'Thoughts'
"Talking"
"Talking in foreign language"
~ Parsel Tongue ~
[… Moon Cell talking in his head …]
---
Hadrian thought that it was over.
His second life was satisfying.
It was not certainly perfect, considering the numerous ups and downs he had experienced throughout the journey.
But, at the very least, it was close to being one.
Despite his unique upbringing, he was able to live his life in peace (relatively, anyway) and had done what he wanted to do.
More importantly, he had people that he came to care about with him through it all.
He had friends, comrades who remained loyal and faithful at his side, and he managed to do his duty as the heir of the Schweinorg household, continuing the line with someone he truly cares about. It may have been somewhat out of character of him to settle down, but he had a duty to fulfill and so he went and did it. It was not a strange thing for him to do, considering it was something he would have done in his first life if not for the war.
To be a husband, and then a father, was a new and intimidating experience, but he endured and managed to persevere somehow.
He may not be the perfect husband, nor the ideal father to his children, but he did his best to make sure that his loved ones were safe and their needs in the present and future were well taken care of.
And when he took his last breath, Hadrian faced it calmly without fear as a descendant of a goddess of death should.
While death was a somber and sullen affair for most people, to the descendants of Etro, the Goddess of Death, it was simply a natural course in life that must happen.
In Hadrian's case, he did not fear death since he already knew where his soul would end up.
…
…
At least, that was what he had thought at first.
Just when he closed his eyes and imagined the beautiful snow-white field of Valhalla (the resting place of those related to Etro, and other mortals deemed fit to enter his ancestral mother's realm), his peace of mind was quickly disrupted by a shocking sensation that disoriented him for a few moments. It felt as if he was picked up and dropped down at a very high speed, almost akin to being inside a small elevator that was free-falling with no security.
Hadrian grimaced.
There was a buzzing noise in his head that was painful to bear, but slowly, it was ceasing into a muted noise in the background.
Then, the noises flowed in as his hearing returned.
"– Look, milady, a healthy boy!"
"The heir to the household!"
"Congratulations, milady."
"Congratulations, my dear."
"Ha… haa…. haaa… thank you, everyone, mama." Said a woman in between labored breathing.
BANG
His eyes may be closed, but Hadrian was sure that was the sound of a door being slammed open.
Before he could delve deep into his musing though, a male voice shouted from somewhere far away from him.
For some reason, the voice was quite familiar, as if he had heard of it before.
And for some reason, he has mixed feelings at the idea of it, as if discovering who it was would bring him both nostalgia and frustration at the same time.
Like he said, mixed feelings.
"A boy?! Give him here! I wanna hold him!" The man said, uttering words with a hint of childishness that was a stark contrast to his deep and elegant voice.
"Papa, please don't be so loud."
"Husband, our precious child has just finished giving birth, our first grandchild might I add, and you barge in here in such a barbaric manner?" The words were delivered coldly yet eloquently by the woman before, who seemed to have shed her motherly nature for a moment to admonish her husband's behavior.
"Eh? Ah… Ahahaha, sorry, sorry. I was just really excited, my love." The man was quick to apologize, immediately sensing his precarious position.
'Smart man…' Hadrian gave a mental nod to the man's quick thinking.
The man may seem like a fool, but he was certainly quick to acknowledge the situation he put himself in.
On a different note, it seems that Hadrian was (once again) reincarnated.
Whether it had something to do with the gift the astral gods had bestowed upon him from his first life or due to the meddling of a higher being, Hadrian was not sure.
It was not exactly a subject that he had authentic information to muse on, at least not yet anyways.
Nonetheless, the truth will reveal itself in its own time. He just needed to be patient and endure his situation for now.
… even if it means going through the horrible stages of puberty once more.
The mere thought of being a teenager (again) made him cursed.
But, due to his current body, Hadrian let out a short, frustrated cry instead.
"Oh, he kicked just now. That little one is going to be quite the fighter once he grows up. I can just feel it."
"How adorable."
… He almost forgot that he was not alone.
'Tsk… Let's assess the situation first.' Hadrian thought, setting aside his annoyance for now.
When he opened his eyes, a pristine white beige ceiling greeted his sight.
Then, the faces of people he had never met before came into view.
The first was a young woman with light curly blonde hair that went past her shoulders and a pair of clear yet vivid amethyst-colored eyes.
She has a fair skin tone and was currently dressed in a black nightgown. Her face, while exceptionally beautiful, was lightly damped with sweat and with a few strands sticking against the side of her temple. She looked tired, but her violet eyes shone with love and relief, all of which were directed upon him as she held him gently in her hands while leaning against the headboard for support.
The emotions he sensed from her alone were enough to indicate her as the one who gave birth to him.
His mother in this life.
Next to her was another woman, albeit more mature but just as elegant as the other.
She shares similar features to the younger woman, from her facial features and down to her violet eyes, but her hair was black and tied up into bun with a lock of her bangs free to the right side of her left countenance. With her black dress and elegant looks, she appears to be a businesswoman with a great sense of awareness in fashion. And like the former, the mature-looking woman looked upon him with a motherly expression as well.
Recalling the conversation earlier, he would guess that this woman was his grandmother.
He was brought out of his musing when the male voice from before spoke again.
"It's been minutes, can I hold him now?" The only male voice he heard in the room pitched in, almost whining.
Upon hearing his voice, the older woman's face contorted into a slightly annoyed expression while the younger one sighed in exasperation.
"Dear, I love you, truly, but you can be quite troublesome at times…" The older woman commented, sending a mild glare over her shoulder.
Her words elicited a burst of bold laughter from the man, one that Hadrian found familiar but could not quite pinpoint yet.
For someone who has a photographic memory, he sure was having a difficult time recalling his memories.
'Perhaps it's because this body needs more time to mature…' Hadrian assumed. 'Only time will tell if I'm correct though…'
"Haha, it's one of my charming points, my love." The man said smoothly. "Who knows, maybe enkel might inherit that side of myself too?"
"Goodness, I hope not." The older woman denied quickly in a monotone voice, looking mildly disturbed by the idea.
"Yes, one of you is enough, sir."
"The Lord is kind and benevolent, but he has shown himself to be quite the trouble magnet."
"Indeed…"
– were the side comments from other occupants in the room.
Hadrian heard a sigh from above him, causing him to look and see the younger woman (who still happened to be carrying him in her arms) send a fond yet exasperated smile to someone in front of her, probably the man who had been complaining from before. Then, she adjusted her hold on him, gently extending her arms forward as she spoke again.
"Come on then, papa. You can hold him now." The young mother ushered, smiling, and still looking beautiful despite her recent labor.
While not one to be swayed by appearances, Hadrian supposed he was more conscious of her beauty due to how happy she looked.
It might be his assumption, but he has this feeling that the young woman seemed to be the type to keep her composure.
The kind that rarely smiles around strangers, lest there was a certain cause for her to display such an emotion freely.
'Then again, it might simply be because she's happy right now…'
His internal musing suddenly stopped when a new pair of hands held his newborn body.
Then, utter shock filled his entire body as the face of a man came into view and a pair of bright cyan eyes look down at him.
Mischievous eyes that were extremely familiar to him.
The sense of dread deepened, and when the man spoke, his worst fears came true.
"Enkel!" The man, whom Hadrian has great suspicion of being a reincarnation (or some sort) of his late grandfather in another lifetime, grinned down at him.
One of the founding fathers of the Mage Association and (later) the Clock Tower, and the Magician of the Second True Magic, the Kaleidoscope.
It was none other than his grandfather, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.
'Tsk… even his grin is the same as his…'
"Bwahaha! Look, mein Schatzi (my treasure)! He's naught but a babe, yet he already has quite the glare. Bwahahaha!" The old man laughed.
'This is him, all right…' The former king deadpanned, his suspicion all but confirmed by the way the man behaved and spoke.
Hadrian merely stared as he was held by his grandfather from his past and present lifetime.
And so, his life in a new reality begins… albeit (unluckily) graced with the presence of a troublesome grandfather.