Young master Kan gritted his teeth and a vein popped out on his forehead. The girl was teasing him at his own birthday party. His plans were already in motion once the kids are retired to a side hall to mingle he would corner her and strike. Murnia had already prepared a distraction. The young master and young ladies wouldn’t know they’re missing and by the time they find out, it would be too late for Moriah. He just shot her a look and smirked.

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The first plates were brought out and the duke was set to give a short speech before the feast began. A single clink to his glass and the hall grew silent.

“Lords, Ladies, and young princess,” he started giving outlooks here and there to people he recognized. “Thank you for attending my first son's advancement celebration. I still remember the day the little thing came out. Coughing and wailing as if he was no man of Kan. As if he was no magi of the Empire” the duke chuckled along with a few others, then continued. “Today with the blessing of the Empress and with the protection of the dragons that coughing and wailing little boy will take his first step onto the path of strength. Built by our ancestors and reinforced generation after generation. This toast is to the youngest Kan and newest member to start that path and continue it onwards, paving a way for humanity to not only prosper on this continent but to the high realms as well!”

As the duke finished his speech, most were standing up clapping. The duke not only gave gratitude to all the ancestors sacrificed to build a path for the ones behind them to follow but to the next generation the ones, who would forge to even further heights. They all knew that this was one of the lowest parts of the world to proliferate with mana. The higher continents and realms all apart of this world would only be out of reach for so long.

If not for the Dragon’s Covenant most of the lessor races on this continent would have long been wiped out, but that part of the story has yet to come.

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The celebration began, and the nobility started their feast only pausing in between servings to talk amongst one another. Deals being struck, promises being made, and other things along those lines. It was not often the Kan celebrated opening their hall to the rest of the nobility, however, when they did, it was known for legends and tales to be borne from each event. That was just part of the attraction the Kan held. That was also why they could rise to such a status.

Young master Kan ate his meal one after the other. The portions were small to give enough room for all the dishes. The Kan always knew how to throw a celebration with salmon from the Great River, to the grains from the Golden Pastures. Even their very own cows bred close to the dukedoms capital city was renowned throughout the Empire. As he chatted with the young master of Edgewind and a young lady of Starluck, he kept watching on the princess from the corner of his eye, who he was clearly ignoring. A slight smirk appeared on his face, yet before he could remove it he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his left foot.

Glancing down quickly he could see a heel pressing hard against his toes. The young master gritted his teeth as to not cry out in pain.

“Is something the matter young master Kan?” The young lady Loria Starluck asked in concern after noticing the expression on the young master's face.

“Are you feeling well young master Kan?” This was from Drake Edgewind who also just noticed the expression gracing young master Kan's face.

“I assure you I am fine, just some food down the wrong pipe. Please call me A.K. Loria and Drake, we are well past the point of only being acquaintances. Only my family and close friends are allowed to call me that.” A.K. was quickly growing tired of the young master Kan this, and the young master Kan that. He had been know as A.K. since forever and he was determined to keep it that way. Plus he could also see the spite coming from Moriah. He smirked once again.

And once again he felt a sharp jab at his left foot. This time hard enough to force him to let out a grunt.

“Young master Kan are you sure you’re feeling well?” This time it was the insufferable little girl who spoke up. As if to further rub in the damage. She looked at him with a broad smile on her face and put a hand on his back as if to comfort him.

A.K. shot her a harsh glare before just as quickly retracting it into a pleasant smile, for soon he would have his revenge. “Thank you Princess Moriah for your concern. However, I assure you I am fine.”

“Call me Moriah, we are well past the point of only being acquaintances,” Moriah said with the smile growing ever so brightly on her face. She was a dainty little thing. Her skin like freshly brewed hot chocolate. Her hair was a mix of white and golden locs as most of the royal family were. It partially represented their affinities, however, it was not always accurate.

A.K. suddenly took a deep breath and calm down. It was hard to regrow up, and with all the raging hormones in his body making him act this way and that would get to him. He never understood how other people reincarnated and controlled their emotions when they were so young. Often he found himself excited or upset by the smallest of things. It was then that he would remind himself that he is only three and it's ok to have leeway in somethings.

“Well, then Moriah call me Aegeus. Only those I hold dear can address me as such.” The surroundings grew quiet before quickly picking up in volume.

Did the young master just confess? A match between the royal family and a Kan? What powerful bloodline would be birth between the two. A.K. quickly realized he fucked up big time too, the surrounding talks kept up their momentum as people grew louder and louder. As he turned to face Moriah with a sneaking suspicion after not receiving any biting remark or play on words from the young thing. He found that her face had become several shades darker and she covered her face with her hands.

‘Fuck. Fucking hell, System can I get a redo. Can you reverse time and stop me from making such a stupid mistake.

Unfortunately, A.K. that is beyond my abilities. Perhaps next time you will pay more attention to your mother and the various tutors hired to each you.

The words had been spoken, the bullet fired, the casket closed, as a member of the Kan, he basically asked the princess out. Not only did he ask her out, but he also did it in a very direct way. Only those close to you would address you on such a first-name basis. Hell, he even told the two vassals to call him by his nickname.

A single clink rang out and this time it was the Duchess's turn to speak. A.K. quickly grew hopeful, hoping his mother could salvage the situation.

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Keala looked at her young child with amusement. She could tell he was just trying to get back at the princess with spite. However, his learnings and teaching had gone out the window in a moment of anger. She was just about to rise and give a speech when she took another look, but this time it was at the young princess. She was blushing, her brown skin had definitely turned a few shades darker. Keala was suddenly at an impasse. If her young son could actually woo the young princess, this could be an opportunity to finally strengthen their bond with the royal family and even get their bloodline connection. After making some quick calculations she rang her glass and stood up.

“Lords and Ladies thank you all for your attendance to the young master of the Kan family's first advancement and third birthday. We appreciate the gifts given and Aegeus will surely take the time out to open them with Princess Moriah.” Keala said with a bright smile. The crowd was silent before a slew of “congratulations” rang out. With a satisfied expression, the Duchess sat back down.

She decided since the young boy already said it, to roll along with it. As the Duchess, it was her responsibility to help build this type of connection off the battlefield. This was her own war zone and hesitation can lead to drastic effects. So with decisiveness, she fired whilst she had the opportunity too. The atmosphere was picking back up and she gave her son, who was staring at her with disbelief upon his face a radiant smile, she even managed to sneak a thumbs up before he turned away.

A.K. knew then and there that his mother was not on his side. She left him to the gallows. Now that it had been said and most of the western nobles were in attendance it would be a matter of minutes before the rest of the Empire heard of his confession to Princess Moriah.

The princess in question had finally recovered and kept glancing in Aegeus's direction. This was going to be a long night for A.K. and the plan that he had painstakingly pieced together was probably ruined. A.K. shot the princess a quick smile, which was returned before he continued eating. Desert was getting closer and soon the young scions would go to a side hall to socialize and start the budding connections.

…(Small time skip)

A.K. was in the side hall surrounded by the young scions either tasked by their family to grow closer to him or those who were just curious about the young boy in general. The side hall was not as grand as the main hall, nevertheless, it was still impressive. The hall was roughly the size of a football field and showed decorations from various Kan either slain in battle or missing.

As A.K. first started growing up he wasn’t used to all the catering and pampering that he received. He could give out any order and it would be completed immediately. Whenever his parent's carriage moved through the streets, he could see how commoners looked at the Duke's carriage with fear but also respect.

The duke’s capitol city Ashburn was the eighth largest city within the empire and most of the trade from the Golden Pastures was done here. With a massive dock connecting to the Great River trade was plenty in Ashburn. With the way, people treated A.K. he’d almost grown complacent with his position. Today he had fully accepted his death upon Earth. If it wasn’t for the constant whisperings from the System, who seemed to be guiding him towards something, he would almost want to live out a regular life of nobility here.

What kept him on his toes was the System. He knew it was analyzing not only him but everything he’s ever come across. It also seemed to be improving its capabilities, as he had received various mission quests so far. Today it would finally be time to learn what being a Harbinger meant and his responsibilities in the position.

As A.K. looked at the timer in the corner of his view and continued chatting with the scions, he steadily grew more and more excited. 20 minutes 42 seconds. Originally he thought the system would finally come clean when he was born, yet shortly after it alerted him that he would need to reach a certain stage before anything would be explained. From what A.K. could gleam from the System by asking either extremely roundabout questions or extremely direct and specific questions, he came to learn that the System was judging him based on his mental state, physical attitude, and his reactions to any interaction he had between servants, other nobles or even animals.

A.K. also came to know that Harbingers weren’t chosen at random. The entire planet had been under observation for several years. The System had been installed into every living being during this period as well, from animals, bugs, plants, fish, and people. It was why there had been a pandemic in the previous years. The System was originally spread like a virus to the humans of Earth. The ones incompatible were killed. Meaning those who had no chance of accessing and utilizing universal energy were directly killed off. The ones left living would be the ones to proliferate in the new magic society that was to come. Finally, in less than half an hour A.K. could grill the System directly with the questions. While chatting away with minor conversations, someone was observing him intensely.

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Moriah was staring at Aegeus intensely. Ever since he started his intentions with her during the dinner she had been contemplating a lot. Moriah had been instructed ever since she was fully aware, of the etiquette one was to have as a member of her Angelo Royal Family. Every act, every step, every thought, was to be drilled into her until she became the perfect little princess. An angel to the people, but devils to everyone else. Moriah is a rebel, although she listened and paid attention whenever the Empress instructed her. Mother was a very busy person and that was seldom she actually got to see and spend time with her.

She was to be the next ruler. The Empire had never had a male inherit the throne. Not because they were not qualified, but because the full effects of their bloodline only came from women. The men of the family where assigned elsewhere to fulfill their duties as a member of the royal family.

Moriah is a rebel, such a statement is to be repeated for once an opportunity presented itself she took it. She knew that Aegeus had no intentions of courting her, yet the outside world? They would believe the rumors. The magic had been cast and the casket closed. Using this opportunity she would be able to get out of the house more. The women of the Angelo family always, always chose their partner. The only requirement was their bloodline must be of B grade or higher and they must be some sort of asset to the Angelo family.

Moriah now had plans to use Aegeus to get outside of her protector's radius. Although he was the son of the Duke, he was a member of the Kan. The training for their young scions is deadly. Especially for those who are to take over the mantle. No other family in the empire dumped their successors in a lower world and told them to conquer it. The Kan did. She even suspected that the fool Aegeus had no idea of his impending fate. Once a Kan reaches his third birthday and first ascension of their bloodline powers, they would be put into intense training. Moriah was also one thing besides being a rebel. She loved to watch battles and participate in them. Whether it be commanding or fighting herself. Since her third birthday she had discovered this side of herself, yet she would never be in any danger as a member of the Angelo family. Now she could kill two birds with one stone. Fulfill her filial duty by finding a worthy husband, and find a way to kill this increasingly rising feeling within her to battle. Angelo would be perfect for that. Kan’s are crazy, but they don’t send their scions to battle alone. Within a few years, Aegeus would go scouring the dukedom to find worthy commoners or nobles to travel with him to the lesser world to conquer it. She was planning on being part of that entourage. She watched as the boy continued chatting with the nobles. She could tell that his mind was nowhere near the conversation. His mind always seemed to be elsewhere as if he was chatting with some unknown being. She wouldn’t have noticed this if the royal family wasn’t so thorough in their training. It wasn’t a bother to her but she was sure going to train his mask to perfection. She wouldn’t want him embarrassing her in front of Empress Mother. Once she shaped his personality a bit better he wouldn't even be that bad of a husband. It was an open secret that no Empress truly married for love only to further enhance the bloodline. Now she just had to figure out a way to tell Mother and make it sound convincing that she and Aegeus were actually a thing. Fortunately, she was to spend more time here than the minor nobles, who would be leaving soon.