Chapter 4: Comfort and Confrontation
Despite the flood of information and the burden of the apocalyptic future, Kyle couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion seeing his mother. His face lit up with a genuine smile. Mother, I missed you, echoed in his mind. The woman, her face still etched with worry, held him gently.
"Kyle, are you alright? Are you feeling well?" she asked, her voice soft and full of relief.
He looked at her, his childish blue eyes shining with a mix of love and new determination. "Yes, mother," he replied with a smile that tried to be carefree but hid a sea of thoughts. "I'm fine, I feel much better."
Kyle's mother hugged him a little tighter, sighing with relief. "Bless the heavens. You had us so worried, my little one. You've had a high fever and wouldn't wake up."
As the murmur of the family and household staff could be heard outside, waiting for Kyle to prepare for the meal, he sat in the center of his bed. He adopted the Ji posture. With the Ji, I can restore some of my old strength. He remembered his Expert x Genius level, the tenth circle of mana. Now, in this fragile body, he could barely reach the second circle. He decided on the first to avoid suspicion.
With the feeling of a barely budding power, Kyle left the room with his mother. Upon reaching the dining hall, the atmosphere shattered. A woman with piercing blue eyes and wavy red hair awaited them. It was the patriarch's second wife, Alberta.
"Look who we have here... an animal who doesn't know her place...," she sneered, her contemptuous gaze falling on Kyle and then on his mother.
The words struck Kyle. He froze. He remembered his mother's death when he was eleven, an "accident," and how Alberta had systematically abused him afterward. Fury simmered. A strange, almost glacial smile played on his lips.
"Oh, Mother Alberta, it seems you need lessons in manners," Kyle retorted, his childish voice laden with an authority and defiance that didn't belong to his age.
The butler and Kyle's mother were in shock. Alberta regained her composure, her face contorted. "How dare you, insolent brat! Where do you get such a brazen mouth? Your mother hasn't taught you manners, it shows!"
"And who taught you, Mother Alberta, to treat people as if they're less than a cockroach?" Kyle replied, his voice surprisingly calm. "It seems your strength is only enough to insult the defenseless. It's a pity your nobility is lost with every word you utter."
Alberta opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Her face turned crimson, her blue eyes flashing with helplessness. The butler cleared his throat, "Duchess Alberta, breakfast is served." Alberta shot Kyle one last hateful glance and headed to her seat, humiliated.