Laying on Adam’s lap was a tray, and on it, a silver platter held the food his mother had prepared.
On the platter, moon?glazed beef tenderloin lay in paper?thin slices, each ribbon catching the light with a soft golden sheen. The meat looked almost translucent, roasted low and slow, then sliced against the grain until it promised to melt on the tongue.
Beside it, rosettes of feather?light potato purée waited, paired with crystal?pickled pearl onions and a single sautéed moon?mushroom cap. A pinch of black?caviar salt and a silverleaf micro?green completed the presentation, elegant and restrained.
Adam practically stared at the tray of food before him in disbelief.
’The way the food looks alone is enough to surpass anything I have seen on Earth. So this is what being a noble means?’ Adam was surprised at the lavish meal.
"What are you waiting for? Dig in already," Eve urged him.
Adam looked at her, a tear nearly forming in his eyes. So this is how it feels to have a mother again, to eat food prepared by one’s mother.
Adam took the fork and knife. Although he practically had no damn idea how to use them at first, to his surprise, it was as if his hands moved on their own.
He quickly used the knife to slice a piece of the beef, then pierced it with the fork, dipped it into the potato purée, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite.
When he did, the world suddenly stopped around him. It was unlike anything he had eaten in his life.
The taste, the combination of flavors, and the love poured into making this dish blew his mind away. Adam froze as he remembered his mother’s cooking.
Tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Why are you crying! Is it too spicy?" Eve was alarmed as she saw his tears.
"No, it’s not that. This is the best meal I have ever had." Adam said as he took another bite, eating with joy and content.
Ava, the Reincarnate System, floated beside him, invisible to everyone else.
Eve smiled as she heard his words.
"You don’t cook something nice like that for me," Valeric muttered under his breath.
"Because you have never asked," Eve replied.
"Then how about from now on?" Valeric said to her with expectant eyes.
"Fine." She agreed with a smile.
"Yes!" Valeric celebrated.
Bella looked at the excited smile on their father’s face and just shook her head.
"Lukas..." Bella called out to him.
"Yes, big sis." Adam answered as he stuffed another slice of beef in his mouth.
"Is it really you?" She asked.
Adam froze mid?bite as he heard her.
’Wait a sec, does she suspect I am not really Lukas?’
[She does not suspect anything. It’s just she trying to convince herself that this isn’t a dream,] Ava said to him.
’Really?’ Adam looked at her, and truly he saw the look in her eyes. Then he just smiled at her.
"Well, big sis, it’s me, Lukas, your little bro. And if you think this is a dream, then wake up to reality, sis." Adam said to her.
"Lukas..." She smiled at him, tears in her eyes.
Adam had lost his only sibling to cancer when she was just six years old. But now, given a second chance at life, he now had an elder sister who was caring and beautiful.
He clenched his fingers around his fork. This time, he will make sure that he protects everything that’s dear to him, this new family of his and life.
Soon, Adam was done eating. The plate was clean and empty. His mother, Eve, was surprised at the way he had eaten.
"Thank you so much for the meal, Mother." Adam thanked her.
"You are welcome, my child. It’s nothing. It’s my duty as a mother to take care of you." She replied to him. "I hope you are full, or do you want more?" His mother asked as she tried to pick up the tray.
"Don’t worry, Mother. I can take care of the dishes myself." Adam stopped her.
"Huh?" Everyone looked at him with surprise.
Then Adam realized: since being a noble, Lukas had never done any house chores or anything such, so it came as a surprise to everyone now that he said it.
"Do the dishes?" Bella looked at him, confused.
Adam faked a cough, then spoke. "As Mother had prepared the meal for me, it’s best I, who ate from the plate, wash it." He tried to explain because that’s what his mother on Earth had taught him.
"My dear child, there is no need to worry. The maids can take care of it." Eve said to him as she picked up the empty tray.
"But, Mother—"
"No buts. You are still recovering, and it’s best you don’t step out for now." His mother cut him off before he could finish his words.
"My boy, your mother is right. For today, just be indoors. Don’t come out yet." His father, Valeric, said to him.
"I will get Beatrice to come and help you prepare your bath for you so you can bathe." Eve said with a smile as she looked at him. "We will leave you to rest well." She turned to leave with Valeric.
"I want to stay with Lukas." Bella said.
Both husband and wife just smiled as they looked at Bella and then at Lukas.
"Fine." Valeric nodded, then he and Eve left.
Adam just watched their departing backs, a smile spreading across his face. He didn’t know how to put it, it felt like God had given him another version of his earthly parents.
Was this the result of his sacrifice to save others, that gave him such a reward of having a family he had wished for?
Adam took a full look of Lukas’s room. The floor was made of polished white marble, which gleamed like a glassy surface in the light. The walls were made of brick, coated in white paint.
On the walls, runic patterns ran and traced themselves across the entire room in beautiful patterns. The runes pulsed with a dim blue light.
This was a temperature?regulating rune, a magitech product. It controlled the temperature of a place based on the weather outside.
At the far right of the room was a desk and chair made of high wood and crafted by skilled craftsmanship. Given the exquisite design, a bunch of books and a quill feather pen lay on the desk.
On the other side was a large wardrobe where Lukas’s clothes and shoes were kept. A standing tall mirror stood two meters beside the wardrobe. A portrait of Lukas hung boldly on the wall beside a painting of a knight pointing his sword toward a dragon.
At the center of the room was a red rug with a small table at the center with a flower vase on it. Adam also noticed he was sitting on a king?sized bed with a red blanket which had the Lyon’s insignia embroidered on it.
[Do you wish to check your status now?]
A holographic screen floated before him as Ava hovered by his side. He really wanted to check it, he was eager. But the problem was Bella, who had clung to him like a koala .
’Must she press her entire weight on my body like this?’ Adam lamented internally as he was slightly embarrassed.
"Lukas." Bella called out to him.
"Yes." He answered.
"I can’t still believe it’s really you after what happened yesterday..." She paused. The scene of Lukas coughing and vomiting blood was vivid in her memory.
Then she continued speaking. "It feels like if I let go, I will lose you again, and I don’t want that." Bella held on to him tighter. Adam felt warm liquid on his chest.
He looked down only to see her in tears. His heart melted. So this is what it felt like, having an elder sister who truly loves her siblings in such a world.
He felt grateful for it.
No doubt, he had been granted a family in a world where women rule and look down upon men. This wasn’t even talking about inequality, just absolute domination.
But yet, this family never followed those mechanisms. They followed their hearts instead.
"I know how it feels to have experienced that, but be assured, you will not lose me a second time." Adam smiled at her as he spoke.
Then she raised her face to meet his.
"Don’t worry. I will make sure I protect you at all costs." Bella smiled at him.
Adam looked at her as he heard her, then a smile curved on his lips.
"Then I will be counting on you, then." Adam replied.
"Have you forgotten how strong your elder sister is?" Bella flexed the muscles in her arms as she spoke. "And don’t forget, my class is Holy Knight." She said.
Yeah, Bella’s class was a Holy Knight, a rare class that barely surfaced in centuries. She was known as the genius of House Lyon, taking after their father, Valeric, whose class was Sword Saint, higher than Holy Knight.
Classes were divided into 9 ranks, starting with Common, Uncommon then followed by Rare, Elite, Epic, Heroic, Legendary, Heavenly, Mythic and Divine.
The higher a class rank the stronger the individual will become, including their talents too, because it plays a major role in cultivation and growing stronger in terms of power rank and strength.
Adam took note of her class in mind. Hers was a Legendary?rank class, while the former Lukas’s class was of Common rank, which made him a disgrace to House Lyon, tarnishing the image of his father.
But his family never cared about that and still loved him. But still, some forces refused to watch Lukas become like his father. They were afraid, even without a good class and talent, he might become like his father.
So, they killed him.
In this world where women dominate, seeing a man so powerful makes them fear and think he might overturn their rule. Even after Lukas got a pitiful and trash talent and class, they still feared the possibility and decided to take him out.
They thought killing Lukas would put his father under constraints, killing the idea of a man shaking the balance of women’s rule. But they just created an even bigger problem: him transmigrating into his body and getting a Divine class and a God?tier talent. Well, they never saw this coming. Adam thought to himself.
Then a grin spread across Adam’s lips.
They think a man can never be strong. Then he will prove them damn wrong, just like Valeric. They could still come for Rowan, Lukas’s sibling, one of the twins. Then I guess I have to grow stronger to protect them.
"Big sis, I will be under your care for now, till I get stronger to protect you, Mother, and the twins." Adam said to her.
Bella looked at him and just smiled. "I hope so."
Adam looked at the floating screen before him. He is out to get stronger, find Lukas’s killers, protect his new family given to him, and prove one thing in this world: men are not weak!
"Show me my status." Adam said in his head as he grinned.