The atmosphere was light, a subtle hint of happiness lingering as nobles mingled amongst each other, socializing and making business deals.
Normally, it was extremely disrespectful to do such a thing, especially at the coming of age ceremony of someone else, but this was a world where the strong determined what was what.
In a world where humans could wield the vert elements, where mana ran through the veins of the talented, granting them strength to sunder mountains and split the sky, I, as the Doll of House Leonis, had no say whatsoever.
I watched as the guests at my party socialized with one another, all of them ignoring me the moment they paid their respects. I knew that the true reason they were here was to please my siblings.
My father was one of the seven marquises in the verdant empire and as a Marquis, he had quite the freedome. He married two wives, my mother was the first wife, giving birth to only me, and his second wife, Veronia, gave birth to three children; two male and one female.
I was the youngest of the males with only Elyisa, my junior step sister being the youngest.
My brother's, Julien and Edwinn, were both knights at the third tier, a great achievement for an eighteen and seventeen year old respectively, and although Elyisa was fifteen, a year younger than I was, she was already a Tier 2 warlock.
It's said that she was even more talented than my brothers.
To put it simply, an average Joe that awakened their core at the age of thirteen, would at most reach Tier 3 at the age of twenty-five and that would be considered quite fast. This was the power of noble blood, and yet, I was stuck with a broken core.
'Its been ten years….'
It has been ten years since I woke up in this world, in the body of six year old Emris Leonis, the last son of Lord Ashran, Marquis of Bellenau.
My name was Samson Oladapo and I was a sixteen year old Nigerian youth. All my life I've wished that I could be reborn, that I could leave my world, escape reality and be lost in a fantasy world.
I never knew I would get my wish granted on my sixteenth birthday. And now, here I was, about to experience another sixteenth birthday.
'How nostalgic.'
As someone with a broken core, I couldn't access mana, hence I was stuck with being mediocre for the rest of my life.
This was the reason why my siblings were the center of attention at my own coming of age ceremony and my father, the Marquis, was nowhere to be seen.
As the son of the marquis, I had a better future ahead of me than most. Although I couldn't battle magical beasts or go on adventures, I could at least lead a diplomatic team or go into trading and become a merchant.
But I wanted none of that.
'I have to admit, when I wished for reincarnation, I never expected a life like this.'
I wanted to explore this new world, to see all the miraculous things it had to offer. But alas, I couldn't. Out there, even Tier 5 knights and warlocks are said to die like insects.
'Still, I would pick this boring life over my previous one, anyday, anytime.'
"Huu…." I took a deep breath before taking a sip of my wine. I continue to observe the others. If I could, I would have preferred not to hold this party at all, but it was tradition among nobles.
'I just hope midnight will arrive soon.'
"Oh, if it isn't the star of the day."
I was pulled out of my thoughts by an enchanting voice. I glanced at the young lady approaching me, she had long golden hair and amber eyes.
I knew who she was, Ayva Jacqueline.
Not only was she the sole heir to an Earl, her parents were dead and she was also a Tier 3 knight, the same as my elder step brother, Julien.
It was a greater achievement for a lady than it was for a man. And this lady was one that was wanted by many.
Being a single lady with money and power, she could get any man she wanted and live a peaceful but wealthy life. But yet, she risks her life by going into ruptures and battling monsters.
'I heard she's quite the tyrant.'
"Lady Ayva…" I greeted with a slight bow,
"Emris," she replied with a slight raise of her cup. The difference in status was obvious.
"Shouldn't you be the one mingling amongst them?" She added, gesturing towards a group gathered around with my stepbrothers at the center, talking about rupture knows what.
"Nah, I'd rather stay here, peacefully sipping wine while watching everyone else." I replied with a shrug.
"That's no fun… I never knew you were such a boring person. Your looks tell a different story." Ayva smirked.
The usual me would have blushed, but I've dealt with nobles a long time to know that you mustn't reveal unnecessary things to others. They can and will use it against you.
"You might think that way, lady Ayva, but the truth is quite the opposite."
"Hmm? I'm intrigued, why don't you enlighten me." Ayva came to stand beside me, resting her back on the wall just like I did.
Unlike me, she had a cup of red wine in hand. Although sixteen was the legal age in this empire, I preferred to stay away from alcohol.
Not because of morals but because I could let a thing or two slip out while drunk. My life was already hard as the 'Doll of House Leonis'.
"You see that man over there?" I said, my eyes locking on a figure in the distance. He was a young male with brown hair and gray eyes. He was talking to a lady from a baron family.
"He is Jean, the son of Baron Whitlock. On the outside, he seems like a gentleman, but watch, every now and then, his gentle expression slips and he reveals a dark smile as he 'accidentally' uses his hand to graze the lady's butt."
As if on cue, the gentleman suddenly smiled and stumbled forward, grabbing a handful of the lady he was talking to.
He immediately apologized, making sure to appease the lady before excusing himself with the excuse of shame.
"Oh… he was bold this time. He grabbed a handful…." I muttered,
"Disgusting pervert, where's his pride as a noble?"
I looked at Ayva and chuckled,
"Lady Ayva, in this hall, there are less than a handful of people who actually have pride as nobles. The rest are crooks that are power drunk and believe they can do as they please."
Lady Ayva gave me a long contemplating look before shaking her head,
"And you are always observing…. What a snake…" she added.
"I'd rather be the snake that bites than the victim that dies."
Lady Ayva didn't wait for anymore talk as she pushed herself off the wall. She began to walk forward before pausing,
"You are a bit interesting…. But it's all still because of your looks."
I stared at her back as she walked away. I could tell she was disappointed, how could she not?
'I heard she was always looking for unique people that shared her mindset…'
Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of sharing her mindset. I couldn't be brave and hotheaded, I had to be cold and calculating, watching my enemies movements and making sure I have leverage against them.
I downed my drink and walked out of the hall to the balcony. The dark sky was bright and a full moon hung in the sky.
"We are leaving," I heard a voice come from behind me.
"You are never invited." I replied without bothering to look behind me. I could tell who it was.
Julien.
"Don't be childish," Julien's voice was filled with a playful tone, I didn't need to look back to know he had a condescending gaze.
"Heh, you are pathetic." I chuckled.
"You…" Julien growled.
I finally turned around to look at him. Just like all other children of House Leonis, Julien had grayish-silver hair, albeit short and well trimmed.
He stood at over six feet three, coupled with his broad shoulders athletic body, he was like a perfect knight.
But that was for those who didn't know him. I knew him, I knew him and his siblings well. They were a bunch of pathetic insecure brats.
"This is my coming of age ceremony, I am just someone who can't even use mana and yet, you, your siblings and your mother are still so insecure that you felt you needed to come and steal the spotlight just to put me in my place."
I looked away from Julien, back at the sky.
"Isn't that pathetic?"
"Don't you dare speak about my mother, or I for that matter, like that."
Julien's voice was like a growl and it directly sounded beside my ear. I could feel his hot breath against my neck, and his taller physique casted a soft shadow over me.
He had covered the distance between us, almost three meters, in an instant.
"It's not my fault you are useless. It's not my fault you can't use mana because of your broken core, or that your mother is dead."
"Julien…" Elysia called.
Julien paused for a moment before adding,
"You better keep on being the doll of House Leonis, after all, that's the only thing keeping you alive."
I remained where I was, I could hear the sound of Julien's receding heels. This wasn't the first time this happened, ever since I arrived in this world, Julien had hated me, or the previous Emris.
I wasn't sure if the reason, the memories I inherited were fragmented and Emris was too young. But over the years, I've deduced that the whole lot of them, both my step siblings and my stepmother, hated me.
'I don't care anyways, I hope he gets stuck in a rupture or something.'
I raised my left hand, on it was a silver bracelet. This was the only technological marvel in this otherwise ancient world.
It was called a [Fluctlight Bracelet] and it did everything digital. It was a magical item that charges using celestial energy, energy from the moon and star of any kind.
I gently tapped on it and a holographic image popped up. I began to scroll through the news articles.
As a doll, I had to keep up my appearances. I had to learn about the latest things going on around so I could keep up with conversations with other nobles.
It was even harder to do because most of the time, I get stuck speaking to older people.
[Earlier today, Princess Lisbeth, the third Princess of the Verdant Empire, advanced to Tier 3, becoming the first person on the continent to become a Tier 3 Imperial censor before the age of eighteen…...]
[Duke Ecklebert, an imperial censor, managed to subdue and contract a platinum level beast,....]
[A grade 3 Rupture has been discovered at the edge of , further investigation is being carried out before a subjugation team proceeds…...]
[A wyvern was spotted deep within the outlands, Adventurers should beware...]
'So many amazing things are happening…'
I looked at the time, it was a minute to twelve midnight. This world used the same twenty four hours, seven days a week system as earth, except the calendar and the names of the months.
I looked up at the sky just as a shooting star blitzed right across. I sighed,
"I wish my life would become as interesting as I want it to be."
[Congratulations, Beast taming Gacha system Activated….]
[Commencing synchronization…]