Golden rays of sunlight poured through the verdant leaves of the garden trees, shining upon the two children seated in the balcony of a grand grey mansion.
The little girl pouted as she began to rearrange the chess pieces back into position on the board. She had lustrous silver hair that fell straight down her shoulders. They framed a round, kind face that exuded the very image of childish innocence. She had that kind of face that instinctively made you want to pinch her cheeks and protect her with your life. She was just that cute.
"You're lying, how can you lose your eye in a bet? What kind of creep would even take someone's eyes? That's just gross."
The boy just shrugged with a sad smile, scratching at the sides of his bandages.
"Ah, what kind of creep indeed. I wish I could really see the look on your face right now...or anything at all. But unfortunately, I'm blind."
Her lips twitched at that.
"That apparently doesn't stop you from beating me at chess."
"Oh, is that jealousy I hear, my dear Rinae?"
"You're hearing things again, master."
"Oh, my mistake then." He said dryly before moving a pawn forward.
"Hmph, I'm definitely beating you this time." Rinae said confidently as she moved her piece.
Yet only a few minutes later, she slammed her hands down on the table in outrage.
Looking at all the black pieces laid to rest at the side of the board, she seemed like she was genuinely about to cry.
"You're cheating." She said through gritted teeth, her eyes watering.
"Now, now c-calm down, Rinae. It's just a game." He tried to diffuse the situation before she blew.
"Another one! And I must win this time!" She said fiercely, her eyes staring at him so intensely, he could feel her gaze despite his blindness.
"Sure. Sure." He said nervously, though his voice carried a bit of warmth in it.
'Jeez, such a baby.'
[You're younger than her.] An aloof voice seemed to say from somewhere behind him.
'You be quiet.' he replied instantly, not in the mood.
Rinae seemed to notice his annoyance and looked at him quizzically.
"Master, what's wrong?" She asked worriedly, her tone casual despite him being her master.
"Huh? Oh, nothing." He brushed it off and moved a piece, accidentally eliminating Rinae's Queen. She looked at him darkly, causing him to gulp and scramble to cancel his move. Instead, he moved the piece directly in front of the Queen, causing her to smile as she happily knocked it off the board.
Sighing, he let her win the rest of the matches for the day before she was finally satisfied.
She then paused, tilting her head backwards at if suddenly remembering something.
"Oh, my. It's already an hour past your tea time."
"You forgot?" He asked, his expression strange as he 'stared' at his supposed personal maid.
She then stood up and walked to the side of the room, bringing with her a tray of tea and cookies.
She expertly poured a cup of tea for him and set the cookies before him.
He picked up the cup, taking a moment to inhale the sweet fragrance. He then sipped the cup slowly, taking his time to savour the taste.
Rinae, who stood beside him watched silently in exasperation as he surely took his sweet time.
After a full three minutes, he finally finished the cup, causing her to exhale in relief.
But then he moved on to the cookies. He took a single bite out of it and paused.
"Huh? This tastes... different from usual."
Rinae beamed as she watched him down the rest in a single bite.
"Yeah, I made those myself. Do you like them?"
The boy beamed as he shoved the rest into his mouth in quick succession, emptying the plate in just a few moments.
Licking his fingers, he grinned widely as he turned to face her.
"These are the best cookies I've had in five years. Make them tomorrow too."
Rinae beamed with joy, her eyes practically glowing.
"Yes, master!"
After exchanging a few more words with Rinae, he left the balcony and walked to his room. Looking up, he admired the magnificent architecture of the mansion.
Or at least pretended to.
Meanwhile, he was having a mental arguement with his resident headache.
[The fuck?! What did you put in your mouth?]
The boy simply smiled innocently.
'What do you mean? Didn't you enjoy the cookies Rinae made?'
[You... I'm doing you a favour here.]
His smile grew a little forced, his lips twitching at the blatant shamelessness of the being.
'By using what little usable existence I had to hijack my sense of taste too? Well, thank you very much for that.'
As the voice was about to retort, he simply tuned it out and walked through the large halls of the mansion, his steps ringing out clearly in the silence.
A regular blind person would need a guide to navigate their way through the mansion but he already had a rough outline of what it looked like, mostly from Rinae's animated descriptions.
High vaulted ceilings, carved with intricate depictions of the war of Novarion. Murals showcasing prominent figures of the clan were hung along most of the walls. Rows of suits of armour were placed at regular intervals along some corridors, giving the place a Victorian feeling.
The place seemed more like a museum than a mansioneant for a noble.
Despite his blindness, he could easily find his way around the halls due to having lived here his entire life. He turned a corner and was met with an inner courtyard where a stone statue of the first patriarch stood, his sword stabbed into the ground before him.
The man depicted was clad in a gilded high-collared cloak which seemed to have been captured fluttering in the breeze.
The craftsmanship was impeccable, each edge and curve clearly carved with a passion that seemed borderline obsessive.
'Boring.'
Counting the steps, he finally reached his room.
The decor was modest, as far as modest went for major families such as the Ashborn. It comprised of a large yet simple bed, desk, and two cushioned seats facing the wide window. An oak-carved door led to a wide bathroom.
Normally, such meager designs would be unfit for his standards but it wasn't like he could appreciate the aesthetic anyway.
The boy collapsed on the bed wearily, his bones aching terribly from the walk.
"Ah...this shit really hurts."
[If I had a dime for every time you said that...]
"You would have used that instead of my freaking bloodline."
Rael sat upright after a moment and walked up to the full length mirror on the other side of his room.
He tucked his finger between the folds of the cloth covering his eyes, unravelling it carefully.
"Honestly...this is so wrong."
[Hmm? I think you look quite nice.] The voice said flatly.
"Shut it." He said angrily as the blindfold fell away.
He looked into the mirror, of at least faced it. A young child with neatly combed white hair and a pale complexion stared back blankly at him. He was dressed in a grey high-collared jacket zipped all the way up.
[Aaah~]
Rael shuddered as he felt a wave of something resembling obsession pass through him, causing him to turn away from the mirror.
"What the fuck! Stop moaning!"
[Child, you're hearing things.] The voice replied, suddenly reverting to her usual aloof tone.
He clicked his tongue before picking up the blindfold and wrapping it around his eyes.
"This sucks."
Lying on his bed, he suddenly felt a strange sense of melancholy. It had been six years since he had reincarnated into this world. Within that timr, he had learnt that he was born as the last son of the Patriarch of the Ashborn family.
Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of his birth, he was somehow born without a shred of mana in his body as well as having a weak constitution. Because of this, he had been cast aside since birth and exiled into this old manor to be forgotten by the world.
The place didn't even have proper services.
Disregarding the lazy sentries that barely did any true work, the only people who resided in the manor aside from him were Rinae and her mother, Alice as well as a few other servants.
'Ah, that's right. Miss Alice will be coming back today.'
Still, he didn't bother to get out of bed but instead curled deeper into it.
"This really sucks."
His body, mind and soul were a mess.
He had temporarily lost his eyes to defeat Euphoria as well as his ability to wield mana. Looking back on it, that second condition might have been a little stupid in hindsight, yet he had no time to think about the future much in the middle of the fight.
[You really are a fool, you know that?]
'And you're a freaking con man.'
The worst part was the bloodline.
Right after being born, he was surprised to find himself brimming with a fiery energy, he opened his eyes to find himself wreathed in a gale of dark flames and for a moment, he thought he was going to enjoy the sweet life...
[A payment must be paid in full, child.]
Rael had to stop himself from tearing at his own skull and ripping that infuriating voice out of his head.
"Huuu, I need some Rinae right about now."
[You're getting addicted to that...] The voice said, it's voice laced with a hint of disapproval.
Rael sighed heavily as he felt the eerie thrum of Euphoria's fragment pulsing in the depths of his soul.
He could literally feel the disapproval and revulsion of the technique spirit, showing how much she disliked it, yet Rael didn't care much.
"I wouldn't be if you weren't so annoying and gave me back my bloodline, you scammer."
[Do not push your luck, child. And I have a name. It's Koe.]
"As do I. Ender Deth Ashborn." He said.
"..."
[...]
"Did you take that from DDS?"