He Awakened When I Died

PROLOGUE

The night was dark without the rising of the moon.

Duke Hope was as dazzling as the light of the day.

The banquet was held in order to celebrate the birthdays of the second and third son, whose birthdays were only a few days apart from each other.

However, clearly not just the duke’s people, even the invited guests didn’t know that the main character of the banquet was actually the second son.

“Your third son will turn 18 this year. Your mind must be reassured to have three grown-up sons.”

 
Duke Hope, who was enjoying the banquet, hardened his face in an instant.

He looked at the young aristocrat, who had accidentally spoken about his third son, with an icy look.

“No matter how slow your third son is, he must have completed his awakening, hasn’t he?”

The duke didn’t answer.

The young aristocrat gave a surprised look, as if he couldn’t believe it. 

“No way, has it not happened yet?”

He exclaimed, making up a miserable face.

“At times like this, he should stand by his father’s side and count on him, shouldn’t he?”

The young aristocrat looked around the banquet hall and clicked his tongue.

“He didn’t show his face even though it was his birthday celebration either. Instead he just spent his day like this.”

The duke glanced at the aristocrat. 

No matter how much he faked and showed his pity, he had only one thing to say to the Duke. 

Your third son is a stupid child who is incapable of acting his age.

The duke also thought the same, but hearing this through others’ mouths felt different.

‘I can’t believe I’m being ridiculed by a kid like this’.

However the young aristocrat’s father was of a higher ranking and had the right to be arrogant.

If he raged at him, it would lead to a lot of drama, so the Duke tried hard to speak politely.

“Sadly, Bliss was not feeling well–” 

Before Duke Hope finished his speech, the door of the banquet hall suddenly burst open, and a voice rang out-

“Father!”

It was none other than the Duke’s third son, Bliss, who broke into the banquet without a warning. 

Everyone’s attention at the banquet hall was focused on him in an instant.

“Please help me!”

Duke Hope gritted his teeth as the crowd buzzed at his shout. 

‘Now we’ll be victims of these gossip-crazy nobles’ actions’.

Bliss continued in a desperate voice, regardless of people’s stinging gaze, “Shana, Shana is not breathing,”

He looked down at the woman in his arms. The pale-faced woman drooped and remained motionless. 

“Please call a doctor for the Harris family. I can’t call one.”

“Who is this Shana?” asked Duke Hope in a gloomy voice. 

Bliss was at a loss for words. He looked at his own father with doubtful eyes. 

Someone spoke up.

“She was Bliss’ guide (a wizard who is hired to help awaken one’s Mana).”

It was Michael, the second son of Duke Hope, who answered in place of Bliss. 

He came near Duke Hope and glared at Bliss with his intense deep blue eyes.

Only then did the Duke narrow his brows, as if he had recalled who Shana was.

“You mean that incompetent guide?” 

Incompetent child and guide.

A child born into a family of wizards’ bloodline would complete awakening no later than the age of ten.

Awakening was the starting point for the mana to be used freely, and the earlier the period, the more powerful the magic could be used.

Bliss didn’t awaken, even though he had started when he was eleven, and had turned eighteen now.

The person blamed for Bliss’ slow awakening was his guide; her terrible ability in inducing his awakening.

In fact, a competent and experienced guide could have been assigned to Bliss.

But Duke Hope didn’t do that. 

No matter how much water you give to the rotten seeds from the ground and light it up with the sunlight, they wouldn’t sprout.

Bliss, a mix of lowly blood, was the Duke’s only failure and a disgrace to the family. 

‘It’s a matter of wonder why a person who is usually docile like a sheep would suddenly run wild today’.

The Duke sighed. “Are you making a fuss just because of ‘that thing’?”

The Duke pointed to ‘that thing’, Shana, with his eyes.

“If she’s dead, bury her. I will find another guide for you.”

“…I don’t need another guide.” Bliss appealed to the Duke in a hoarse voice.

“And Shana is not dead. She can’t breathe properly, but her heart is beating weakly…….”

“Stop!” The Duke roared, cutting off Bliss’ words. 

“Why do you bother people with useless things!” 

There were a lot of eyes, but he couldn’t control his anger anymore. To be exact, he couldn’t stand his son’s pathetic nature anymore.

Perhaps today’s disturbance would give a good opportunity to kick Bliss out of the family.

“You showed up to your brother’s birthday bringing a dead body. What’s your intention?”

As if he held a blade in his hands, the Duke vented his anger that had been pressed inside. 

“And he’s your brother, isn’t he? Do you want to ruin his good day?”

There was vile contempt in the Duke’s eyes while staring at Bliss. 

“It’s not like that. I’m just-”

“So noisy!” 

The atmosphere of the banquet hall went cold in an instant by the Duke’s shout. 

“You are unaware of your own shortcomings, you only know how to envy others. There is no ugly mark like you in our family!” 

People remained silent, conscious of the Duke, but they were looking at Bliss with eyes the same as the Duke. 

“If you’re a man, you should feel sorry for your brother at least a little bit. No, if you knew it, you wouldn’t have done this in the first place!”

“I ap…”

Out of habit, Bliss, like a tamed dog, wagged his tail and was about to beg to be forgiven for his sin. 

‘…Why should I be sorry?’

No one was sorry for him, why should he feel sorry?

Today’s banquet was held to celebrated Michael and Bliss’ birthdays, albeit only in name. 

But Bliss has never been resentful and angry, even if he was treated like an uninvited guest and didn’t get anywhere near the banquet hall. 

Pain and patience. Anguish and humiliation. 

Apart from these four traits, is there anything left in his life? 

Suddenly, he felt an immense pain in his stomach, like an earthquake was about to break out.

But-

‘I have to save Shana.’

That was the most important thing, so Bliss bowed his head.

“I apologize for my imprudent behavior. My thoughts were wrong.” 

He endured the unexplained pain that tried to eat him completely, cold sweat dripping down his brows.

“I never intended to ruin the banquet because I was jealous of my brother. I just wanted to request for help as my guide was in critical condition.”

If it was for Shana, Bliss would have knelt down and even stuck his forehead on the floor. That’s how desperate he was.

“I will never bother Father again. So, please, just once…”

Bliss shut his eyes and opened them. 

“Please help me, Father. If you save Shana, I will take any punishment you give me.”

“I don’t want to hear it!” 

The Duke cold heartedly turned down the offer. 

“Firstly, you want a doctor from the Harris family. Do you know it’s easier said than done?” 

But contrary to his words, Bliss clearly remembered. 

His father called in the doctor from the Harris Family even though Michael just caught a cold.

The pain that had begun spreading throughout Bliss’ stomach increased.

He felt the pain burn into his bones as well as his flesh.

“Tsk tsk. You’re stubbornly stuck in the same state while embracing the body of a dead person.”

The Duke glared at the top of Bliss’s head and clicked his tongue. 

“Hey, you!”

The duke called for some servants in an angry voice. 

“Get that body away and burn it right now!” 

Bliss lifted his head quickly. His face had turned white, looking aghast. 

“No! You can’t do that. Shana is not dead yet!” 

But no one listened to him. 

The servants who were ordered by the Duke approached Bliss. They reached out to snatch Shana out of his arms. 

“Don’t touch her!” Bliss shouted fiercely, eyes blazing in anger.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the pillar of the banquet hall began to crack. The chandelier on the ceiling collapsed in a flash, tiny bits of glass flying, and the glass windows burst open with a bang.

“AHHH!”

The banquet hall turned into chaos in an instant as people were all shocked.

‘No way.’

The Duke opened his eyes wide and looked at Bliss.

There was no wind, but Bliss’ pitch-black hair strands were flying. 

“Did he just awaken?” 

The mana that flowed without restraint from Bliss made the Duke’s skin feel like it was on fire.

Even his previously blue eyes turned white like frost. 

The Duke hurriedly looked around the banquet hall.

The flower buds turned into ice flowers, breaking out of their stalks, and the floor turned as slippery as melted ice.

Strangely, the air around them was cold.

The Duke groaned. 

“It’s ice magic.’

Nature magic was very complicated and difficult, therefore the success rate was very slim.

“This awakened man could perform ice magic up to this scale.’

But this wasn’t the right time to be surprised. 

“Bliss, stop!” 

Bliss had to be stopped before the banquet hall completely became frozen.

“Did you tell me to stop?” 

The voice of the person who turned the hall upside down in a turmoil was composed. 

“You want me to stop?”  asked Bliss, eyes looking eerily empty as he tilted his head. 

That naive look was somehow horrifying. 

He looked down and saw Shana lying cold in his arms. 

“My guide isn’t breathing anymore…” 

With the last word, his voice cracked. Soon, a tear ran down his frosty eyes.

Cold and clear tears like water flowing under a thin ice stream. 

Bliss looked up at the Duke. His eyes were filled with tears. 

“Who the hell can stop me?”

As soon as he finished his words, the candlesticks of the frozen chandelier shot up from the floor like arrows.

“Argh!” 

People fled in disarray at the sudden attack. 

Only then did the Duke realize. 

It was not just an awakening. 

When awakened in an abnormal way, the Mana, which is overflowing, loses its reason and leads to a runaway state. In preparation for this, a guide existed, and like Bliss said, he no longer had a guide to stop him.

“Shana.” 

Bliss hugged Shana tightly in his arms to ease his frightened self.

It may cause her body to cool down even more. 

“Shana…” 

He called her desperately. 

Unfortunately, Shana was unable to answer. 

Because her body succumbed into a state of coma.

But, …
 

‘I’m doomed.’

Her mind was working better than anyone else. 

‘Why the hell did you awaken now?!’ 

She was going crazy and suppressing the need to jump up at him. 

‘How am I supposed to handle this?’ 

I’m really screwed. I’m screwed. I was irrevocably screwed. 

‘My plan was definitely perfect.’

She didn’t expect Bliss to end up like this. 

‘What kind of awakening is this…all for an extra?’

Shana felt like crying. 

She wondered why things got so messed up. 

She had no choice but to reflect on where she had gone wrong in her life over the years.

—