The Thelwedean Empire was the first major human empire, and the populace was mostly human. Thanks to this, there was a lot of racism and prejudice against other races, at least before the war started.

However, Thelwedean wasn’t the only country with racism issues, since most of the other countries had rulers of other races and, similarly, a population consisting mostly of one race.

Of course, there were exceptions to this, such as Dustmih and the Thearchy of Bazilarar.

Thelwedean bordered four empires and two domains, being the closest to the so-called ‘Demonic Domain’, becoming one of the first lines of defense, similar to other countries bordering the abandoned continent.

William had just arrived at Arithsanat, the capital of the empire, after a few hours of travel by carriage. He was dressed in the current era’s royalty-high fashion robes that his mother designed for him, while his long hair was neatly braided and styled.

His family members had also come, along with some servants. His father wore a stoic expression, dressed in attire fitting his status as one of the Knight squad leaders.

Rose wore a beautiful yellow dress that accentuated her features. She had long brown hair and green eyes. Her pale skin seemed like that of a ghost, while her expression was neutral. A small, mischievous smile could sometimes be seen on her small face, while her eyes exuded indifference.

William was certain that his signature mischievous smile was hereditary, as he sometimes could see his father possessing the same expression, and Rose also seemed to have inherited it.

Adam was still attending the academy, so he could not join them.

The family was prepared to attend the royal ball since the second princess, Frieda Rothsgomery, would come of age, officially being introduced to high society.

She was what was called a débutante in royal society.

William didn’t want to attend this ball, but he forced himself to attend so he could scout the situation of the empire and make clear his plans for the future.

It was still early in the day, so not many royals had arrived at the castle. William inspected the buildings of which the imperial castle consisted, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

He knew the Thelwedean empire had the first betrayers and was the first to fall originally. It was certain that after his interference in saving his family, many things had drastically changed, so he had to keep in mind that many things would become different.

The Virtu family made their way through the grand halls, having arrived very early. The halls were mostly empty, with only a few servants and obscure nobles going through and fro.

However, there was a reason for their early arrival.

Since his father was a Knight Squad commander, he had to arrive early, along with his high-echelon squad members. He was obligated to come and guard the royal family from any sudden matter, essentially acting like a sword for them.

After giving a few instructions to his family, Malcolm left their side to join the rest of the knight commanders with a heavy gaze.

Since most of his squad members were purged due to betrayal, especially after Baron Max Byrd’s execution, he had a lot of work to do, and this ball was just a hindrance to him.

William glanced at his father, who walked ahead with a determined stride. Malcolm's posture was rigid, and his expression was serious as he exchanged nods with other knights stationed around the castle. It was clear that he was on high alert, ready to fulfill his duty at a moment's notice.

Rose walked beside him, her small hand clutching his arm tightly. She looked around with a hint of curiosity in her eyes, but William could tell she was also nervous. Despite her young age, she was perceptive and understood the gravity of the situation.

"Are you alright, Rose?"

William whispered, leaning down slightly to catch her gaze.

She nodded, her small hand trembling slightly.

"I'm just a little nervous, William. This place feels... strange."

William gave her a reassuring smile, squeezing her hand gently.

"Don't worry, Rose. We're here together, and I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

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The ball progressed smoothly, with countless nobles entering and crowding the hall. The star of the show had yet to arrive, however, and everyone awaited her. High-ranking nobles had also arrived at this time, given the highest priority and respect.

William interacted with a few people here and there, mostly scouting out potential allies and finding the demonic seeds.

Sadly for him, it was obvious that most of the betrayers had already gotten news of someone able to identify demonic seeds, so they were extremely hard to find even for him.

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That was the major issue with demonic seeds. As soon as they were properly concealed, the amount of searching and processing required to detect them increased exponentially, especially if they were adept in any of the three powers.

Rose and his mother had joined other ladies, which left him alone for the most part. Since he was good-looking, however, some noble ladies approached him to acquire more; however, he quickly shut them down.

‘Seriously, the gall these women have...’

He thought to himself, not understanding how women of high society had such thick skin when it came to dating. Since William was only 12 years old, it was bizarre for him to see so many women, especially older ones, approach him.

There were even some who were in their thirties who approached him.

He decided to shake off these weird thoughts, making sure to investigate a bit about them afterward. They were dangerous to society.

The ballroom was adorned with opulent decorations and shimmering chandeliers, casting a warm glow over the proceedings. Elegant music filled the air, played by a live orchestra in one corner of the room.

The ballroom buzzed with excitement as the anticipation for the princess's entrance grew. William stood at the edge of the room, observing the noble guests mingling and chatting. Despite his young age, he carried himself with an air of maturity, a result of his experiences from his previous life.

As the grand doors at the far end of the hall swung open, all eyes turned towards the entrance. The princess, Frieda Rothsgomery, made her debut, escorted by her parents, the Emperor and Empress. She looked radiant in her elegant gown, her tiara sparkling under the chandeliers.

Frieda carried herself with grace and poise, a true princess in every sense. Her presence commanded attention, and the guests parted to make way for her as she glided across the ballroom.

Emperor Nikolas II expressionlessly stood beside his wife, examining every face in the crowd with scrutiny.

The Empress’s name was Siera, and she came from a low-ranking noble family. Although the royal family was initially against their marriage, her competence and self-made wealth shushed any complaint.

She stood proudly next to her husband, with a pleasant smile. She glanced around similarly to her husband, her thoughts a mystery.

As the royal guard announced their entrance, the atmosphere in the ballroom became even more electric. The orchestra played a regal tune, adding to the sense of grandeur and importance of the occasion.

William glanced at this scene for a few minutes and promptly turned away, making his way out of the hall into a balcony.

Since the ballroom was pretty high up, he was able to see the majority of the capital. Night had already fallen, so the sunstones became the main source of light in the darkness.

The night sky was clear, and the stars shone brightly. William took a deep breath to ease his emotions. He had been pushing himself too hard for the past few weeks.

He felt like everything was a dream that could just disappear at any moment. He trained like crazy despite knowing that rushing things would only hinder his progress.

He had just completely consolidated his mage rank and formed his first mana layer. His mana brain allowed him to process things much faster, and he was already noticing a difference in just a short time.

The urge to experiment on himself was pretty big, but he held himself back, knowing that harming his future potential would harm the survival chances of Roia as a whole.

The balcony was empty, with most of the nobles entering the hall as soon as the princess arrived, not wanting to miss her.

William knew that what he was doing could be considered disrespectful to the royal family, but after his interaction with the Emperor, he was certain that nothing would happen.

He didn’t care if the princess was beautiful, nor did he care about her status. Throughout his life before regression, he had only been in two serious romantic relationships, which both ended horribly as he was unable to separate his workaholic impulses, essentially driving them off.

It was evident that he was more interested in his interests than engaging in a loving relationship with someone, despite obviously possessing some emotions for that person.

William had already resolved not to rekindle the love for his previous two relationships or even try to date at the moment. His body was still immature, and his hormones had yet to go rampant, and he was happy with that.

Although he was not mentally 12 years old, his body was. This made things very unpleasant for him. He kept his desires at bay, but his hormones had already started to change, and he was already growing taller by the day thanks to his energy awakenings.

The nourishment of three different energy sources expedited his growth rate drastically. At this rate, he would reach his previous height by age 16.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way back into the hall, finding that the ball had truly begun as people began to dance with elegance.

Strangely, he found two more people standing next to the emperor and empress, recognizing them to be Crown Prince Oliver Rothsgomery and First Prince Raymond Rothsgomery.

He didn’t know when they had arrived, but he tried not to get any of their attention. His father stood on the sidelines, his presence active throughout the entire event.

William spent the rest of the night enjoying the buffet and dodging people. The ball ended at 3 a.m., with most of the nobles having drunk a lot.

Rose and Leona left early, since Rose was tired, while William waited for his father.

The family stayed the night at the castle, utilizing Malcolm’s status to stay in a guest room.

They left as soon as dawn broke, driving back with the same carriage they arrived, since Kelsein was too far for them to travel through the night, especially with the possibility of beasts attacking them.

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William soon returned to his daily routine, training all three energies, with mana being his main focus at the moment since he wished to attain the second rank by the end of the month, which was plausible if he tried.

The sooner he increased his strength, the better it would be for everyone. Although the time for him to enroll in the academy was still far away, he wasn’t one to slack off.

William had just finished another training session, and as night had fallen, he decided to go home, leaving his training spot, the gazebo.

Heading back home, he found his father and mother talking to each other; his mother was distressed by what his father was saying.

Seeing William approaching, the two of them became silent, making William frown.

“What is going on, father? Did something serious happen?”

He couldn’t help but ask, having a bad premonition.

Malcolm sighed, shaking his head helplessly. After hesitating for a bit, he decided to speak.

“Dreghel has recently begun sending soldiers to our borders, constantly attacking us, wanting to expand their territory. I’m afraid a war will break out soon.”

Hearing his father’s words, William immediately understood what was going on. It seemed that the wench, Sylmare, had already begun moving. William’s eyes shone in an eerie hue as he formulated a dozen plans in just a few moments.

He had already expected her to make a move, but it was too early for her to progress independently. The timeline had warped beyond recognition, and events that should have happened years in the future were pushed forward.

Originally, Sylmare rebelled at least five years in the future, but the changes William’s interference had caused sped up her rebellion.