Wyge Steinfeld, one of the youngest to become a four-star mage, was recruited by the original Daniela who had promised to help her rebuild the Steinfeld family if she became her maid and bodyguard.
Even in the story she had persevered and managed to become a six-star mage, and that Wyge is about to walk in through that door.
The door creaked in protest as she pushed open the door, the hinges groaning.
With a sharp clap sound, Wyge's palms connected and the sudden burst of sound ignited the chandelier above, casting the beautiful room in a golden glow.
Under the light Wyge's appearance came into full view—with hazel hair, cascading in slow waves, her sharp jawline framing her face, and her obsidian eyes that burned with life. Dressed entirely in black—her shirt, her pants and even her shoes—she exuded an air of authority.
"Princess, what was the sound I heard, do you need some help perhaps?" Wyge asked bowing slightly, her eyes carefully avoiding Daniela's face.
'She's avoiding eye contact. Is this part of those royal etiquettes and stuff? This is so annoying—now I have to explain this.'
"Well how should I put it... can you umm, raise your head and, uhh, look at me."
"What is it, princess? Huuh..! What did you do with your hair? No, no, please reconsider. Is it a long-term dye? Can you circulate your mana to remove it?"
'What's this! She never panicked this hard in the story... or did she? Oh! That's why. Dyeing the hair meant giving up the succession for the throne.'
Rose walked towards Wyge, placing a calming arm on her shoulders, "Shhhh, Calm down."
"I didn't dye my hair, I simply lost the blessing."
"THUMP"
As soon as those words escaped Rose's lips Wyge fainted, collapsing onto the floor.
"Okay, that was my fault. I should have landed that blow a lot softer."
----
Finn sat by the riverside lost in deep thought.
'There is ambient mana here in the surroundings, I just need to mix it with my neigong and establish my foundation to begin cultivation.'
Finn then sat up, taking off his shirt revealing a fit body underneath. The cold wind struck the surface of his skin making him shiver slightly.
He straightens his back, places his hands in front of his abdomen, interlacing his fingers and crosses his thumbs forming a circular shape.
'Imagine a bright warm yellow energy emanating from the dantian, well In my case, it's a lot dark and cold. But since mana functions via projection and materialisation I have to imagine it warm.'
A small gust formed around Finn as translucent energy entered through his mouth through each breath. This was possible through breathing techniques where mana is taken in through inhalation.
'I can feel it—the mana is circulating perfectly. Even if I lived a peasant's life, I had amazing luck being born with black hair.'
Ever since the discovery of mana a thousand years ago, children have been influenced by mana from the time they were in the womb. Hair colours reflected how well a body could handle mana and its compatibility with the soul.
Black hair meant high mana control while those with white hair had bodies that acted as a mana purifier, clearing the mana of nearly all impurities and letting them cultivate faster.
Gold hair was accessible only to the royals of the empire since golden hair had the properties of both black and white hair. The reason for the golden hair was, a grace received from a dragon, a specific blessing called the Aureate Kiss. It was passed down in the royal family of the empire, originating from the first emperor of the Aurumae kingdom, who received it from the Golden dragon—Zhào Huáng.
But the unfortunate ones were those who had scarlet hair, indicating poor mana quality and no elemental affinities, most commonly referred to as the 'abandoned by mana'.
"WHOOSH"
Finn's body was enveloped in a cold gust of wind and his skin started cracking apart.
"BAAM"
The old skin withered away as Finn emerged. He slowly opens his eyes, his mouth curling up to form a smile, "Yes I've finally established the core and rejuvenated, now let's see if I can still use the shadows."
He extends his right hand, placing the tip of his middle finger in between his eyebrows.
"In me and in shadows, dwell darkness."
"WHOOSH... "
"Ha, I screwed up!"
----
Back in the palace, Rose glanced at Wyge, who was now lying in her bed after fainting.
'Would you look at that? The strong and valiant Wyge my bodyguard, sleeping in my bed after fainting. Well, who am I to blame her?'
Daniela walks to the window and pushes open the magnanimous window exposing herself to the bright moonlight and a chilly wind.
'Alright let's make things clear; I reincarnated as Daniela the female lead of 'Duke's Liebling'. I now have two brothers and a father, unlike back on Earth. My older brother is Thaddeus Von Marcellonius and my younger brother is Gabriel Von Marcellonius. The emperor is Arwan Von Marcellonius, pretty handsome if you ask me, -ahem- anyways that's all I have as family since the empress already died from circulation failure.
'For future troubles, I've got a lot to think of starting with my hair and so many things.'
"O light protect and bless me. Luminous: Aurelios"
Nothing happened as the wind growled.
"Hehee, the spell sounded cool though."
'Was the incantation wrong?"-sigh-"Of course not. I can't use magic even if I know the incantation, I need to learn the breathing techniques, hand signs and mental imagery to properly cast spells. But then again, that was a basic low-tier spell.'
Rose then pulls back a rogue strand of black hair that fell on her face, contemplating what to do next.
'Black hair, huh'. Normally black hair would mean great talent—but not when the second princess of the empire gets it.
'Also I have beef with both brothers and the emperor, Daniela was a real problem and now I'm one suffering.'
'Should I dye my hair? Yea, no other dye can give me that golden glow. What should I do? It's compulsory that the princess has to join the breakfast every morning along with the princes and the emperor.'
'HOWL'
'For some reason, I'm more excited and relieved than being worried, was this something I always wanted? Maybe this is better than scrolling through the phone every day. That's it—I've decided what to do next.'
"I'm gonna enjoy this rich life as Daniela for Rose and that's why—Oh life bless and protect all I want. Luminous: Aurelios"
As soon as Rose finished the incantation a faint glow emanated from the palm of her hands forming a small sphere of light before fading off.
"Well, what do you know?"
'The mental state is all that matters for casting low-tier spells. Now that I, the greatest reader, am here, I'm gonna bend this tragic romance into my happy ending.'
"Aarggh! The princess lost the blessing!" yelled Wyge, who woke as if she had been stuck in a nightmare, only to see it wasn't a dream.
'THUMP'
Wyge faints, falling back into the pillow once again. "Classic Wyge," said Daniela her lips curling into a smile.
'Now that I feel better, let's jolt down the basic things. The world is murim, I don't know which year, I should probably ask someone. The world has four continents, Vanderheim in the north-west, Jianghu in the east, the Deccan in the south and then, this; the Aurumae in the west.'
'Are there any strong or influential characters I can completely make my ally? Yes, there are plenty since I know all of their stories, but who? The principal of Nexarion seems good, but she's too much to deal with, maybe the Sage of the North?... Nah, he's even more of a crack-head than the principal.'
Daniela walked around the room, unable to sit from excitement. "On second thought why only look for candidates from the good guys list, let's check out the villains too."
'Before that I should try out something, this is the first thing reincarnators try.'
"STATUS WINDOW"
...
"CHARACTER INFO"
Sparks flared and a second later a screen materialised. "Of course, it's not reincarnation without a status window, it's one of the basic tropes of reincarnation." Rose's face lit up from both lights of the system window and knowing she had a system window.
NAME: DANIELA VON MARCELLONIUS
AGE: 17
CLASS: ELEMENTAL MAGE
TITLE: None
QUESTS
Mission: ...
'Alright, fuck this system.'
----
Finn, meanwhile, walked around, occasionally kicking small rocks on the ground.
'Fuck I forgot to balance the yin with the yang. I can't believe I lost the Dark of the Night talent. But I am a Tenebrion, it's one of the hereditary techniques, how do I just lose it?'
"Now how do I know what my talent is? Should I get an aptitude test? But those are expensive beyond what I can afford, and I need the money I have for cultivation resources."
'Alright let's calm down, I have a week till the academy starts, It takes two days to reach the school, therefore I have five days to work. Now all I need to do is find out which job pays the best.'
'A talent assessment costs almost five ryū. Most of the basic works provide one kō or a hundred shin, I'll need ten kō to get a ryū. I miss the times I had no worries using hyaku-ryū as I pleased.'
'Killing beasts is out of the question since I won't survive and the only beasts I can kill are boars, who don't even provide much resources, but then there aren't many jobs I can do. After monster hunting, all that's left for me will be manual labour, cleaning houses, or maybe working as a waiter. Cleaning won't pay much, so it's between manual labour and waiter.'
'Alright it's settled, I'll go to the city tomorrow and ask around for work. For now, I just want to sleep.'
Finn then picks up his grey shirt from the grassy terrain and puts it back on. He lies on the ground and places his hands behind his head as a cushion, staring up at the sky.
Finn dozes off as a cold wind chimes in, cooling the atmosphere a bit more.
----
"So, Jack how is work these days?" Vlad asked with a thoughtful expression.
"Meh, it's the same thing over and over again, although I could use a hand in delivery, my storage ring broke and it will take a while to fix it," Jack replied yawning.
"Sleepy? Why don't you head back home? I'm about to close up for the day."
"I think that's a good idea. See you later Vlad", Jack got up from the stool, the stool creaking from the strain.
As Jack exited the tavern and started walking, a chilly wind blew. "Brr, it's not even winter yet the wind is as cold as ever."The streets were empty under the glow of the street lamps, the wind sweeping the lifeless pavement, fallen leaves dancing to the gust.
'This wind, it reminds me of that day, Jack. Do you remember the day you were cast aside?' a malignant voice whispered in Jack's head.
'Oww, yes how can I forget that day ', Jack replied with a chuckle, 'Why do you have to bring out the sour part of my life every time a wind blows.'
'I am not sure, perhaps it's etched in me. Besides, I have never suffered like you.'
'SIGH'
'Man, don't you get tired of bringing up that kind of memories'
'Jack, tell me—what do you think is the meaning of life?' the voice asked, it's voice laced with dark amusement
'No clue, shouldn't you know it, since you're some sage who lived for centuries.' Jack asked, curious.
'Nope, I could never live a fulfilling life, the same could be said about you. Aren't you wasting away here? What did you do to get your research back when it was stolen from you?'
'Nothing,' Jack replied with a bitter smile. 'I couldn't do anything to get back my research and worst of all I didn't even try. But I don't miss that life.'
'I told you back then, we could have taken it back. All we needed to do was murder their families maybe cut off their limbs. They would have confessed.' The voice hummed with cruel delight.
'Are you sure you were a sage? You sound more like a bloodthirsty killer.'
'I was no sage, to be precise, I was a shaman. This world, however, is peculiar—far too many inexplicable phenomena.'
...
Jack then spoke out, "Why did you go silent? Hey, how about a stretch? I'll let you take over."
'Really? You remain the only one unafraid of me.' the voice replied maliciously, yet thankful.
"Why should I be afraid? If you wanted me dead, you could have done it ages ago. I think the both of us just need a break from this world or whatever world you came from."
'You're a good man Jack, I regret not aiding you back then. Perhaps I should have killed them all.'
"Yeah, no—pretty sure I'm better off without that kind of help," Jack chuckled.
'So… may I take over?' the voice asked, a trace of curiosity in its tone.
"Sure. It's quiet enough out here. Go ahead."
'My thanks, Jack.'
----