"Congratulations, Lady Adelaide! It's a beautiful baby boy. Lord Duke will surely be pleased."
An old woman, possibly a midwife, announced with a warm smile as she cradled a newborn baby boy in her arms.
The mother was a gorgeous woman with jet black hair that cascaded like dark silk. She appeared to be possibly in her mid-twenties.
Despite the sweat and visible fatigue lines on her face, she expressed a warm smile as she looked at the baby boy's face.
"Give him to me, Celine. I wish to hold my son," she said, leaning on the bedframe.
The midwife, Celine, handed him over without delay.
As soon as Adelaide held the baby within her cradle, and observed the boy's overly curious eyes, Celine felt something was off.
"Lady Adelaide, something is wrong. The baby isn't crying."
Hearing her, Adelaide's long eyebrows furrowed.
"No, this can't be. My lovely son can't be a mute."
'Of course, I am not, lady,' Liam said to himself, 'I'm just processing everything, just like a soul of a 30-year-old would.'
Liam had just experienced death, and was hoping to see heaven or hell, not that he believed in them.
But never had he expected to reincarnate as a newborn baby.
What's more strange is that he understood each of their words clearly, even though they sounded very foreign to his ears.
'So where am I?' He looked around the room and saw many pieces of furniture and decorations that resembled the medieval age.
'Am I sent to the past?'
There was no one to answer his question. So for now, he focused on the present situation.
Worrying his new mother, this lady Adelaide, won't do any good. To be honest, just imagining calling her mother felt strange. After all, he was similar to her age on Earth.
"Lady Adelaide, should I use Healing Sword Art just in case?" the old woman hesitated.
Adelaide's eyes lit up with hope. "Yes. Please do, Celine. If Lord Husband finds out that I gave birth to a mute, he will discard the boy into the dungeon."
"....."
'SWORD ART? DUNGEON?' Liam felt cold from head to toe. 'Why does it sound like the mechanism of the game I had created?'
This sounded utterly ridiculous. But he kept his cool and waited to witness it with his own eyes.
Midwife Celine mumbled something, and swiftly a glowing green Sword materialized in her hand.
"You're incredible, Celine!" Adelaide said in pure appreciation. "You're old and yet your control with Sword Link is flawless as ever."
Celine let out a chuckle before sighing, "It's nothing compared to the true Swordmasters, Lady Adelaide. My Art is just capable of healing minor wounds and injuries. I am not anyone important."
Adelaide shook her head in denial. "You're wrong, Celine. With the way you're now, you're still useful to Lord Husband. But me, a servant girl, have no use beside giving birth for him."
From her tone, Adelaide carried a pain she could never express to anyone.
But Liam's mind was in too much chaos to care for her pain.
As the warm blade touched his skin, a soothing sensation spread throughout his body, fully revitalizing all of his tender cells.
Everything was miraculous, beyond all the common sense of medical science
That also posed a critical question.
'If magic is real, Sword Arts and Dungeons are real, could this mean... I have reincarnated into my own unfinished game?'
No. He quickly denied the idea, thinking he was being idiotic by guessing things too far when he had no solid proof.
It could also be possible that he had reincarnated into a similar world in a parallel universe.
He then looked at Adelaide's worried face, then burst into cries, even though it was pretty embarrassing.
"Waaah. Waaaaah. Owaaaah."
Instantly, all the worries disappeared from the woman's face.
"He's crying. My little baby boy is crying, Celine," she said, holding him close to her face, tears glistening in her eyes.
Liam was feeling intense hunger, so he cried out more.
Seeing the baby's cries grow louder, Adelaide quickly pulled her gown down and revealed two snowy white breasts.
"Shush, don't cry, My baby boy. Here, drink your mother's milk," she said with a gentle motherly gaze.
Liam got a clear view of her snowy twin peaks.
'Wow! They are really beautiful. Even supermodels would fail in front of their beauty. Ah, what am I thinking? She's my mother.'
A wave of guilt washed over him. "What a sin, what a sin. Please forgive me, dear mother. Your son didn't mean to look in that manner.'
'But, geez, how am I supposed to drink with eyes closed?'
As he was thinking this, a warm hand pushed his head near the nipples.
Liam, being grateful for the help, began to drink happily. His hunger mattered the most now; the rest of morality can go to hell.
With eyes closed, he sucked the nipple, and warm milk flooded his mouth.
Midwife Celine watched this scene warmly. "Oh my, isn't he quite a gentleman? He is drinking with eyes closed."
Adelaide nodded. "True. It's strange, but very sweet."
"May the Almighty bless your Son, Lady Adelaide. By the way, why has Lord Duke not come here to name him yet? Could he have forgot that he is having a baby here?" Celine asked with a frown.
Hearing her, Adelaide looked toward the door as if waiting for that person.
"Don't blame him, Celine. Today is also Duchess Clementine's birthday. Maybe that's why he's busy handling the guests."
Celine frowned,
"But how could that be so important than seeing his newborn son and naming him? Does Lord Duke even care at all?"
Adelaide sighed sadly.
"I am just a servant girl, Celine. We cannot expect too much." she mumbled. "Anyway, why don't you name him, Celine. I wouldn't mind, nor would Lord Husband care."
After hearing the gracious proposal, Celine frantically waved her hand, cold sweat running down her spine. "No, no, no. Don't force me to do this, Lady Adelaide. If Lord Duke finds out about this, he will surely kill me."
Liam, hearing all this, realized what kind of fucked-up situation he was in. Apparently, his father was a Duke, and a heartless one at that. If not why he would ignore such a kind and gentle woman like Adelaide.
Something was definitely wrong with that man, he was sure.
Adelaide turned her serene blue gaze on Liam, saying softly:
"I'm sorry, Son. But it seems I have to name you myself."
Liam really wished to say that, 'You can name me just fine, dear mother. I honestly don't want to be named by that kind of shitty person.'
Just then—
Click!
The door to the servant's room was pushed open.
The man that entered the room was more than six feet tall, broad, and undeniably imposing.
His unruly, thick crimson hair, bestial brown eyes, and bushy eyebrows gave off a majestic leonine aura.
The finely tailored aristocratic dress, rich in white and gold color, trimmed with expensive jewels on the embroidery, couldn't make his bestial aura more obvious.
In short, the Duke was a lion incarnate in human skin. That was Liam's first impression of his father.
Midwife Celine bowed her head, while Adelaide looked at him with a faint smile.
She immediately showed the boy in her cradle to the man.
"Lord Husband, your newborn son is bright and intelligent. Please bless him with a name befitting Kingsbane's honor and prestige."
She was secretly nervous; Liam could feel it.
He felt angered toward his father for no obvious reason.
The Duke's sharp eyes didn't miss the fierceness in those small dark pupils. He couldn't help but feel startled a little.
Without saying a word, he extended his arms to lift the boy in his arms.
Just seeing this small gesture, Adelaide was in happy tears.
She immediately handed her son to him and waited for the Duke's judgment.
Duke Kingsbane was just beginning to assess his youngest son, when suddenly a single rainbow of yellow liquid showered onto the man's chest.
Duke Kingsbane was stunned. "Did his youngest son just peed on his chest?"
'Haha, how did you like that, old man? I, Liam Okalov, am not afraid of you,' Liam said to himself, feeling very smug.
Meanwhile, Midwife Celestine and Adelaide broke into a cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
"Ah, I'm really sorry, Lord Husband. Your youngest son is a little bit mischievous. Please forgive him." Adelaide quickly went over and began to wipe off the urine, trying to mediate the situation as much as she could.
"Enough!" Duke Kingsbane stopped her coldly.
He handed the child back to Adelaide's arms.
"I've seen enough, Adelaide. He has taken your hair and most of your looks, but at least the blood of Kingsbane runs through him. He has Ether, but a miniscule amount."
Adelaide was still over the moon, but she didn't stop the Duke from speaking.
"Since he has taken your excellent beauty, I shall name him after you."
Adelaide interrupted, afraid of getting her son isolated.
"I disagree, Lord Husband. You should—"
Duke Kingsbane cut her off with a sharp glare.
"It has been the tradition of the Kingsbane's for decades. So you can't refuse."
Adelaide fell silent, unable to retort. But she also knew this was going to cause some problem for her son.
"We name him Adonis. Adonis Kingsbane. The talent he possesses will be enough to earn him a spot as a prominent scholar in the duchy. You should be proud, Adelaide."
His assessment stemmed largely from his son's good looks and low mana capacity. Whether the boy possessed the intelligence to become a scholar, even he wasn't certain. He only said it half-heartedly.
Despite this, Adelaide appeared pleased by the assessment.
"Thank you, Lord Husband. We're grateful for your generosity and protection."
'Generosity, my ass. Isn't this just for pretense? Who would want to be a scholar in a world where a monster like you exists, old man? If you truly cared about your son, you would have at least tried to enroll me in the Swordmasters' Academy, not pushed me toward the life of a scholar,' Liam sneered inwardly.
But he also understood that crying wouldn't help.
Drawing from his past experiences, and taking into account the primitive state of the world around him, Liam became resolute in carving his name in this new life.
No matter which path he had to take, he would walk it without hesitation, with the ultimate goal of freedom in heart.
Freedom to do whatever he wished.
Freedom to live a life where only his choices would matter the most.