Breakfast

It was the last Friday of May. The weather was nice, neither too hot nor too cold, and the sun barely peeked through the serene sky. A cool breeze blew across Aiken City, creating a cozy atmosphere. Early risers were already hustling down the streets, the streetlights had been turned off, and the occasional car sped past the few horse-drawn carriages on the road. It was an utterly ordinary morning.

At 17 Black Rose Avenue stood the residence of Mr. Markus, the Deputy Mayor of Aiken City and a Count in the Empire. From afar, it appeared as a massive and luxurious villa. Its deep red bricks formed a traditional facade that was far from ostentatious, exuding an air of grandeur and authority.

Inside the villa, in the dining room, a long table was set, illuminated by a chandelier overhead. Aside from a few ornaments, there was nothing else in the room.

At the moment, a family of four was gathered around the table for breakfast. Sitting at the head of the table on the left was the master of the house, Count Markus.

He was as rumored: young, handsome, charismatic, and gentlemanly. His white suit made him look exceptionally affable, and his demeanor was such that it naturally drew people in. With his high-ranking position and ownership of several valuable machinery factories, he had rightfully earned his reputation. His short, golden hair, a well-trimmed beard, and those unforgettable silver eyes added to his allure.

These were not eyes a pure human could possess. Considering his untraceable background and noble title, anyone with a bit of sense could guess that this 'slender' nobleman was a creature with extraordinary power.

At the moment, the Count was demonstrating his difference from ordinary humans. In his left hand, he held a stack of bread slices as high as an adult's arm; in his right, a newly opened bottle of orange jam, half of which had already disappeared, and before him, a large cup of milk.

Within a short time, the Count had elegantly devoured the stack of bread. He then picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, looking as though he hadn't had his fill...

Sitting next to the Count was a lady of breathtaking allure, a combination of a young girl's beauty and the mature charm of a woman. Her cascading blood-red hair, lips and eyes of the same hue, and tiny, sharp, white teeth marked her as another being far from normal.

Nicole Von Dreyer had made the Count, once known for his romantic escapades, a faithful husband. She was the daughter of a Grand Duke, holding a noble title herself. Whispered rumors told of her long-standing position among the top ten beauties in the empire, and she hadn't fallen out of the top thirty even now. She was considered the most beautiful goddess in Aiken City, capable of taking one's breath away with a single glance, as well as being the biggest board member of the 'Red Sheep Gummies Company'! Well, the last part could be omitted...

Unlike the Count's extravagant display, Nicole had only two things before her: two bright red apples and a cup of deep red drink, from which a sweet, bloody scent wafted, mixed with the aroma of fruits. It was likely the famous cocktail 'Bloody Mary,' perhaps?

At the moment, Nicole was nibbling on an apple with graceful bites, a smile on her face as she watched the two children opposite her. One older, one younger, the older was the Count's eldest son, and the younger was her biological daughter.

Directly across from Nicole was her younger daughter,Dorothy Von Dreyer B., a seven-year-old little girl. Using a letter instead of a surname was a tradition in the Count's family. As for what the 'B' stood for, that would be told after she turned thirteen.

Just like her mother,Dorothy had a sweet, adorable appearance: big eyes brimming with moisture, a head of bright red hair, crimson lips and eyes, sharp little fangs, healthy white skin, and a pair of black bat wings that she flapped in the air.

At that moment, the little girl, who was paying her respects to the Count, was joyously munching on a whole large basin of cotton candy, her bat wings fluttering. Yes, calling her food portion a 'basin' might seem rude, but the container in front ofDorothy could indeed be used for fishing or even washing children's faces.

Beside her left hand, there was a drink identical to Nicole's. Looking at the fluttering bat wings behind the little girl, it was likely that this beverage was fresh blood mixed with juice, a far cry from a genuine 'Bloody Mary.'

Next to this vampire loli, opposite the Count, was the most unique member of the family. The Count's eldest son, thirteen-year-old Caesar Markus B., was, like his father,

 a creature different from humans and vampires.

Caesar had a head of long silver hair that reached his waist, silver eyes like the Count's, and a handsome face that made it impossible to ignore him. If it weren't for his age, one might assume he was a pretty, delicate girl due to his beauty. However, this beauty hid his true identity.

There were no wings behind him or any sign of vampire teeth when he opened his mouth. In fact, he appeared quite human, except for a set of silver cutlery floating around him. Forks, spoons, knives, and even a small cup for milk floated in the air, moving on their own accord.

In front of Caesar was a wide array of breakfast items: bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, sandwiches, salads, and fruits. Different from the Count's single type of food, the boy had a rich variety. 

It seemed that this young master was a foodie. With each bite he took, his expression indicated that he was seriously tasting the food, like a professional critic. Every now and then, he would nod or shake his head, seemingly giving scores.

In summary, this was a family of four with extraordinary members: a father who could eat a mountain of bread, a mother and daughter who drank blood, and a son who used telekinesis to feed himself. They weren't humans, at least not entirely. They were beings who stood at the apex of the food chain, enjoying their breakfast.

As they ate, the room was filled with a harmonious atmosphere. It was a picture of an unusual family sharing a meal, basking in the warmth of their bond. 

There are many reasons why Caesar is special.

 First of all, underneath the same long golden hair as the earl, there was a pair of unusually dark eyes. Judging from his hair, Cesar was indeed the earl's father, but his strange-colored pupils proved that he did not inherit the earl's powerful bloodline. Caesar has always been thinking about his father: "A son who cannot show off his own bloodline, well..., I can only say that his mother's bloodline is better." ' But this was enough to embarrass the earl, but he never showed it. Well, my father is indeed a good father!

 Secondly, Caesar has no mother. In other words, his mother has passed away. From the moment he could remember, he had no memory of his mother. He heard from an old servant that his mother died in childbirth on the day he was born. When she was four years old, Nicole married into the Earl's family without any disdain and loved and protected the young lady like her biological mother.

 This is not just an act. In the eight years since Dorothy was born until now, Nicole has not shown the slightest sign of her cruel stepmother. Calculating the time, there are still four years left. If the slow Nicole doesn't hurry up, then she will never have the chance to experience what it feels like to be an 'evil stepmother'? But Cesar estimates that even in another ten years, she will still look like this. Although she is a vampire, she is a very kind person! Drinking human blood regularly every day does not count...

 In short, compared with the count's family of three, he felt that he was redundant no matter how he looked at it. The only thing that made Caesar feel relieved was that the other three didn't see it that way.

 Finally, there is a pair of small tapered horns on Caesar's head, which are pitch black and not long, only about an inch. This thing grew automatically when he slept at night when he celebrated his seventh birthday. It did not affect normal life, but coupled with his pale skin, Dorothy said, "You are more like a ghost than me."

"My own father doesn't have horns on his head, so this thing must be a gift left by my mother. Comparing with the books I've read over the years, the young Cesar always fantasized, wondering if he has a Charm race mother who is even more beautiful than Nicole. Where did my wings and tail go? My dad's lineage is not weak, it actually weakened my mom's bloodline so much!

Cesar had repeatedly asked his father about these horns, but the Count always spoke ambiguously and ultimately evaded the question. However, judging from the demeanor the aunt, these horns are not a big deal. If discovered by outsiders, they wouldn't be treated as 'monsters' and sent to the Divine Church for purification or put in the city zoo for people to visit.

But from their secretive attitudes, these horns are still connected to many things. Could it be because I'm young, so they don't want to say more? Is this like that 'secret of an adolescent boy'? Cesar speculated in this way...

The above points are what outsiders see as the most special about Cesar. There's one more thing that Cesar himself feels makes him different from ordinary people.

If there really are 'transmigrators' in this universe, then he is half one, or maybe not even half. Although he's not clear about his exact species, Cesar is very sure that he's definitely not from the benevolent camp in knight novels. That never-appearing mother seems to have left him some incredible talent.

Starting five years ago, when horns grew on his head, he would often fall into trances, acquiring snippets of memory that didn't belong to him, and even this world, fragments of information about 'Earth'.

From the age of seven, whenever Cesar saw certain specific things, a flood of unrelated memories would surge in his mind. For example, once when he saw a car passing on the road, his mind would be filled with irrelevant things like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc. After reading 'mouse' in a language textbook, terms like rodents, infectious diseases, malaria, etc., would appear, whether they existed in this world or not.

Initially, this confusion scared the young Cesar, making normal life impossible. But as time passed, he got used to it, and even fell in love with this sensation. Acquiring a large amount of useless knowledge in a short time was a very interesting thing, incomprehensible to ordinary people.

These filtered memories didn't carry any subjective colors, similar to third-person videos without personal emotions, and didn't affect his mind. The content of the memories was even more bizarre, more interesting than gossip newspapers written by goblins, such as 'Hello, world', '42', 'Beam me up, Scotty', 'Luke, I am your father', 'Hasta la vista, baby', concepts surpassing alchemy like 'nuclear bombs', 'talent'-like superpowers, absurd-looking 'magic', incomprehensible 'computers', and so on...

With the help of these trivial memories, Cesar, who often daydreamed with his eyes open, quickly surpassed most students in his class, becoming an existence that dominated the school with his excellent grades. Of course, these fragmented memories could only help him reign over elementary school. As for the future, that would depend on his own efforts...

Regarding these 'fragmented memories', Cesar naturally associated them with the term 'transmigration'. At this moment, Cesar, who was devouring bread while leaning over the table, was rolling his eyes trying to recall the 'X-Men' series he had merged with yesterday. "Tsk, all these amazing abilities, I hope my second 'talent' could be so powerful!"

Watching their lovely children wolfing down breakfast that would terrify other kids, the Count felt very gratified and thought smugly: "Only by eating more can they develop well! I hope my son will be as handsome as me, and my daughter as beautiful as her mother!"

After taking a sip of milk, the Count finally spoke. He looked at his son, whose eyes were dull and who had started daydreaming again, sighed, and said, "Cesar, you're almost thirteen. This is a crucial time. If some abnormalities occur in your body, don't be nervous or scared. Just relax, just like when you were seven..."

"Oh? Some abnormalities? Dad, why don't you speak more clearly? Beating around the bush, is it something indescribable, a secret?" Dorothy, who was fighting crazily with marshmallows while lying on the table, shouted, then raised her little head to look at her brother, and said with a grin, "Big bro, you're almost thirteen... Oh! Is it some 'secret of adolescent boys' that's hard to mention?"

Hearing his sister's question, Cesar rolled his eyes and cursed, "Stupid bat, what do you know! 'Unspeakable boy secrets', you're only seven, where did you learn this stuff?"

" "Cough, Dorothy, shut up. Your mother will have a heart-to-heart talk with you later. Don't come crying to me," the Count said, rubbing his stiff face, and continued, "I didn't make it clear just now, let me explain. I mean, you've reached puberty, and some changes in your body are normal. Specifically, it's like when your horns grew... Just remember, no matter what happens, tell me and your mother immediately. We'll handle it together, understand?"

"Oh, is that so..." Cesar murmured, not very convinced, "Is it really that simple?" He recalled the bizarre and secretive attitudes of his family members when discussing his horns and the unknown memories, feeling that this matter was not as simple as his father described.

But Cesar didn't continue questioning. He knew that even if he asked, it would be difficult to get a clear answer from his father, who had always been mysterious about these issues.

He could only hope that the changes his father mentioned would really be as ordinary as puberty growth, and not lead to some dramatic turn of events, like those experienced by the protagonists in novels. Because, based on his 'fragmented memories', every dramatic change led to a life full of troubles and challenges, and Cesar, who preferred a peaceful life, definitely didn't want that.