The world lay shrouded in endless darkness, where wars raged ceaselessly and the young and valiant fell like leaves before the wind.
In the hearts of the desperate, millions of devout voices rose in prayer, beseeching the gods for a sliver of hope. And on that fateful dawn, the sun itself broke forth with a radiance unseen for generations.
It was then that the young hero, Lorrenz, was born.
— from "The Tales of the Emperor Lorrenz"
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After the meeting with Galvus , the imperial Archperceptor
Maximus ordered the maid Eliza to take the child to the snowy northern mountains and raise the prince Heinrich there as their son
She obeyed the order , adopted Heinrich together with her husband and then departed from the capital immediately
Soon Maximus declared to the world that in the winter of the year 1067 , the first prince " Maximillian von Lorrenz " was born .
And also sadly declared that her imperial majesty the Empress , Cartha Mills passed away during childbirth
...
The next day was bright and the entire capital seemed to be bustling with the crowd and compare to this the high palace in the background was calm
In one of the rooms of this high palace , a cradle was placed and inside that cradle was a very cute small infant with rosy cheeks
The infant was sleeping peacefully covered in a purple velvet cloth in the cradle
Soon he opened his big eyes to reveal deep silver irises
This baby was Maximillian, the first prince of the Great Valkyros Empire , a title too great bestowed upon this frail creature from his birth
But inside his little mind some different thoughts were going on
"Huh , did I Reincarnate ?" thought Maximillian
" Well it seems that even sinners like me get a second chance "
Then Maximillian revealed a smirk , despite his blurry eyes he could make out most of his surroundings
He was in a huge european styled room which looked royal
"Maybe I reincarnated into a rich noble family but all there is to find out is whether it is a fantasy world or my own previous world"
He then put an end to his thought process and thought of exploring more about his new surroundings.
The best way for him to find out about this world is to interact with it's people but as a baby , the only method he could use to attract attention is to cry out loud .
" AAAaaaaaaahh...
I cried as loud as I can , even my own throat began to hurt and finally I heard the sound of door opening and soon in front of me came two maids , that's what I assumed them to be from their uniform
They wore the maid uniform we all have commonly seen everywhere .
I looked at them , the one to my left had light brown hairs and an unremarkable face i must say
the one on my right had black hairs and a sweet face which looked like it belonged to a teenager
I could see that they both were worried about me crying so I stopped at once afterall no one likes a crying baby .
" Ohh dear heavens , what may have led his imperial highness to cry ?" Said the one on the right in a worried expression
" I believe it to be hunger because no foul smell is coming from the cradle, Aria " said the one on left with equally worried expression
" Well we were not instructed about the food that should be given to his highness " said the maid whose name was just revealed to be Aria .
While they were having their little chat , I was just observing them .
From their chats , i easily got to know their name and many things about myself such as I am likely a prince because they used term 'your highness ' for me .
The language they spoke was english which I was well versed in.
Soon they noticed the calm curious look on my face and then came closer to me
Mary said " ohh , was this cry just to call for us your imperial highness "
Aria continued " you must be feeling lonely your highness "
I don't why but I suddenly felt a chill in my spine right then .
" Ohh , his imperial highness cheeks are so cute I just can't resist then " said maid mary
She extended her hand to touch me suddenly the door opening sound came and a women's voice with authority spoke
" If you treat his imperial highness for your own personal desires then you would neither have hands to touch his soft cheeks nor eyes to see his divine face "
Both maids immediately bowed and distanced themselves from me , I was actually not that much pleased because that voice sounded arrogant
That voice belonged to a women who appeared to be middle aged with small wrinkles , she had pale skin and platinum blonde hair with light silver eyes
She was dressed overly just like how french women used to dress before french revolution
Well to some it might look beautiful but not to me , i prefer natural beauty without any makeup .
She came and picked me up directly in her arms and said in a exaggerated voice " ohh , my little baby mill , I am your aunt clara "
To it's responce I only gave her a deadpan look , seeing no reaction from me she then moved her hand and started pinching my cheeks
"Ouch , it hurts " was all I could thought at that time
I wanted to cry but my throat was sore from the last cry
Then she shifted her attention to both maids and asked in that same arrogant tone from before " when was the last time he had been fed ? "
" H- He had been fed yesterday night by her imperial majesty , the empress right before her death " replied maid in a hesitant tone
" Ohh , so my poor nephew has been hungry since then , because you didn't care for him so let me feed my poor nephew myself " she said in a proud tone and slowly put me to cradle again while both maids came to help her so that she could feed me
Oh great heavens , i wanted to scream , to cry but no words came out of my small mouth so the only thing I could do was close my eyes and hope it pass quickly
...
Finally it got over after a whole hour but I must say it tasted surprisingly good maybe it was just because of my hunger
Well all things aside right now I just feel trapped in this body
I wish I had instead transmigrated into an adult body instead of reincarnating like this .
Afterall who would want to live as an infant again
Well let's just hope this phase of my life passes quickly and I grow up fast like those manhua mc .
...
(Four years later)
These four years passed gracefully, Maximillian starred talking at the age of one and by the end of his second year , he already was able to walk
In these years many people has determined Maximillian to be a smart boy and the prediction by astrologer before his birth made this fact even more certain.
Maximillian was four year old this year and was playing with his maid in his room
"Mary, do you know anything about magic or such things?" asked four-year-old Maximillian, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Mary paused for a moment, thinking carefully. "No, Your Highness… not much," she replied.
"Then is there anything that allows people to do things like those heroes from history?" Maximillian pressed, clearly eager to learn more.
"Well… yes," Mary said hesitantly. "There is something called *aether*. It is said to grant powers like those."
Maximillian's eyes lit up. "Then tell me quickly—what is it?"
"From what I know," Mary began, choosing her words cautiously, "only the most devoted priests or chosen individuals can obtain aether. It comes from the divine realm of the gods, and its strength depends on one's faith."
Maximillian leaned forward. "So… can I obtain it?"
Mary shook her head gently. "I'm afraid not, Your Highness. Only monks who dedicate years to prayer and abandon all worldly luxuries can gain it… and you are a prince."
Maximillian frowned slightly. "So… there's no other way?"
Mary hesitated. "There are tales of masters—wizards and witches—who can use such powers. But those are merely legends… nothing more."
Maximillian fell silent for a moment, disappointment flickering across his face.
"So there really is no way…"he thought.
Then his eyes brightend up again and he thought with new determination in his eyes
" But Still, I can't give up. There must be a way to reach the peak of power—just like those protagonists from manga."
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In next chapter I will do timeskip ....