After working hard for two years in the company, he had a few achievements to his name which were more than enough for a promotion.
He just needed to submit an application for promotion to his superior. When he did submit it, everyone in the office knew it, and knowing it would definitely pass, they clamored for a celebration which he agreed to and took them to a bar.
Things were going alright, and he enjoyed himself in their company as some of them were his friends, and others were not bad company either.
Unexpectedly, however, before he knew it, he was coughing blood, and his breathing was labored—some jealous bastard had poisoned him.
'Just you wait! Once I'm strong enough, I'll do my best to find a way back to Earth. When I do, I'll definitely slaughter you,' he vowed, faces of three people who were most likely the culprits in poisoning him flashing in his mind.
After a while, he calmed his emotions and his thoughts shifted to his new family.
While Helen tried her best to appear calm and unbothered in front of him, he had noticed she had something weighing on her mind.
He went through his memories but found nothing that could help him guess what could be bothering her.
This was mostly because neither she nor Oriana told him anything about the things happening in the family because they didn't want him to worry.
His thoughts then went to his younger sister, Natalie. Unfortunately, because he didn't know what she was experiencing in the Royal Magic Academy, he couldn't guess what was wrong with her.
Exhaling a helpless breath, he muttered, "I need to hurry up, digest the legacy's information and start cultivating. Once I become a mage, I can find what's bothering them and help them."
Deciding this, he didn't waste time, calmed his thoughts, and started going through the legacy's information, some of which he had already reviewed when Helen was helping him bathe.
Inside his mindspace, nine bubbles of incandescent light hung in the sky. The closest to the ground was the smallest of them all, the second was bigger than the first, the third was bigger than the second, and so on.
He had barely managed to understand and digest one percent of the first bubble's information after spending all the time Helen took to bathe him, which was easily over twenty minutes.
From this, he knew it would probably take him months before he could go through all the nine bubbles.
Fortunately, from the one percent of the first bubble's information, he knew he only needed to understand and digest just the first globe's information to start his cultivation. Only after he broke through and became an Adept Mage—a Two Star Mage—would he need to go through to the second.
Despite how hard and mentally exhausting it was to understand the information, Lukas kept going.
Only after he thoroughly exhausted himself mentally and his head started throbbing in pain did he stop and open his eyes.
'I need at least a week to completely digest it,' he thought while rubbing his forehead.
He then turned to look toward the window, noticing there was no sunlight outside.
'It's already evening, huh?' he mused.
When Helen left, it was afternoon, which meant he had just spent four or five hours going through the information and only managed to understand a little over one-seventh of the first bubble.
Right now, he wanted to sleep and recover his mental energy, but the pain was too much for him to fall asleep. So, he turned to the table beside the bed, shuffled over to the corner, and rang the servant-summoning bell.
'Is she not outside?' he thought when Oriana didn't rush inside even after several seconds had passed.
Creak!
After a whole two minutes, the door swung open and Oriana entered the room.
"You woke up, young lord?" she smiled as she came over.
"Hm?" Lukas frowned, looking into her eyes, "What's wrong?" he asked.
A panicked glint flashed in her eyes as she hurriedly shook her head, "N-Nothing is wrong, young lord. Are you hungry—"
She tried to change the subject, but Lukas interrupted her, his tone harsh and cold, "Tell me!"
Oriana flinched, having never heard him use such a tone with her.
Then she lowered her head, bit her lower lip, and with misty eyes, she said in a low voice, "It was the third young lord. H-He stopped me. If not for the young lord's summons, h-he would have…"
The moment he heard this, Lukas recalled the memories about this third brother of his, his expression darkening.
If Lukas was to be ignored, Issac Rivervale, third son of Viscount Raymond, was the least talented person among the younger generation of the Rivervale family.
Even at the age of 26, after cultivating for over 14 years, he barely managed to reach mid-stage One Star realm, and that too was thanks to the countless resources his mother, Raymond's third wife, poured into him.
Maybe it was because his talent was too poor which affected his psyche, or maybe his mother's over-the-top coddling, or maybe it was the combination of both, he had developed several bad habits such as gambling, bullying ordinary people, or forcing himself on vulnerable ladies.
Lukas didn't know when it started, but Issac had suddenly gained interest in Oriana and wanted to sleep with her. Thankfully, Oriana was Lukas' personal maid and spent most of her time taking care of him instead of doing mansion chores, so he didn't get the chance to do what he wanted.Still, he bothered her every time he got the chance. If not for the fact he was wary of angering Helen, he would have forced himself on her.
Now, however, he nearly forced himself on her?
"What gave him the courage?!" he asked, rage evident in his voice.
Oriana sobbed silently and hesitantly said, "It seems he is no longer afraid of mistress…"
"Why?" Lukas became curious.
Oriana stayed silent, clearly not willing to tell him the reason. So, he asked her a little harshly and she eventually gave in.
"It's because the first lady has been targeting mistress more than ever, and lord Viscount hasn't said anything about it—it's as if he has silently consented to it. So, she no longer holds the same weight in the family."
"Why? Does he not care that mother's family will have something to say about it?" Lukas asked, recalling Helen's family, though a small noble family, enjoyed a substantial status in the town.
Oriana sighed, "Mistress's family… it's been declining rapidly for the past few years. So…"
"I see…" Lukas muttered in understanding.