Dawn Descends Like the Crimson Memories of My Knife

Despite being freed from the clutches of mortality, his bliss would ultimately be bittersweet.

Daisuke's eyes fluttered open, only to find that he was still alive. His face was smushed against a wooden floor. As he tried to get up, he felt a sharp puncture in his abdomen.

For a moment, his surroundings were distorted, and his head felt dizzy, like cold water splashing his body, it is then he realized — He was stabbed multiple times.

He forced his hand over his abdomen, conjuring thin strings of mana which he sewed onto himself, closing the wound. His actions were to stop the bleeding, not to heal.

With the assistance of adrenaline, Daisuke slowly rose to his feet and began dusting himself off. In the distance, he spotted a group of men dressed in black, each holding a knife. Judging by the fresh blood on one of the knives, he deduced that these were his attempted killers.

Then they shall meet their end.

He took one step, then another, another. He approached the assassins, causing one of them to turn around, their face turning into a scowl as they saw their target was still alive.

"You...how are you alive?!" The assassin shouted out, clenching his knife as the rest of the group turned to face their victim, who seemingly came back alive like a vampire.

Daisuke placed a hand on his hip, with his lips curling into a smile. He said nothing but couldn't help but let out a small, wry chuckle. The assassins treated it as a mockery, and one of them rushed at him and swung their blade.

"Too slow," He replied, noticing the assassins' sloppy strike. He easily dodged it by sidestepping to the left. Daisuke countered by leg-sweeping his opponent, disrupting his balance and falling to the floor. "Although you've got speed, your fighting has absolutely no finesse." He remarked.

The other assassins saw as one of their own was easily taken down with one swift strike. Even though it was hard to believe that their target could fight back, they treated this situation appropriately and decided to gang up on him, using their numbers as an advantage.

Daisuke counted at least 6 other assassins besides the one he had just taken down. It wasn't anything he hadn't experienced before, but there was a strange, unsettling feeling that he was getting in the face of his enemies. But he suppressed it as he believed it to be a hindrance to his survival.

One assassin thrusted their blade aiming for his chest, but Daisuke sidestepped and grabbed his opponents' arm, crushing it and causing him to scream in agony.

He swept the knife from the assassins' hand and stabbed another assassin approaching him from the side in the abdomen. He gripped the blade and forced it across the man's entrails, but his hands were shaky from the blood loss, causing the knife to fall out. The assassin fell to the floor while he clenched his wounded spot as he was writhing in pain.

"B-But how?!" He cried out, his breathing heavy due to the blood loss.

Despite the small setback, Daisuke picked up the knife again. From the man's perspective, the boy towered over him. With a sadistic smile, he raised his knife, as he prepared to strike.

The frightened man felt much like a victim now, because of the boy's cruelty. He thought that this was an easy mission, refusing to believe what he was seeing. "You couldn't do anything at all before! You're not even older than my own kid, how can you be so—"

Daisuke brought down the knife upon him mid-sentence, slicing the man across the chest, screaming in pain as blood splattered onto his face.

Drenched in the blood of his fallen comrade, the man's eyes went white as his consciousness slipped from him.

Sneering, Daisuke launched spinning kick at two assassins, knocking their heads clean off as their lifeless bodies fell to the ground. The last two assassins remaining felt chills run down their spine as they began to flee for their lives.

As they were quickly running for the door, Daisuke threw the knife he had stolen from one of his fallen opponents.

However, the knife hit the door as the assassins managed to get away. After a few seconds, the knife fell to the ground, making a loud clanging sound.

While he felt disappointed that he couldn't finish off the two assassins, what mattered was that he had survived.

Now alone all by himself, the heat of the moment began to calm down. He began to reflect on what just happened.

"Why was I reborn...?" his brows furrowed as he approached and examined the spot where he woke up. "I thought I—" he paused mid-sentence, as he remembers the last moment he was alive before he died.

"I guess I failed...huh?" Daisuke looks down to the ground, with his bangs falling and covering his eyes as he forces a smile, expressing disappointment for failing to gain the power he sought. His adrenaline-filled heart was the only thing keeping him standing at the moment. He tried breathing in-and-out to slow the pulse, but it didn't work.

He raised his head up and turned towards the corpses, wondering why they targeted someone like him. He crouched down and examined one of them for a moment before he noticed something—a family crest.

To confirm his theory, he looked at the other bodies, and they each had the same crest. This proves that this was an organized attack, not just by their numbers but by association.

It was a funny feeling. Daisuke never knew what it felt like to have a target put on his back until now. Even as a former assassin himself, he always had government protection, and various aliases to go by.

"Looks like some feudal family wanted my blood for some reason. But for what?" his mind wracked at the possibilities. He examined himself looking at his body and checking for if he had any belongings. It was obviously a new body, so there must have been something this person had on them, right?

He then noticed that he had a ring on his index finger. It had a diamond in its center, indicating that it was expensive. But what could this be for...? He just couldn't place his finger on it.

He also noticed that his hands were starting to shake, which was a bad sign that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. Daisuke gritted his teeth as he wondered on what to do. He needed to work out a plan of some sort. He stood up and began to walk towards the door, but stopped as he began to hear footsteps from behind it.

He listened intently, wondering if there were more assassins coming. Daisuke started reaching his hand for the knife in anticipation.

The door swung open, knocking Daisuke's hand away and causing him to stumble back a few feet. Several people dressed in fancy clothing entered with looks of horror on their faces as they saw the scene before them.

Daisuke felt a strange sense of familiarity with them but could not understand as to why, as he knew he has never met them in his life.

"Oh my god...Leo!" a young girl cried out, as she ran to him seeing blood splattered all over his body, embracing him in her arms. Daisuke was confused by the sudden gesture but couldn't bring himself to pull away from the situation.

"Are you alright? We heard that there were assassins targeting you and we rushed to stop it, and—" the girl continued before stopping mid-sentence, burying her head into his lower chest.

"What the hell is happening..." he thought, as he suddenly felt himself smothered by attention that he was unfamiliar with. The girl hugging him was fair-skinned with red hair but with a baby-ish face, giving a rather cute appearance to her.

"Who the hell is 'Leo'? They can't be referring to me, right?" Daisuke was confused by being called that, but he didn't question it either while he was being embraced.

A young woman with greenish-blonde hair approached him with the same worried look, inspecting his injuries.

"You seem to be in critical condition, yet here you are standing," she said with initial suspicion, before clearing her throat. "Perhaps it's the adrenaline," she corrected herself.

He said nothing, but his facial expressions clearly showed that he was exhausted. He was panting, and his legs were starting to tremble.

As he began to collapse, everyone around him freaked out and rushed to his aid, especially the girl who was embracing him. Daisuke's eyes lost almost all natural light as his frail body collapsed to the ground. He looked at the young girl with a blank expression before turning to the others.

"Stay with us, Leo!" the girl shouted, as her face tensed up even more while she was desperately holding back her tears.

"He needs medical help immediately," the greenish-blonde haired woman said with a clear tone of voice. "I'll get the healers," she followed.

She rushed out of the room as fast as her feet could carry her to go and get help. In the meantime, Daisuke's consciousness was slipping.

"Is this really the end for me...again?" he thought, as his vision became blurry from the blood loss. "Seems like a really disappointing reincarnation. I have to die again so soon after being reborn." he added.

"I suppose it was nice being the center of attention, though."

The idea of love and compassion was foreign to him, but he understood that what he was experiencing was pleasant—too bad it had to be bittersweet.

Finally, everything faded to black. His thoughts ceased.

In a rush to nurse him back to health, Daisuke's body was moved while he was unconscious.

Daisuke lifted his eyelids slowly, as an unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

Where...?

He turned his head from side to side, blinking sleepily as he gazed at the interior of a spacious and beautiful room. The ceiling was high and there was expensive-looking furniture placed at every corner, creating a luxurious space.

It was not all too different from the room he was in previously, but something about it made it seem more polished somehow. Perhaps it was the lack of stench reeking from the blood stains on Daisuke and the marble floor of the previous room.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake!" an excited female voice addressed him from beside the bed.

Daisuke turned to the source of the voice to see two girls sitting on a white leather couch. They appeared to be in their early teens, roughly. One was a small-sized girl wearing quaint clothing, her long blonde hair reaching softly down her back. The other girl had short brown hair, her facial features with a sculpture-like beauty. She was wearing a maid uniform. The white and black colors of the outfit gave a sense of familiarity to Daisuke, reminding him of the suits people wore back in his old world.

"I've been so worried about you!" the blonde haired girl exclaimed, her lips curling into a sweet smile which deepened as she got closer to Daisuke. She approached him and jumped on his bed, forgetting that he was still recovering.

"Gah!" Daisuke yelled as he had the wind knocked out of him from the girl's pouncing. She was now on-top of him, but suddenly her cheery smile turned into a frown as she raised one of her eyebrows in questioning. She seemed suspicious.

"Why aren't you happy to see me?" she asked.

"Uh-I...uh..." Daisuke stammered, as the girl backed away to allow him to sit up. He tried to think of a way to weasel himself out of this, but concluded that he had to fake it.

"Oh, I am, I'm just really sore....I should be resting, you know. Now's not the best time to be pouncing on me!" Daisuke forced out, before feinting a cough, which she failed to pick up on.

"I see....well, I'll be more careful then, hehe~!" she winked at him, her face softening to a playful look as she got off the bed.

Wouldn't now be the best time to try and learn what's going on?

Daisuke reached out to the blonde girl and grabbed her wrist, pulling her in slightly closer.

"What happened to me? I don't recall anything." Daisuke lied, feigning memory loss. "I don't think I ever recall meeting you," he added.

The blonde girl's eyes widened with shock, but she restrained herself and cleared her throat.

"You were the victim of an assassination attempt, made by an enemy house," she said in the flattest tone of voice she could, but tears started to form in her eyes. "When we got word, I thought you were already dead! But when I saw you...you were still standing, but just barely," she added, grabbing Daisuke's forearm.

"Leo...I don't want to lose you like that again. It'll break my heart," she said, her voice dropping to barely a whisper as she leant into Daisuke's ear.

Daisuke's pupils shifted to the girl as he was left utterly dumbfounded by the situation. Who was this girl? And what was this strange, tingling feeling in his stomach? It was distracting, yet also somehow pleasant.

The girl lifted her head up to look at Daisuke deep in the eyes, as tears began to run down her soft cheeks. She looked absolutely adorable. Daisuke couldn't help but feel bad, if just a tiny bit.

"You don't...remember me?" she asked. To her dismay, Daisuke shook his head.

Of course, she was hurt on the inside, but somehow, this gave her new resolve. She let go of Daisuke's arms and stood upright, clutching her chest and forcing her best smile.

"My name is Aurelia Rose Benedict, 2nd princess of the Ouroboros Kingdom. You and I are due to be married!" she exclaims, before continuing, "Do you remember your name?" she added.

"Leo...right? That's what you keep calling me," he replied. Internally shrugging, he was just going by what he has been repeatedly told. Aurelia's face brightened when he said this, thinking she's one step closer to jogging his memory.

"Yes, that's right! You're Leonis Altair Camellia, 3rd son of the famed House Camellia!" she said excitedly. Aurelia hoped now that he would remember.

I suppose that helps.

"Oh yeah, now I remember!" he said.

Aurelia was ecstatic, wiping her tears away as she jumped up and down in glee. There was nothing that could make her happier at this moment.

I suppose my name is Leo now, huh.

"Hehe. I'm glad! As for this girl over here—" Aurelia turned her back and the maid girl behind her began to introduce herself.

"Greetings. My name is Marie. My position is that of head servant, but in lieu of what has happened, I have been assigned to tend after you. I hope we can get along amicably." The maid then bowed politely. Her tone had been all business and completely monotone, but her words were respectful and caused no discomfort to the listener. "Thank you. My name is Leo, nice to meet you too."

Leo returned her greeting, trying to mimic her polite style, even if it was all in the name of covering his tracks and not raising suspicion.

"Umm, where am I?" Leo asked hesitantly.

"The guest room of the royal palace. You were unconscious, so we healed you with magic and carried you here," Aurelia explained with a soft smile.

"Is that so....Thank you very much," Leo said with a conflicted expression. But that didn't change the fact that these people helped him. Not to mention the earnest light reflected in her Aurelia's eyes.

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're alive. If anything, we should be the ones apologizing to you. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there fast enough," Aurelia apologized, lowering her head.

"It wasn't your fault," Leo said with a soft smile, forgiving Aurelia.

"But still..." Aurelia trailed off, unable to express herself. Like Leo had said, it wasn't her fault that he had been critically injured. But as she is engaged to him and partially responsible for keeping him safe, she couldn't help but feel guilty for being so neglectful.

"More importantly... what will happen to me?" Leo asked.

"You'll remain under my care for the next three days. Our doctors have determined that your body still needs time to recover. The magic healed your wounds, but it did not restore your weakened stamina. And because the magic pushes your body to heal the wounds forcibly, the restored areas will be very sensitive afterwards," Marie explained.

"I need to get going now, so please try to rest," Aurelia said. She approached the door, turning back to Leo and performing a curtsy before leaving. She gestured to Marie to come along, to which she dutifully complied.

After they exit, Leo is left by himself. He grabs and pulls both sides of his hair, screaming, "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!"

"What is this talk of a marriage?! I just got into this world, dammit!" he shouted, pulling the covers over himself. All he could do was sulk, as he was now stuck here.

"I appreciate the second chance, but why couldn't I have been a baby instead? Have a complete fresh start?" he sulked. If he had wanted to reincarnate, he wanted to be in control of how his life was directed. If there was a God, he felt cheated.

Suddenly, he recalls that he still has his magic. "Well, I suppose it isn't all bad," his lips curled into a soft smile, as he examined his hand which he exerted magical energy from.

Leo contemplated healing himself, but decided it'd be better to just wait it out. He wanted to soak in all of the kindness he just had delivered to him by the two girls, and savor it as much as he could.

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After the 3 days had passed, Leo was back on his feet again. He took it upon himself to learn what he can of this world, so he decided to head to the Camellia library.

House Camellia held a massive library of magical books, including several ancient texts which they kept safely guarded. They are one of five noble houses at the rank of "Duke," which includes; Camellia; Amraphel; Vega; Oriana; and Belmont. They each hold significant influence over the entire Ouroboros Kingdom, though the Oriana are the most powerful of them all. Some rumor that the Oriana are an "invisible empire" who hold more influence than the royal family themselves. Conflict between these houses was common, but often it was only small in scale.

House Camellia was renowned for its magical aptitude and its research; producing generations of powerful mages who excelled in their own fields. This garnered a positive reputation throughout the Kingdom. The Camellia territory extended over vast plains and dense forests, providing both an abundance for agriculture and lumber, but they lacked abundant mineral deposits, so they traded with other parts of the kingdom for said resources.

Leonis was the 3rd son of the Camellia family, but in a cruel twist of fate, he was cursed to be unable to use magic. Yet oddly enough, he could still use it. Perhaps reincarnating had something to do with that? Whatever, he could use this fact to his advantage.

As for the rest of the Ouroboros Kingdom as a whole, it has your standard run-of-the-mill monarchy. The monarch had theoretically absolute power, but as previously mentioned this is in fact limited due the House Oriana's influence. The Oriana's have married themselves into the royal family, producing several kings as a result. This cemented themselves as king-makers as they also held enough sway in the royal court to depose the current ruler whenever it suited their interests.

There is opposition to the Oriana's grip over the kingdom, however. The Amraphel, Vega and Belmont houses have banded together to form a faction called the Restorationists which wishes to restore the king to absolute power. Tensions between the Oriana and the Restorationists have been slowly brewing, but have not spilled over because nobody wanted to fight a civil war.

"Seems like a pretty volatile situation. I'm glad that my family isn't a part of it," Leo remarked as he scanned through the history pages. House Camellia was neutral in this inter-house conflict, choosing to go with neither side. However, with court tensions slowly rising, there is potential where Camellia may have to pick a side.

With insatiable curiosity about this world, Leo read all of the books inside of the extensive Camellia library in a few months. He had a firmer grasp on the world around him, but he still lacked real-world experience. He had done his research behind closed doors, what he really needed was to get out there and explore.

However, Leo's time during the day was limited. Tack on lessons on how to act as an aristocrat and hanging out with people to secure his place as a low-profile extra, and he's got barely any free time during the day. Which means the only time for him to train is after everyone else had gone to bed, late into the night. To compensate for the lack of beauty sleep, he used magic to recover super-quick and meditation to catch some z's in new ways. It essentially gave him short sleeper syndrome, but he made it work.

During the night hours, he would train out in the forests of the Camellia territory. Leo needed to build back his body endurance, as he was currently out of shape. He also incorporated magic into his training, which sped the process up.

Needing a little liquidity in his training routine, Leo also regularly beat up bands of criminals here and there to gain a grasp on how people fight in this world. To put it mildly, he was disappointed. He had already witnessed this when he fought the assassins upon first waking up here in this world, and their fighting techniques were...unrefined, to say the least.

"Man, these enemies are disappointing. Back in my world, combat was at least a hundred times more refined than this!" Leo vented as he stood over the dead body of a criminal. He picked up one of the guns that they had.

It was an antique pistol around 19th or 20th century standard. He examined the pistol momentarily before placing it back on the man's corpse. "May you rest in peace. I hope in your next life you'll use a different weapon," he prayed and moved on to his next fish to bite.