translated by A013
Continuous disappointments struck the Earl. Then he started to put in more effort.
Not to be mistaken, he had no intention of putting more effort on his son. The Earl put this effort on his wife. If this son had no future, then he wouldn't be able to inherit the Roland family and carry forward the legacy of the family. Then he would have to try and have another child.
The Earl's effort on his wife paid off. After a month, The Earl's wife was pregnant and in the next winter, Earl Raymond got his second son.
While the whole mansion was celebrating, Duwei was in his room reading about alchemy. Thank the gods the last sentence Clark said to the Earl had an effect.
For a few months the Earl didn't come to see Duwei. Even the Earl's wife didn't come often due to her pregnancy. The day after his little brother was born, the servants led Duwei to see his mother and brother.
The Earl seemed pleased. This son was crying loudly like a normal child.
Earl Raymond didn't take an extra look at Duwei, after having him see his brother, he waved him away. The Earl's wife felt a little bad for Duwei, but the newborn's crying occupied all her attention.
Duwei left the room. Behind him was the Earl's laughter and the baby's crying. Even though his heart was already numb, he still felt a bit of disappointment.
He reminded himself: Stop thinking. You do not belong to this world. He's not your father. And she's... she's not...
Thinking of that stormy night, when this woman kneeled in front of the statue the whole night. Duwei felt a little sad, but shook his head. He ignored everything and put all his thoughts into studying.
Duwei couldn't deny it, he's still very interested in magic. Even though that Clark disapproved of his talent, he's not willing to accept it. Maybe there's still a chance.
The Earl's mansion had a large collection of books, quite a few of them about magic. After reading through all those books, Duwei finally had to accept that Clark was not wrong. He didn't have the talent to become a magician. Even if he sat there and meditate the whole day, he wouldn't feel a bit of magical elements. And one time, he fell asleep.
Then Duwei turned his focus to alchemy. Because alchemy can be considered a branch of magic, and alchemists were barely considered magicians. Yet after inquiring around, he found out what it meant by barely. Even though alchemists were acknowledged as magicians, no one took them seriously because they couldn't use magic.
His analogy of this was, if you compare this to the medical field, real magicians were doctors, and alchemists were nurses.
But after researching into alchemy, Duwei's interest peaked. It was an interesting field. Like when you add a Duoluoge frog's eye ball, to the Kuai plant, you get something that can make people mute for a while.
However, all those plants and animals mentioned in the books were new to Duwei. This seemed like the chemistry of this world.
As days pass by, Duwei indulged himself in alchemy. But he was still stuck on theories. After all, the various ingredients were difficult to obtain even for the Roland family.
Only real magicians will have those ingredients in the laboratory. And in the field of magic, alchemists were usually assistants to magicians. Furthermore, no one would like a child get in touch with those dangerous ingredients.
Six years passed. Duwei's little brother Jibri grew up to be like a typical Roland. At six years old he started taking sword lessons from Alpha. And he had received favorable comments. Everyone in the mansion thought of him as the Roland family's hope. Earl Raymond also decided to teach Jibri qi once he turns eight.
Everyone from the servants, to guards, to the father loved Jibri. The Earl also planned to engage him to a girl of nobility at this age.
All the while Duwei was forgotten. The Earl rarely met with him every month. Only his mother would come over. Some nights she would held onto this poor child and sing lullaby for him to sleep. Only at times like this would Duwei's heart soften. Sometimes he had to fake sleep to avoid tearing up.
Finally when Duwei was thirteen and Jibri seven, the Earl decided to teach Jibri qi starting next year, and he also engaged Jibri to the daughter of the kingdom's financial advisor, aged 9.
Although rumors said this engagement was already decided before Jibri was born. However, the one to marry her was originally Duwei. Yet, due to his disappointments to both families, that person was changed to his little brother, someone more talented.
One night, Duwei rode the carriage and left the imperial city. His destination was the Roland's feudal territory in the far south of the kingdom. The reason being he's old enough to manage family business. But Duwei knew that he was banished.
Managing the family's business? What a joke. Everyone knew their most important business was in the imperial city. Until the Earl summon him, he would likely not ever come back to the imperial city again.