Winter snow fell to the land, enshrining the city with eternal cold.
'It's cold.'
In a huge city, a boy with black hair thought.
The boy wore a thick coat that covered his body entirely, the coat was woven with the finest leather and craftsmanship.
It was the type of coat that only the richest and most extravagant nobles of the Kingdom would be able to buy and wear..
One look at the boy and one would already assume he was a noble.
Evidently the people around him arrived at the same conclusion, their eyes staring at him with curiosity and respect.
The boy felt that respect. He appreciated it. But he always asked—was it necessary? His father had said it was mandatory for peasants to respect their masters.
"A master… huh."
The boy muttered out loud.
The boy never liked that word. A person that controlled another life… It was the worst.
If it wasn't obvious, he was an avid believer of freedom. He believes that all humans, regardless of who they are, deserve to control their own destiny and not be controlled by others.
It might be stupid, but that was fine. He would keep that stupidity to himself anyways…
"Oh well, I'm sure father and mother are waiting for me. I can't get them to worry about me.."
Shaking his head, the boy shook the thoughts on his mind and stared at the path beyond, directing his gaze to a massive castle.
***
In the massive castle in the city.
Bam—!
The sound of the door opening resounded.
"Father, mother… I'm home."
The boy said, closing off the door before rushing inside. However because of that, he wasn't able to see the dark figure observing him from behind.
As the boy reached the living room, he was surprised by the two familiar figures that were waiting for him.
On one of the seats, his mother, a charming mature lady sat with a worried expression.
"Lucas! Where have you been?!"
A feminine, motherly voice coming from his mother echoed..
The boy, Lucas, was paralyzed as he looked up with an nervous expression.
"Ah, uh… I just gone outside the city…"
Hearing that, the charming mature lady in front of him shouted in disbelief mixed with anger:
"You what?!"
"It was safe! I promise i was just at the outskirts…!"
"It doesn't matter. How much have I told you that it's winter?! It's dangerous to even step foot outside without a knight escorting you…"
His mother scolded him, her glare intensifying.
"When will you take responsibility of your own actions? I know that you really like to observe and learn but.."
Under her intense glare, Lucas lowered his head.
Of course he knew that, but… still. It wasn't like it was that dangerous in the outskirts? He was sure his mother was just overreacting.
There were knights centered outside the city, it couldn't be that dangerous.
Regardless, Lucas scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Eh… I'm sorry?"
Seeing that, the mature lady stopped her rant. She rubbed her forehead before sighing.
"Keep that sorry to yourself. Knowing you, you would still continue behind my back."
While both were in the middle of a conversation, a toned, charming voice intervened:
"Relax, Linda. Lucas is still a child. He can't help it if he has both the warriors and scholars heart. It isn't like we both weren't like that when we were kids, right?"
In one of the seats in the living room, a handsome man wearing an elegant suite sat while reading a newspaper.
Linda looked at the man before looking at Lucas, her head shaking in a tiresome way:
"I've been a mother for fourteen years. Oh, Jacob. Where have I failed?"
The handsome nobleman, Jacob, replied with a carefree and elegant tone:
"Come on now Linda. It's fine as long the boy doesn't go beyond the outskirts. There are knights outside the city."
Linda was still about to continue before remembering something significant:
"Huu… you two… nevermind, Lucas go upstairs, your choir teacher is waiting for you there."
"Saint Lance is already there?"
Lucas shouted in surprise.
"Since earlier, he's been waiting for…"
Without even waiting for their words to finish, Lucas rushed upstairs and ran to his room unempended.
Looking at their kid, both Linda and Jacob couldn't help but shake their heads.
"He'll make a fine successor of the Aillard House."
***
"Saint Lance!"
Lucas shouted, knocking the door to his own room.
It was courtesy to knock, even if it was your own room. That, his etiquette teacher, engraved in his mind well.
However, after waiting for a while, only silence answered him. He felt that there was something wrong.
"Saint Lance…?"
Lucas asked, confused.
…Still there was no answer. Deciding to find the cause himself, he nervously pushed the door slowly and peeked inside.
In that instant, his eyes froze.
…What he saw was something beyond his imagination.
On the ground, a familiar man rests with blood leaking from his body.
It was his choir teacher, Saint Lance, who dropped dead on the ground with pale white skin, chest bursting with blood and eyes that lost luster.
The man——was dead.
As for who killed him…
"Ah, so you're here."
A soft, soothing voice echoed in the room.
The boy, Lucas, snapped out of his daze and immediately raised his head, looking at the unknown visitor inside the room.
"W-who… are you?"
"I never thought I would see myself this shaken and weak again, color me surprised."
The unknown visitor laughed, as though finding everything happening a mere joke.
"Look at me again and ask yourself, who am I really?"
Hearing that, Lucas stared at the man and observed him intensely, taking a step back in the process.
The unknown visitor was a black haired man with pale white ashen skin, as though away from the sun for years and beyond, possessing eyes that were unfettered deep black and an air of coldness beyond human.
It didn't take long before the boy realized something significant, causing him to be shaken in disbelief.
"Why… do you look like me?"
"Haha! I'm your evil twin brother… is what I would like to say."
The man chuckled as though it was not a massive revelation. Stepping over the corpse, he approached the boy.
"But the simplest answer is that, I'm you."
In front of the boy, the black haired man stood and overshadowed the room. He took off his gloves and bowed slightly before reaching out his hand:
"I suppose introductions are needed. My name is Lucas Aillard, successor of Duke Aillard and the devil who destroyed the Kingdom."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, the child me."
"Lucas Aillard" smiled softly.