After finishing her business, the midwife left. Count Elric remained standing by the side of the bed, where his wife lay exhausted but smiling. There was no sword at his hip today. It had been a long time since he had carried it anywhere, ever since the war ended five years ago.
He had been in the room since the first light of dawn touched their manor window. His shirt was wrinkled, partially unbuttoned, a remnant of his panicked rush from the bathroom. But since then, he hadn't moved an inch, staying by Layla's side throughout the difficult birth.
He didn't say much. Elric had always been a man who spoke more with actions than words. But this morning, his eyes never strayed from Layla, his wife, now lying tired but safe, and their little baby who had just been born into the world.
When the first cry was heard, Elric gripped Layla's hand tightly, and now he just stared at their child, his sharp eyes turned calm, even gentle. He looked at the small creature for a long time as if trying to commit everything to memory, its tiny fingers, its face, and the fact that this was real. That they were still here. The three of them.
"His name is Adrian," Layla said, her voice still hoarse but full of conviction. She held her little baby with both arms, even though her body was still trembling from exhaustion and the remnants of pain.
"I want him to have a simple but rooted name. A name that isn't grand, but is still respected by people," she continued, her eyes never leaving the now calm baby. Elric nodded slowly.
His gaze shifted to the bedroom window overlooking the sea. In the distance, fog hung low over the water, and the gentle roar of the waves slowly filled the silence. The fishermen's boats had just left the dock, their sails looking like ghostly shadows in the morning mist.
No bells chimed, no welcoming parade. Just an ordinary morning at the manor of the Melvian family, located on the outskirts of the port city of Velmara, a quiet city in the south of the continent.
"I don't want him to carry any unnecessary burdens," Elric finally said, his voice heavy but honest.
"If he wants to take over this place one day, I will be happy. But if not, I won't be disappointed. His life is not for bearing a legacy, but for living his own choices."
Layla looked at her husband's face gently, then turned back to Adrian, who had been glancing at her, a pair of gray dots reflecting the morning light. His fingers grasped his mother's, small and warm.
"I want him to live peacefully. He doesn't have to be a hero or anything great. If in the future he chooses to fight, let it be because his heart calls for it, not because the world forces him to," Layla said. Her voice was soft, yet full of determination.
"I just want him to grow up as a child who can laugh freely, who can get lost in the pages of books, and know the world without fear."
"Right." Elric nodded.
His hand gently touched Adrian's cheek, as if greeting the new world that was now open to him.
"I look forward to the time when he will be the one pulling my hand, asking me to go fishing, or to wander around Velmara, showing me the places he likes, as if they all belong to him."
Adrian moved slightly in his mother's arms. His hand clenched into a small fist, as if trying to feel the world that was still foreign to him. In the simple, warm room, a noble couple sincerely hoped that their child would not face hardship, that he could grow up in peace and love.
…
But what they didn't know was that Adrian, the little baby, heard everything. Calmly, he listened in silence, his mind far more aware than what a newborn should possess.
'Velmara, huh…' Adrian thought.
He knew that place. In the game version, the city of Velmara at the southern tip of the continent was known as a coastal city famous for its beaches and seafood. Additionally, the city was one of the suppliers of marine products for the Elarion Kingdom. This quiet city was one of the dating locations the main character could visit after the first year at the academy.
There wasn't much information given about this city in the game. Velmara did not appear in the main story's conflict. Even its lord, Count Elric Melvian, was only mentioned briefly when the player had their first date with the princess there.
'Awarded the title of count directly by the king and established a family after the war, that means their achievements during the war must have been extraordinary.'
So 'Melvian' was his family name. But strangely, his name wasn't listed among the masters in the Elarion Kingdom. If they were really that great, Count Elric's name should have been mentioned, at least in the game's NPC archives.
Perhaps he was only at the late stage of the expert realm. Strong, but not enough to shake the continent.
'I'll find out later,' Adrian thought.
Even though Velmara was peaceful at the beginning, it didn't mean it had no end. He remembered the final part of the game, just before the confrontation with the final boss. This territory would be one of those razed to the ground when destruction spread. But in the game, there was never a specific cutscene about the fate of this city. Only general information.
'….The southern region of the continent suffered total destruction and the monsters from the south pole began to move towards the world tree…'
Velmara vanished in silence, swallowed by a wave of destruction that left no tales of heroism or personal tragedy. There were no farewell scenes, no final screams. Only silent, cold destruction.
It was a great disaster that swept across the entire world due to the invasion carried out by the Demon King Velgrath.
Now, Adrian knew whatever happened, he would not let this city be destroyed so easily. He looked at his mother's face, the woman who gave him life. And his father, a gallant figure who now only wanted peace. They didn't know what was coming, but Adrian did.
He knew what kind of world awaited them all.
'I will protect this place…' he thought.
I have to become stronger.
I will probably get involved with the main story. When that happens, the story will be entering its mid - end.
I must move as stealthily as possible until the middle of the story.
…
Come to think of it, this is strange. Even though I understand what they're saying, why aren't their mouths perfectly in sync with the voices I hear? The movements of their lips were different from what I heard, and the content of their conversation entered my mind so clearly, as if translated directly, without me needing to think about the meaning of the words, and I can't control this body of mine at all.
I'm sure that I was reincarnated, starting as a baby, and not just possessing a body. But why is my body like this? I want to raise my hand, to grip my mother's finger tighter, trying to signal that I am aware, that I am present. But all I see is this small hand moving on its own, without control. Reflexive movements, natural, and clumsy. Every time I try to speak, only a small murmur comes out. The whining sound of a baby, nothing more.
'Hmm…'
Because of this, I'm curious about one thing.
'Status'
*Swoshh...
Suddenly, a rectangular shape, slightly transparent and blue, appeared before him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ STATUS WINDOW ]
Name : Adrian Melvian
Title : Young Master of Melvian
Age : 0
...
..
.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
As i expected.....