Darian picked at the food with slow, deliberate motions.
The taste was foreign, richer than what a samurai's life had ever afforded him, yet the act of eating felt heavy.
Each swallow carried the weight of memories that weren't his, yet now lived inside his head. They were vague and most felt like missing pieces to a puzzle not yet solved. Darian closed his eyes and analyzed them.
A spoiled boy, red-faced and bitter, shouting at servants. His fists clenched in frustration as the other children conjured sparks of flames, threads of light, shimmering blades of mana. The boy could only watch because no mana stirred in his veins. He was cursed since birth.The laughter, the whispers, the disgust from his own people, they all returned to him with a sting sharper than steel. Even his own father, the Duke of Redmond, looked at him with pity and shame.
Darian paused, setting the fork down, staring at his hand. Beneath the skin of this body, he felt it: a void. Emptiness. A curse.
He leaned back, breathing slow, thoughtful.
'So Darian is a shame to his family, .... a shame to the kingdom of Redmon and now I'm him?'
Darian let out a faint dry laugh at his own thoughts.
'I don't know if this is punishment or a second chance at life'
The last of the food sat untouched as he pushed the plate away. His hunger was gone.
'What do I do now?'
Darian got up from his chair and walked toward the window. He stood before the glass pane.
The view of the estate was mesmerizing .
The rising sun spilling fire across the land. Below stretched Redmond, alive with its people. Families, merchants, soldiers.The sight was larger than any clan he had ever known from his past life.
His past life ?
His people?
An image of his burning clan, slaughtered families and an echo of their screams seared through his mind.
His hand rested against the glass, fingers curling slowly into a fist.
'I was not prepared and they died because I failed to protect them'
Regret clung to Darian.
'Maybe this is a second chance....'
'I may not have been able to save my clan in my past life,... but maybe... protecting these people is my chance for redemption'
'But first, I'll need to get stronger'
Darian turned the brass knob and stepped out of his chambers. The corridor stretched in several directions, its silence broken only by the faint echo of his steps.
Elaina stood by the door, hands folded neatly before her in quiet formality.
"Young lord," she greeted, surprise flickering in her eyes. "Is there something you need?"
His sudden appearance unsettled her since he rarely left his room.
"There is something I wish to ask," Darian's voice was subtle, yet carried a firmness that made her straighten.
"Where is the training hall?"
"The… training hall?" she asked, as though to confirm she had heard him correctly.
"Yes. The training hall," he repeated. "Could you take me there?"
"You wish to go to the training hall?"
Elaina blinked, momentarily at a loss. In all her years of service, she had never once seen him so much as hold a blade.
"Yes" Darian replied. His gaze fixated on her, unsure of why she is confused.
"As you wish, young lord."
Elaina lowered her gaze, the faintest trace of hesitation flickering across her face before she stepped forward to lead the way.
The hallways of the palace stretched long and shadowed, lined with high windows that let in narrow streams of pale light.
Tapestries hung along the stone walls, vibrant depictions of Redmond glory. Yet to Darian, the grandeur felt foreign.
As they walked, servants carrying baskets or ledgers moved quickly out of their way.
None dared speak. Their heads bowed, but not out of respect.
It was to hide the disdain etched across their faces. Darian caught it in their fleeting glances: the curl of a lip, the narrowing of an eye, the faint sneer barely contained.
He ignored it all but inwardly resented them.
Elaina guided him through the dim halls. Darian noticed she was shorter than him by more than a head, her stride quick and careful, almost birdlike in its precision. Though her stature was modest, her bearing carried the quiet weight of duty.
"Elaina, is it true that your family has served mine for generations?"
Trying to recall information from memories that wasn't his.
"Umn ...Yes, young lord"
Elaina answered, confused on why he would strike up a conversation on their way to the training hall ... or why he would ever strike up a conversation with her at all.
'What is he plotting?' She thought.
'I must keep guard up'
She wouldn't let his actions or words deceive her. She knew Darian since birth and they grew up together,... more like she grew up serving him. She knew Darian to be spoiled, shameless and cruel.
'No one can change overnight'
Her intuition sharp as ever.
"Must be tiring" Darian remarked
"It is my life's duty to serve you and your family, Young lord" Elaina intoned, not buying his sympathetic insights.
"We are here"
Elaina opened a large door.
"The Training Hall"