[Skill Core is now active.]

[Instant Heal can be upgraded to Heal for All upon acceptance.

Note: Activating the Great Sage’s copy function for the first time may produce adverse side effects in the host.]

He read the warning a second time, slower.

Then he read it a third.

The rational part of him, the part that had lived a full life once already and learned exactly what happened when you moved too fast and thought too little, told him to stop and consider the implications.

The system had been careful to word it as a possibility, not a certainty.

But side effects of an unspecified nature, on a body that was eleven years old, was not a small variable.

And yet.

He looked at what was being offered.

The potential on the other side of that warning was not something he was willing to walk away from over caution alone.

Mary tilted her head at him, her confusion deepening into something closer to concern.

’Copy the skill.’

[Request confirmed.]

[Instant Heal has been copied and added to the skill log.]

The pain arrived before the notification even finished appearing.

It came from the center of his chest and moved outward all at once, sharp and total, like something inside him had been cracked open to make room for what was being poured in.

His knees buckled.

He was on the floor before he understood he had fallen, one hand braced against the cold stone, blood rising in his throat and spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Mary’s voice broke completely.

"Young lord!"

She was at his side in an instant, her hands trembling as they reached for him, a pale green light already gathering at her fingertips.

[Instant Heal has been upgraded to Heal for All.]

[The host is now immune to all illness and poison.]

’Hah.’

Immune.

He registered the irony of that somewhere beneath the pain, in the part of him that was still functional enough to notice such things.

He was lying on the ground with blood on his lips, freshly immune to things that could not touch him now that the damage was already done.

The green light from Mary’s hands washed over him, warm and steady, and he could hear her voice rising in pitch as she called out for the countess, her composure gone entirely.

He could see her face above him, wet with tears she hadn’t stopped to wipe away.

He meant to say something.

To tell her he was fine, or at least that he thought he would be.

But the darkness was already coming, patient and absolute, and it took him before the words arrived.

...

[Congratulations on your awakening.]

His eyes opened.

The ceiling of his room greeted him, familiar and still. Morning light, or something close to it, pressed through the curtains in thin pale lines across the floor.

He was in his bed.

He became aware of other things gradually, in the order they made themselves known.

To his right, Erica had curled herself into a tight ball against his side, both arms wrapped around his hand as though she had decided, at some point during his absence, that holding onto it was the only acceptable arrangement.

To his left, his mother knelt on the floor with her head resting on the mattress, one hand wrapped loosely around his fingers, her breathing slow and even.

Both of them were asleep.

Adrian looked at them for a moment without speaking.

He was not surprised. .

’How long was I unconscious?’ he asked.

[One and a half days.]

He absorbed that.

The arithmetic was simple enough.

A day and a half of nothing, and they had both stayed.

His mother, who carried the weight of a county’s collapse on her shoulders and had buried her composure only days ago in that dining room.

His sister, who was still young enough that none of this should have fallen on her at all.

They had stayed anyway.

Adrian said nothing.

He only looked at them a moment longer before turning his attention back to the screen.

After gathering his thoughts for a good minute, he decided it was best to check what the system had for him.

However...

Just as he tried to sit upright, his hand moved slightly, which led to his mother waking up from her small nap.

As she raised her head, she gave out a small, almost adorable yawn as her black hair fell to the side.

Soon, her eyes landed on Adrian, who did not waste any time before giving her a small smile as he uttered calmly—

"Sorry, did I make you worry?"

That alone made her eyes water a bit.

Slowly they widened, and her lips quivered.

"My son—!"

Emilya called out to him, worry etched into her voice as she leaned forward, hugging him so tight he could swear she wanted to choke him to death.

"Oh my sweet boy, I was worried sick about you. You suddenly collapsed and then..." she cried even more.

Adrian was a bit speechless about the whole thing, but he completely understood how she felt as a mother.

"I am fine. Sorry for making you worry."

Those were the best words he could think of, since to be honest, he was quite a novice when it came to comforting others.

His mother allowed herself to tear up a bit more as she hugged him.

Then once she was done, she leaned away, both hands holding his as she looked into his eyes.

The tears could still be seen lingering on her cheeks.

"Please be careful, Adrian. You are the heir of the Vane family. If you die..." she paused, sorrow filling her throat as the words struggled to come out.

"I do not want to lose you as I did your father. I cannot take anymore. I do not even know how to run a county. I am only here because of you and your sister. If something were to happen to you, I..."

Adrian kept his gaze on her.

’I see... I figured that might have been the case.’

Luckily, he had already planned to tell her this before, and now was just as good a time as any.

"Let me take over as the count of the Ashmere county."

There was a quick pause, most of it because the countess was trying to see if she had heard her son right.

"What did you say?"

Adrian sighed.

"I am well aware of my age and how that could pose a problem. After all, who would listen to the words of a twelve year old?" He paused, then continued.

"That said, I do believe that once the people have seen what I am capable of, they would have no reason not to follow me."

Emilya chuckled nervously at his words.

"You are really serious about this." She let go of his hands, looking to the side with a worried expression.

"Mary told me she watched as you awakened your class. I am truly proud of you, my son, but ruling a land is far different from that."

She looked at him.

"There is so much more than just giving orders and having people bow to you, like you saw your father do."

’Ah, miscalculation on my part. It is going to be hard to convince my mother.’

Adrian turned his attention to the bed, trying to think of what he could do.

Then, not long after, an idea hit him.

"If I were to prove myself, would that be enough to convince you?"

"P-prove yourself how? You really do not speak like someone your age, you know that, honey?"

A single trail of sweat showed at the side of his head, but he did not stop talking.

"If I am able to solve one or two issues this county is facing, then would you be able to acknowledge me as its ruler?"

The determination in his eyes was not something Emilya could overlook so easily.

For a child to have such a look in his eyes, it would be a crime not to give him the chance he was requesting.

Besides, as a mother, even she was curious to see what he could accomplish.

"Are you sure about this, my son?" She placed her hand on his head.

"Should you decide to walk this path, I fear the responsibility will not be something you can shoulder so easily."

"I will not be doing it alone."

Emilya seemed taken aback by his response, causing her to chuckle a bit.

For a while, the sadness that had riddled her face vanished.

"Very well then, you have my blessing."

After continuously petting his head, she stood to her feet, taking one look at Erica sleeping at the side, then back at her son.

"I will tell Mary to come get you something to eat. Once you are done recovering, we will head to the church to get your class confirmation."

"I understand. I will be ready," Adrian replied.