Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Greatest Crisis of My Life
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I was definitely in the middle of the deepest crisis of my life.
I'd pulled up the partition before bed, but for some reason, the piercing light irritating my eyes was blindingly bright.
I'd finally managed a deep sleep after so long, but waking up with eye strain soured my mood right away.
My body felt heavy and listless, and the moment I reached out to raise the hospital bed...
"Eh...? (Huh...?)"
I stretched out my arm, but the remote was out of reach, and an incomprehensible baby gurgle escaped my lips—something I could hardly believe came from me.
In my confusion, I looked down at my hand, only to find a small, chubby little thing wiggling there instead.
"Euh! Waah! Au!? (What the hell's wrong with my hand!?)"
I'd only dozed off mid-game, but when I opened my eyes, my scrawny arms were gone. In disbelief, I just wiggled them up and down, but the arm moved exactly as I thought—insisting loud and clear that yes, this was definitely mine.
I was too stunned to speak, just staring blankly, when I started scanning my surroundings.
The ceiling bore a majestic golden dragon mural proclaiming 'I am magnificent,' while an opulent chandelier—god knows how much it cost—dazzled my eyes.
What I'd thought was a bed was actually a cradle, adorned with intricately engraved miniature pillars.
Between the pillars stood gleaming white furniture trimmed in gold, and the crimson curtains surrounding me were perfectly pleated with crisp edges.
But the most bewildering sight was those blue things reflecting the sunlight, shimmering with an ethereal glow.
Some looked like mold, others like wispy smoke drifting lazily.
As I frantically rolled my eyes in confusion, trying to figure out what had happened to me, a woman entered through the ornate doors.
"Hee hee, my little prince~ Mommy's here."
Prince? Mommy? No idea why, but this woman chattering unfamiliar words scooped me up, and my body helplessly nestled into her arms.
Her eyes met mine, and she was stunning enough to leave me staring blankly.
Cascading beautiful brown hair framed her innocent, slightly drooping eyes, where vibrant green irises sparkled.
"Uwaaah...? (Um, who might you be...?)"
"Aww, you've missed your mommy too, haven't you, my firstborn of the Luminaria Empire! My treasure!"
My question went unheard as an 'adoring mother' auto-translation kicked in inside her head.
Her embrace felt warm and loving, but my mind turned ice-cold in contrast.
'Luminaria...? Prince...? Firstborn...? Liam Luminaria of the Luminaria Empire!?'
From the woman's words cradling me, one crystal-clear candidate sprang to mind.
The last boss of Rebel of the Academy, the bastard responsible for turning the game into a nightmare, the parent-slaying fiend who'd make any dev's mom weep.
I seemed to have become the final boss Crown Prince of that dark fantasy world overrun with enemies...
"Your Majesty, it's almost time for your audience with the Marquis of Florence."
A elderly maid who'd been watching us fondly urged her on, and with a reluctant sigh, she gently laid me back in the cradle.
"Father's already here? He's always so impatient."
"My baby boy, Mommy will come see you again soon~."
Her prettily folded eyes brimmed with regret as she smoothed her hair, straightened her posture, and strode out of the room.
Before I could even collect my thoughts, the room was left with just me and the servants.
Or rather, me and these mysterious blue molds.
Mysterious or not, they had to be mana, judging by context.
What was fantasy if not a world where impossible things happened willy-nilly?
If these were actual mold in a royal nursery—not some fermentation chamber—the maids' heads would've been chopped off for 'turning the prince into cheese.'
So this was visible only to me; the original story never described seeing mana directly.
You just sensed or felt its flow.
The mana that ignored all physics—making modern scientists clutch their necks in horror—where you'd swing a stick with a chant and poof, fire or water erupted from thin air!
An enigmatic something with no known total quantity or origin in the world!
The force letting every wizard and knight cram miracles into their puny bodies via "lol, mana circuits"!
Truth be told, I didn't know much either.
I'd never seen flying blue mold in real life—how should I?
Curious, I reached out to touch one. A clump drifted toward my hand and slipped inside like smoke.
Stunned by the spectacle, I watched as the surrounding mana seemed to gather toward me.
If mana had a mouth, it'd probably say:
'Hah... You tempted me first, didn't you?'
"Eh? (Huh?)"
The ambient mana surged into my hand with terrifying speed.
Is this okay...? No, it's not! It's hot! This is definitely wrong—something's filling my body, but I can't control it!
My outstretched arm trembled violently, tears streamed from eyes I couldn't even blink, yet somehow, the world I perceived was expanding bit by bit.
Forgotten how to breathe, I twitched spasmodically when the door burst open with a bang.
"What is this...? Damn it! Call the physician! Now!"
A disheveled middle-aged man with brown hair and green eyes—magic circles unfurling around him—swept his fingers from my arm to heart, throat, and over my entire body.
Breathing eased, the burning headache subsided, and calm returned.
"Father! What happened...? Kyaaah! Liam!"
The woman I presumed was my mother rushed in, saw my flushed body and bloodshot eyes, and screamed in horror loud enough to shake the heavens.
She scooped me up swiftly and asked the middle-aged man in a trembling voice.
"Father... what happened? Is Liam... is Liam okay?"
Her arms hugged me tight, shaking uncontrollably, tears pouring from her eyes like a broken faucet.
"I just checked—no anomalies. I rushed over because the mana flow was off, and it looks like mana overload."
"What? Mana overload? Liam's just a newborn."
"Yes... I need an audience with His Majesty. Even I can't make sense of this."
"Then Liam... will Liam be alright from now on?"
"...I'll summon a few court mages. I must see His Majesty."
Drained of all strength, I passed out cold after those words.
When I opened my eyes again, it was to a dark night.
The dim light filtering through the curtains suggested I'd just fainted into evening.
"Ugh... (Ugh...)"
A deep sigh escaped from within.
I was a bit weak and tired now, but earlier? I really thought I was dying.
The world expanding before me, the searing brain pain—it was still vivid.
I never would've touched them if I'd known they were toxic.
One goes in, and suddenly the whole gang's like 'Let's pile on~'—felt like an ambush out of nowhere.
Strength returned to my limp body, anger rising.
Hands and feet shaking, tears welling, but those things just mocked 'What can you do?' as they flitted through the air.
Transferred from a frail adult body to this newborn frailty, all I could do was glare.
As I death-stared the toxic blobs, they flinched and trembled.
'What...? No way... again?'
Rising anxiety.
For someone who'd wasted away in a hospital bed, that pain had been overwhelmingly intense.
Tensing up, bracing for round two, I huddled tight...
Peeking through squeezed-shut eyes, they hovered warily, circling at a distance like they were minding me.
Absurd. I just gawked at the orbiting mana when my eyes locked with a man sitting by the cradle.
"Eh? (Who the heck are you?)"
"You're awake."
A sharp-eyed man with white hair and golden irises cut a tall, imposing figure in ornate robes.
His keen gaze contrasted a bitter, weary smile as he carefully lifted me.
"Prince... I heard from the marquis about the mana overload."
No way a newborn could understand, yet he met my eyes with pity.
His expression complex.
"That's the curse of the Imperial Bloodline. We draw more of mana’s affection than others... You've not escaped the yoke either."
I hated this cryptic bullshit—rambling mysteriously, grating on my nerves.
Yoke? Affection? What yoke was he even talking about?
And what kind of 'affection' jumps you gang-style?
Domestic abuse, not family love?
Lost in pointless thoughts, his low murmur snapped me back.
"Should I have a spare...?"
'...What? Have a what?'
My mind blanked, and I just stared at the man before me.