Interlude 1

"Ashley, darling, everything is going to be fine. Stay calm. Eat well. I'll come back in the evening. Take care of our baby."

"Don't worry about us, Sterk. It's alright." Despite her efforts to remain calm, Ashley couldn't hide her nervousness and excitement; after all, it was her first time giving birth.

"Mrs. Elding," the nurse said, after checking the register for the patient's name.

"Come with me; your room is on the 2nd floor."

Waving her hand to Sterk, Ashley went with the nurse. Sterk also left the hospital and took a cab to their apartment in the suburbs of London.

After coming home, he changed his clothes and decided to take a nap. But his sleep was disturbed when the sound of knocking came from the window. Whatever was breaking the peace didn't stop as he hoped. Still half-asleep, he came to take a look.

But the moment he saw the window, drowsiness instantly vanished.

'Who the hell decided to write a letter for me? As if ruining my childhood wasn't enough, these b*tches are now trying to ruin my life. It's a good thing that I sent her to the hospital earlier.'

Sterk quickly opened the window and got the letter.

The seal in the letter bore an imprint of a heraldic emblem with the Mjolnir symbol at the centre of a round shield with runic carvings.

He opened the letter.

"Heir Sterk of the House of Elding,

It is with profound sorrow that I write to inform you of the passing of your esteemed father, Lord Eric. He departed this world peacefully in his sleep last night, leaving behind a legacy of honour to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Elding.

The funeral arrangements have been made, and we request your presence at the Ministry Funeral Hall by 5 p.m. on March 14.

Upon your return, we shall discuss the transition of power and the responsibilities that lie ahead.

With heartfelt condolences and unwavering support,

Gerald Cooper,

Wills Administrator."

The letter fell from his hands.

"Father… is… dead?"

---------------

"Sterk, are you alright?" A doctor asked the young man, who seemed a bit lost with unfocused eyes and stiff-looking limbs.

"I'm… Fine, Morgan, everything is alright. I just want to ask you a favour."

"Okay, tell me. I'll see what I can do."

"I have something to attend to in the evening. Can you visit Ashley for me?"

Morgan was surprised but didn't question him in this state.

"Alright, I'll do that. Don't worry, just deal with your matters."

"Thank you, Morgan. I'll treat you to a meal."

After meeting his friend, Sterk went out and took the bus to Whitehall. He found the nearest telephone box and headed into the ministry.

When he arrived at the Hall of Funeral, the ceremony was already starting. The only reaction he got from the people in the hall was disgust and contempt. He wasn't surprised. That's what you get from the most 'noble' people if you are a squib.

A staff member led him to the coffin and asked if he wanted to make a speech. Sterk shook his head, his eyes glued to the coffin.

The ceremony proceeded. 'Respected' representatives gave their eulogies, to which Sterk paid no attention. The body of his father was lifted at the end of the ceremony and passed the Veil of the Deceased, heading to the afterlife. Everyone started to leave. A man in a black suit came to him.

"Mr. Elding, my condolences. I'm Gerald Cooper. If you come to my office, we can finish the formal papers."

Sterk shook his hand and nodded.

After reaching his office, they sat down, and Cooper passed him the documents.

"This is the will left by Lord Elding. He declared you as Heir presumptive with limited rights. You are given a trust vault with a certain amount of galleon deposited annually. You don't have the right to change any partnerships in the family, cannot enter the family mansion, and don't have access to the Elding vault in Gringotts.

If your biological child is proven to be capable of using magic, he can claim the position of Heir apparent at the age of 11. The heir apparent will have access to the family mansion and trust vault. At the age of 20, he will become the Lord of the family and can claim the full rights of lordship.

There is an additional condition for the child to claim the heirship. Mr. Elding wanted him to be named 'Stille' regardless of his gender.

Do you have any questions?"

Sterk shook his head. The will didn't have any unexpected terms. He was even surprised his father gave a trust vault to him. When he thought about it, this was also logical. He was the sole child of the Elding family. They didn't have any other relatives. His offspring were the only way to continue their bloodline. He wished his child had no talent for magic so that he could live a peaceful life.

 --------------

After Morgan finished his shift, he went to the birth centre to visit Ashley. He told her Sterk had something urgent to attend to. Then he took the cab to their house. This apartment once belonged to him. When Sterk told him he was getting married, he sold it to them for a cheaper price.

The door was not closed properly. Morgan was surprised, as his friend is usually not this careless.

"Sterk, what's the matter? You forgot to lock the door. Sterk? Ste-e-erk!"

No one answered. He started looking for him. There was no one in the bedroom. The bathroom was also empty. When he entered the kitchen, he was baffled by the pungent smell of alcohol. A few bottles lay scattered on the table and the floor. There was a man lying beside the table.

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"His body was cold when I found him. I called the police, and they took him to check. Apparently, he died of severe alcohol poisoning. The next day, I went to visit Ashley, your mother. But they said she was in the process of delivery.

After some time, the nurse came to me and asked how I was related to her. I explained that I was a family friend. She told me there were complexities during delivery, and your mother lost a lot of blood and was in a critical condition. There was nothing they could do.

When we entered, I couldn't stop my tears. I didn't want to tell her the bad news. But we had to. They were both orphans with no relatives they knew about. But Jessy said we should take your custody and be your adoptive parents. So, she explained the situation. Your mother nearly fainted.

With the last strength she had, she asked us to write a will about us being the guardians of the baby, and everything she and Sterk possessed would be inherited by the child when he turned 18. Then she closed her eyes to never open again."

After finishing the story, Morgan drowned the whiskey in his glass. Stille didn't say anything for a moment. He was having an internal conversation with himself.

'I knew it. Whether you are rich or poor, black or white, healthy or not, a reincarnator or an ordinary person, life is the same sh*t. The world takes as much as it gives.

A rich, loving family, no financial breakdowns, no chronic illnesses, no bullies at school... I was getting suspicious about why the hell this life of mine was such smooth sailing. But this doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Is there something I don't know about this?'

"You don't seem to be too surprised."

"Well, I actually had some suspicions. Both of you have blonde hair, so it's surprising that my hair is purple. My eyes too. I just thought that might have been some kind of hereditary trait or something that didn't show itself in every generation. I also don't see much resemblance to you or Mom."

'And you are too good to be my real parents. Maybe this is what typical white parents are like. Let's not judge people according to the standards of a brown man. As they say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.'

"You are really smart for your age, Stille. I wonder from whom you got this intelligence. Your father attended the school with me. I don't want to talk bad about the deceased, but if he were half as smart as you, we would be celebrating your birthday with him." Morgan smiled wryly.

"Alas, what can we do? Actually, Jessy was against revealing the truth to you at such a young age. But Sterk wrote the letter to you and expected you to read it when you were exactly 11 years old. I don't know if he already knew he was going to die or thought some things were better written down than told. There's another point. You are mature for your age, so I thought you could handle the truth."

"Thank you, Dad. I'm glad you told me the truth." Saying so, Stille stood up and hugged Morgan.

They stayed like that for some time. Morgan slowly patted his back and thanked him.

"This is the letter I found on the table. Read it by yourself; there is no need to tell us its contents. But if you want to share it, we are always ready." He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and left the room.

"To Stille Elding when he's 11 years old" was written in the front. Inside was yellowed parchment.

"Stille,

I'm writing this letter to remind myself that I should let you know some things.

My parents were 'respected members' of their society. I grew up with their care and attention. But as the years passed, I started to notice that care was vanishing. There was panic and fear. After the children turn 11 years old, they should be accepted by a special school. If not, they will be ostracised by this society. My father, too became impatient and uncaring towards me as I didn't get the acceptance letter. They called the likes of me 'squib'. Dad wanted to immediately give me to the orphanage, but Mom convinced him to let me stay for one year.

I know she just didn't want me to suffer in the orphanage, but I wish she didn't do that… Leaving with a father who showed his contempt and disgust to you every minute you're with him shouldn't be better than not having one at all.

He didn't spare my Mom either. She was scolded worse than me for giving birth to trash like me… After an agonising year passed I was dumped at an orphanage.

That's the dark past of your father. Im sure I would have already told you my good days. But the things I've written here shouldn't be told to children. Who know, maybe when I'm mor sane.

I just want you to know one DO NOT TREAT PEOPLE IN LOWER STATUS THAN YOU BADLY. It's more of a wish than an order. I just dont wnat others to hate my chil."

 The letter had more mistakes towards the end. Sentences also seemed more confusing.

'He really died of alcohol poisoning. I wonder why he was even in the mood to write a letter. Now I think about it, why this seems like a shitty plot armor?"