After saying goodbye to his older brother Jasper, Kael and Lydia left the mansion on a cobblestone street.
Unlike the first time he had left the mansion since his regression, Kael now had his mana core and didn't have to race against time.
"Brothers, are we going to knock down some purple apples? I just saw a tree full of them."
"Really? And you didn't tell me that before! Come on, hurry up!"
"Kekeke... The young people of today are full of energy. They remind me of my youth, when I ran through these streets. But now I have a wife, children, and even grandchildren."
"Bah! Now you're grumpier than before and complain about everything. You look more like a spoiled child than an old man."
After watching for a moment the different people passing by, laughing children, adults holding hands, and old people chatting with smiles on their faces, Kael continued on his way, while steam was coming out of his mouth due to the low temperature.
The streets of the territory were clean, with puddles of frozen water. Horse-drawn carriages passed slowly.
There were almost no food stalls; people were walking warmly and drinking hot beverages.
Kael stopped at one of the stores selling coffee, tea, and pastries and placed an order: coffee with milk. He looked at Lydia.
"Will you have something?"
"A coffee, with two sugar cubes," Lydia replied with mild surprise. She hadn't expected to be invited by her young master.
They waited a few minutes, and the waiter approached them with the two coffees.
"That's a piece and a half of manna stone," said the waiter who had served them as they entered the store.
Kael paid and left the store, continuing on his way, taking small sips of latte.
"Young master, will you really just explore the city? If so, I can act as your guide and show you various places," Lydia suggested, taking a sip of her coffee.
"No need," Kael shook his head. He couldn't go straight to the orphanage that was in the territory, because it would be too weird and out of place. Where it would arouse suspicion.
How do you know where the orphanage is? Have you been there before? And more questions that he didn't feel like answering, and that might reveal his secrets.
The snow was beginning to fall. Kael watched the children play and open their mouths as if childhood could be savored. He just drank his coffee. There was no room for games in his world anymore.
He continued exploring the city, buying various things and tasting various sweets, until they finally arrived at the Together We Are Family Orphanage.
Looking at the building, Kael knew he had reached his destination. He watched as several nuns sent from the Holy Empire watched over the children and young people who had not yet come of age.
The nuns, noticing Kael and Lydia's arrival, approached with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Maria. Is there something we can help with?" Maria introduced, keeping her smile warm as she asked about Kael's purpose.
"I'm looking for someone useful. A servant." Kael said without giving much detail.
"I understand. But can you tell me who you are, young man?" asked the nun Maria.
"I am Kael Medici."
The nun's eyes widened like saucers, and a cold sweat began to run down her back. She had heard several rumors about the young man in front of her.
That he dragged a corpse all over the city, while his body was soaked in blood, and didn't show the slightest expression.
Mary recovered from her shock. "Do you have any suggestions or any characteristics you would like?"
Kael nodded and began to describe to his young man what he needed.
The nun listened with rapt attention, and as she did so, her eyes slowly widened. And as she finished the description, she took her leave to look for the young man with the described characteristics.
A few minutes later, the nun Maria returned, accompanied by a young man.
The young man had brown hair, with eyes of the same color, his facial features quite remarkable, but they were above average. He was wearing a brown shirt, black pants, and shoes.
However, the most interesting thing was his gaze; there was no trace of life, they were empty, deep, very similar to Kael', but not the same. It was not the look a young man should have.
Kael recognized him immediately.
He knew his story.
And it was one that no one should have.
He was born from a gang rape. It was not a crime, it was a hunt. His mother was locked up for days by a group of men, used in shifts, reduced to a piece of flesh that barely breathed. When she was found, she was pregnant and broken inside.
It was never known who the father was. Nor how many were.
The child grew up under the absolute hatred of his mother. He was not her son, he was her punishment. Beatings, burns, bites, and prolonged confinement without food or water. He was her punching bag. His garbage.
Only one person loved him: his older sister. She would tell him stories in his ear to calm his crying at night. She stole bread. Covered for him when his mother came in drunk. She would tell him that one day they would escape.
But the world would not have it.
Her sister was kidnapped, raped and murdered. She was dismembered and thrown away as if she were waste.
And the worst was yet to come.
Her mother picked up the remains. She cooked them.
And she poured the broth for her son.
He only found out when he saw the fingers floating to the bottom of the dish. When his mother, laughing, confessed to him what she had done. She told him that this was how he would learn the taste of the only person who loved him.
Something broke in him. Forever.
That night, he killed his mother with a kitchen knife. He slit her throat and watched her bleed to death while he murmured that his sister was no longer alone. Then he went out quietly, and hunted down the rapists one by one. He stabbed them. He tortured them. Not out of revenge. Not out of rage.
But because he had nothing else.
He was found walking naked in the rain, covered in dried blood, with a broken smile that said nothing. He was picked up by a caravan of nuns from the Holy Empire, who thought they saw a lost soul in need of redemption.
They took him to the Medici territory, where they founded the Together We Are Family orphanage, dedicated to the Ancient God of the Sun.
But the sun does not remove all shadows.
Kael knew that.
And he didn't care about his history.
Nor his trauma. Nor his pain. Or what he had eaten.
To him, this boy was not a victim. Nor a survivor.
He was a tool.
A sword in human form.
A broken piece, useful as long as it worked.
And disposable when it ceased to be.
Nothing more.