However, any protection has its limits. Now, Mr. Aurelius, Robert, intended to annul his engagement with Layla in order to elevate his concubine to the position of lawful wife.
Back then, his marriage with Layla had been said to be built on love. But in the end, even love faded away.
Nick looked back on himself in those memories. Being held underwater until he nearly suffocated. Being forced to crawl on his hands toward food. Being mocked and toyed with like an idiot.
They said it was just children playing pranks. Yet as he grew up, those "pranks" did not lessen at all. Instead, they only increased, becoming even more malicious and more subtle.
He remembered a time when Layla broke down crying right in front of him. Perhaps she could no longer endure it. But at that time, Nick had been nothing more than an "empty shell without a soul". How could he have understood anything?
Perhaps Layla's tears earlier were not only from joy at hearing Nick speak, but also from grief over their fate.
Mom...
Nick thought silently. At that moment, a blue pop-up suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Hello. Your lucky reward has arrived. Please check and claim it.]
Nick immediately reached out and pressed into the empty air. At the same time, he felt his legs suddenly grow scorching hot, as if they had been plunged into molten lava. Countless ants seemed to be gnawing endlessly at his flesh, flowing along with his blood.
The pain made Nick want to scream. Yet he could only bite down on his lip until blood seeped out, silently enduring it. His hands clenched so tightly that his fingernails nearly pierced his skin.
"Hah... huff..."
He had no idea how much time passed. Nick only felt that enduring the pain made time crawl unbearably slowly.
When the searing pain finally ended, his entire body was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
Without the slightest hesitation, he stood up from the wheelchair.
At this moment, his legs were steady and strong, not shaking in the least. His head no longer hurt at all. He went straight to the wardrobe, found some clothes, and then headed into the bathroom.
Fortunately, there were still pants in the wardrobe. There were even a few very fine outfits, though they seemed to have never been worn.
Nick looked at himself in the mirror. His red hair was slicked back, his eyes were amber. His eyes and the lines of his nose strongly resembled Layla's.
His body was now covered with muscle, something his former self had never possessed.
If anyone were here, they certainly would not have been able to recognize Nick.
He put on his clothes directly. The outer layer was a black vest with gray brocade lapels adorned with luxurious patterns, while the lower half was a pair of slightly fitted trousers that outlined his long, slender legs.
Nick could not help but look at himself in the mirror once more. He was truly worlds apart from his former self. At the very least, this face would definitely attract far more favor!
After everything was settled, Nick finally turned his attention to the "compensation" mentioned earlier.
[SSS-rank Talent Awakening!]
Nick stared in shock at the cluster of cards floating around him.
Some of the cards glowed with color, while others were still gray.
But what truly stunned him was that these cards were actually the bosses he had defeated in the GC game! No one understood how they worked better than he did.
At this moment, one card lit up in front of him. On it was the image of a girl with blazing red hair. Her entire body was bathed in flames, every contour burning as fireballs hovered around her.
[Continuously increase your renown. The more people who bear witness to your power, the more cards will be unlocked!]
The explanatory voice left behind this final line before disappearing.
Nick stared blankly at the card floating before him.
Continuously increase his renown? He chuckled, only then noticing that Layla still had not returned since earlier.
Tch. Looks like it's time to raise his renown, starting with this ugly, rotten family of his.
With that thought, Nick sat back down in the wheelchair, draped a thin cloth over his legs, and slowly wheeled himself out.
But before he could open the door, it swung open right in front of him. The person who came in did not even bother knocking, striding in arrogantly.
Facing Nick head-on, the male servant could not help but pause for a moment. It felt strange. Had Nick always been like this before?
But his past sense of superiority quickly took over, and he raised his voice. "The family head summoned you to the main hall. There's something to discuss. Hurry up!"
Then he sneered. "Oh right, I forgot. You don't even have legs."
As he spoke, he kicked Nick's wheelchair hard, shoving Nick's head to one side as he laughed. "Useless trash!"
With that, he quickly pushed Nick along.
Obviously, being a mere male servant yet able to bully a young master who was supposed to be above him filled the man with an overwhelming sense of pleasure.
Nick also recognized him as the male servant who served his half-brother, Lucen. Normally, he always followed Lucen's orders to humiliate Nick.
The family head wanted to see him? That was probably related to the fact that Layla still had not returned.
Nick lowered his eyes, hiding the emotions within. Fine. The more people, the better. Today, he would settle everything in one go.
The grand hall was designed with a vast courtyard outside. Inside was a spacious chamber, with a red-carpeted walkway running through it. Seats were arranged on both sides, and at the highest position stood a single chair reserved for the head of the family. On either side of it were the seats for the family's mistresses, the wives of the family head.
There should have been only one such seat, yet now there were two. Layla sat on one side, while the other was occupied by Lucen's mother, Ariana.
Robert had three other wives as well. Among them, the third and fourth wives had always supported Ariana, while only the fifth wife had never expressed a stance.
Seated below were the younger generation of the Aurelius family of this era, along with today's guest.
The second young lady of the Valerius family, one of the three foremost families of Talentia.
She was said to have been engaged to Nick since before birth, yet no one had expected Nick to be born crippled and dull-witted. From a young age, Tina had been extremely dissatisfied with this engagement and had favored Lucen instead. Thus, today's situation came to be.
She wanted to annul her engagement with Nick and replace him with Lucen.
"My father is already on his way here! For now, I'll speak on his behalf. I don't like Nick! I want to break off the engagement!" Tina sat in her chair, arms crossed irritably as she declared.
The people in the hall could not help but chuckle, making little effort to hide their amusement.
Layla frowned. "Tina, matters of engagement aren't something that can be decided with just a few words."
Of course, she knew her son was flawed. She had never hoped Nick could give any girl a happy home. If Tina had come respectfully and without making a scene, Layla might have simply agreed.
But Tina had dragged the entire family here, not only to break off the engagement with Nick but also to announce an engagement with Lucen on the same day. It was no different from slapping Layla across the face, showing utter contempt for both her and her son.
"I never liked Nick in the first place. This was all forced on us by the elders. Breaking it off now is only natural!" Tina said loudly.
Ariana, seated to the side, also smiled as she said, "Layla, Tina is right. Besides, with Nick like this... we really shouldn't make things difficult for the girl."
Layla looked at Ariana's falsely pleasant smile and silently clenched her fists.
It all sounded so reasonable, so well justified. But if Nick had not been born disabled, would any of this have happened?
It was all her fault. Her fault for not being able to give Nick a healthy body.
Layla lowered her eyes, unwilling to let others see the weakness buried deep inside her.
Robert spoke up at this moment as well. "That's right, Tina. Regarding this matter, we should still wait until your father arrives before discussing it further."
Hearing this, Ariana could not help but frown and tug lightly at her husband's sleeve.
Robert immediately shot her a glare, warning her.
It was as if Ariana had only just remembered where they were. She hurriedly withdrew her hand.
In truth, Robert did not particularly like Ariana's foolishness. With Nick being cast aside, they naturally had to seize this opportunity to extract as many benefits as possible from the Valerius family. Yet Ariana was foolishly eager to rush everything through.
However, the Aurelius family was showing signs of decline. Lucen was the son with the highest-ranked Talent. Robert naturally had to secure Lucen's loyalty to the family.
As for Layla, she clearly possessed powerful Talent herself. Yet for some reason, she had given birth to a child like Nick.
Stripping her of power was only fitting.
"Nick is here."
At that moment, Lucen suddenly spoke, the corners of his thin lips curling into an amused smile.
Layla turned her head and, sure enough, saw Nick being pushed in from outside.
She could not help but clench her fists. "Who allowed you to bring Nick here?!"
Lucen said innocently, "Nick is the one whose engagement is being broken. He deserves to know about this too."
Layla clenched her fists tightly and stood up directly. Flames flared to life in her palm as she growled lowly, "You ungrateful brat!"
She was about to lose everything anyway. Today, she would burn it all down!
"Layla!"
Robert roared. But the massive fireball in Layla's hand had already shot straight toward Lucen!
Lucen panicked. No one present had expected Layla to suddenly attack.
For so long, she had endured humiliation for Nick's sake that they had almost forgotten she was also an Awakened with a rank B Talent!
Back in her youth, it had been Layla's power and beauty that had conquered Robert.
Now, as the blazing fireball was about to swallow Lucen whole, amid the screams of the others, Robert raised his hand. A transparent, golden barrier instantly formed in front of Lucen, blocking the fireball's assault!