Reincarnation of the Abandoned Genius

Chapter 2

The Duke of Brayo had hired five scholars to translate ancient texts, and they had been studying them for a long time.

Of course, their interest was limited to practical subjects like magic and swordsmanship.

Even though some books didn’t interest these scholars, I didn’t ignore them and read them all.

No one knew which book might contain the ancient truths, and most importantly, there were no other books left for me to read.

The Book That Grants Wishes

This was one of the ancient books categorized as a fairy tale by the Duke of Brayo’s library.

There were a few other ancient fairy tale books, and those were used by those studying the ancient language as beginner texts.

They were simple books made with basic words and didn’t have anything particularly impressive in them.

The Book That Grants Wishes wasn’t even a beginner text for the ancient language.

Its content was so absurd and filled with words that were impossible to translate.

But I still managed to understand about 90% of it.

“If you truly grant my wish, I would sacrifice my soul,” it said, followed by a painful cough and a trickle of blood from my throat.

I couldn’t delay any longer.

Even if it was an absurd fairy tale or a rotten rope, if there was a possibility, I had to try.

Rustle!

I turned the page.

It was nothing special, just a typical story.

A neutral being, neither good nor evil, brought danger to the world, and the good and evil gods joined forces to seal it away.

That myth was similar to the creation myth of the “Arman Sect,” the state religion of the Zeno Kingdom from the previous century.

The last page was filled with incomprehensible symbols and writing.

No one had paid attention to it—except me.

I combined the symbols and letters to create a magic circle.

But with my current ability, I couldn’t bring it to life.

I had no mana at all.

However, if my interpretation was correct, this magic circle didn’t require mana, but rather life itself.

Cough!

Blood splattered onto the ancient book.

The paper, which looked like it would crumble at any moment, began to disintegrate the instant the blood touched it.

‘What is this symbol?’

A new symbol appeared on the paper, touched by the blood.

No, it felt like I had seen it before.

Two diagonal lines met sharply, and matching lines inverted and interlocked.

At the center of the intersecting lines was a diamond shape.

‘This is…’

It resembled an ancient magic circle.

Quickly analyzing it, I modified a magic circle I had previously devised.

I had to survive. No, I could survive.

Now that I had a glimmer of hope, I couldn’t hesitate.

Fwoosh!

Light flickered.

It wasn’t coming from the book, but from within my mind.

Thoughts were quickly organizing in my head, and I wrote them down on the floor.

Not with a pen, but with my fingers, drawing the magic circle in the air.

It wasn’t a complicated magic circle.

I didn’t need ink.

It had to be drawn with my own blood to have meaning.

“Ah!”

In an instant, I realized things I hadn’t before.

It felt like I was about to understand something beyond human limits, something so distant it seemed almost within my reach.

Just as my mind was spinning, I felt something hot in my stomach.

A terrible pain surged, so intense that it made my vision blur.

“You… you are…”

I saw eyes filled with murderous intent.

It wasn’t an illusion.

My mind was sharp, clearer than ever.

Assassin!

Someone was trying to kill me.

The gleam in their eyes proved their attempt had succeeded.

In that moment, something whispered in my mind.

“..The wish has been granted.”

My body ached.

My back felt sore, and I smelled something musty in the air.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a low ceiling.

What is this? Did I lose consciousness and fall asleep in a barn?

I was lying on a bed.

I forced myself to sit up and looked around.

It was a shabby room, one that a vassal of a duke might use.

When I opened the door and stepped outside, I heard footsteps.

Someone was passing by in the hallway.

“Young master, are you awake?”

A woman, dressed in shabby clothes, greeted me with a smile.

How dare she make eye contact with a member of the Duke’s family?

She must not have been properly trained as a maid.

“You…”

I was about to scold the maid for her mistake, but then I remembered who she was.

For some reason, I knew this woman named Mariam.

She was a servant of Baron Hebron’s family, someone who had taken care of me all my life.

“Baron’s house? Why is a servant from the Baron’s family…?” Cough!

My head hurt.

Memories and emotions that I didn’t recognize flooded into my mind all at once.

“Y-Young master?”

“Ahhh!”

“Young masteeeer!”

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in the body of the eldest son of Baron Hebron.

Hebron.

My father, Duke Brayo, used to call Hebron “the poor Hebron.”

He would tell me that the downfall of Hebron, once a powerful family, was a lesson for the Brayo family.

Hebron was a family struggling to pay their taxes to the royal family every year.

In such a poor family, I had become the 19-year-old eldest son, Louis.

Louis de Hebron, and Louis de Brayo.

Although our names were the same, we were completely different in talents and circumstances.

“Erased completely!”

Even in a poor household, there was a study room.

Though most of the books were hand-copied, there were also records of the royal family and high-ranking nobles’ bloodlines.

Duke Brayo.

The list of key figures in the royal family came after the Duke’s family in the records.

This list was updated every year.

When taxes were paid to the royal family, they would grant a copy of the list.

It wasn’t free.

The cost of the list was included in the hefty taxes.

But when I looked at it, I wasn’t on the list.

The eldest, second, and even the youngest daughter were listed, but Louis de Brayo was nowhere to be found.

Had it been since I was fifteen?

I flipped through the old records.

Even when I was fifteen, I wasn’t there.

Not even when I was ten, or any other age—every record of me had been completely erased.

…I never existed?

There were two possibilities.

Either Duke Brayo had erased my existence, or whoever sent me here had erased the name Louis de Brayo.

It was the Duke’s doing.

I had memories of Louis de Hebron as well.

He was from a lesser noble family and had to memorize the lineage of more powerful families.

When I was young, Louis de Hebron remembered Louis de Brayo, the exact same name as mine.

I knew that my name had disappeared from the list 14 years ago.

14 years ago? Does that mean the Brayo family started erasing me when I was only eight?

I had been known as a genius in theory.

But from that time, the Duke had seen through my incompetence.

He gave up hope on me and erased me from the family records.

…I was thoroughly used to it.

The records I left in the Brayo family helped the bloodline grow.

Now, I think I understand why Duke Brayo fed me the expensive dragon’s breath.

He wanted me to become ruthless.

I was intended to raise other children with my abilities.

Using a brilliant, unconventional idea from a genius like me, I was supposed to lay the foundation for Brayo’s family.

Was I destined to be thrown away from the beginning? Is this all I was considered worth?

“Hahahaha!”

I laughed for a long time.

Once the laughter left, my mind felt empty.

Then, anger started to fill that emptiness.

I had poured all my energy into those who never looked at me.

I’ll show them.

I will prove what kind of person the Louis they discarded was.

And I will definitely find the one who killed me and take my revenge.

That person won’t even know I’m coming for them until it’s too late.

No, I’ll make sure they live a life where they can’t even die if they want to.

Louis de Hebron was an ordinary man.

Just like his ancestors.

Unlike the Brayo family, Hebron wasn’t obsessed with talent.

They respected each person’s tastes and abilities and valued happiness above all else.

The result? A poor family called “the Hebrons who graze on grass.”

Louis de Hebron often resented his ordinary talents.

With his abilities, he couldn’t protect his family.

He was always worried that, in his generation or the next, Hebron might fall into ruin.

“…The situation is different, but you and I are no different. But now, don’t worry. I’ll change things. I’ll reshape our lives. And I will show you what true talent is. I’ll even surpass the Brayo family’s secret of turning dogs into dragons.”

I wouldn’t look back.

I decided to live a life I’d never experienced before.

I was going to unleash my talent.

With my memories, I have no talent for magic, and my skills as a knight are… average?

I had a body as ordinary as could be.

I had never checked for talent in elemental magic or holy magic.

Elemental magicians were rare beings, and it was even rarer for a future lord to join the religious orders.

“Then I’ll check for elemental magic first.”

Books on elemental magic were hard to come by.

Naturally, there were no books on elemental magic in the Baron’s library.

There were only novels where elemental mages appeared.

Fortunately, the old memories are still intact.

My mind didn’t work as quickly as before.

To memorize something, I had to invest a lot of time.

But it didn’t bother me.

I had more than enough time to enjoy those things, and the knowledge already engraved in my mind hadn’t faded.

In my mind, the Duke’s library was still vivid.

I locked the door, took some chalk, and drew a magic circle on the floor.

The sunlight streaming through the window was warm.

When I was locked up in the Duke’s underground, I only saw magical light.

There was no consideration for my sleep; the light was bright year-round.

I could also hear the birds chirping.

In my past life, the only thing that gave me energy was the gossip of the maids outside the bars.

“This is a simple magic circle, but a curious elemental spirit won’t be able to ignore it.”

Elemental magic might belong to the realm of magic, but its essence was different.

There was only one magic circle related to elemental magic: the Contract Circle.

For those with good elemental affinity, just drawing a simple circle and dropping a drop of blood would attract high-level spirits.

“Plus, this is a magic circle I’ve specially modified.”

I spent three full days preparing.

I didn’t know what kind of elemental spirit would show up, but I hoped just one would come.

“Let’s not be disappointed. Even if I have no talent for elemental magic, I still have my sword.”

I touched my lower abdomen.

There, a small aura was gathering.

It was a level I had barely reached using the most basic cultivation method.

Even this small power was precious to me.

If it was the Brayo family’s secret, even this insignificant strength could be maximized.

Drip, drip.

I let my blood fall into the center of the magic circle.

It would be better if I used an elemental stone, which spirits preferred, but with the money it would cost to buy one, I could buy several Hebron estates.

The reaction… it’s coming!

My blood began to form a small, thick ball.

It gathered together, and something suddenly shot up.

Flare!

It was a flame.

It was small, like a candle flame.

That meant my talent was only good enough to summon the weakest elemental spirits.

“Sorry, but I’m not satisfied with this level.”

This was not the magic circle I had intended to create.

If I had no talent at all, it would be one thing, but with even a small amount of talent, the Brayo family’s secret method could make a dog into a dragon.

I had perfectly learned that technique, at least in theory.

I had tried it countless times, always failing, but I knew how it worked.

Drip, drip.

The magic circle had a three-layer structure.

I let a drop of blood fall between the first and second circles.