He was born, and he cried.
The young child’s world was very small. Before knowledge accumulated and his awareness expanded, there was only one person in his universe: his mother.
In a shabby, dust-filled room, his mother breastfed him through a dry cough. She was the sole provider of food from the world beyond the door.
In his innocence, young Envers reveled in the boundless love his mother provided. She was the only person in the world who truly cared for him.
As he grew older and began to understand the world, new concepts emerged. And, among them, a new perspective on the six warm letters.
A mother who is ignored even by a servant.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
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Envers’ mother educated him with books that the servant threw at them. His eyes were blue, as deep and expansive as the sky. From words like that, he learned.
He was a member of the Duke of Redburn family, born with noble blood.The nobles had a high status, and the Duke, in particular, was among the most respected figures in the world. So, he had to be a noble person worthy of his blood.
He learned how to fold clothes and do laundry.
He found out that apple peels were good for removing oil and dirt.
The time spent learning with his mother was fun. His world expanded, and he was introduced to even more concepts: status, power, authority, bloodline⋯⋯.
Though he had never seen his father’s face, Envers had vague expectations. The other half that made him, his father. What kind of person would he be, and how would he show his love to Envers?
He hoped that, just like in the storybooks, his father would turn out to be a respectable noble leading others.
⋯⋯⋯⋯.
Young Envers also had other questions. If Duke Redburn was such a respectable nobleman, then his wife, Envers’s mother, should also be a noblewoman.
So why was a servant wearing more luxurious clothes than his mother?
Why did this servant look down on his mother while still addressing her with honorifics? Why would he open his eyes wide as if he couldn’t hear anything even though he did?
These were questions that Envers had no way of answering at the time.
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The year when Envers turned 10 years old.
The servant said that it was finally time to meet his father.
Envers first saw his father in a grand bedroom full of red light and shrouded in pink smoke. Nude women laid scattered on a large bed, with vacant eyes.
His father was shaking his back without stopping, even in front of his young son.
It was a scene more revolting and terrifying than sexual. No one felt any pleasure or joy; instead, they all swayed together with stiff, wax-like expressions.
There was neither love nor lust. It was similar to a pit of snakes writhing chaotically against each other.
When Envers asked what he was doing, his father answered briefly with the splashing sound of water, "Mating." This place was a farm where babies were produced. As if a person was just an animal.
“Take him and educate him.”
That was all it took. Envers was hauled away with his arms tightly grabbed.
come to understand. There was no need for further displays of affection beyond feeding chickens and chicks. After all, they were merely animals.
Envers and his mother must have been the same to his father, Duke Redburn.
His mother would have been tossed about like a broken doll in that bed. The thought made him feel sick. He felt that something, that a lot of things were wrong.
A servant dragged Envers to a mansion filled with boys who looked strikingly similar. He instinctively knew they were his brothers.
This was the house of illegitimate children.
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[Redburn Secret Document: Metamorphosis Induction Plan]n n
This procedure is carried out on growing children whose cognitive development is not yet fully established.
1) Inflict lasting trauma to control growth direction
2) Implement brainwashing techniques to evoke specific emotions
The goal is to induce and artificially manifest Metamorphosis with targeted effects.
The desired Metamorphosis was as follows: Prioritize those with enhanced abilities / killing power for Dark Wizards, Succubi, and Wizards.
nn===============================================================nn
What followed was a series of rigorous education and training. Instructors relentlessly taught why they must devote their lives to the Duke of Redburn, rewarding those with positive attitudes and punishing those with negative ones.
They were trained to use daggers and rapiers, and also instructed how to deal with wizards. They were also brainwashed to embrace a blind hatred towards wizards.
The Duke Redburn wanted to provide his sons with a comfortable and happy life due to his kind and good-hearted nature. But, he had to train his children to protect the family against the evil wizards who plotted evil schemes.
The reason for their grueling training was the wizards' fault, and if they killed all the grown-up bad wizards, they would be able to enjoy the luxurious life they deserved.
"Wizards, bad wizards, must die⋯⋯ die!"
"Shout louder! Is that all you can say to those who harm our Duke of Redburn family!"
"Die! It's all your faults! Wizards must die⋯⋯⋯!!"
Envers also joined in with the boys, though there were still doubts in the back of his mind.
After such arduous training, the boys were rewarded based on their performance. The top boy received a sweet snack, while Envers, who ranked around the middle, received a dry biscuit.
It was crunchy and hard, with only a little bit of savory flavor.
He was envious of the sweet cookies the top ranking boys ate and curious about their taste, so once, Envers approached the first-place boy and asked.
“Can I please have a bite?”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
The first-place boy frowned and answered with his red eyes sharply raised.
"I don't talk to the worthless trash below 5th place. Even if we share the same blood, the purity is different. Since you’re so incompetent, you must have barely any noble blood. Don't talk to me and get lost, peasant."
The first-place boy’s name was Roderus, and he was rude from an early age.
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Patterpatter.
“I'm a Redburn too, so why am I a peasant?”
“Because, peasant, you can't even swing your sword correctly.”
“I'm Envers. Isn't this a good enough swing though?”
“I'm Roderus. Your aim is off because you're holding the handle wrong, you peasant.”
The reason why Envers followed Roderus despite his insults was simple. Roderus was the only one who would talk to him.
Other top-ranking brothers often just swung their fists at him and said, "Don't bother me!"
The lower-ranking brothers gathered among themselves and rejected Envers, who remained in the middle-ranking, looking at him with envy. Scoffing as they told him to go hang around with those high-rankings since he had such impressive scores.
Roderus had a foul mouth. But when Envers talked to him, he always answered.
"But isn't it more comfortable to hold it like this?"
"⋯⋯Just do what I taught you, stupid peasant!!"
If he acted clumsy on purpose, tips flowed like a waterfall.
Sometimes, when Roderus was in a good mood, like on days when he won first place repeatedly, he would share a piece of cookie, saying ‘this is kindness.
Envers was slow to learn, but he was eventually able to climb up to 3rd or 4th place.
Maybe it was because Roderus’ teaching actually worked.
“Roderus.”
"I'm a year older than you, so use honorifics. Call me Sir Roderus."
“Big Brother Roderus.”
“Stupid peasant⋯⋯.”
Although in the name of brotherhood, the two must’ve had at least a sliver of affection for each other. They had somewhat bonded.
They became mirrors to each other, reflecting each other's weaknesses while still competing.
When Roderus caught a severe cold and fell to the bottom of the rankings, Envers earned cookies and shared them with him.
On a moonlit night, they sat side by side, dreaming of their future.
"I will be the right hand of my father⋯⋯ Duke Redburn. And I will restore the family’s glory and spread my name across the continent."
"Then can I be the left hand?"
"There's no way someone like you can. Peasant, you⋯⋯ be my right hand. The right hand of the right hand.”
"Then Big Brother Roderus will have two right hands!"
Had they been in a normal household, they might have been good brothers.
But soon, a harsh winter descended upon the house of the illegitimate children. For the Duke, it was the harvest season. One morning, the instructor announced:
“You'll be taking the final test. Everyone will fight each other. If you win first place in the battle, you will be the glorious right hand of Duke Redburn, and other incompetent losers will be⋯⋯"
The instructor's unfinished statement sparked a lot of imagination.
As the competition grew fiercer, jealousy turned into hatred. The boys, who had learned that dedicating themselves to the Redburn family was their sole purpose in life, were determined not to be 'incompetent losers.
Was it the same for Roderus, or did he have another motive?
One day, he whispered to Envers.
"⋯⋯⋯ Peasant, I’ve discovered how to use Mana. I'm only telling you this. But since it's a one-time use only, never use it unless absolutely necessary."
Roderus taught him a flawed method to harness Mana. Though imperfect, Envers still believed in him.
Envers thought: If I reach the finals, wouldn't he select both of us if I draw with Roderus? If he must choose only one, concessions could be made.
After all, Roderus had said he would make him the right hand’s right hand.
“Euk, aaaack⋯⋯!!”
In the long-awaited final test, Envers collapsed, vomiting blood due to the improper mana usage.
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He never learned what happened to Roderus after that. Envers only knew what happened to himself.
After a period of recovery, Envers realized his body had been ruined. His ability to sense and manipulate Mana was distorted. The family doctor diagnosed that ‘this boy will never achieve Tuning or Fill.’
Envers' talent had been severely damaged.
He was labeled 'unselected chaff'—a fool who had ruined his body by trying to use Mana recklessly in pursuit of victory.
The scornful glances that once fell on his mother now also turned to Envers.
But it was all right. It was fine. If he tried, he would somehow be able to become a soldier of the family. Or he could study hard and devote himself by using his brain.
So, even if he was ignored, he was fine as long as he could be with his mother. He had been separated from her for a year already, after all.
When Envers was discharged from the hospital, he looked for his mother. But her room was empty. Grabbing a passing servant, he learned she had been kicked out.
Saying that the mother who gave birth to a chaff is not worth being served.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
He stood motionless for nearly a day, like a dead man.
The other brothers who had been eliminated with him vanished somewhere, and when he inquired about them, he received the same monotonous answer, ‘They’re working for the house,’ as if from a machine
Even when he asked where his mother had gone, they claimed to not know anything the moment she left the mansion's main gate.
They had no intention to spend their time and effort on chaff.
Then.
Then, if he somehow became strong, reached Metamorphosis, and achieved Sublimation. If he became fucking 'useful'. Then he would be able to bring his mother back.
Everyone who had despised Envers would see him again, and he would be able to confront Big Brother Roderus… and ask if he really had to do that.
When he was old enough, he applied for admission to the Academy and got through.
He grabbed anything—swords, spears, daggers, sticks—and trained relentlessly. He stayed up all night, pushing himself to exhaustion. He didn’t care whether the Crazy Wizard who entered the Academy made a disturbance or not.
He focused solely on becoming stronger.
But on nights with a clear moon, he often looked up at the sky and reminisced about the past. Of Roderus, his brother, sharing cookies with him while gazing at the same moon.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
He was overwhelmed by a mixture of hatred, longing, sadness, betrayal, and all kinds of emotions.
Had Roderus become the right hand of Duke Redburn, wielding a rapier for the family? Did the lie that deceived him⋯⋯ really mean that much?
How would he be doing?
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“What the⋯⋯?!”
One morning, when Roderus Redburn woke up from an uncomfortable dream…
He realized that he had transformed into a beautiful girl.
***
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