Waking up was not something anyone looked forward to, especially Lucien.
In his old world, waking up meant having to prepare for the harsh reality of being returned to the orphanage after several failed adoption attempts.
A place where he learned one important lesson: never rely on family ties or home, because eventually everyone will let go.
Absence and separation are inevitable in this mortal world.
Since being disappointed by the first emotional bond in his life, Lucien decided that loving or being attached to someone was just a form of high-level hassle that drained his energy.
And now, in this fantasy world, inside the body of a fifteen-year-old Hawthorne nobleman, life is not much different.
Instead of an orphanage, he’s surrounded by deranged nobles who love to scheme.
The difference is, while he was once abandoned as a burden, now he longs to “return” to his dreamland because the people around him are too noisy.
The sound of the door opening interrupted his reverie.
Before Lucien could process the situation, a tall figure stepped in without permission.
Reichardt, the overly enthusiastic older brother, easily opened his brother’s dormitory door using a spare key.
Lucien, who had just woken up with his forehead covered in cold sweat from the remnants of his past nightmare, stared at his brother with half-closed eyes.
Seeing his brother sweating, Reichardt immediately panicked.
He rushed over, pressed his palm to Lucien’s forehead, and exclaimed excitedly, “Oh my God, Lucien!
Why is your sweat so cold?
Do you have a fever?” Lucien swatted his brother’s hand away lazily, then snorted softly.
“I don’t have a fever.
And stop barging into other people’s rooms with spare keys.
Why do you have a key to this room anyway?
It feels like I have a personal nanny instead of a brother.” “Of course I’m on guard for your safety!
Today is your first day at the academy,” Reichardt replied not to be outdone, ignoring the fact that his brother had just had a tiring nightmare.
For Lucien, dwelling on past trauma was completely useless in this world; it was far more important to move on with life by going back to sleep.
But the past was difficult to erase from his memory.
However, after a brief argument that ended with Lucien’s crushing defeat at the hands of his over-protective older brother, he finally donned the academy uniform.
Reichardt escorted him to the still-quite-empty first-year classroom.
Following the survival instincts of a seasoned slacker, Lucien immediately secured a legendary seat: the one in the very back corner near the window.
“Don’t sleep all the time, your teacher will be angry!” Reichardt ordered before leaving the classroom.
”Yes, yes.
Go away,” Lucien said without looking back.
As soon as Reichardt left, Lucien immediately buried his face in his folded arms on the table.
The outside world was officially shut out.
However, the peace didn’t last long.
Slowly, the surrounding benches began to fill with other students arriving.
As they approached Lucien’s seat, a strange sensation suddenly struck their chests—an unusual pounding in their hearts, a surge of curiosity, mixed with an impulsive urge to keep staring at the youngest son Hawthorne.
Aryosha, one of the students in his class, sensed the strange wave.
Instead of feeling disturbed, Aryosha’s eyes lit up with joy.
He immediately approached Lucien’s desk cautiously.
”Um…
Hello, Young Master Lucien.
Didn’t realize we were in the same class,” said Aryosha quietly, trying not to disturb him even though his heart was fluttering with excitement.
Lucien lifted his face slightly, looking at Aryosha with droopy eyes before muttering lazily, “Yes…
good morning.
If you want to sit near here, please don’t make any noise.” ”Okay!” Aryosha answered quickly, then chose to sit a few seats in front of him while continuing to steal amazed glances.
Shortly after, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
The teacher who entered had a monotone voice that sounded a lot like a bedtime story.
His voice hummed softly through the room, creating a wave of overwhelming drowsiness.
‘The life of a transmigrator in a novel is not at all stressful,’ Lucien thought behind his folded arms, contemplating with half-closed eyes.
Instead of developing elaborate survival strategies based on the novel’s plot, he found the original book to be no more useful than a boring diary or guide to daily life.
It contained only trivial details about who was going to fight with whom, and he had no intention of interfering.
Time passed so slowly until finally the recess bell rang.
Instantly, the previously quiet atmosphere in the classroom turned chaotic.
Classmates—including Aryosha—intended to approach Lucien’s desk.
”Young Master Lucien, would you like to come to the cafeteria with us?” one of the students asked hesitantly, captivated by Lucien’s magnetic aura.
Before Lucien had time to answer, the classroom door was suddenly greeted by the presence of two familiar figures: Reichardt and Rose Valerin.
Seeing how Reichardt and Rose came together to pick him up, Lucien who was sitting in the back seat could only watch with a blank stare while letting out a long sigh.
The dynamics between the two of them who were very united in taking care of him, carrying his bag, ensuring his meal schedule, and acting as if they could not live without watching over Lucien, did not seem like ordinary siblings at all.
In Lucien’s cynical eyes, Reichardt and Rose looked much more like a middle-aged couple busy taking care of their youngest child, or even over-protective foster parents who had just picked up their child from kindergarten.
“Could it be…
Rose’s real partner isn’t Prince Seilas, but my own brother?” Lucien thought, concluding what he saw, feeling both terrified and reluctant to imagine their family’s future.
“Lucien, let’s go to the cafeteria.
You can’t skip lunch just because you want to sleep,” Rose said in a gentle but firm tone.
“That’s right.
Big brother ordered the best roast beef soup for you,” Reichardt chimed in, gently tugging his brother’s arm.
”You guys…
are starting to look like a married couple who likes to ruin my relaxing time,” Lucien grumbled softly, but still dragged himself up from his chair.
Throughout his journey to the cafeteria, Lucien was acutely aware of the strangely charged stares from the senior students and those in his class as they passed him.
The magnetic aura made the air around him feel thick with adoring gazes.
Feeling uncomfortable and dizzy because his head suddenly became the center of attention, Lucien finally decided to return to his class after finishing his meal in a hurry, then he whispered to his two fake “parents”, “I want to go back to class.
My head hurts seeing you two look too much like husband and wife.
And don’t follow me!” Without waiting for a reply, Lucien immediately turned away, leaving Reichardt and Rose confused in the canteen.
He walked alone, slowly, down the still-deserted academy corridors, as most of the students were still huddled in the lunch area.
Lucien hoped he could spend the rest of the break sleeping soundly in the empty classrooms.
However, fate said otherwise.
Just as he turned the corner of a deserted corridor—far from the bustle of the canteen—a uniformed figure stood blocking his path.
Rayland Valois.
The dark-haired main antagonist stared at him with an intense glint of curiosity.
Apparently, Rayland had been lurking for a while, deliberately waiting for Lucien to escape Reichardt and Rose’s protection.
“You,” Rayland called in a low voice, intending to demand the promise he had made yesterday regarding the meeting with Rose.
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity, Hawthorne.” Lucien stopped in his tracks, sighing softly as his shoulders slumped.
“Could you please stop blocking my way?
If you’re looking for trouble, find someone else.” Before Rayland could respond to the sarcastic sentence with his wild assumption, a cold, authoritative voice broke the silence of the corridor from behind.
“Get away from him, Valois.” Seilas stepped out from the shadows of the corridor pillars.
Unlike before, when he had merely watched from a distance, this time the prince stepped forward fully.
His face hardened, glaring at Rayland.
“Your Highness, what business of yours is it to interfere in my every move?” Rayland snorted disapprovingly.
”I won’t let you bully a first-year student in such a sneaky way,” Seilas replied coldly.
Lucien stood between his two seniors.
He glanced alternately at Rayland and Seilas, who were now preparing for a heated argument.
Inwardly, Lucien could only close his eyes tightly, cursing the first day of school that felt a hundred times more exhausting than working for nothing in his old world.