CHAPTER 1 — "THE USUAL MORNING OF A USELESS HEIR"
Morning crept into the room like it was afraid of waking the boy inside it.
A thin line of pale light slipped through the half-open curtains, cutting across the dim space and catching dust in the air. The room was neither messy nor clean—the mark of someone who didn't care enough to ruin it and didn't care enough to fix it. A desk cluttered with unopened notices, warnings, and a few crumpled gossip clippings. A bed with twisted sheets. A faint smell of paper and cold air.
And in the center of that still, quiet air—
Eshan Vale opened his gray eyes.
Black hair fell over them, messy from sleep. His gaze was sharp but hollow, a young man with a face too calm for his age. Sixteen, but looking like someone who had lived twice his years. Not angry. Not sad. Just… indifferent. Like the world around him didn't matter enough to react to.
He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before breathing out.
Another morning.
Another day he wasn't looking forward to.
No nightmares today—only a strange heaviness in his chest, as if something was trying to rise but couldn't. He brushed it off. He didn't like thinking too much. Thinking led nowhere.
A soft knock came at the door.
Then the door opened without waiting.
"Eshan. Wake up. It's already late."
The voice was calm, annoyed, and tired all at once.
Sara Li stood there.
She didn't look special—medium brown hair tied loosely, a simple uniform, and a cheap wristband that buzzed when her tasks updated. Soft eyes, a little sleepy. Not beautiful like a noble girl; not flashy like academy students. Just… normal.
Normal, but real.
Her expression twisted as she looked at him lying on the bed.
"Hah… Why am I even doing this? "
Eshan blinked at her.
She wasn't talking to him—she was mumbling to herself again.
"This is not what I imagined when I took a job… Waking up a guy who doesn't even care… Why am I not angry? I should be angry… Why am I not? "
Her voice got quieter with every complaint.
Eshan heard it.
He always heard it.
He just didn't respond. Not because he didn't want to—he simply didn't know how.
He finally sat up, hair falling into his face. Sara sighed like she had given up on life.
"Good. Come downstairs when you're done. Breakfast is getting cold."
She left, the door closing behind her.
Eshan rubbed his face.
He wasn't irritated.
He wasn't anything.
But the room felt colder when she left.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand.
And like every morning—
The notifications exploded.
"The Vale Family's disgraceful heir strikes again! ""A fight at a private institution—what is wrong with him? ""Useless heir shows violence in public! ""Someone lock him up already! "
Eshan scrolled without changing expression.
Dozens of comments. Hundreds.
He didn't flinch. He'd seen worse.
But today's gossip… today was different.
Because he hadn't meant to fight yesterday.
He didn't even remember deciding to.
His fingers stopped on one article headline:
"Young Master Vale attacks a boy for 'no 'reason'—witnesses say he snapped."
He exhaled, long and slow.
No reason?
He remembered the boy's face.Remembered the way the boy had looked at Sara.Remembered the words the boy used.
He remembered his own fist moving before he could think.
Why did I do that?
He didn't know.
He didn't understand why it bothered him so much.
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Eshan."
A man's voice came from the hallway.Someone from the house staff.
"Your older brother will arrive tomorrow morning."
"…Okay."
That was all he said.
No reaction.No curiosity.No fear.No interest.
Just "okay."
He got up, dressed without hurry, and walked downstairs.
Sara waited by the door, tapping her foot lightly.
"Are you ready? "
He nodded.
They left together.
The car was already running in the driveway.A large man—the bodyguard—opened the door.
Eshan got in.Sara followed, sitting beside him.
The drive was quiet.
Sara muttered under her breath again:
"Why do I even do this… He doesn't talk… He doesn't react… I'm talking to a wall… I swear this job is going to kill me…"
Eshan looked out the window and said nothing.
Why wasn't he irritated at her?
Why didn't she make him angry?
That was the part that bothered him.
He wasn't supposed to be calm with people.He usually hated noise.Hated nagging.Hated being woken up.
But with her…
Nothing.
Just a faint feeling inside his chest, like déjà vu.
Like he knew her voice from somewhere deeper than memory.
The car stopped at a shop.
Sara hopped out first."Come on. You always drink the same thing, right? "
Eshan followed quietly.
People stared at them as they walked inside.
Whispering.Pointing.Gossiping.
"That's him…""He beat someone yesterday.""That girl works for him? Poor thing…""She could do better."
Eshan ignored them all.
Sara didn't look at him, but he saw her clench her jaw.
He ordered a drink.Then they returned home.
And the whispers followed:
"Trouble again? ""He'll ruin the family sooner or later.""Why does she work for him? Is she desperate? "
He heard every word.
He acted like he didn't.
His calm expression didn't change.
He walked to his room.
Closed the door.
Silence fell around him like a blanket.
He sat on his bed, elbows on his knees, head lowered.
His mind replayed the boy's face from yesterday.Sara's annoyed voice this morning.The gossip.His brother's return.His uselessness.
His chest felt tight for no reason.
He opened the drawer beside his bed.
Inside was a small black box.
He pulled it out and placed it on his lap.
Stared at it.
The Awakening Stone.
Pure mana, sealed in crystal.
Something he should have used last year.
Something that could awaken him.
Something that could kill him.
He touched the lid with his thumb.
Everything was too noisy.Too messy.Too unclear.
He didn't know what he wanted.
But he knew what he didn't want:
This.
This empty life.
This confusion.
This version of himself.
He exhaled.
Long… slow… tired.
His thumb lifted the lid.
Light glowed from inside the box.