The interior of the mansion resembled a palace, adorned with golden decorations everywhere. Tables were laden with food, ranging from tiny macarons to entire roasted cows.
How did they even cook this? Johan was perplexed by the sight of an entire cooked cow on a massive table. On the other hand, with this 'mansion' looking like a palace, nothing surprises me anymore.
As he passed by the most extravagant meals one could imagine, Johan noticed hundreds of guests in this room alone. Most of them he did not recognize, but many resembled his own family—likely his distant relatives.
Many people smiled as they walked by, but no one seemed to know Johan and his sister.
As they neared the end of the hall, a little girl hopped in front of them, a piece of cake in her hand and her mouth full.
"You're the... 'nom nom' birthday kid, aren't you?" she asked with a smile.
"That would be me. Why do you ask?"
"Well, 'munch munch,' my brother had his sixteenth birthday two days ago. We're celebrating 'nom munch' today, too."
That explains the grand ceremony, I guess. Other than the secret that will be revealed today, it seems I'm not the only one having a birthday celebration.
Patting her head, he intended to walk away, but a boy who looked to be around his age approached him.
"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Adrian." He extended his hand.
Johan shook his hand and replied, "Hey, I'm Johan. So, you must be her brother. Congratulations on your sixteenth."
"Congrats to you too, brother. My father is a distant cousin of your family head, Mattheus von Parseval."
"You know him?" Johan asked, surprised. As far as he knew, he had never met this guy before.
"Of course! He’s one of the few members of the family I know, aside from my parents and their siblings. His jewelry is world-renowned."
"I see. That explains it. By the way, do you know if anyone else is celebrating their birthday today?"
"It seems there’s another guy and girl who had their birthdays a few days ago, but I haven't met them yet."
"I see. Thanks for the info."
"Lord von Parseval, we should continue. The patriarch is waiting in the main hall."
Johan glanced at Adrian and excused himself. Upon entering the main hall, he noticed there were almost no tables; instead, there were chairs neatly arranged next to each other.
The room was filled with people of high importance, dressed in aristocratic clothing, and the women wore extremely expensive jewelry. Johan could tell because of the times he had worked with his father.
"Johan! Come here!" His mother called him over.
She wore a noble blue dress, while his father stood next to her in a multi-piece suit that also had a blue tone. They looked perfectly matched.
As he approached, he saw a man sitting on a throne at the far end of the hall. He had a majestic appearance, wearing a long golden robe. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he had a long beard.
Grandfather.
Next to him sat a woman whom he presumed was his grandmother. She wore a white robe that looked extremely elegant, her head adorned with a diadem as she held what appeared to be a walking stick—also luxurious.
"Johan, this is the family patriarch and your grandfather, Thimoeuss von Parseval."
"Good morning, Grandfather. I'm Johan von Parseval."
Thimoeuss nodded, studying him intensely.
"Your mother."
"Excuse me?"
"Your mother. You resemble her the most. And your brother."
Johan felt a queasy sensation in his stomach.
"Lord Thimoeuss, please behave! The boy has his ceremony today," Carla von Parseval scolded him.
"I was merely stating the obvious. Well, anyhow, welcome to the von Parseval main mansion. What’s your name, little girl?"
Marie, who had been standing behind Johan the entire time, stepped forward.
"Grandpa, I'm Marie, and please don't be mean to big brother. It's his birthday today."
Smiling, Thimoeuss stood up and patted her head.
"Whatever you say, Miss von Parseval."
Then he moved to the center of the room and proclaimed in a loud voice, "Everyone, silence!"
The room fell silent almost immediately, and all eyes turned to the patriarch.
"This is Johan, the son of Mattheus. Today, he turns sixteen."
Applause erupted from the crowd, and everyone seemed excited.
"Videl, accompany Marie to the kitchen so she can decorate the cake to her liking. Also, bring Johan the things I gave you earlier."
Videl, who had been waiting patiently the whole time, nodded and took Marie with her.
"Johan, some of your brother's belongings now belong to you. There are a couple of things from his room and some items from the family keepsake. Videl will bring them over."
Johan looked surprised. No one had mentioned any of this to him. He hadn't even thought about his brother's belongings and wondered what Anton had left for him.
...
"Trimur, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Mother is by your side, okay?"
"I'm not worried, Mom!"
A boy with long brown hair stood in a side room with his mother. His short stature made him look younger than he actually was, a reason why he had been picked on throughout his school life. His mother constantly reassured him that everything would be okay. It was his sixteenth birthday, and he was about to awaken. The pressure he had felt over the last six months had further wrecked his self-esteem. The constant nagging from his mother and the jealousy of his father added nothing positive to his situation.
His family, consisting of his parents and himself, were a sub-family of the main von Parseval family. Nonetheless, he was still a member of that family, and he had a chance to awaken and receive a system. Past dilemmas had caused issues with his father and a distant relative from the main branch. That relative had a son who would be nineteen by now, and because of some past conflict, his father constantly compared him to that boy. He wanted his son to achieve a higher rank to prove he was stronger.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
This old man is so stupid. Why does he have to compare me to some random relative?
The son of that man had achieved a rank of C at the ceremony, which was impressive for any Ranker. Typically, one would start at Rank E or D and then level up to B++ or even A. Anything above that was considered genius-level, achieved by only about 1% of Rankers. Ranks SS and SSS were rarely even mentioned.
His father was adamant about him achieving a C rank, but everyone knew that the chances of anyone reaching that level were extremely rare. Looking at his watch, he realized it was almost time to head to the main hall.
...
"Here are the items Lord Thimoeuss ordered me to bring you."
Johan and Videl were in a small room on the second floor that they had entered so he could see his brother's belongings, which were now his. There were two small boxes, a large box, and a book bound by a chain.
He examined the large box first. Inside was a sword with a golden grip and a blade that shone as if it were reflecting sunlight. When he tried to lift the sword, he nearly dropped it; it was unusually heavy. He set the sword back down and opened one of the smaller boxes. It contained some letters and a journal. Johan decided to read those later, as it was getting late and his grandfather had ordered him to come down at a specific time.
The second box was peculiar. It was closed at first, and when he tried to open it, nothing happened. After several attempts to pry it open, he almost gave up. Flipping through the journal, he found a page with a sketch of the box. TheHere’s a revised version of your text, with grammatical and stylistic adjustments for clarity and flow:
----------------------------------------
The interior of the mansion resembled a palace, adorned with golden decorations everywhere. Tables overflowed with food, ranging from delicate macarons to entire roasted cows.
How did they even cook this? Johan was perplexed by the sight of an entire cooked cow on a massive table. On the other hand, seeing this 'mansion' that looks like a palace, nothing surprises me anymore.
Passing by the most extravagant meals one could imagine, Johan noticed that there were hundreds of guests in this room alone. Most of them were unfamiliar to him, but many resembled his own family—likely distant relatives.
A lot of people smiled as they walked by, but nobody seemed to recognize Johan and his sister.
As they neared the end of the hall, a little girl jumped in front of them, a piece of cake in her hand and her mouth full.
"You're the... nom nom birthday kid, aren't you?" she asked, her face beaming with a smile.
"That would be me. Why do you ask?"
"Well, munch munch, my brother had his sixteenth birthday two days ago. We're celebrating nom munch today as well."
That explains the grand ceremony, I guess. Other than the secret that is going to be unveiled today, it seems I'm not the only one having a birthday celebrated today.
Patting her head, he intended to walk away, but a boy who looked around his age approached him.
"Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Adrian." He extended his hand.
Johan shook his hand and replied, "Hey, I'm Johan. So, you must be her brother. Congratulations on your sixteenth!"
"Thanks, you too, brother. My father is a distant cousin of your family head, Mattheus von Parseval."
"You know him?" Johan asked, surprised. As far as he knew, he had never seen this guy before.
"Of course. He's one of the few people from the entire family I know, aside from my parents and their siblings. His jewelry is world-renowned."
"I see. That explains it. By the way, do you know if anyone else is having their birthday celebrated today?"
"It seems there’s another guy and girl who had their birthdays a few days ago. I haven't met them yet, though."
"I see. Thanks for the info."
"Lord von Parseval, we should continue on. The patriarch is waiting in the main hall."
Johan looked at Adrian and excused himself. As he entered the main hall, he noticed that there were almost no tables; instead, chairs were neatly arranged next to each other.
The room was filled with people of high importance, evident by their aristocratic clothing and the women adorned with extremely expensive jewelry. He could tell from the times he had worked with his father.
"Johan! Come here!" his mother called him over.
She wore a noble blue dress, and his father stood next to her in a multi-piece suit that also had a blue tone. They truly matched.
As he walked over, Johan saw a man sitting on a throne at the far end of the hall. The man had a majestic appearance and wore a long, golden robe. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he had a long beard.
Grandfather.
Next to him sat a woman whom he presumed was his grandmother. She wore an elegant white robe and was crowned with a diadem, holding what looked like a luxurious walking stick.
"Johan, this is the family patriarch and your grandfather, Thimoeuss von Parseval."
"Good morning, Grandfather. I'm Johan von Parseval."
Thimoeuss nodded, looking at him intently.
"Your mother."
"Excuse me?"
"Your mother. You resemble her the most, and your brother."
Johan felt a queasy sensation in his stomach.
"Lord Thimoeuss, please behave yourself! The boy has his ceremony today," Carla von Parseval scolded him.
"I was merely stating the obvious. Well, anyway, welcome to the von Parseval main mansion. What's your name, little girl?"
Marie, who had been standing behind Johan the entire time, stepped forward.
"Grandpa, I'm Marie! Please don’t be mean to big brother; it’s his birthday today."
Smiling, Thimoeuss stood up and patted her head.
"Whatever you say, Miss von Parseval."
Then, he moved to the center of the room and proclaimed loudly, "Everyone, silence!"
The room fell silent almost immediately, with every person turning their attention to the patriarch.
"This is Johan, the son of Mattheus. Today, it is his sixteenth birthday."
The room erupted in applause, and everyone seemed excited.
"Videl, accompany Marie to the kitchen so she can decorate the cake to her liking. Also, bring Johan the things I gave you earlier."
Videl, who had been waiting patiently, nodded and took Marie with her.
"Johan, some of the items that belonged to your brother now belong to you. There were a few things in his room and some keepsakes from the family. Videl will bring them over."
Johan looked surprised. Nobody had mentioned any of this. He hadn't even thought about his brother's belongings and wondered what he had left for him.
...
"Trimur, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Your mother is by your side, okay?"
"I'm not worried, Mom!"
A boy with long brown hair was in a side room with his mother. His short stature made him appear younger than he actually was, and throughout his school life, this had been a reason for him to be picked on. His mother constantly reassured him that things would be okay. It was his sixteenth birthday, and he was about to awaken. The pressure he had felt over the last six months had wrecked his self-esteem even further. The constant nagging from his mother and his jealous father added nothing positive to his situation.
His family, which consisted of just his parents and himself, was a sub-family of the main von Parseval family. Nonetheless, he was still a member and had a chance to awaken and gain a system. However, past issues with his father and a distant relative from the main branch loomed over him. That man had a son who was now nineteen, and because of some old grievances, his father constantly compared that guy’s son to him, wanting him to achieve a higher rank to prove his son was stronger.
This old man is so stupid. Why does he have to compare me to some random relative?
The son of that man had achieved a C rank at the ceremony, which was impressive for any Ranker. Usually, one would receive a Rank E or D and then level up to B++ or even A. Anything above that was considered genius-level, and only around 1% of Rankers reached that realm. SS and SSS ranks were spoken of only in hushed tones.
His father was adamant that he should achieve a C rank, but everyone knew the chances of that were extremely rare. Looking at his watch, he realized it was almost time to head to the main hall.
...
"Here are the items Lord Thimoeuss ordered me to bring you."
Johan and Videl stood in a small room on the second floor, where they had been told to go to see the belongings of his brother, which were now his. There were two small boxes, a large box, and a book bound by a chain.
He examined the large box first, revealing a sword. It had a golden grip and a blade that shone as if it were reflecting the sun. When he tried to hold the sword, he nearly dropped it; it was unusually heavy. He set the sword back down and opened one of the smaller boxes. Inside were some letters and a journal. Johan decided to read it later, as it was getting late and his grandfather had instructed him to come down at a specific time.
The second box was peculiar. It was closed, and when he tried to open it, nothing happened. After several attempts, he nearly gave up. Flipping through the journal, he found a page with a sketch of the box. The description indicated that it could only be opened by the one who owned it and anyone authorized to do so. One had to say "open," and it would unlock.
Johan was flabbergasted but decided to try saying "open" anyway. His cheeks flushed red as he noticed Videl still in the room.
"Do not worry about me, my Lord; I am somewhat accustomed to the world of the Rankers."
Surprised by her words, he spoke the command aloud. A small light shone, and the box opened. Inside was a small black crystal, one even Johan had never seen before. The stone was mesmerizing, its surface pliable and almost moist. Next to it lay a small piece of paper.
"HOLD IT IN ONE HAND DURING THE CEREMONY!!!"
This was written on it.
"Your Lord, we must leave; the patriarch has ordered us to be timely."
Johan snapped out of his thoughts. He quickly put the crystal into his pocket and left the room with Videl.