What does it mean… to be noble?
Is it the blood that flows within you? … Or the ring that shines on your finger?
Is it the way others look at you? … Or the way you look at them?
…
Sever sat in the darkness, staring at his reflection through his luxurious glass cup.
"Ruling over people doesn't mean you understand their pain... I've never felt it myself."
"I used to think justice comes from the throne, but I ignored the steps to achieve it. Words have weight to those beneath it."
He ran his fingers across the sword hanging next to him, touching the crest of his family that built this continent stone by stone, so it may be ruled by peace.
"What kind of stone is this? We were the ones who built the walls… and they are now pounding on them violently."
A scream… continuous banging… something breaks behind the door.
He stood up, his cloak swaying behind him. His face didn't carry anger… but disappointment.
He approached the closed door, placing his palm on it gently, as if touching a forgotten grave.
"I was their shield..." he whispered.
"I was the shadow they turned to… the support they leaned on… and now I'm the monster in their eyes."
A blow exploded with force.
"How many are there? Tens? Hundreds? All of them?"
"These are not strangers… these are my people."
From behind the door, the voice of a child shouts:
"Open the door before he escapes!"
He slowly raised his sword, then returned it to its sheath.
Not yet.
There's still something else.
He remembered the forbidden spell, the one that could fix everything. A spell engraved in his memory, surrounded by the curse of time.
He headed toward his vault that no one had ever dared to touch, a vault no one but him knew its contents.
He opened all its drawers, searching for something, forgetting even that he had put it there. His lips were repeating a sentence an uncountable number of times:
"Ash, wing of the shadow gull, noble blood."
He held the ash pouch in his left hand and bit the tip of his right finger to fulfill the spell's requirements.
He mixed the ash with his blood and smeared the gull's wing with the mixture. Beside him, there was a glass filled with water, placed on his wooden table made from brown oak. He poured the mixture into the water.
At first, he hesitated… but he realized the seriousness of his position.
"I am aware of its risks… but now I'm at the edge of death—no harm in taking a chance."
Once he gathered his courage, the door broke down and everyone stormed in.
"You damn bastard! Are you casting some spell to destroy your people even in your final moments?!"
One of them approached, swinging his sword intending to cut off Sever's neck…
But it was too late. Sever drank the spell at the last moment, and luckily—it worked. The place lit up with a deep crimson color. Everyone around him was stunned.
Sever's vision shifted from the scene he saw—to darkness.
"So this is the forbidden spell… a spell that numbs your body."
...
[Sever's Perspective]
At the moment I drank the elixir, my vision turned into pitch-black. I couldn't hear or see. All I felt was a terrible pain in my body. It felt like my joints were tearing and my insides twisting.
It didn't last long before my senses shifted from the miserable state I was in to numbness.
I couldn't lift my arms, nor any of my limbs. It's as if they had doubled in weight… no, as if bags of sand were tightly tied to every part of my body.
Light? I felt pain in my eyes. The darkness began to fade.
It wasn't a bad feeling… it was comfortable. Like swimming through a breeze of wind.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw a man—no, a young man—holding me in his arms.
How could he carry me so easily? Doesn't he know who I am?
"Dear… he looks like you!"
Don't be foolish. How could I resemble commoners like you?
If only you knew my status, you would kiss my feet.
"I see that too."
He was with someone with a feminine voice. I slowly moved my eyes toward the source… that person turned out to be a woman.
I won't deny it—she really does look like me.
Who are these people? And what is this fancy place? It resembles my former lair.
I felt an itch on my head. I raised my hand toward that area—
When I lifted it, I glimpsed my hand and was shocked.
This is not the hand that spilled the blood of many! It looks like the hand of an infant.
What happened? Was all this because of the spell?
I thought it would rewind time just a little…
But I didn't imagine it would take me back decades.
It took me a long time to understand the situation I was in—
Until I realized something. These are my parents?!?
I stared at them slowly… trying to memorize the shape of their faces.
A wave of happiness and sorrow overwhelmed me. I couldn't even describe the situation I was in.
They look different from the moments we shared together.
I missed you. How could I forget the beauty of your faces?
I remember my uncle took me in at the age of five.
Once, when I was fifteen, I asked him about my parents. He told me they had died on their way to the northern continent by bandits.
They had gone to spread peace… by forming relationships with the kingdoms there.
As a king in my former world, I saw that making alliances with other continents was dangerous—
Ruling one continent alone is no easy task.
But my current goal isn't to live a happy life—
It's to protect the ones I love.
"Gwah."
Damn… this awful sound will haunt me for years.
I heard my mother giggle and take me from my father's arms, then she began playing gently with my hands.
"Are you hungry, my son?"
"Before that, dear… what should we name our child?"
"As we agreed before—it will be 'Sever'."
My doubt faded. They truly are my parents.
They both looked at me, and my father said:
"From now on, you will be called 'Sever L. Valtorin'."
My mother echoed after him,
"Welcome!"
How I wished to live this moment called 'family warmth'. I never imagined it would be this beautiful.
To be loved by those who understand your weakness…
Not by those who place their weakness in you.
It's… comforting.
In my previous life, I never felt comfort. I fought wars, fulfilled my people's demands, and trained to grow stronger.
I never wanted anyone to get involved in my struggles. I carried everything on my shoulders. Fought battles for their sake.
But in the end… I was betrayed by those I sacrificed everything for.
I was obsessed with protecting those who didn't care about me.
But this time… I won't repeat that mistake.
I must make use of the chance I've been given.
I looked toward my parents.
"This time… I'll protect those who think about me."