I stared at the ceiling. A hard feeling, soft looking, nice and expensive wooden ceiling.

Such is the life of an aristocrat.

My maids and butler await my instructions, they dish out the usual “...Lady Agartha has called you down for breakfast, she insists you hurry as your brother is home today..” and some other words I couldn't be bothered to remember.

The morning shower is refreshing, the birds outside produce natural and soothing sounds that ease me into the day.

That let me forget the nightmares.

My clothes are clean, neatly folded and always in style. My hair, cool and black, styled perfectly, as I always am in perfect condition.

Such is the life of an aristocrat.

Morphing into different poses, staring into the mirror, until I am fully convinced of my absolute handsomeness, yes, who else could be as handsome as I am? Me, Reiner Von Fullheart?

‘You should really stop pretending, it's not good to act narcissistic, it's worse if you cant even get it right.’

So what if I'm living a lie? I'm still rich, living the good life, I have it all. Nothing is wrong and everything is going to be okay.

‘This all ends today by the way, you know that fully-’

Just wait, I’ll figure something out. I always have and always will.

‘I'm literally you, who the hell are you even arguing with?’

Shut up.

I strutted my way to the dining table. Anxiousness and fear built up in the back of my mind.

Today is the day, 607 years since the Ember Awakening, the 5th month and 11th day of the Ember year. Today is that very day.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel apart from fear. Today is the day I lose my status as an aristocrat.

I can hear my mother call out to me, her voice is fake and unusually sweet today. I can remember when it wasn't like that, I can only yearn for those pure feelings of motherly love over this disdain and malice.

Setting myself down by the table, my mother had already begun on one of her long droning rants about another family, probably one that she's held grudges with for years.

“Mother, I think it's time we tell him.”

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That sound was the sound of my elder brother, Red Von Fullheart, who recently graduated higher education. He’s returned home on the exact day I get kicked out, how convenient, my father might not even notice my absence.

My mother immediately halted in her rambling, as if her slow descent into insanity had somehow forgotten itself and returned to the top of its stairwell. She sat there, staring, until she cleared her throat and spoke.

“Reiner, it pains my heart very much to tell you this…”

She burst into fake tears and buried her face in her hands. I can feel her smile creeping up under its cover, which she peeked through to see if I sympathized with her... Or agonized over what she was going to say.

“..I-I just.. I can't..”

“It's fine Mother, I’ll tell him. Now please clean up those tears, it will ruin your dress.”

Red passed her a handkerchief, and faced me with a grim and pitiful expression.

It's not like I hate Red, he's the one guy that seems slightly sane in this family. I just can't bring myself to tell him anything, the guy seems so out of touch with how far this house has fallen.

Not to mention the millions of times I've been compared to him, it feels like I am obligated to behave like a moron in his presence.

“Brother, do you remember the check up you had a few months ago?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“We have received some… results. Results that are quite dire, for you and this family.”

I already know what's about to happen, I've seen this play out more often than I can count. I can guess exactly what he's about to say next.

“You have the Curse Of Envy.”

“You have the Curse Of Envy.”

“What?”

“I mean it's the only thing I could have that would make Mother look like that-” I pointed at the edge of the doorway, where my mother was consoled by a few maids.

“-But it's pretty obvious regardless.”

I had gotten up and began to walk away but I was stopped by a few words.

“Where are you going?” That shrill voice spoke.

It was my mother, it seems she wanted the satisfaction of kicking me out herself.

“I'm leaving, I have to. This family is in danger if I stay.”

I said that with a bright, gleaming smile on my face. I can already tell that's not what she was expecting, her face is in shock.

In my dreams, a long and slow conversation about the life I would lead from then on would start to derail. Eventually, there seemed to be no other choice but to let me go, to abandon me.

This was obviously what she planned from the start, since no matter how the conversation was altered, it would always end in one solution, me leaving the family.

Such is the life of an aristocrat.

I dragged a small bag of luggage out the main door. Apart from essentials, there's a small pouch of gold that I stored up and hid away for months in preparation.

“Master Reiner, may I know what your plan is for the future?”

It's the butler that's been assigned to me since I was an infant, Henry, he probably knew that I had planned to leave at some point in time.

“Did my mother ask you to find out?”

“Would your answer change if she did?”

“Tell Mother that I plan on living, not surrendering to this disease. But to you and only you, I want you to know that I have no idea what I am doing.”

He smiled at my unserious joke about my future.

But I am telling the truth, in both statements. I want to stay alive, but I do not know how.

I need to search for medicine.