The Hampshires were a bizarre family. Although there were seven of them in total, none of them loved each other. It was like they were co-existing with each other. The smaller members of the Hampshire family were oblivious little twats, didnt know a word of hatred. The same could not be said for the elder siblings. They wanted to earn the attention of their father, and in the process always picked fights with one another.
Except when it came to making fun of Adui or Dave, then they posed a united front.
Adui's new father was Arnold Hampshire, and there was only to describe the man. He was a meathead. A lot of brawn, but sadly no brains. All day long, his father would either bark orders at him or his siblings or bark orders at Hubert, the family's unofficial butler.
Hubert was a pervert and egotistical bastard. While roaming around the house, Adui had seen him being all over the business of three maids who worked in their house. And one time he also saw his father dragging Martha, one of the maids, off to the guest room located in the middle of their manor.
Surrounded by perverts and imbeciles, Adui truly believed that this was his purgatory, and he would die a very slow and painful death in this place by some plague or something. But it was before he saw his father turn a huge fucking boulder into dust. He didnt know how his father's hands were glowing blue, nor did he know how he did it. But it awoke two things in him.
The monster inside of him, thinking of how he could off one of the close family members of his father, and play with the brawny guy. The cool thing was, as he had no legacy to protect now, he could truly unleash the monster.
And boy he had plans.
Another thing that got awakened in him, was his scientific curiosity. He wanted to know whether this world have something called magic. Because only that could explain what he saw. And to understand what this world was truly like, he needed a pig…
It was nighttime, everyone was asleep in their beds. But Adui was awake. He wanted to get to the crux of the situation, and for that, he would need a pig that would squeal out all the secrets that he wanted to find out. And for that, he was a great candidate. Which is why, he was currently navigating through the dark corridors to get to his pig.
In the last weeks, he had managed to memorize everything there is to know about the manor. He knew every room, the count of steps that one would need to get from one room to another, and last but not least, he knew where everything was kept. Now he could travel through the corridors, with his eyes closed.
It didnt take him long to get to his pig's room. He could see that his pig was still awake, probably because the maids stayed up late to clean up after everyone in the family had dinner. Gently, he knocked on the door.
A woman's head peeked outside. The light of candles from inside her room fell on his stoic face.
"Master Adui," she whispered, "Can I help you with something?"
"Sure you can," he said, and then pushed the door aside and walked in. The maid fell on the floor, she was in her underwear, probably why she was peeking from the door.
"What are you doing?" The woman nervously spoke, as she covered herself with her hands. He didnt bat an eye to her naked figure and closed the door behind him.
He then went and sat down on her bed, "Martha, you and I need to talk," he said calmly.
Till that time Martha had quickly grabbed what looked like a nightgown. She quickly got dressed and mumbled at him, "You barren fuck, you got a lot of nerve." She came to stand before him, "Wait till I tell your mother. She will have your ears for disrespecting me like that,"
Unmoved, he gestured to get closer to him. Martha probably obeyed, as it was in her nerves to accept all orders from him. As she got closer to his face, he slapped her so hard that she fell on the floor, on his feet.
His handprint got imprinted on her cheek, and she went into shock. "And what the hell will you tell my mother?" he asked, "I can just tell her that I only wanted to play with you. And I did what my father did so, two days ago. Didnt he?"
She became pale, "I wonder whether my mother would punish me, or have your head. My father would probably be unscathed, but you on the other hand.. Dear oh dear,"
Her breaths became uneven, "Who are you?" she asked while rubbing her cheek, "You cannot be Master Adui." Her shock was truly relevant
When he saw his father and mother was the first time, they asked him whether he could really speak. It was like he was not able to speak before this. He didnt want to stand out in any way, so he didnt ask around. But the insults that his family threw at him made him understand that the original owner of the body was, a mentally challenged fellow.
The original owner didnt speak, but could understand the conversation. And one day, the eldest sibling of the Hampshire family used the poor boy as a training dummy. And that was what got the poor boy in such a state. From what he heard, this body had been in a coma for about 2 months, before he took over.
According to the household, now Adui could speak. But he is still the dumb boy that he was before. And Dave made sure not to show his intelligence to the people of the world, so Martha's shock was kind of given..
"I am Adui." He confidently said. Although he didnt like the name Adui, he was stuck with it.
With a sigh and sad face, he spoke, "I am was stuck… you know, in my body." He looked into her eyes, "But that accident freed me. I was able to move properly, hell, even speak properly."
"You were freed by Master Noah?" It was a very dumb explanation, but considering the IQ of people in the house, it would work for now.
"Yeah," he sighed, "That man is a lot of things.. But he did help me get free." Then Dave stared into her eyes, "For a moment there, I felt that I dont want to live in this world. I have been stuck in a very bad place for a very long time. But yet here I was. I have been thinking about committing suicide, but then I saw what my father did today. I want to know how he was able to do, what he did,"
The woman looked rather surprised by the question, "He was able to do it because he is a mana wielder." She said as if it was the most obvious thing.
"What is a mana wielder?"
"They are the people, who have received the gift of the gods. They wield power that can trample mountains, flip the seas, change weather, and many more things that normal people like us cannot do,"
"I dont think my father would be able to trample mountains, he is not a giant," he said, not understanding what the woman meant to say.
"Your father is a strong mana wielder, but he is not the strongest. I have heard that there are some noble houses where people far stronger than your father lives,"
"Where did you hear that piece of information?"
"My father used to work as a porter. He used to hear a lot of things from moving merchant caravans."
The source is not reliable. Her words may have weight to them, but knowing something like this exists in the world is very interesting.
"How can I become a mana wielder?" he asked.
"You cannot," she said, "You are barren. The black sheep of the family. The rest of your family members can wield mana, but you cannot,"
"Oh," Inwardly, he was glad the meaning of barren was not what he was expecting.
"Are there any records on mana wielders, or their power?"
"You mean books? They are all in Lord Hampshire's training room,"
"Hmm." He thought, a plan brewing inside his head, "Also, tell me something else…" he said and then started asking questions about this body's past, and the Hampshire…
That night Dave got a full-on theory lesson on the Hampshire family by Martha. The poor pig squealed all the frustration that she had about the family, and he was happy to hear everything. She accidentally told him a ton of secrets as well, like the fact that Mrs. Hampshire sometimes brings the old Hubert into her chambers when Lord and the siblings go out to the monthly hunts.
And the maids truly believed that there was a chance that Adui could be the son of Hubert. The infidelity didn't deter him, because had other things to think about…
***
The next morning, the Hampshires were having breakfast at the huge dining table. Usually, Dave chose to remain silent at the table, but this morning he had other plans.
"Father,'" he said. His voice was clear, reflecting his confidence. Hearing his voice, everyone at the table also quieted down, curious to hear what he had to say.
"What is it?" his father asked him.
"Father.." He hesitated, but then spoke, "I want to learn how to read and write,"
His eldest sister, the second sibling of Hampshire scoffed, "And what do you intend to learn how to read and write?"
"Forget about intention, do you even have the brains to learn?" the eldest brother asked.
"The pigs of the local farm have a better chance of learning.." One of his other siblings commented, which made everyone in the room laugh. Even maids and Huberts smirked at the joke, but he noticed that Martha didnt smirk.
"I dont have the money to teach a wasteral like you," his father commented.
"Father you can let Hubert teach me," he suggested, "That way you won't have to spend any money," His siblings made mean comments on his suggestion, but his father didnt say anything. From what he could tell, he was contemplating the idea.
It is only his siblings have made all the jokes that he could make, his father said, "I will let Hubert teach you for a month. And if you dont show any progress, that would it for you boy. I will send you off to join the royal army as a soldier,"
"I will do my best," And just like he completed the first phase of his plan