Pete cleared his throat, his voice heavy with authority.The air in the room didn't just chill; it turned to ice."Jayden," Pete said, his voice dropping to a low, inquisitive rumble. "There is something that doesn't add up. If you don't mind telling us... how did a boy with your features end up in the slums?"
In the slums, beauty isn't a blessing. It's a target"," I spent five years in an orphanage," I said, my voice steady despite the weight of the memories. "Until I turned ten. That was the day I Awakened... as an F-Class."
The reaction was instantaneous.
"F-Class?!" Chris blurted out. He had stopped looking bored, his eyes snapping to mine with a mix of shock and genuine confusion. To a Dominic, "F" was a rank that shouldn't even exist in their bloodline.
"F-Class...?" Jamie repeated, his voice rising in an incredulous pitch. He looked at Pete, then at Silas, then back to me as if I had just admitted to being a different species.
I didn't stop. I told them about Chadwick. About the beatings. About the five years of slavery in the Sector 7 slums. I told them about Melody—the ten-year-old girl I had shielded with my own broken body.
"I hit him with a chair so she could run," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "He nearly killed me for it. I crawled into an alley... just hoping she was far enough away."
A choked sob broke the silence.
Lara was trembling, her silk napkin pressed to her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. The "Monster" mother was completely undone. She reached across the marble table, her hand shaking as she gripped mine.
"No more," she sobbed. "No more darkness for you, Jayden. You're home now."
She looked at Pete with a fierce, maternal fire I hadn't seen before. "Pete... we aren't just 'considering' this. We are adopting him. Formally. Today."
Jamie slammed his hands on the table, his face turning a deep shade of red. "Are you serious?! You're actually going to adopt an F-Class because of a sob story?! He's a beggar! He'll be the laughingstock of the Academy!"
"Jamie, enough!" Pete's voice was like a thunderclap. The table rattled, and even the "Brat" flinched.
I looked up, meeting Jamie's furious eyes with my own calm, reddish gaze. I even let a single, stray tear fall—a perfect finishing touch.
Go ahead, Jamie. Keep screaming, I thought, my heart as cold as the marble table. The more you act like a villain, the more Lara wants to protect her 'poor, brave' new son. You're literally building my throne for me
"Silas, Chris," Pete said, not looking up from his plate. "The Academy starts its new semester in two weeks," Pete announced, his voice echoing off the titanium walls. "And Jayden will be joining you."
The silence that followed was deafening
"What?!" Jamie's voice cracked. He looked like he'd been struck by lightning..
What? I thought, my spoon freezing halfway to my mouth. For the first time in my life, I actually agree with that brat. What?! Nobody informed me I was going to a damn Academy!
I had read the book. I knew what happened at the Nova academy. It wasn't a school; it was a meat grinder for high-ranking mages to beat each other senseless. And I was an F-Class extra who was supposed to be dead in an alley
Lara squeezed my hand, her eyes shining with pride. " You'll have your brothers to look after you. You'll never be alone again."
I looked at Silas. Across from me, Silas was silent. He wasn't smiling anymore. He was staring at me with a look of genuine confusion. He was a master of logic, but he couldn't understand how someone so "weak" could be so unshakable. He didn't know what I was doing, and that clearly unsettled him.
"Thank you, Father," I said aloud with a smile, my voice smooth and obedient, even though my brain was already planning an escape route. "I'll do my best not to embarrass the name."
Jamie looked like he wanted to flip the table. Chris just slumped in his chair, not saying a word
Lara stood up, her hand still resting protectively on my shoulder. The tears in her eyes had been replaced by a sharp, regal determination that made even Pete blink.
"Tomorrow," Lara announced, her voice ringing through the silent dining hall like a silver bell. "I am taking Jayden to the Central Administration to be registered officially as my son."
Just my luck, I thought, staring at the polished silver spoon in my hand. I thought I'd finally caught a break. I thought I could just lazy around, spend the Dominic fortune, and live a luxurious life until this F-class body eventually gave out. A nice, quiet, expensive retirement.
But no. The universe apparently had other plans for me."Damn you, God..." I whispered, my voice thick with a mix of betrayal and annoyance. "Author... whoever the hell it is that reincarnated me here... damn you....