As Arthur heard the voice from inside, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
He pushed the door open and stepped in.
The room was massive, luxurious, and quiet.
Near the tall window, bathed in soft daylight, stood Sylvia Evan Imperius.
Arthur stopped for a moment.
That was his mother.
Or at least, the real Arthur's.
But he had already come to terms with it.
'If this is my life now… then I'll accept everything. Their hatred or their love. It's still better than being an orphan.'
Sylvia's back was turned toward him as she gazed outside.
Golden hair cascaded down her back in smooth, silky waves, reaching almost to her waist. The sunlight filtering through the window made every strand shimmer like liquid gold. Her posture was straight, regal, and elegant, the quiet poise of someone who had killed without hesitation yet could stand still like a statue.
Her figure was slender but subtly curved, wrapped in a refined black dress with golden embroidery that hugged her waist and flowed down gracefully. Even from behind, she radiated a calm, dangerous beauty. Her golden eyes, reflected faintly in the glass, were sharp and cold, yet carried a hidden depth, like a calm lake concealing countless bodies at the bottom.
Arthur glanced around the room once.
Then he spoke.
"Where is the old man?"
"Be respectful," Sylvia replied calmly, still facing the window. "He is your father."
"So what?" Arthur said. "I'm already exiled… so he can't punish me more now, can he?"
Silence dropped between them for a moment.
Then Sylvia spoke again.
"Art… you have changed."
The nickname made Arthur pause.
'Art, huh… so that's what they used to call him.'
"Is the change good or bad?" Arthur asked quietly.
"Only time will tell," Sylvia said.
She finally added, in the same flat tone:
"And regarding your father… he had some urgent work, so he already left this morning."
"I see," Arthur murmured. "So he won't even say goodbye to me."
He let out a dry laugh.
"That's how much of a shame I am to him, huh."
Sylvia said nothing.
Her silence was heavier than any insult.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"Mother, I am leaving today," he said. "Do you have anything to say?"
Sylvia still did not turn toward him.
"No," she answered simply.
Arthur's jaw clenched.
"Are you not even going to meet my eyes?" he asked.
No answer came.
He laughed once, bitterly.
"What was I expecting… You always remained silent. No matter the situation. So why would you speak now?"
For some reason, sadness bloomed in Arthur's chest, raw and sudden.
He did not even know why.
A single tear slid down his cheek before he could stop it.
He turned toward the door.
"I am leaving, Mom," Arthur said softly. "I am leaving this household."
His hand rested on the door handle.
"Not to make you guys proud. I'll never do that again in my life. Even if you want me to."
He looked back over his shoulder, though she still stood with her back turned.
"I am leaving because I will make something out of my life. So even if you don't want to… the least you could do is wish me good luck today. So the child you hated the most can part with you peacefully."
A shaky breath escaped him.
"Goodbye. Your greatest shame is leaving. Now you can raise your talented children without worrying that I'll do something to tarnish your great name again."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"I will no longer belong to this family."
With that, he opened the door and stepped out.
The room fell silent again.
Sylvia continued to look out of the window.
Then, slowly, a single tear slid down her cheek.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I never hated you… you know."
------
Arthur closed the door behind him and walked down the corridor.
He immediately saw Arina standing just some distance way.
His little sister.
Standing beside her was his personal maid.
Amara.
"Young master, all your belongings are ready," Amara said quickly.
She was a cute girl with short brown hair that reached her neck, slightly wavy at the ends. Her brown eyes were soft yet alert, framed by long lashes.
She wore a neat maid uniform with the Imperius crest, and though she looked gentle and harmless, there was a tension in her shoulders—as if she had been standing there, waiting for a while.
Judging by the way she was positioned right beside the door, it was obvious she had been listening in earlier.
As Arthur stepped out, Amara looked away and started whistling poorly, pretending to be innocent.
"So you were eavesdropping, huh," Arthur said.
"What? No…" Arina said quickly, putting on a bright smile. "I just came to say goodbye to my dear brother."
Arthur stared at her for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Stop the acting," he said. "It might have worked on the previous version of me. But not now, Miss Master Manipulator."
Arina's eyes sharpened instantly.
The fake sweetness vanished from her face, replaced by a cold, calculating expression.
Seeing that, Arthur continued.
"I know you were the one at the banquet who told me that Liana was insulting our mother," he said quietly. "So I lost it and slapped her in public… which was completely out of character for my meek self."
He raised a brow.
"Then that same incident led to the duel between me and Liana. In which I swore to give up the family name if I lost."
He took a step closer.
"Where did I get that confidence from, I wonder?"
His gaze turned colder.
"Because you left that stupid artifact that boosts strength for a short time in my room. You knew I'd use it. You knew I'd still lose. And that's exactly what you wanted."
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"And who helped you put that artifact in my room?"
His eyes shifted to Amara.
For one second, their gazes met.
Her breath hitched.
Arthur smirked.
"My own servant betrayed me," he said.
"Young… young mast— I can…" Amara began, panic in her eyes.
"No need," Arthur cut her off. "You and I don't have anything to do with each other now."
Amara lowered her head, lips pressed tightly together, unable to say anything.
Arina clicked her tongue.
"So what if you know, huh?" she said, her tone turning sharp.
Arthur's smile widened.
"That's right. Show your true colors."
"I'll say it again," Arina continued coldly. "So what if you know? What can a useless weakling like you do?"
She stepped closer, looking down at him with open disdain despite being shorter.
"You sure as hell can't beat me in combat," Arina said. "Someone like me, who has awakened the highest grade of S-grade talent and has S-rank potential… that's something you can only dream of."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"I just want to know why you hate me," he said. "I don't remember doing anything bad to you."
Arina's composure cracked.
"Not doing anything bad to me?" she snapped. "You have done worse."
Her voice trembled with anger.
"You made me—no, our whole family—a laughing stock. My friends laugh behind my back because of you. They insult our lineage because you are incompetent."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"What other reason do you need?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Same old, same old," he muttered. "Don't you guys have anything better to say than this family reputation and lineage crap?"
Arina's face turned beet red.
"What did you say?" she demanded.
Arthur sighed and relaxed his shoulders.
"Listen, sis," he said in a calm voice. "I'm leaving today. So this shame you have to face because of me won't bother you anymore. So be happy, okay?"
For a moment, Arina opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
She found herself at a loss for words.
Arthur stepped closer.
He leaned in and gently kissed her on the cheek.
"Goodbye," he said softly.
He walked past her, his footsteps echoing down the hallway.
After a few steps, he glanced back.
"Oh yeah," he added lazily, "and Arina… don't try to pull something like this in the future."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"Because the future me will be different. And you won't want to get on his bad side."
"Bye."
With that, Arthur turned and walked away.
Arina remained frozen where she stood, eyes wide, hand pressed to her cheek.
Her lips moved, almost automatically.
"Useless F-ranker…" she muttered, but her voice lacked its usual venom.
Amara glanced at her quietly, then looked down again, guilt flickering in her eyes.
Arthur made his way back to his room.
As he walked, a familiar mechanical voice echoed in his head.
[ So you got back all the memories, huh. ]
"Well, after last night, most of them came back," Arthur replied.
He entered his room.
The luggage he had packed before leaving to meet Sylvia was waiting by the bed.
He grabbed the bag, then slipped a simple ring onto his finger.
The ring glowed faintly.
The bag vanished.
"Wow," Arthur muttered. "This world sure is convenient."
He gave the room one last look.
Then he turned and walked out, heading toward the exit of the massive Imperius estate.
The estate was enormous.
Marble pathways lined with trimmed hedges and rare flowers, towering statues of past Imperius heroes, fountains with clear water sparkling under the daylight, training fields in the distance, and an endless series of mansions and towers. Everywhere he looked, it screamed wealth, power, and history.
'From an orphanage and a cheap apartment… to this,' Arthur thought. 'And now I'm walking out of it.'
He finally reached the main gate.
No one was there to see him off.
No servants.
No siblings.
No parents.
Just the cold wind greeting him at the edge of the estate.
He let out a quiet breath.
"So that's it, huh," he murmured.
Just then, he saw someone approaching from the side path.
A blond-haired young man, looking around eighteen or nineteen years old, walked toward him with calm, easy steps.
His golden hair was neatly combed back, and his amber eyes were sharp, carrying a quiet authority that made people instinctively move out of his way.
He was tall, with a lean but powerful build, dressed in a fitted black coat with the Imperius crest embroidered in gold. The aura he radiated was suffocating, heavy, and sharp—like a sword that had been honed to perfection.
It was Lucas Evan Imperius.
Arthur's older brother.
The true heir of the Imperius family.
With just a glance, Arthur could tell.
'He's strong… way stronger than everyone else I've met so far aside from Adrian.'
The aura pouring out from Lucas was at least that of an S-ranker.
Being an S-ranker before even hitting his twenties was a feat so rare it was almost unheard of. Those who achieved it were declared monsters—awakeners in a league of their own.
Lucas was one of them.
After graduating from the academy, he had been training under Adrian directly to take over the family.
Lucas stopped a short distance away from Arthur.
He looked at him in silence for a moment.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
"So you finally got kicked out, huh, Arthur?"
Arthur smiled faintly.
"What can I say, brother," he replied. "I was no match for you after all."
For a second, Lucas seemed taken aback.
Arthur had answered without flinching.
He had met his eyes, calmly.
"You've changed, you weak little twerp," Lucas said with a small smile. "Where did you get all that confidence from?"
"Well, brother," Arthur said, "seeing as I'll have to lift my own weight from now on… I figured it's time to be mature."
Lucas kept staring at him.
Inside, his expression did not change.
But his thoughts moved quickly.
'Scan him. See if you can find any anomalies.'
A cold, hidden voice responded in his mind.
[ Beginning the scan process… ]
Moments passed.
[ Scan complete. No anomalies have been found. ]
[ Conclusion: The subject is not designated as a Player. ]
Lucas clicked his tongue inwardly.
'I've heard Arthur was acting differently,' he thought. 'So I came to see if he was chosen as a Player or not. But it looks like he's still just a useless weakling.'
He was about to speak again when he noticed it.
A strange, unhinged smile slowly spread across Arthur's face.
It was not the meek, apologetic smile he remembered.
It was different.
Darker.
Even Lucas flinched slightly.
"Why are you smiling like that, Arthur?" Lucas asked, frowning.
Arthur's eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.
It was the look of someone who had just found a new toy he had been eagerly waiting for.
He studied Lucas as if he were prey Or rather… a prize.
'The first other Player I encounter is none other than my brother, huh.'
His grin widened.
-------
A/N : -
How was the Chapter tell me in the comment section.
'Looks like my luck isn't that bad after all.'