Several days have passed since Lord Hayes’ legendary birthday party chaos.
The lavishly carved wooden coffin is no longer in storage, but proudly displayed right next to the grandfather’s bed.
Uncle Daniel’s family had long since returned to their branch residence, escaping the increasingly unreasonable atmosphere of the main house.
Now, the day of departure to the Royal Academy has arrived.
In the front yard of the Hawthorne residence, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage bearing the house of Hawthone’s crest was parked majestically.
Duke Nathaniel, Duchess Estelle, Roveniel, and Lord Hayes stood in a full row to see off the two young men.
Duchess Estelle was seen standing at the front with teary eyes, carrying a roll of lace handkerchiefs and various bottles of health potions neatly arranged in a silver basket.
Lucien stood by the carriage door with a sour face and a lazy gaze.
In his heart, he had no heroic ambitions or desire to explore the outside world.
Lucien knew very well that the academy is the central point of the “battlefield” where important figures gather and the main storyline of YAMS began.
For the nihilist Lucien, the idea of going to the academy was a disaster.
He was perfectly comfortable living in this luxurious mansion—eating, sleeping, and enjoying the amenities of royalty without having to worry about the future, even if his family was sometimes annoying.
This morning, Lucien even openly refused, “I don’t want to go.” However, those honest words were tragically misinterpreted by his family.
Duchess Estelle immediately broke down in sobs as she held her son tightly, while Duke Nataniel patted his shoulder with tears in his eyes, thinking his youngest son was sad because he didn’t want to be separated from his family.
“Mother knows you’re devastated by being separated from home, dear.
Don’t worry, if it’s cold there, just wear this fleece robe I made,” said Duchess Estelle affectionately as she tucked various bottles of vitamins into Lucien’s robe.
“I know it’s hard for you to leave home, Lucien.
But for the sake of your future, you must go to the academy,” Duke Nathaniel added with emotion.
Even Lord Hayes and Roveniel were wiping the dry corners of their eyes, thinking their beloved grandson and little brother loved their grandfather so much they were reluctant to leave.
Lucien could only stare at them blankly, feeling it was futile to explain that he was simply too lazy to go to the academy.
Meanwhile, Reichardt was smiling broadly.
As the third-year older brother, he felt this was a golden opportunity to enjoy time with his younger brother during the long journey without the interference of the rest of the family.
The carriage began to move away from the Hawthornle residence gates.
Inside the plush, spacious cabin, Lucien said little.
He sat motionless, staring blankly out the window, only occasionally responding to Reichardt’s enthusiastic chatter, who was trying to grab his attention.
Seeing his brother remain silent, Reichardt felt a mixture of exasperation and stress.
However, Lucien’s main reason for his silence wasn’t anger or sadness, but rather a sudden severe headache, unaccustomed to the shaking of the carriage.
The long journey was finally completed in a day.
As soon as the carriage stopped in the main courtyard of the Royal Academy, Reichardt gracefully got out first and opened the door to help his brother.
Lucien came down with a lazy step, his face pale, and the absolute intention of immediately finding a dormitory room to lie down.
Reichardt, who had been watching his brother, realized that Lucien was not well.
Cold sweat was dripping down his younger brother’s forehead.
However, it wasn’t solely due to his dizziness, but rather because he was too hot from wearing a thick hooded robe to cover his striking appearance.
After Reichardt helped him down from the horse carriage, a rapid footstep suddenly rushed from the direction of the gate.
Bruk!
The figure lunged at Lucien mercilessly, hugging him so tightly that the oxygen supply in his lungs seemed to be squeezed out.
“Lucien!” exclaimed a voice that sounded foreign but felt very familiar.
It was Rose—a girl with long brown hair and amber eyes who was now a third-year student.
A startled Reichardt immediately panicked and tried to pry Rose away from his brother.
“Hey, let go!
You’ll suffocate my brother before he even gets to the dorm!” As he was hugged tightly, nearly exhausted feeling his breath fade, Lucien’s consciousness drifted.
His head was suddenly struck by a flash of the past—a genuine memory of the body he was inhabiting.
Many years ago, in the palace garden during a boring noble tea party, six-year-old Lucien was sitting alone on a deserted garden bench, exhausted from following his family’s busy socializing.
With snow-white hair, translucent pale skin, ruby-red eyes, and a slender body with adorable round cheeks, Lucien sat stiffly, not moving an inch.
Rose, then eight years old and running away from the crowd, disgusted by the nobles’ falsehoods, happened to see him.
Thinking it was a porcelain doll made by a foreign craftsman, her eyes lit up.
She approached, then affectionately poked and squeezed Lucien’s round, plump cheeks.
“Wow, this porcelain doll is so cute, his eyes are like real rubies!” Little Lucien blinked slowly, staring at Rose helplessly, unable to push her hand away.
Because Lucien didn’t move or speak at all, Rose became even more convinced that it was a very expensive living doll.
”Kyaaa, even the texture of the skin is very similar to real human skin!
Magic technology is so amazing now!” Rose thought even more frantically.
However, just as Rose was about to pinch his cheeks harder, a small, cold hand suddenly reached out and gripped Rose’s wrist.
Instantly, Rose jumped back in shock.
“He…
he moved?!” Instead of being afraid, the corners of Rose’s lips actually curled into a wide smile.
“Who are you?” asked Lucien with an innocent face.
“I’m Rose.
You’re so adorable.
From now on, you’re my little brother!” Rose said with a wide smile.
Lucien tilted his head, confused by her words.
From that day on, the little girl declared that the red-eyed living doll was her adopted brother whom she had to protect from the cruel world.
Lucien’s consciousness returned to the present.
He stared at the sky, gasping for breath, then thought to himself, very matter-of-factly: “A completely useless memory.
I wish it had just remembered how to become invisible instead.” After the deadly embrace incident subsided, Rose and Reichardt agreed to take Lucien straight to his dorm room.
Skipping the hassle of the staff room’s administrative duties, they opted to walk straight to the dormitory corridor to expedite Lucien’s mission to lie down.
However, the peace was short-lived.
As they walked through the academy’s magnificent corridors, they encountered Prince Seilas and his guards.
Seeing Prince Seilas walking along the same path, Rose immediately stood in front of Lucien.
With a fierce expression and a firm tone, Rose said, “Get out of my way.
Don’t get in my brother’s way!” However, if you looked objectively, Prince Seilas was standing quite far on the left side and was not blocking their path at all.
Prince Seilas stopped in his tracks, staring at Rose with wide eyes as if seeing a completely different person.
Before Lucien arrived at the academy, the original plot was still playing out, with Prince Seilas frequently approaching Rose on various occasions.
However, Rose’s demeanor had now drastically changed, becoming more aggressive in order to protect her brother.
The shock slowly faded from the Prince’s mind as his sapphire blue eyes accidentally caught Lucien’s figure.
Beneath his slightly loosened hooded robe, Lucien stood, looking so beautiful yet fragile, revealing a pair of red eyes that reflected absolute boredom.
At that very moment, Lucien’s magnetic aura radiated faintly.
Prince Seilas felt a strange twinge in his chest, forcing his gaze to fixate on Lucien, while the image of Rose slowly faded from his mind.
And from a distance in the slightly dark corner of the corridor, a black-haired man with hazel eyes stared intently at them silently, observing the beginning of the chaos that would soon change the fate of this academy.