Chapter 123: Chocolate Cake [1]

After knocking that kid unconscious, I walked up the stairs and ignored the small crowd that had gathered because of the commotion that I—no, that boy had caused.

He provoked me first, so it wasn’t my fault.

I entered the mansion and, damn, it was twice as big as my own mansion.

The ceilings of the corridors were high above me, with chandeliers hanging from them. There were so many servants walking up and down with hurried steps, most likely because all the Laurent children were gathered here and soon the adults would be arriving as well.

Every servant who passed couldn’t help but look at me in surprise.

’They’re probably wondering why you’re here since most of them don’t know that you’ve awakened.’ Ezio explained inside my head.

I simply ignored the stares and kept walking confidently until I encountered a butler who asked where I was supposed to go. He then directed me toward a hall where some of the family members were gathered.

I walked for a few minutes because the hall was quite far away, and this mansion was simply too damn big. Eventually, I saw the huge doors of the hall in the distance.

Just before I could open them, I felt three presences behind me, so I turned around.

It was the three kids who had watched me knock out the other guy.

Two boys and a girl.

One boy was tall and had long white hair styled into locks that fell over his shoulders. He had serene golden eyes and wore a black-and-white tuxedo.

That was Alexander Tan Laurent, a cousin of Yves—mine now.

The other boy was shorter than him and had a fiercer aura. He was Asencio Tan Laurent, Alexander’s brother and my cousin. He wore a black tuxedo with fashionable ropes decorated with jewelry across his chest. His white hair was pulled back into a short bun, while his skin was as brown as sand and he had the same golden eyes as his brother.

Last but not least was the girl.

She had alabaster skin with freckles on both sides of her cheeks. Her white hair was wavy and fell down her back. She wore a green dress with a necklace that had a beautiful green gem hanging from it.

She was Londrina Tan Laurent.

They were all siblings.

From Yves’ memories, they had a good relationship with him, but they barely talked because Yves had always avoided his cousins and siblings.

So I didn’t really have to worry about knocking out another kid...

Yet.

They all stopped in front of me, and the first one to speak was Asencio.

"Are you really Yves? I can’t believe that you just knocked out Pedro with two punches. You fight just like the one who used to bully you when we were younger," he said with narrowed eyes.

I remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Yes, that’s me."

Londrina opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she closed it and looked down.

She did that a couple more times, and after some hesitation, she finally spoke.

"You have changed a lot, Yves... You even grew taller," she said.

"Yeah," Alexander nodded. "But he still has the same aloof expression he had when we were young."

I shrugged.

"People change, and the increase in height was just a benefit of me absorbing mana for the past two months."

Alexander, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke.

"So you really have awakened. I thought the rumors were false."

"Yeah, I can even feel the mana coming out of your body. You’re strong," Asencio said as he sized me up.

"Well, I’m the living proof of it. I have finally awakened."

"But how did you awaken after failing twice? I believe it’s impossible to awaken after failing two times."

Well, it was impossible.

But I couldn’t exactly tell them, Hey, I’m not your real cousin. I’m an otherworldly demon who took possession of his body after your cousin died.

"Honestly, I don’t know. I just know that I fell into the lake in my mansion and started drowning. Then, all of a sudden, I awakened. The only one who can explain that is the God of Stories himself."

"That’s true." Asencio nodded before smiling. "What you did back there was satisfying to watch. You really taught Pedro a lesson."

"And damn, you brought him down with just two punches in front of everyone. What a great way to show that you’re stronger now. I liked that." Asencio smiled before adding, "If you want to spar, I’m always down."

He cracked his knuckles.

"I always like fighting a strong opponent—actually, nah. Let’s fight now and screw this gathering."

This guy was a masochistic bastard who loved to fight anytime he had the chance. Especially when he saw someone strong, he would never stop bothering them until they agreed to fight.

I was already starting to feel annoyed just thinking about how much he would bother me in the future.

I shook my head.

"Nah, I’ll pass. I’d rather keep myself out of any fights before the Rite of Passage, but we can definitely fight afterward."

"Lame, but no problem then. So you promise?"

"No, but I’ll do my best."

"That’s enough then."

These guys weren’t really bad company, so I’d probably stick with them until my room was prepared and I could leave this gathering.

"Right, shall we go in?" I said as I started pushing the doors open.

They all nodded and stepped in after me.

The hall was huge and was decorated fancily. A couple of chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the place, while dozens of tables were spread around the hall. Dozens and dozens of different foods covered them, with the other children gathered around each table and serving themselves. Others stood in the corners, talking to each other, while some simply stood alone.

’So much fooooood!’ Ezio exclaimed inside my head.

Just from his reaction, I could already imagine him drooling inside my shadow.

There were twenty people in total, making twenty-four with me and the three siblings.

The hall was lively with voices and conversations.

But the hall suddenly went silent as we stepped inside, and all of them stared at us.

Well, at me specifically.

I didn’t show any hesitation or fear because of their gazes and simply kept walking.

I didn’t even greet anyone. I just moved toward a table and served myself some food.

I could feel their gazes following me from behind.

"No way, that trash is actually here?"

Some of them murmured to each other, while others laughed. A few simply remained quiet, seemingly uninterested.

But did I care whether they were talking about me or not?

Fuck no.

I was even resisting the urge to say, What the fuck are you looking at? But I had to maintain Yves’ aloof behavior, so I chose not to.

The noise eventually returned to normal after they realized I wasn’t going to react to their stares. It seemed like they expected me to cower in fear under their gazes, but unfortunately for them, mama raised a soldier, not a bitch.

I took a piece of chocolate cake and put it on a small plate.

By a piece, I meant a very big one.

Cake is cake.

So you can judge me if I’m gluttonous. I just don’t care.

I took a small piece of the cake with a small fork and put it into my mouth.

Oh Lord, this thing tastes so goooood!

So I took another bite, then another, and another until, before I even realized it, the cake was already gone from my plate.

Damn, did I eat that too fast?

Whatever. I was just going to take more.

But before I could, I noticed a few gazes on me, so I looked back.

It was the three siblings.

They had weird looks on their faces.

"Oh? You’re still here? Don’t mind me. Go greet the others," I said as I put another piece of cake into my mouth.

I kept eating, but they were still looking at me with those weird expressions, which almost made me frown, but I stopped myself.

"What?"

Asencio opened his mouth.

"Since when do you like cake?"

"What? Who doesn’t like cake?" I asked, confused.

"I meant chocolate cake specifically. You always hated chocolate cake because it was too sweet."

Ah.

I searched through my memories and saw that Yves didn’t actually like chocolate cake.

So I was currently acting out of character.

I’ll just lie anyway.

"There’s always room for change. I’ve realized that it’s not so bad after all, so now I like it," I said with a blank expression.

I hope that can convince them.

The siblings simply stared at me before Londrina asked,

"Are you sick, perhaps?"

"No, why would I—"

"Yeah, I think you’re not okay."

"Yeah, just put down the chocolate cake," Alexander said.

"Is someone perhaps forcing you to eat?"

"I’ll throw this cake in your face."

The siblings were busy trying to stop me from eating the chocolate cake as if I were eating poison.

I didn’t know what was up with them, but they kept trying to snatch my cake away.

Such nonsense!

But just before they could take it from me, someone called my name.

"Yves."

The siblings stopped in their tracks and looked toward the boy who had just called me.

He was accompanied by a girl.

They were Yves’ siblings, and judging by the looks on their faces, they seemed to want to cause trouble.

Ah, fuck.

Here I was trying to have a peaceful day.

Can’t I just enjoy eating my chocolate cake in peace?!