In a region of the vast Zerynthia Empire—more precisely, within the territory of the Seventh Imperial Legion—the birth of the successor to the prestigious Amatsu family was taking place.
Inside one of the enormous mansion's rooms, several people had gathered. Most of them were servants of the estate, carefully assisting in the labor of Lumiére, the wife of the ruler Dorian.
"I need you to push one more time, my lady," said Yue, the head maid and Lumiére's closest friend.
Lumiére was completely drenched in her own sweat. She had spent several agonizing and painful minutes pushing continuously so that her child could finally be born.
"Ahgh!" she gasped in deep pain as she strained once more.
She was exhausted. She could feel her body opening in an almost inhuman way to allow the child to come out, and worst of all, none of the servants were allowed to use healing magic on her.
Any use of magic during pregnancy or childbirth was strictly forbidden, as it was known to cause severe complications to the baby's well-being.
Yue expected the infant's head to appear after so much effort, but it didn't… not until her lady gathered the little energy she had left for one final, desperate attempt.
That last push was so intense that, at last, part of the baby's head became visible.
"I can see the head, my lady… just one last push!" she exclaimed with clear excitement.
"Ahgh!" she screamed one final time, using all her strength, before collapsing onto the bed, staring at the ceiling through blurred vision.
'…It's— it's over,' she told herself in a faint mental whisper.
But she did not hear her child crying.
With clear concern in her eyes, she turned her head to one side, searching for the gaze of one of her servants. When she looked at them, she noticed that every single one bore an expression of absolute terror on their faces.
With effort, supporting herself on her arms, she lifted her back and looked forward.
She opened her eyes in disbelief at what she was seeing.
Yue, who had assisted her throughout the entire labor, was completely frozen in fear. Her eyes trembled visibly as she held the child in her arms.
It was not a normal child in the eyes of anyone present in the room. Even for his mother—who had feared something was wrong simply because he had not cried—this surpassed any negative expectation.
An enormous amount of mana enveloped the baby, leaving no room to see him clearly. It was an energy completely different from anything they had ever known; repulsive, and for some reason, merely seeing or sensing it provoked indescribable fear.
For Lumiére, who had fallen into shock at the sight before her, only one thing crossed her mind:
'A… a curse.'
Then, countless bitter thoughts flooded her head. How was it possible that her child had been born with one? She knew of their existence only from the old books she had studied in her youth.
Those born with a curse were extremely rare beings; in fact, not a single case had been reported anywhere in the world over the past several decades. And now, standing before her eyes, was her own child bearing one.
'So much effort… so much time devoted to his birth… and he's born defective.'
All the hope and joy she had felt just moments ago were erased from her mind.
Seeing that no one moved, she called for one of the guards protecting the room to enter immediately.
His reaction differed from that of the servants, displaying strict discipline.
He looked at his lady and bowed. When he raised his head, he did not even need to hear her request.
He approached a Yue still paralyzed by fear and, with a certain roughness, took the child from her arms before quickly leaving the room.
As he walked through the corridors, his presence caused intense tension among the other guards protecting the mansion.
The servants' reaction was immediate: even from several meters away, they felt that repugnant mana and hurriedly moved away in opposite directions.
The guard continued walking for several minutes through the vast hallways until he reached a large door that stood completely unguarded.
When he opened it, he found an ordinary room, no different from any other in the mansion.
He entered and closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.
He observed the child in silence. Behind his helmet, his gaze remained cold, devoid of any emotion.
At that moment, a magic circle suddenly appeared beneath his feet. An energy completely enveloped him, and when the light dissipated, the guard was no longer there.
In his place stood a short woman with red hair tied into a ponytail and blood-red eyes, holding the baby in her arms.
She was a servant who had recently joined the mansion's staff. Since her arrival, she had stood out as strange compared to the others—always serious, never speaking to anyone, limiting herself solely to doing her job.
Her name was Kanna.
She stared at the child in her arms without a trace of emotion. The baby had his eyes closed and dark hair.
Gently, she brushed her hand across his small cheek and, without saying anything, opened her palm a few centimeters above his head.
Then, a small magic circle appeared—about the size of her palm, purple in color, slowly rotating on its own axis.
"Let's start over," she murmured.
The magic circle vanished, and with it, the baby slowly opened his eyes, revealing a blood-red color.
His eyes were identical to hers. For a brief moment, the newborn's gaze met the woman's, holding it with unexpected intensity.
The baby remained silent for a few seconds, but it didn't take long before he suddenly burst into loud crying.