I

"Carlos Naveen!"

     Joy and excitement surged inside of Carlos's heart as he heard his name from the teacher. He stood straight, tidying his graduation gown before walking towards the stairs where his precious diploma is waiting.

     "Congratulations, Mr. Naveen," The teacher congratulated him with a proud smile.

     Carlos smiled back as he bowed. "Thank you, sir. Thank you."

     The two smiled at the camera before moving on to the next com laude.

     Carlos went back to his seat, getting some congratulations on the way as he started at the diploma that has his name on it.

     After this, I can finally have a decent job! He celebrated in his mind.

     The graduation ended in a flash. Some of the students went home to celebrate, some of them are still taking pictures and some of them are staying for the last time.

     Carlos took a minute to stare at the empty field at the center of the school and let out a sigh. "Goodbye, hell," He said happily before turning his back.

     He felt his phone vibrate, telling him that his Uber has arrived. He immediately ran outside of the school and move out from that hell of a school that was giving him a hard time.

     As he finally got out of the gates of the school, he got stopped by one of his friends.

     "Going home early?"

     Carlos gulped. Do I have to deal with them? He thought, annoyed.

     "Hey… Mark…" He said, showing a forced smile. "Congratulations on your graduation, I wanted to spend time with you guys but, I really have to go now."

     Carlos tried to walk away but he got stopped again when Mark held him by the back of his gown.

     He chuckled nervously. "Look, Mark, I don't want to cause trouble, especially on the day of our graduation."

     "If you didn't try to run away from us then you would've saved your life," One of Mark's goons snickered.

     "Oh, man…" Carlos groaned, scratching his nape. "I don't want to cause trouble guys. Can you just leave me alone for today? I have a lot of stuff to do."

     "What if we say no?" Mark raised a brow.

    "You leave me no choice then…"

     Carlos dropped down the floor, swiftly taking off his black gown. And stood back up to face Mark who is surprised how Carlos suddenly got out of his gown.

     By the time Mark faced back Carlos after throwing the gown from his hands, he was met by a hard kick on the face, causing him to tumble the floor.

     "You asked for it," Carlos said with a shrug. "I don't need to apologize for that right?"

     "Why you!!" One of Mark's buddies came up to Carlos with a fist, trying to hit Carlos.

     Carlos noticed the boy and easily dodged it, stepping aside to avoid his fist. He held the boy's fist and dragged him away.

     "What the?!" The remaining one stood there in shock. His friends were easily defeated by this lowly nerd. He looked up to stare at Carlos who is waiting for him to move.

     Like a predator waiting for its prey to take the bait.

     "W-What are you starting at?!!" The boy yelled, raising his fist in defense.

     As Carlos was about to say something, he was held by the boy who tried to hit him earlier.

     "Go, Ed!" He yelled. "Hit him!"

     Ed soon becomes confident as he saw his friend holding Carlos from the back, preventing him to hit him.

     He smirked in triumph and threw a punch at Carlos's calm face.

     But before his fist hit Carlos, the latter moved first by kicking Ed on the stomach and used his shoulders to raise his lower half and flipped him and the person who held him.

     The hold on Carlos's waist lessened as the boy who held him broke his back after what Carlos did.

     "Okay, that's two…" Carlos counted as he stood straight. "Didn't I mention that I learned some fight moves last year- Oh, I totally forgot about you."

     Mark glared at Carlos as he struggled to get up. His head is still dizzy from the kick. "You bastard!"

     Carlos ran towards Mark as the latter starts to run towards him. As soon as their gap is small enough for their first to hit, Carlos moved aside and ran towards his gown, picking it up.

     "What?!" Mark exclaimed. "Hey!! Get back here!!"

     "Bye!!" Carlos waved, continuing to run towards his Uber that is waiting for him.

     He finally got in the car, putting his bag in front of him, and told the driver to immediately drive.

     Before Mark and his friends could get him, the car immediately drove down the road.

     Carlos let out a sigh of relief, slouching on the seat. "Finally…" he wiped off the sweat on his forehead.

     "Uh… What was that sir? Why are they running after you?" The driver asked, peeking at the mirror.

     "They were asking for my autographs…" Carlos said with a chuckle. "Too bad, I'm too busy."

     He looked down at his diploma, laying on his lap. All that happened with Mark earlier was immediately erased in his mind as he stared at his diploma.

     I kicked Mark's guts and graduated. This day is great so far… He thought, smiling.

     Minutes after, Carlos arrived at his small apartment. He paid the driver before going into the building.

     He greeted the owner of the

small apartment who is sitting lazily at the cashier as he went inside.

     "Is it your graduation today boy?" The man asked as he lit up a cigarette.

     "Yeah," Carlos nodded, staring down at his diploma again. "I'll be going now, old man!"

     "Oi! Congrats!"

     "Thanks!"

     Carlos ran on the way to his room while rummaging on his bag to look for his key.

     "Aha!" He cheered as he found his room key.

     The door clicked open as he slid his key in and pushed it open. Carlos let out an exasperated groan while taking off his shoes.

     "Home sweet home," He sang, throwing his bag on his old couch and gently putting his medal and diploma on the coffee table.

     He went to the kitchen to see what he would be having for dinner but as he opened his fridge, it was filled with nothing but bottles of water and beer.

     "Darn it…" Carlos whispered, closing the fridge. "Guess we will have canned tuna for dinner!"

     Carlos ate dinner and cleaned up as soon as he finished. Before going to bed, he took a short bath and brushed his teeth.

     "I miss my bed!" He hummed happily as his body came in contact with his beloved bed.

     His phone suddenly beeped, showering him a lot of notifications that he's never checked.

     Carlos took a short scroll on his phone to catch up on what was going on in social media and stuff. Just the usual.

     "Hm?" Carlos raised a brow as he saw a very familiar word on the bird app. "Wait… Is this…?"

---

The novel that was written by a young author finally got the attention it deserves!

new.com

---

"WHAT?!" Carlos shot up. "Really?!!"

     He heard his neighbors banging on his walls, telling him to shut up, and he immediately covered his mouth shyly.

     He rolled down on his bed and clicked on the link and read the article, not missing every single word.

     It's really was the book that he read 9 years ago!

     "After 9 years???" Carlos frowned as he continued to scroll.

     Carlos read the article for hours, rereading it again and again. It was one of his favorite books 9 years ago, even though he only read three volumes of it. He can't believe how amazing it is for the novel he read from the past finally gets the attention of a lot of readers.

     "Should I reread the book?" Carlos muttered. "Oh shoot!"

     It was already 11 pm and he still hasn't slept yet, he has a lot of work to do tomorrow.

     "I'll just decide whether if I read it or if not tomorrow," He decided as he turned off his phone and put it beside him.

    "Good night…" He said with a sigh, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, hoping to have a good dream.

     But it was the opposite.

     Carlos had a dream but it's not good as he hopes to.

     There were 2 men. The first one that Carlos saw was a purple-haired man in a blood-stained tunic, panting. The other is a brown-haired man, holding a knife as he stood behind the purple-haired man.

     "Behind you!" Carlos tried to warn the purple-haired man but he couldn't find his mouth.

     A sound of a knife cutting through flesh echoed in the hall. The man's eyes widened as his sight got blurry and his insides start to ache. An unbearable pain shot through his body as he felt the cold knife on his back, warmblood drenched his blue doublet as it escapes through his stomach.

     Carlos's eyes widened in surprise as he watched the man get stabbed by the other.

     The purple-haired man let out a grunt as the knife slid out from his back. His knees became weak and pulled him down the marbled floor, staining it with his blood.

     The man behind him laughed in triumph. "Now no one can destroy my plans!! This is your end now, the demon of the House Sheridan, Azazel!!"

     Azazel? That's sounds familiar... Carlos thought, frowning.

     Azazel breathed heavily as he leaned on his sword for support. "I-I'm not…" His words got cut off as he coughed out blood.

     The man kept laughing and laughing, and pushed Azazel on the floor, stepping on his wound hard. "Go on! Keep on trying!!"

     "Hey!" Carlos tried to yell again but he still can't.

     The brown-haired man kept on stepping Azazel, not hearing Carlos's calls from behind.

     Azazel can no longer move. By the looks of it, he gave up. The life in his eyes starts to fade, and only shows frustration and regret.

     Carlos noticed Azazel's green eyes glowing and it was as if he was staring at him. Staring back at Azazel made Carlos feel something was going to happen and it was not going to be good.

     The "I'll leave everything to you… save her…" Azazel whispered as his last sentence.

     And with that, Carlos woke up from his dream.

     "You're awake, my lord."

     "Good morning…" Carlos yawned as he rubbed his eyes. As if he didn't have a nightmare.

     Oblivious to who was in front of him and where is he, Carlos sat up and accepted the towel that a stranger gave him.

    What a kind person… He happily thought as he cleaned his face.

     Wait… he suddenly paused, noticing something wrong and also... weird.

     Carlos shot his head up and saw 2 maids and a butler standing at the side of his bed.

     His eyes widened in surprise and immediately threw the towel away as he pushed himself back to the headboard of the bed.

     "Who the hell are you?!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

     "Sire?" The butler frowned.

     Why is my voice so high and little?? Carlos thought, panicking. Who are those people??? Why are they in my room-

     Carlos looked around, expecting himself to be in his room but his room was replaced by something more extravagant. The room he was in was completely made of fine wood and gold.

     "Where the hell am I?!!!!" Carlos yelled again, confused.

     I was supposed to be waking up at my apartment and start on my busy day but what the hell is going on?!! Carlos told himself.

     Due to Carlos's overthinking, his head starts to overheat, causing him to faint.

     "Young Master? Young master!!!"

Azazel Iruz Shiraden.

     That's what his name is.

     Carlos stared at the purple-haired 5-year-old boy in the mirror, staring from head to toe.

     "Did I reincarnate in another life in another world????" Carlos muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the boy in the mirror. "And my name is Azazel. What a weird name…"

     What a good-looking bastard.

     After a moment of silence and staring, something hit Carlos.

     "I had the same name as the dude in my weird dream last night!!!" He yelled again.

     The guards who are on duty burst into the room in a panic, readying their swords to the person who tried to hurt their young master.

     "Young master! Is something wrong?!" They yelled.

     Carlos froze in place, staring at the guards with a blank look on his face. "Huh?" That was all he could utter.

     "You suddenly yelled, sire. Is something wrong?" One of the guards asked again.

     "O-Oh… I thought I saw a bug…" Carlos chuckled nervously. Though I'm not afraid of bugs… I'm a 21-year-old inside for goodness sake! He yelled in his mind.

     "Is that so sire…" They slowly lowered their swords. "Then, sorry for bothering you."

     Carlos let out a sigh of relief. "It's fine. Go back, I'm going to dress."

     "Yes sir!" They stood straight and walked out of the room.

     Carlos sighed again, turning back to the mirror to see his new face again. "That's not it right…?"

     Right, Carlos… It's just a coincidence that you have the same name as that Azazel in your dream… He calmed himself. "Right…"

     Carlos immediately shook the thought off and started to dress himself up, picking the clothes that the maids gave him.

     It was a white tunic, with a blue vest to partner. And for the bottom is black trousers with a belt to secure them. His shoes are a pair of black leather boots.

     It took Carlos a lot of time to wear them since it was his first time wearing them. But on the brighter side, he wore it perfectly!

     After a long time of trying, he finally wore the clothes perfectly. He walked towards the huge mirror where he was staring at himself earlier to see if he wore it right.

     A smile crept up his face as he saw himself. "Perfect."

     No wonder, he got reincarnated into a good-looking boy, everything would look perfect on him.

     His parents must have good genes.

     Unlike his parents in his last life. Ugly faces, ugly personalities. He must be thankful for this blessing.

     Carlos spends his time admiring his new face until a knock sounds from his door, making him jump in surprise.

     "Shoot! C-Come in!" He said.

     The door clicked open, revealing the butler that greeted him earlier. "Your breakfast is ready, sir."

    Carlos blinked and nodded, clearing his throat. "Lead the way."

    "As you wish, my lord. This way."

     The butler pushed the double doors wide for the young lord to walk.

     Holy mother of… Carlos's jaw dropped to the floor at what he saw.

     It was a huge hall with gold and white walls with beautiful paintings hanging on it every meter. The floor was also glowing as if it was new.

     What's this???? Is this my house??? Carlos thought, looking around as he followed the butler. Seriously, who needs a huge hall that is 10 times huge than my room back there?!

     Are my family this rich?? He continued to admire all the paintings he walked across. What's up with all the paintings??

     There are a lot of questions inside Carlo's head that he doesn't even know where to start.

     It took a while for the butler to take Carlos to the dining room where his breakfast is.

     Carlos wanted to complain about how far is the dining room from his room but as he was about to, they've already arrived at the dining room.

     "We are here my lord," The butler told Carlos, pulling him out of his trance.

     The butler pushed the door open for Carlos and let him walk into the dining room.

     "Holy shit-!"

     Everyone in the room stopped on what they were doing and turned their heads to their young master whose eyes are about to pop out at any moment.

     "Pardon, my lord?" The butler behind him coughed.

     Carlos gulped, chuckling nervously. "Huh? Did I say something?"

     The butler stared at him for a moment then shook his head. "I must've been my imagination, my lord."

     Yeah, a five-year-old? Cursing? It's the first time Carlos heard of that.

     "Is that so..." Carlos looked away, hiding his blush from the embarrassment. "I'm hungry, I'm going to eat my breakfast."

     "Here it is, my lord..." A maid said, bowing at Carlos.

     "Thank you."

     And Carlos ate his dinner in peace.

     He finished his breakfast soon after and decided to stroll around the mansion.

     "This house is huge for a child like me..." Carlos muttered under his breath. "Who is exactly my parents by the way? And how did they get this huge mansion?"

      So far all know is that I got reincarnated into a world that is different from my past life... He thought. Everyone here spoke differently like the way they speak is very formal. Especially to me. 

     Carlos stopped in his tracks as he saw a huge painting at the end of the hall. A painting of a man, with purple hair and green eyes. Just like Azazel's.

     "Woah..." Carlos muttered, staring at the painting in awe. "Who is this man?"

     "I suppose you still haven't seen His Grace's face, am I right, my lord?"

     Carlos jumped in surprise. He immediately turned around to see who was behind him and let out a sigh as soon as he sees him.

     It was the butler. "I apologize, my lord, for scaring you."

     "I-Its okay..." Carlos chuckled to calm himself down.

     He pointed at the painting behind him and asked, "Do you know this man, mister?"

     "Oh, I know him very well. I used to serve His Grace for the past," The butler said, smiling. "That man in the painting his Duke Xander Sheridan. Your father, my lord."

     "My father?" Carlos tilted his head, examining the man's face.

     Well, I do have his hair and eyes... He thought, staring back at the man on the painting.

     "What is my father like, mister?" Carlos asked, still staring at the painting

.

     "Our young lord is interested in His Grace, that's a surprise," The butler chuckled.

    Is it? Carlos thought.

    "Come follow me, my lord..." The butler held his hand out. "And I will tell you lots and lots about your father."

     "Okay!" Carlos smiled, accepting the old man's hand. "Where are we going?"

    "To the library."