3 Setting Off
Flashback- In another meeting room of the Stardia estate.
Chloe was trying her absolute hardest not to throw a fit. Since the first words, the woman uttered she's wanted to raise hell upon her.
When she had first met her husband she had fallen for his soft-spoken and kind personality. It wasn't until after that she learned of Agatha.
She was never one to hold back her words in front of anyone but the way her husband begged her not to do anything held her back.
Her husband was an idiot, he let this woman run not only his life but affect the lives of the entire family… it was pathetic.
But NOW. She was starting to wonder what the hell past her was thinking for even getting involved with the man. ESPECIALLY after the words shared between both Agatha and him.
"That boy. Noir. I think it's about time you consider his future. Right, Felix?" Agatha after running out of insults for the man got down to what brought her here.
"Y-yes." Felix not knowing where this was going just nodded robotically.
"Stop stuttering you sound like a frightened child." Agatha reprimanded him. "Well then. I'm sure you understand but his options are very limited, especially considering how useless you are, I'm sure you can't find the funds to send him to the academy."
To that Chloe narrowed her eyes while Felix just looked down in shame not wanting to meet either of the woman's eyes.
"Exactly as I thought, with how much of a failure you are as a parent, I will, being the kind-hearted person I am, lend a helping hand to your poor self." Agatha like she was a saint opened her arms wide and smiled.
The words and gesture caused Felix to shudder in fear while Chloe gripped her hands in a fist tight causing her palm to turn white.
"This woman is Beatrice Rempard, a Baroness who inherited her title after her ex-husband died. She has already accepted the offer and Noir and her will be wedded upon his 16th birthday. You should be thankful for this opportunity, even if she is the same rank she is far better off than you." Agatha concluded all of this without asking either parent for any type of permission.
Looking down at the picture both parents looked at the greasy fat old hag below. She was well past her prime and had a body that most certainly looked as if she had never skipped a high-calorie meal.
"This!…" Felix's eyes went wide as he stared down at the portrait.
Chloe was well past the point of anger and it was only her sheer willpower holding her back from doing something stupid. She wouldn't willingly put her family in danger.
"Oh you know of her do you?" Agatha tried to hide her smirk behind her hand.
Beatrice Rempard. No lower-rank noble didn't know of her. Her first husband, who had gotten his rank through his father's efforts in the last war, was considered a prodigy with the sword and was already being looked at for promotion. One day though, while in combat he died from the attack of a beast. That was normal. What wasn't normal, however, were the 6 other husbands she remarried who met a similar fate as the first.
"You, you intend to have my son killed." In a rare display, Felix's face morphed into something serious.
"What was that." Agatha narrowed her eyes at the man and his attempt at competence was shattered immediately. "N-nothing."
"Well anyway, I will come back as we approach the time for the deal to come to fruition. You should really thank me, who knows what would've come of the boy if not for my generosity." With those words, they all left the room and headed to the door.
Technically nothing legally binding has yet to come, but they were both sure Agatha wouldn't hold out on that for too long.
…
As Felix recounted this to Noir and Alice he kneeled on his hands and knees and lowered his head.
With each sentence, Noir's gaze turned fiercer until eventually he was outright glaring at the man.
"Please. Please. PLEASE. FORGIVE ME!" Felix begged Noir.
Alice had already fallen to the ground crying and saying unintelligible words.
Chloe on the other hand was standing quite a bit farther in the back than her husband. Her eyes were unfocused and tears were falling down her cheek.
With a sigh of exasperation, Noir walked right past his father. Each step the he approached his mother was one where her eyes began to clear.
Without a word, he hugged her. His small frame only reached to her chest but he embraced her tightly.
That was enough for Chloe to fall to her knees. Her sobs became audible.
"NOIR! I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING." Chloe sobbed like a child into her son's stomach as she came to understand that she was just as useless as her husband. She didn't do anything to stop the situation even momentarily.
"It is ok, it's not your fault Mom." Noir tried his best to appease her.
…
(Noir POV)
We didn't have dinner that night. We were all too in shock to get together like we normally would.
Felix kept begging for my forgiveness but it was too much of a tall order for me at the moment. Hell, it was beyond me to even mention that man as my father at the moment.
'How the hell did he even last as nobility for this long.'
Trying my best to put that all out of my mind, I looked at the girl next to me. Alice had been crying uncontrollably all night until she passed out in my bed. This girl was suffering even more than me.
As sad a reality it was Felix and my mother wouldn't be able to do anything. I needed to fix this situation, not just for me but for Alice and my mother as well.
Thankfully, I had already found a way.
…
(Flashback)
'Answer my question sage'
'Ask away'
'I need power, what is the best way to achieve this.'
'Throughout my life, I have come across many of such ways, though none have astounded me as that dungeon has. Travel 1034 kilometers southeast to that island which remains unknown. There you shall find your deepest desire.'
The sage had responded and knowing what worlds had been adapted into this reality, I already had an inkling of what was awaiting me.
I tried my best to endure the headache that came after and when it had died down I had asked for clarification on the exact location of the island.
…
(Present)
With that, I had a way, now I just needed the means to get there. Thankfully my father had inherited two ships from the previous generation, both very low quality but functional nonetheless.
I had no plans of informing them of my departure, there was too much tension in the air and I'm sure my mother and Alice would throw a fit.
Unfortunately, it wasn't like I could just leave as of now. This world had monsters, and I was completely untrained and had no way to deal with them.
I'd need time to overcome those problems before I set out. Stockpiling food, water, and other resources. Training and getting stronger. It was all inevitable on this journey I needed and desired to set out on.
…
And so I did exactly that. With the help of the Sage, I was able to gather a lot of information not only about how I could best make use of these few months but also about myself.
From what I could remember from the series, there existed two types of humans in this world. Those of old and those of new. The old humans were those incapable of magic, and instead had great success with science and technology. Those of new humans were those who were capable of magic.
Somewhere along the arrival of the new humans were those that had a particular ability/skill. This was relatively rare in that time period and only seemed to get rarer as generations passed until eventually, they had died off completely.
As for me, I was one such person who held a skill, that being the skill [Mediocre Sage]. He also informed me that my composition was that of a new human with old human DNA. The reason why for either was something Sage couldn't answer.
I held the capacity for magic like new humans did, yet was biologically a half-breed. In my opinion, it was perfect, though I'm sure the Sage disagreed. He seemed to hold a particular dislike for new humans, though didn't actively antagonize me. Though he did get a bit sassy.
'It's fine, I guess that's what makes him a Mediocre Sage.'
Throughout the year and a half, I trained I learned the use of magic and its complexity. I trained my body daily and grew to a level incomparable to who I was when I first got here.
Whether it was enough was something I wasn't sure of, but I was tired of waiting. It was time to go.
My family had slightly improved since previously. The relationship between my mother and Felix had strained immensely to the point where it would be a genuine question to any outsider if the two were even married. Alice herself started to despise the man a bit and actively avoided him.
She seemed to have decided to put her effort into helping my situation herself, trying to force knowledge of politics into her brain.
As for my dad… he was still the same old. I was a bit disappointed, to be honest, I didn't expect him to be this much of a coward. He did nothing to seriously dissuade the woman even after she visited two more times.
She wasn't even a part of this family, yet she somehow had so much control over him for a reason none of us knew.
…
It was the night of a full moon that I decided to depart.
I had to convince Alice to sleep in her own room as she had been bunking with me for a while. The now 11-year-old girl hadn't changed at all from last year and still decided her brother's room was now hers as well.
My first move was to write a letter to my family. I placed it down at the dining room table in a place I know they'd see.
I then went outside into the forest and retrieved the food and water from where I hid it. It was quite a lot, mostly just canned stuff and bottles. Stuff that wouldn't expire for a while. I had attempted my hand at spatial magic but nearly lost an arm in the process.
'Not a fun time.'
I loaded everything into the ship I had decided to borrow. It was indeed cramped, but there was enough room.
I brought a few pairs of clothes but I wouldn't waste much water on cleaning them. It was going to be a hard next couple of months.
Like that, with a compass in hand, I departed from the Stardia estate, determined to come back a new man.
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AN: I'm aware this very similarly resembles the original and yes I'm aware. It is intentional. I have changed quite a bit about the information of the original to compensate for my inclusion of the other work. I am sure that there are a lot of errors in this work that I may need to mend in the future. Until then I hope you enjoy and keep reading.
