4. The Awakening Ceremony Begins

Lyle felt as though something were squeezing his chest over and over again.

He could barely breathe.

The word 「suffocation」 even crossed his mind as he struggled with this hateful sensation.

(Hmph. I see. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, is that it?)

Listening to the voices around him, Rhine laughed coldly to himself.

It was only natural, when he thought about it.

After being praised as a genius by everyone around him, it was hardly surprising that once the Awakening Ceremony revealed his aptitude to be of the lowest grade, hostility came at him from every direction, and he was treated coldly for years afterward.

Behind him, Lyle’s breathing was gradually growing heavier.

Things he had failed to notice in his previous life were now as clear as day.

Five hundred years of life had sharpened Rhine’s eyes that much.

His thoughts suddenly turned to his uncle and aunt.

Looking back, they had played their cards rather