In the Vaise family, every child was admitted to Cradle—a family academy of sort—once they were of age.
The Cradle opens every three years, so six, seven, and eight-year-old children—no matter which branch they belong to—must attend it. That was a rule of the family.
They are shaped into a perfect Vaise in this place until they are sixteen years old because once they turn sixteen, they are supposed to attend the royal academy.
Today was one of those rare days that came in three years—the day of admission to Cradle. And the hallway of the first floor of Cradle buzzed with hushed whispers and stolen glances.
This group of students had just stepped out of the class after completing their first lesson, and unlike what one would expect them to, they weren't focusing on what had been discussed in the class.
Their focus, instead, was on one of the eight-year-old children in their batch.
Raven Von Vaise.
A living legend in the making.
The boy who had broken the long-set record.
The absolute madman who had straight-up killed a Soul Snake before he even knew how to wipe his own ass properly.
The same guy walked through the corridor with an expression that perfectly blended "I don't give a shit" and "Why am I here?"
He was surrounded by three other kids—his "associates" in this life—who were far too excited about what had just happened in class.
"Did y'all see that?! The old man was totally targeting us!" Alex Vaise, a bastard child of the Vaise family and the loudest of the trio, flailed his arms like a man having a seizure mid-sentence. "Bro was out for BLOOD! I'm telling you, he had a personal vendetta or something!"
His words caused some students in the surroundings to throw a frowning look at him, but the guy didn't care.
He wasn't wrong after all.
The teacher, Damien Vaise, had asked them one question after another as if he had some problem with them.
Raven, however, just shook his head, side-eyeing Alex with the exhaustion of a single mother of five. 'Vendetta? My guy, the only thing that man had was a god complex and a lesson plan.'
Clara Vaise, another one of the bastard children of the Vaise family and the only girl in the group rolled her eyes as well. "He wasn't targeting us, dumbass. He was testing our knowledge. And besides, we all answered just fine."
Alex turned to her and with his mouth agape, he dramatically clutched his chest as if she had just stabbed him. "YOU answered fine. I was out there mentally fighting for my life! You think I knew any of that crap?! The only reason I survived was because of our lord and savior—" he gestured toward Raven, "—this magnificent bastard right here!"
Raven blinked. 'Did this man just call me a deity? I mean, he ain't wrong, but still—'
Jake Vaise, the last and quietest member of the group who was also a bastard like the other two, finally spoke up, adjusting his sleeves. "We wouldn't have been able to answer if not for Raven telling us the answers beforehand."
Yes, Raven had told them about this surprise test beforehand, along with the type of questions that would be asked.
He had explained to them how the power system of magic swordsmen worked and made them remember it word for word.
They didn't know they were graded since they entered the class, so he made them aware of that fact and told them to refrain from going against the family rules—especially fighting other students.
Clara, hearing Jake, nodded, "Yeah. But I guess I understand why the teacher seemed to be doubting us. After all, even the dumbest guy in class—somehow a member of our group—managed to answer."
The entire group stopped walking for a moment.
Slowly, all eyes turned to Alex.
Alex's expression darkened. "Okay. First of all? Rude. Second of all? Accurate. But RUDE."
Raven exhaled through his nose, trying to keep his face neutral recalling how hard it was to make them memorize everything—especially Alex, the thickhead. 'God help me, I'm babysitting a bunch of future warlords, and they're all idiots. But... they're my idiots, I guess.'
He had read ahead in the story, after all. These morons would become monsters in the future—top-tier warriors, influential figures, and probably the only people he could trust.
This meant that, for now, he had to tolerate their nonsense.
'It's an investment,' he reminded himself. 'Just an investment. Breathe in, breathe out. Don't commit homicide. You got this.'
Meanwhile, Alex had gone back to ranting. "Honestly, bro, I don't even know why I'm here. I'm built for a life of luxury. A young master, a king, a CONQUEROR! And yet, here I am, studying like some peasant—"
"You're a bastard of the Vaise family," Clara deadpanned.
Alex gasped. "HOW DARE YOU BRING FACTS INTO THIS?!" He turned to Raven, gripping his shoulders. "BROTHER! You understand my pain, right?!"
Raven placed a hand on his heart, inhaling deeply. Then, in the most monotone voice possible, he muttered, "Yeah. Totally. Tragic. Now unhand me before I commit war crimes."
Jake snorted, Clara shook her head, and Alex wiped a fake tear. "My own bro, betraying me in my time of need. Smh."
'Smh? Did this fool just SAY 'smh' instead of shaking his head? Oh my god, I'm gonna lose my mind.'
As the group continued walking, Raven let out a long sigh, mentally preparing himself for the next class as he knew that the class tomorrow would be the one that would really matter.
But as they walked toward the door of the school of Cradle, they froze as they spotted a blurry but familiar silhouette outside the gate.
'Ah, yeah. Today was THAT day. How could I forget?' Raven, with his gaze turning a bit melancholy, thought to himself.
The students admitted to Cradle were rarely left to meet their parents as they were supposed to grow without outside influence. That, however, changes once they start going to school.
On the first day of school, every student was left to meet their parents for an hour after their first class, and this was the only free visit. After this meeting, the next ones would depend on how they perform in school.
The students, however, were unaware of this as they rushed forward, their eager footsteps echoing through the stone courtyard.
Mothers with kind eyes and warm smiles stood at the gates, their arms outstretched as their children barreled into them.
Laughter and quiet sniffles mixed in the air, creating a bittersweet atmosphere.
Raven barely paid attention to any of that, though.
His sharp black eyes were locked on the three idiots beside him.
Unlike the rest of their batch, they hadn't moved a muscle. They just stood there like misplaced statues.
They were trying to be considerate, of course. He wasn't stupid enough to not understand that.
Raven shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed through his nose. 'These fools think I'm that fragile, huh?'
He didn't miss how Alex avoided his gaze, pretending to examine the cobblestone beneath his feet like it held universal secrets.
Clara, though trying to look uninterested, kept fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves, and Jake—stoic, silent Jake—stood unnaturally rigid, eyes fixed on the horizon.
They weren't leaving because of him.
Because he had no one waiting for him.
He had never had anyone waiting for him.
For a second, the air felt heavier, pressing against his chest like a weight he didn't want to acknowledge. The scene before him blurred slightly, and his fingers twitched inside his pockets.
But then, as quickly as it came, the feeling was shoved aside. He blinked away the haze, rolled his shoulders, and exhaled sharply.
'Alright. Time to handle this with grace.'
"Oi," he called out, making all of them flinch like guilty children caught stealing from the cookie jar. "The hell are you losers still doing here?"
Clara scowled. "We're not—"
"Yes, you are," he cut in, tilting his head in mock curiosity. "Unless you three have collectively decided to abandon your mothers and pursue the noble life of being my personal attendants? If so, I fully support this decision. I do require minions."
Alex coughed. "W-Well, I mean—"
"Minions don't stutter, Alex."
The thickhead groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Bro. Why are you like this?"
"Born this way. Anyway." Raven waved a lazy hand toward the gates. "Go. Shoo. Run along. Get your motherly affection while you still can before they find out what menaces you are and disown you."
Clara, however, narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure?"
Raven gave her the most exaggerated deadpan stare he could muster. "No, Clara. I'm lying. In fact, I want you all to stay here and watch me stand in this spot for a full hour like an abandoned cat."
Jake sighed but finally relented, nodding slightly. "We'll be back soon."
"Take your time," Raven replied with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "I need a break from your collective stupidity anyway."
With one last glance at him—filled with uncertainty and hesitation—they finally turned and walked away, heading toward the waiting arms of their mothers.
But even as they left, he noticed how they kept glancing back, their concern evident in every movement and he held his smirk until they were out of sight.
Then slowly, it faded.
His shoulders relaxed, his hands slipped from his pockets, and his head lowered slightly—just enough that no one would notice the shift in his expression.
The weight in his chest returned, heavier this time, settling into the familiar space it had occupied since birth.
It was loneliness—something he was very familiar with.
He hadn't expected to find this feeling in this life as he thought he would have someone by his side every moment. But it turns out that his mother, who, according to the plot, was supposed to live until he was sixteen, had died during his birth.
All of his planning about finding ways to save her had been in vain.
As for his father? Well, that man was a different breed, so expecting something from him was the last thing Alex would do.
He exhaled slowly, his gaze drifting toward the sky. The clouds moved lazily overhead, indifferent to the emotions of the boy below.
'She's not dead.'
The thought came uninvited, quiet but certain.
He didn't know why things had changed with his mother, but since he had his bloodline, that meant that his mother was still the same, and since she was, she certainly wouldn't die from merely giving birth.
Everyone told him that she was dead, but Raven, aware of the plot, knew that she wasn't.
... or at least he hoped that she wasn't.
He wished that it was just the starting plot that had changed and his mother was still alive out there.
With that thought, he walked away, moving toward his room to meditate or something until his idiotic team members returned.
What he didn't notice was a pair of grey eyes staring at him from a dark corner of the building. It was only when Raven had walked away that the owner of those eyes walked out of the corner, still staring in that direction.
If Raven or any other students who had attended the first class saw this man, they would've realized who it was.
It was Damien Vaise.
He was the teacher that took Raven's first class and the Head of Cradle—of course, the latter wasn't known to the students.
"Another plus point for Raven Von Vaise," he muttered with a smile as he walked back into the cradle. "He is better than I had expected. I must include this in my report."
Damien was somehow looking forward to the practical matches that would be held tomorrow.
He wanted to see if Raven would do something surprising there and whether the said record-breaker would break the record again.
For the first time, after a long time, Damien felt excited about something.