"Look at him. Isn't he precious?" A woman with blonde hair and yellow eyes said, holding a sleeping baby.
"Hehe, of course he is. His eyes are just like yours," the man beside her answered. He was around the age of 28. His hair was half black and half white. The black and white ratio was so even that it seemed artificial.
"Ow, stop it," the woman said, blushing. "But his hair isn't like ours. Our little Colt's hair is just like your father's."
"My father's? Ah, I can see the resemblance."
"But he hasn't cried much since he was born. I hope there is nothing wrong with him," the woman said, anxiously.
"Come on, you asked your master, the greatest doctor on the surface of Gaite, the same question. He said it was normal," the man answered. But he was also obviously worried.
"I know that, but aren't babies supposed to cry?" The woman said, laughing at the man's endeavor to hide his worry.
"Don't worry! For the first time in my life, I can proudly use the fact that I am the strongest man in this world, as well as the Hero. As long as I am here, I will solve every problem. As long as I am here, I won't let anyone hurt you."
The beautiful woman looked at her husband, who had never used the word "Hero" for himself before, nor ever was satisfied with the strength he had, and smiled once more.
---
"What did you say?" Colt shouted without realizing.
The middle-aged man repeated, "There is no Hero or a demon. At least, as far as I know. Also, this isn't the year 16. It is the year 735."
How?
He wasn't asking how he was in the year 735. He was wondering how he could cast such a strong spell to bring him this much into the past, with his body regressing only 23 years.
Even without experience, he knew that altering time wasn't easy.
If he weren't the son of the strongest man and one of the strongest women in Gaite, and if he hadn't trained since early childhood, he couldn't even go back one year. And even then, his body would regress together with him.
But now, it was the year 735, 51 years before his fight against his father and 13 years before the war. How could his body be 15 years old? He wasn't even born yet.
Colt raised his head once again.
That means-
Thump
Thump
Another set of hurried footsteps interrupted Colt's thoughts as someone entered.
The second Colt saw who he was, he almost jumped out of the chair.
He would if he weren't tied down.
His heart started to pump faster, and a rage that had been lost in the last few hours came back.
The boy who entered had black and white hair, just like Colt's father, the Hero, had. Not only that, his appearance was also similar to his father's.
His hair color, or the black and white ratio to be exact, wasn't the same, and he was much younger, though. He seemed to be in his early twenties.
How old would he be 51 years ago? Colt thought about his father.
But before he could continue his calculations, the newcomer addressed the middle-aged man, "Father!"
Father? Colt was flabbergasted for the second time in a few minutes. Is he my grandfather?
If the boy with black and white hair was addressing the middle-aged man as "father," he assumed this could mean that he was Colt's grandfather.
Then, I didn't move in space, only in time. I am still in the Vera mansion, but 51 years ago.
Even though Colt had never met his relatives, the possibility was too obvious to ignore.
"What is it? Can't you see I am in the middle of something?" the middle-aged man continued without caring for Colt's thoughts.
"I am sorry for interrupting, but he is at it again."
The middle-aged man sighed and looked at Colt, only to see his eyes following his son. "I will handle him. You take care of this boy, Anit."
Anit? Who?
Colt's mind was in confusion once again. His father's name wasn't Anit, it was Astre.
Wait, my father should also be 15 if this is the year 735. Then, who is this man who looks like my father?
"What should I do with him?" Anit asked.
He forced the instinctive fear down. This isn't him.
"He shouldn't be here, but his story was interesting. Just make sure he doesn't come back," the middle-aged man said as he looked at Colt.
This caused the guard who suggested Colt was a thief to jerk. He seemed to be unhappy with the decision, but he couldn't protest.
So, he and the other two guards just followed the middle-aged man as he left the prison-like room.
---
Colt's mind was in disarray as he followed Anit, the older boy who looked just like his father, through the bright corridors.
The polished stone reflected the torchlight, too bright after the dungeon's gloom.
After his father left, Anit untied Colt and started leading him somewhere. Since his father didn't kill him, Colt couldn't be someone dangerous. So, in his mind, there was no need to leave him there.
Anit's steps were calm and unhurried—the opposite of the raging storm burning in Colt's chest.
Colt couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Even when they entered a room with a table and chairs, obviously a dining room, he didn't realize it until Anit addressed him.
"What is your name?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. I am Colt."
"Nice to meet you, I am Anit. Anit Vera."
Colt snapped his head up when he heard what Anit said. He had started questioning his own deductions about that middle-aged man being his grandfather. But Vera was his own surname, thus his grandfather's surname.
"You must be hungry. Please sit down as the servants prepare something." After saying that, Anit nodded at the butler-like man standing at the corner of the room.
The faint aroma of warm bread and herbs drifted in, but Colt's stomach stayed silent.
Is he going to poison me? Colt thought. His grandfather had told Anit to make sure he wouldn't come back.
No, he had me tied. Why would he untie me just to put poison in my food?
Not that Colt couldn't get rid of that bondage, but being tied up worked better for him.
"May I ask you a question if you don't mind?" Colt said, not caring about anything else. The answers were more important.
Anit seemed to be surprised, but nodded for Colt to go on.
"Do you have any brothers?"
Anit frowned upon hearing the question. But it only lasted for a second. He smiled as if he wanted to hide his previous frown.
"Well, I heard that your reason for coming here uninvited was unknown. But this question is pretty suspicious."
Of course, he could be an enemy of the family or a spy for the enemy. But Anit didn't seem to think that way since he still answered the question as if joking previously.
"I have three brothers and one sister. Actually, my father went to look after our youngest brother."
Colt really wanted to learn their names, but asking would be too suspicious.
Thankfully, he didn't need to.
Even before the main dish was prepared, the door to the dining room opened with a "boom."
Both Anit and Colt turned their heads toward the source of the noise.
Another man with black and white hair entered. This time, the boy who barged in was around the same age as Colt, meaning he was fifteen.
"Where is the thief who entered our mansion!"