When he woke up he was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. The room was dark and the ceiling was far, just like the foreboding sense of despair. When these things were running through his mind a sudden bang echoed out from his left and the room suddenly lit up brightly. Before he could react he was enveloped in a warm and gentle embrace.
“Vince, you’re finally awake. Mommy was so worried about you! How could those terrible men do that to you?!” His vision was blocked by strands of shiny silver hair, but he felt his racing heart calm down as he took in her calming scent. However, a part of him also felt embarrassed as it caused him to react harshly and push away the sobbing woman.
“H-How could you push away, Mommy! Do you hate Mommy that much?” His eyes couldn’t really adjust to the brightness, but from the pain in the voice of the woman, he felt his heart aching. Before he could call out to the woman, the lights were already shut off and the door was shut as the woman ran off.
He quietly laid on the bed and tried to make sense of all the information that just happened and what his vague memories are telling him. When he shut his eyes and opened them again, he had appeared in a sickly white room. The bedsheet was white. The tiled floor was white. The drapes were white. The only color in the white world was the evening sky peeking out from behind the white drapes. The lively red and orange streaks across the sky were a magnificent contrast to the silent and cold room.
He felt a shiver run down his spine as he shook his head to forget that scene. He felt pain surge through him as he shook himself, “Ugh… I feel… pain?” Soon after the realization, he once more entered sleep.
—
When he opened his eyes again the filtered sunlight was beaming down on him through the thin green curtains. He dashed out of his bed and towards the mirror across the room. The first thing that appeared in the reflection were a pair of strikingly sharp blue eyes. The face of the young man across from him was bruised with one eye slightly blackened and swollen. A large part of the youth’s body wad bandaged, but he could tell just how thin the youth was. When he reached out to touch his reflection a knock rang out from the door.
*Knock Knock*
“Young Master, are you awake yet?” A female voice called out from the other side.
“Is that supposed to be me?” He wondered, “Come in.”
There was an audible gasp from the other side of the door before a shocked maid entered. “Young Master… you’re up?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He frowned.
“N-no reason.” The maid stammered out and entered the room with a bowl of warm water and set it down beside the bed. “Please.” She gestured at the bowl.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” He cocked his head to the side and walked over to the bed.
“M-my mistake, Young Master. I’ll get right to it.” The maid shakily grabbed the towel as soon as she realized something. She dabbed the towel into the warm bowl and strained it before coming up to him and gently wiping his face. Her nervous movement mistakenly caused her to jab a bruise on his face.
“Ugh.” He shied away upon understanding what the bowl was for. “I-I’ll handle it myself.” He stopped her and took away the towel, much to her fear.
“Understood, Young Master…” She moved away from him with a bow and approached the wardrobe and began selecting his attire for the day. When he finished cleaning himself, he looked over at the two selected attire. “Young Master would you be wearing casual or the usual elegant attire?”
He took a swift look at the two attire. On the left was a loose fitting blue and tan outfit and the other was a more complex outfit consisting of many pieces. On top of looking like it would take a long time to wear, the elegant outfit also looked like it would be very tough to move in. “I’ll take that one.”
“Of course Young Master will go with the elegant clothes. It fits him.” She smiled and nodded before starting to stow the casual outfit and then froze. She finally realized the truth and a shocked face once more grace her young face. “M-my apologies, Young Master.” She quickly helped him get dressed and led him towards the dining hall.
The main household of the Redwall estate wasn’t extravagant. It was only in the last decade that the Redwall family became a viscounty. So it wasn’t long before Vince arrived in the dining room.
The dining room itself wasn’t large, it was spacious, but not to point that it was excessive; it was just large enough to exhibit a sense of luxury. When Vince entered, breakfast was already underway. It was exactly like a scene from a fairytale; beautiful women and men were gathered at the table having a pleasant meal. However, all the merriness disappeared when he walked into the room.
The first to notice him was a middle-aged man at the head of the table at the opposite end of the room. Soon after, the rest of the groups busy cutlery froze in their hands as their eyes glued onto Vince’s figure.
“Vince…” The man stood up. Something about his furrowed brows made Vince flinch. Vince had seen eyes like those in the past; when his parents were arguing by his bed and thought he had been asleep. “You…”
“Enough. Don’t bring those topics to the table.” The man looked like he wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by a regal-looking woman on his right. She glanced sideways back at Vince and said, “It is quite different to see you up so early for a change. Eat. I’ll have the servants serve your meal.” She clapped sharply and everyone returned to their meal, gone was the merriment.
Vince awkwardly glanced around before seeing a giddy woman wave him over. He recognized that head of bright silver hair and sat down beside her.
“Vince, you’re up so early!” She happily said as her hands traced over the bruises on his face. “Mommy is so happy to see that you’re okay!”
While she studied him, he was also studying her. When he got a closer look at her delicate face he could see his resemblance to her. It was a strange and shaking realization; another proof that he wasn’t the same person anymore.
The meal was scrumptious and composed of eggs and two juicy sausages. There was also a light soup served along with the meal which greatly pleased his empty stomach. In his past life he wasn’t able to eat anything solid and was on a full-time nutrition drip; it wasn’t a way to live. His eyes teared up when he slowly brought up a spoonful of the clear chicken soup. The rich aroma whetted his appetite as his mouth began to salivate.
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He gave the spoon a few blows before nearly shoving the whole spoon into his mouth. A stream of warmth flowed past his tongue, down his throat, and entered his stomach. It was such a moving experience that he sat there frozen as the spoon stayed locked in his mouth. It wasn’t until he heard a giggle from a seat diagonal to him that he returned to reality.
A small girl about the age of 8 was covering her mouth with both hands as she tried not to laugh. It was an amusing sight and because she looked so adorable trying to hide her giggle that Vince subconsciously smiled back.
Unbeknownst to Vince, the rest of the diners at the table froze in shock upon witnessing his smile. A young boy beside the girl abruptly dropped the fork in his hands and as it clattered onto his plate, he didn’t give any reaction. The middle-aged man alongside with the regal woman and Vince’s mother also had similar reactions.
“What?” Vince frowned and gently placed his spoon down. Maybe it was because of his poor table manners. He wasn’t too keen on etiquette when it came to dining. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to blow on the soup?
“N-nothing.” The young boy stammered out and received another fork from a servant. The little girl’s eyes were also sparkling and only watched Vince eat as if he was the most interesting person in the world. The rest of the group also returned to their meals, but he somehow felt that they were all paying attention to him. Since he felt this way, Vince started to pay attention to the way he ate and copied from the young boy across from him.
Breakfast soon ended without further mishaps. Just when Vince swallowed his last bite, the middle-aged man stood up. “Vince, meet me in my studies. We have some matters to discuss.” He didn’t wait for Vince’s reply and sauntered off with a grim expression. As Vince watched the man walk off he felt a light touch on his arm, it was his mother.
“It’s best if you do what Zeke says, Vince.” Her warm eyes were also worried, but she tried hard not to show it.
“Alright.” Vince agreed. So far he was clueless as to what happened, so he was just going with the flow. Maybe after he talked with Zeke, he’ll understand more about his situation.
The study wasn’t far and before he knew it, he had already arrived.
*Knock Knock*
“Enter.”
“Father wanted to speak with me?” Vince asked. By now, judging from the silent cues, he had already understood that the man in front of him was his father. However, when he saw the shocked expression on the man’s face, he began to doubt himself.
“*Cough* Don’t think that you can get out of trouble by using that word with me.” Although his father said those words, he wasn’t very convincing with his pleased expression. “You caused some major problems this time, Vince.”
“Problems?”
“Yes! Problems!” His father sighed and sat down. “You’re already considered an adult; you can’t continue to act like this! The only silver-lining from this ordeal was that the Duke’s daughter wasn’t in her room. If she were, you wouldn’t be standing before me at this moment.”
His father continued his tired rant for a bit longer. What he understood had happened was that two days ago there was a party at Duke Evergreen’s estate in his territory. After a dispute with other guests at the party, he had sneaked off and tried to molest Sophia Evergreen, the Duke’s sole daughter, in her room. Luckily for him, Sophia was still attending to the guests at the party and hadn’t returned to rest yet. Because of that, he was only beaten to an inch of his life by the Duke’s retainers.
After hearing what had happened, Vince was momentarily astounded. “This trash really did die!” Since he knew for sure he wasn’t the man that his father was saying he was. After all, the current Vince’s real name was Chumong Herr, a terminal patient who had passed away on his hospital bed.
“Why are you taking all this so calmly?” His father asked after studying his face. “The Duke’s daughter’s reputation is at stake here. If all this gets out, not only will it tarnish the daughter’s reputation, but Duke Evergreen will personally deal with our Redwall family.”
“Then… How do you suppose we resolve this?” Vince asked. It wasn’t his fault that the original Vince was scum, but now that he was given a second chance at life, it was a minor price to pay.
His father coldly smiled after hearing his words, it was as if his father expected him to say them all along. “The Duke and I have come to an agreement. Since there were witnesses to testify that Lady Sophia wasn’t in her room alone with you at the time, your punishment will be minor.”
Vince who was awaiting the verdict like a guilty defendant at the stand let out a sigh of relief. At the very least who would be able to enjoy this life for a bit longer.
“You need to be taught a lesson. And so, I have volunteered you for basic training with Duke Evergreen’s famous Evergreen Ranger Corps. Pack up, you’ll be leaving within the week.” Like a slam of the judge’s hammer, his father’s words struck him deep and hard.
It wasn’t because he was forced into basic training, but because the name “Evergreen Ranger Corps” rang a bell. Before he was sent out of the study, he asked his father, “The Evergreen Ranger Corps… Sophia Evergreen… Is the Duke Zenobia Evergreen of the Emerald Forest?!”
It was his father’s turn to act calm. “Of course. So you have heard to Zenobia of the Emerald Forest. Then you should know just how lucky you are to have this chance. Now go, I have work to do.” His father didn’t see him off before turning to the piles of paper on his desk.
Outside the study, a nervous mother paced back and forth. Finally, when her son came out she hastily walked forward and embraced her child. “Vince, what did your father say?” She worriedly asked.
“I’m fine… Mom.” The words felt awkward rolling off his tongue and her intimate manner of showing her care made him feel uncomfortable.
“Oh…” She visibly looked sad as he pushed her away.
“Can I ask you something?... Mom?” He sheepishly said. Something very important was nagging at mind and it was bothering him a lot.
“Mhm?”
“My real name isn’t Vince is it?” A little part of him hoped that she would say no and that his real name was Vince.
“What do you mean?” She asked puzzled at the strange question. “Do you dislike Mommy calling you Vince? I’ll call you Vincent then.” As if solving a mystery, she clapped her hand and smiled brightly.
“I’m Vincent Silverlight?” Vincent felt a shiver run down the back of his spine.
“Oh no… Did they hurt your head too?” His mother grabbed his head and started ruffling through his hair, searching for a bruise.
“No… I’m… Please let me have some time to think.” Vincent pushed away his mother and walked off. He felt his heart tighten and it was becoming hard to breathe. He ran to his room and as soon as he sluggishly slammed the door shut he ran into the bathroom and dry heaved.
“I’m… Vincent… Silverlight…” He began to repeat to himself. “I’m destined to die…” He managed to say between gasps for air.
Vincent Silverlight. A trash from a rural noble house that continuously antagonizes the main character of “Blaze Fantasia”. Once Vincent took things too far by assaulting the MC’s female companions, the MC’s deals with him by ruining his reputation and killing without leaving him a grave. Not only does Vincent matter little, but he was the foil character to bring the MC and the love interests of the novel closer together. He was really a pitiful character whose sole purpose was for fan service.
Back when Chumong was alive, he was really interested in light novels. Since he was hospital bound, his only companions were television and books. The series he was reading before dying was called “Blaze Fantasia”. It was a wish fulfillment novel with swords and magic that youths between the ages of 15-24 enjoyed. He had always pictured what it would be like to be a main character in such a situation, but now that such a situation really happened to him he regretted those previous naïve thoughts. He had become a character that was slated to die earlier in the novel; slated to die a dog’s death with nothing to be remembered by.
“This fate… I’ll change it.”