing or sensing it provoked indescribable fear.
For Lumiére, who had fallen into shock at the sight, only one thought crossed her mind:
' A… a curse'.
Then, countless bitter thoughts flooded her head. How was it possible for her son to be born with one? She knew of their existence only from the old books she had studied in her youth.
Those born with a curse were extremely rare beings; in fact, in recent decades, not a single case had been reported anywhere in the world. And now, what stood before her eyes was her own son bearing one.
'So much effort… so much time devoted to his birth… and he is born defective'.
All the hope and joy she had felt just moments ago were erased from her mind.
Seeing that no one was moving, she called for one of the guards protecting the room to enter immediately.
His reaction was different from that of the servants, displaying strict discipline.
He looked at his lady and bowed. When he raised his head, he did not even need to hear her request.
He approached a still-paralyzed Yue and, with some roughness, took the child into his arms before quickly leaving the room.
As he walked through the corridors, his presence caused great tension among the other guards protecting the mansion.
The servants' reaction in the hallways was immediate; even from several meters away, they could feel that repulsive mana and hurriedly moved away in opposite directions.
The guard continued walking for several minutes through the vast corridors until he reached a large door that was completely unguarded.
When he opened it, he found an ordinary room, like any other within the mansion.
He entered and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.
He observed the child in silence. Inside his helmet, his gaze remained cold, without the slightest trace of emotion.
At that moment, a magic circle suddenly appeared beneath his feet. An energy completely enveloped him, and when the light dissipated, the guard was no longer there.
In his place stood a short woman, with dark hair tied into two pigtails and blood-red eyes, holding the baby.
This woman was a servant who had recently joined the ranks of the mansion's maids. Since her arrival, she had stood out as strange compared to the others: always serious, never speaking to anyone, limiting herself solely to carrying out her duties.
Her name was Kanna.
She observed the child in her arms without any emotion. The baby had his eyes closed and dark hair, exactly the same as hers.
Gently, she ran her hand over his small cheek and, without saying a word, opened the palm of her hand a few centimeters above his head.
A small magic circle appeared. It was the size of her palm, purple in color, and slowly rotated on its own axis.
"Let's start over," she murmured.
The magic circle vanished, and with it, the baby slowly opened his eyes, revealing a blood-red color.
His eyes were identical to hers. For a brief instant, the newborn's gaze met the woman's, holding it with unexpected intensity.
The baby remained silent for a few seconds, but it did not take long before he broke into a loud cry.