"Truth is not what you want it to be. It is what it is, and you must bend to its power, or live a lie.
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Back to the present.
No matter how much I stare at my own reflection, it doesn't change the reality of the situation I'm in.
Did I just get reincarnated? No—transmigration feels like the more appropriate word.
But how? And more importantly, why?
It's not like I asked for this. I didn't wish for a second chance.
So why the hell am I here?
Fuu… Calm down. Let's analyze the situation first.
I'm in a completely different world, inside the body of a completely different person.
The boy I now inhabit is named Edward Brightwill.
He belongs to one of the Five Great Families of the Empire of Lumania. The Brightwill family governs the northern territory.
Edward was a loveless child, born from a one-sided affection. His mother had fallen in love with his father during their academic days. But his father loved someone else. When he became head of the Brightwill family at a young age—after the sudden death of the previous head—the family was financially unstable. Edward's mother took this opportunity and offered a political marriage to help restore the family's standing. She hoped love would eventually bloom.
But it never did.
When Edward was born, his mother clung to the hope that her husband would finally see her—finally love her. But even then, he remained emotionally distant. The hope that bound her heart eventually crumbled.
And Edward… he grew up watching her disappointment. Still, he wanted love. He wanted recognition—especially from her. He became slightly attached to her, not in an unhealthy way, but in the quiet desperation of a boy who just wanted to matter.
He believed that if he could just earn his father's recognition, his mother might look at him with warmth again.
So, Edward pushed himself.
He excelled in academics. He was graceful in etiquette. He played the piano with such soul it could stir hearts. And he took to swordsmanship with the kind of dedication that made knights nod in approval.
But none of it mattered.
His father remained cold. And his mother—perhaps disappointed in seeing her own reflection in him—grew colder too.
Then came her death.
She passed away from Mana Deficiency Syndrome—a cruel, incurable illness that slowly drains one's life as mana flow in the body ceases.
Edward took care of her to the very end, but all he received were sharp words and colder eyes. As if his existence alone was a reminder of everything she had lost.
Her final words haunted him. He had tried so hard, yet she died with disappointment etched on her face.
That's when the pieces started to crumble.
But they didn't fall apart until his father brought his mistress—and her daughter—into the house.
His half-sister was a year older than Edward. She was kind, innocent, and soft-spoken. She received the love, attention, and warmth that Edward had longed for all his life.
Even the servants, once silent and professional, now laughed more openly. The mansion felt lighter, warmer—just not for Edward.
He began to grow distant. His smile faded. The boy who once burned with hopeful brilliance now stood in quiet ashes.
And yet, his sister never stopped trying. She approached him with open hands and a warm heart.
Her kindness hurt more than any insult. Because he wanted to resent her—for taking the love he was never given—but how could he? She had done nothing wrong.
And that made it worse.
He began to avoid everyone. He started feeling suffocated by the very walls he once considered home.
"Sometimes, it's hard to accept the truth in reality," he once thought. "But if you keep living in a lie, it eats away at you until there's nothing left."
When Edward turned sixteen, he made his decision.
He would leave.
No good memories tethered him to that place. No warmth. No legacy worth preserving.
He told no one in detail—only what was needed.
His sister tried to stop him. She cried, pleaded, begged. But Edward had already let go of this house long before he packed his things. Her words, though sincere, couldn't pierce the fog he was wrapped in.
And when she realized that… she stepped back and let him go.
She respected his wishes.