Back to the Story:
Knowing all this, I decided to stop this scenario from even happening.
I would have preferred to keep Noah by my side and use him to my advantage, but there is always a risk that, knowing the future, he might betray me and join the protagonist.
I could also stop his awakening ceremony, but knowing Baron Misha's nature, he would never let that happen.
Kidnapping him or crippling him will not change a thing, as awakening does not depend on physical conditions.
There was only one thing he could do—that is, silence Noah before he awakens.
With Aish's family in power, it would not be hard to have him assassinated. And even if somehow Baron ever learns the truth, he would never start a fight with a Duke over his useless dead son.
Baron Misha was not a good man who cared for anything. In the original novel, he was one of the few people who profited most from watching the Floren Family's downfall—he was already a Count Rank noble at that time, and in the absence of the Floren Family—and taking advantage of the chaos, he became a Duke too.
(So maybe erasing him now while he is only a small baron will easily solve future troubles for me.)
I shook my head to remove that thought from my head, at least for now. I will just look at his behavior and decide later. But Noah—I cannot let him go.
In the original book, Noah awakened at the age of 12, 2 years later than Aish.
So, I must somehow find a way and kill him before that.
_
But these things are still in the future, and I have more time to think about them. For now, I must learn more about this course.
As this was never mentioned in the book, I do not know who did it, why, or what kind of effects it can still have.
From what I heard while I was in the darkness and what Artemis told me, I can narrow it down to 3 people.
These people are the ones who have been with me for years and had the perfect chance to put the curse on me. They are also the ones who will later betray the Floren family in the novel.
1) My shadow ESME SCARLETT: A vampire spy posing as a human. Though it is not known to many yet, aside from Evil's Scion, vampires also know how to harness the cursed mana. They were born from it. Vampires are a subspecies of the Demons in this world.
2) Guard captain BERIC ZASTAN—real name Magna A spy of Evil's Scion. Planted 7 years ago during one of the dungeon raids. Where he killed the original Beric and took his place. He is acting as the perfect soldier for now, while trying to earn everyone's trust and fully infiltrate the duke's house.
3) CHEF CHIRON: The head chef of Floren Mansion. He was a mysterious character mentioned in less detail in the original book, but his birthplace was said to be the lost continent. He later joins the protagonist and helps him get the legacy of a lost swordsman and dies while protecting him. However, it was never mentioned if he knew about cursed mana usage or not. But he is still a major suspect.
_
If I want to save myself and Amelia till, I get stronger and uncover the truth, I need to get rid of these people first.
However, I do not know if I can kill them, as they are important characters for the plot or people who joined the protagonist's party, as they might also have high luck on their side.
But I would rather hope and believe that since the plot has not started yet, I can find a chance.
Now I need to take care of all these 3 traitors plus Noah Winston before the plot officially begins, and they somehow get the protection of fate or the protagonist's luck and become his allies instead.
_
I also tried to look for a system as every other reincarnated person does. I shouted all the keywords, but nothing happened. No transparent floating blue window screen appeared in front of me.
I was a little disappointed at first, but then I remembered that it would not matter much. Because in the book, Arcadia also has its own world system, which people can use to see their status and skills. But that only appears after the awakening and when your body gets accustomed to mana, so I will just have to wait for that.
_
After solving all these troubles, I can be worry-free about the plot and my life for some time and focus on getting stronger.
I just must make sure that me and Amelia stay away from the protagonist, and hopefully we will be safe.
_
It has only been a day since I came here, and I am already stuck with situations that are spelling my doom and thinking about killing people.
It will not be my first time killing someone, but I did not want to repeat that experience.
_
If I had not met Amelia, who is exactly like my sister Ria, I would never have had to think so hard about ways to survive.
As of then, my only fear after reincarnation would be the ending of the original Aish in the book. Where he was tortured endlessly—I could easily prevent that without doing anything and get a much better ending—by simply killing myself if I wanted to lose. And by not giving the protagonist a chance to trap me.
Fear of death means nothing to me now, as I already know what comes after that.
_
But I cannot do that now. I cannot just lay down and die—not until I find out the truth about Amelia.
If there is even a slight chance that she's Ria, then I cannot just ignore her and let her get the ending that was written in the book.
I have already failed her once back on Earth and lived my life in regret. I cannot fail her again and let her die here too.
I must find out the truth because then I will not have to worry about her.
And hopefully after doing all that, I can get my peaceful rest in the calm darkness again.