66: Dante's Birth Defect

Dante's Birth Defect

~Dante's POV~

"Let the vast and blessed protection of water converge where thou seekest, I call forth the refreshing burbling stream thereof here..." I said, going through an incantation within the book that my mother had given to me after our bath the previous day.

My right hand was outstretched in front of my face, open palm directed towards the wooden basin that had been placed a couple feet away from me. "Water Ball!"

Nothing happened.

I had stayed up for hours, practically getting no sleep from the day before, due to the fact that I was studying the book all night. Mother didn't know that, of course.

However, I was beginning to have a very bad feeling about my unique circumstances.

Going through the incantation once more, I pointed my outstretched hand towards the wooden basin, trying incredibly hard to sense the mana stored inside of my small body. I went through the same process for three to four hours straight, the sun beaming down onto me as I refused to move from my spot unless I saw at least a hint of progress.

Eventually, a familiar voice reached my ears, and it caused me to abruptly stop in the middle of going through the incantation for the hundredth time.

"I'm back! How's it coming along, honey?"

Unable to comprehend the situation, I slowly turned in the direction of my mother's voice, and she immediately noticed the swirling emotions that were bubbling up inside of me.

I was so stuck on the fact I couldn't achieve an elementary rank magic spell that I hadn't even bothered to give the black haired woman a smile. I simply walked back into the manor, exhausted and upset from standing outside in all of that hot weather, only to fail at conjuring one of the easiest magic spells written in the book.

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~Nobody's POV~

It was dead silent as the sound of a slammed door signaled Dante's presence leaving the area.

"Norvella... what happened?"

Even though it was stated as a question, it wasn't one. There was a dangerous underlying tone to the black haired woman's voice as she spoke.

The second after he left, a young girl dressed in a maid outfit walked out of the spot that she was secretly hiding in. Her hair was colored an unusual white, accompanied by a pair of blue eyes that contained a touch of worry for the small boy.

It was the same girl that had witnessed Dante's birth.

(The picture of Norvella's appearance will be here.)

"It seems as if the young master was having quite a bit of trouble with learning the use of magic, my lady." Norvella explained, her eyes never leaving the door.

A pair of red slit orbs focused on the young maid in confusion, which was due to the fact that the woman noticed her child had still been doing one of the easiest magic spells ever recorded in the history of this world after she got back from her most recent business venture.

She motioned for Norvella to keep going. The young girl quickly did just that.

"After watching him repeatedly attempt to execute the first move written in the book unsuccessfully, which is an elementary rank magic spell, I have a sneaking suspicion that the young master could possibly have been given a unique misfortune."

The black haired woman's focus was entirely on Norvella as she gave her honest thoughts on the situation. "W-What do you mean by that?"

"...While I truly hope to be wrong in this particular situation, I'm fairly certain that the young master has unfortunately been born with the absolute bare minimum amount of mana within his body."

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~Dante's POV~

The initial wave of frustration that had consumed me just a few minutes ago was very short-lived.

Instead, a feeling of embarrassment and shame replaced it, due to the fact that I couldn't believe how I had allowed myself to behave in that instance.

The sight of her only son, who the woman had most likely thought would be smiling happily once she got back, instead laid witness to me acting so childishly when I could've handled my feelings in a much better way.

Shaking my head as I began restlessly pacing the room in thought, the deep sense of confusion I felt nevertheless remained as an annoying thorn in my side. I would occasionally glance towards the desk located across from me, which is where I had carelessly tossed the book after abruptly making my return.

I just had a hard time trying to think of what the actual problem was.

Over the past few years, I've made sure to ask my new mother figure certain questions in a way that wouldn't give any clue as to who I truly was, but instead provide me with enough information that I could grasp a basic understanding of this mysterious world.

This is why I was so confused.

Practically everything in this world possessed a certain amount of unique energy called 'Mana'. That energy is utilized for magic to work.

Children were no exception to this rule.

As a matter of fact, I was probably considered a late bloomer, which was due to the fact that most kids actually began tapping into the mystic arts at around five years old instead of seven.

Even then, while a child at that young of an age had a high possibility of struggling with an elementary ranked magic spell like Water Ball simply because of their underdeveloped minds, they still eventually learned it with a lot more ease compared to my first attempt. Many of them would even be able to at least form a circular orb made up of water before it spilled all over the floor.

I wasn't able to do a damn thing.

Now, what really made this situation all the more unusual, was the fact that I had been born into this world as a vampire...

Can you guess one of the things that they were known for? Aside from the obvious physical characteristics, of course.

One of the things that the extremely uncommon vampire race was known for had always been their mana potential. Naturally born with an above average amount already, practically dwarfing that of a human child's by three times, their accelerated mana regeneration just further cemented the fact that the vampire race was not to be fucked with.

That was also without mentioning any of their other special abilities.

All of that is why it made no sense for me to not be capable of even successfully executing an elementary ranked magic spell like Water Ball with ease. I had literally been born into a race that was practically made for magic.

Running a hand through medium-length black locks, I stopped restlessly pacing around the room and instead redirected my train of thought to a specific person.

My mother, who's name was actually Helena Vizac, and the woman that I felt the need to apologize to for my behavior. She had just gotten back from a business matter that was probably miserable as hell, most likely wishing to come back home in order to spend time with her precious son, and didn't even get a greeting in return.

Perhaps the situation wasn't as bad as I seemed to think it was but I didn't care. I was going to do what I felt was right no matter what anyone else said to me.

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An awkward silence surrounded the dinner table as Norvella placed down everyone's food before taking a seat herself, eating along with my mother and I, which was unlike what most houses that possessed a maid staff like this did.

The maid would either have different meal times or eat in a different room compared to the rest, due to the fact that they weren't usually perceived as part of the family, and many of them had simply always been treated as lowly servants instead of actual people with genuine feelings of their own.

Honestly, it was really depressing to think about.

For the entire duration that all three of us were eating, not a single word had been said. It was only after everyone had already finished that I decided to finally speak for the first time.

Standing up from my chair, I walked around the dinner table before stopping at the side of my mother, who was looking down at me in surprise. Taking a deep breath, my eyes settled onto her red slit orbs.

"I'm sorry for how I acted earlier today. While I might've been upset, that still wasn't a good enough reason to be rude, especially to you considering you're the one that let me try learning magic in the first place. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even have the book containing an extensive list of spells, and so I just wanted to apologize for not being a very good son."

It had gone dead silent after that.

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~Nobody's POV~

Helena and Norvella were speechless, the two women looking down at the boy in shock.

The vampire milf wasn't even sure how to reply to her son's heartfelt apology, mostly caught off guard by the fact that he was actually doing so in the first place. In her eyes, she honestly saw no need for it, and hadn't thought that her son did anything wrong either.

However, it felt strange as she looked into her son's eyes, due to the fact that it didn't feel like they truly belonged on a child so young. While there was a hint of innocence that occasionally popped up in those hypnotizing orbs, her baby had always seemed a little different compared to all of the other children.

She has never once seen him actually cry, make an accident on himself aside from when he was an infant, or ask for anything out of the ordinary. Even though she has spoiled him from practically day one, that was never something he asked for. It was always Helena's decision to do that sort of thing.1

The magic spell book wasn't just recently bought either. It had come from the library inside of their home, which he wasn't allowed to enter yet, but she gave it to him anyways because it was extremely hard for her to say no to him.

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~Dante's POV~

"You don't have to apologize, sweetie..." Helena murmured, picking me up with ease before I was placed down onto her lap. Shaking my head, I stood my ground. "While you may not think so, that doesn't mean that I feel the same way."

A loving smile crawled onto my mother's beautiful visage, further accentuating her otherworldly attractiveness, and I couldn't stop myself from reciprocating the feeling of love I always felt from the woman. Placing both hands on the sides of her face, I pulled it down just enough so that my lips could make contact with hers before I quickly pulled back.

"I love you, mom."

Helena's face took on a subtle red tint as her eyes lit up in what seemed to be pure joy. One of the woman's absolute favorite things was when she was able to pull out the affectionate side of her son, especially if she was the one receiving all of it.

Unconsciously licking her lips to remember the sensation, Helena squealed like a little girl as she embraced me with an iron-like grip. In turn, my face was pushed into her large breasts where it quickly began getting more difficult to breathe by the second.

Norvella watched our wholesome reaction with a fond smile on her face. Internally, she felt a hint of jealousy that it wasn't her.

However, I didn't budge from my spot. I readily accepted all of the love and affection that she gave to me with open arms. While the incident from earlier was discouraging, I still wouldn't let that stop me from getting stronger. I just needed to remember that not being good at something wasn't the end of the world.

The only real failure is giving up.

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