A year has passed since the incident with Rei happened. Although apologies were made and Rei was repenting, their relationship wasn't as good as it was when they were kids, however it was improving. 

Besides, getting neglected and treated harshly for the past 7 years was no joke so it was only natural that it's taking a long time to warm up the cold relationship they used to have. Even though it wasn't Ryo himself who suffered from those years of neglect and harsh treatment, he still has to honor the original Ryo's feelings. 

It was a peaceful afternoon. Ryo was tending to the plants in the greenhouse that was given to him as a present for his 11th birthday. It was the gift he asked from his parents since he heard in his past life that gardening was a relaxing activity. He had always been interested in plants before but he didn't have the time to spare for it since he was busy working his ass off to support both him and his sister. 

He barely had time for himself so where was he gonna find the time for this hobby. He had to keep on earning money because if he ever stopped, both him and his sister would live in the streets. It's not like he hasn't experienced that in their early years of depending on each other, but exactly because they already experienced that, they don't want to go back to that again. 

He doesn't even have the time to feel ashamed of having part time jobs and living in the streets since he was tight on money. He has a sister to look after and it wasn't good that they're living in the streets. It was too dangerous not just for her but for him as well. If his parents were to know about their poor living conditions, their hearts would surely break. 

Anyhow, now that he has all the time in the world to enjoy the things he wasn't able to in his past life, he's going to enjoy it in this life. His lost youth that was supposed to be enjoyed but wasn't able to because he was too busy working, the chance to make friends, club activities, school celebrations and other shit like that. 

Heck he also wants to experience the rebellious phase that teenagers have gone through. You know, wearing black clothes, piercings, partying and the like. 

Recalling the memories of his youth, all Ryo could remember was him buried in endless work and studying. It was too bleak and boring. No exciting events at all except that time where he had to fight with a robber who was trying to steal the little money he had. Although he ended up victorious, he was covered in bruises, wounds, and a knife slash on his arm.

So now that he transmigrated to this world, he was hoping that his youth this time would make him experience exciting events that would leave a lasting memory to him. 

After pulling out the weeds that were pestering his other plants, Ryo watered the plants in the greenhouse as he sighed. For a supposedly relaxing hobby, it was too demanding. Some plants in the greenhouse were moving on it's own, much to his surprise when he first saw those plants. 

One of those plants that were moving was the Battus Swallowtails which looked like a butterfly's wings crowded on a stem, flapping its wings ever so slowly, seemingly harmless. It has black with iridescent-blue hindwings that were glittering especially in the night, making it look more magnificent than it already was. 

It would've been made as a fine decoration however, it was classified as a poisonous plant that could send you to your death in a few hours. The spores that glitters whenever light strikes it is what makes it deadly. The spores contain strong, fast acting poison that causes severe nausea, paranoia, inability to move, bleeding of the orifices, and death. 

Although it was considered as a poisonous plant, it was still used as one of the ingredients in healing as it amplifies the efficacy of the medicine and makes the reaction time faster. However, only small amounts of it can only be used as too much can only lead to death. 

At first, Ryo was only fascinated by the appearance of that plant so he decided to plant it in his greenhouse despite not having in-depth knowledge of it. He only found out the details when it was already planted and well taken care of by him. 

Since the plant recognizes him as its owner, it didn't attack him and instead surrendered itself to his disposal. That's why he didn't remove it anymore since he might have some uses of it in the future. 

There's also the porcupine's heart, which looks like a ball of fur and is extremely soft to touch, but when it senses danger, its fur-like covering would turn into sharp spines coated with poison. 

It would induce swelling of the pricked area, releasing the pointed end within the body and would circulate together with the flow of blood until it reaches the heart, causing death. One wouldn't even feel the remnants that's circulating within their body and would just drop dead.

And Ryo's favorite, Delphinium. It is a beautiful and tall flowering plant with bell shaped flowers containing "fairies" within those blooms. 

These blooms change colors to attract their prey and the little fairies residing within them look really cute and harmless and do nothing but giggle and sing, however those giggles and laughters are exactly what they use to enchant their prey, making them feel satisfied, happy, excited and stimulated. 

The prey is slowly being contained in an illusion created by their own minds to escape from reality and when they're exposed to these for a long time, they won't be able to escape from their own illusions. Then these fairies would feed on their prey's magic power until the prey's sucked dry and broken. 

Ryo have no problems cultivating these types of flowers and plants since they're residing in the dark regions in which something as cultivating deadly plants is pretty much normal. That's also the reason why the dark regions are dangerous since only the strong can survive in this kind of place. Although killing indiscriminately is still extremely prohibited in this place. 

Ryo set down the watering can he was holding and stretched his numb limbs. Zilthai poured him another cup of tea as he(Z) wiped his master's nonexistent sweat. Ryo sat down and sipped his chamomile tea. His eyes squinted as he sighed in satisfaction. This was exactly the slack life he had been aiming for. 

Since he was of noble bloodline, he had to learn the basics that were required to learn such as etiquette, fencing, horseback riding, archery, combat training, etc. It was a pity that he doesn't have those flashy magical powers since he's a vampire. He was also not able to awaken additional abilities like his father but it doesn't matter. His blood is more than enough. 

As he was enjoying his tea time, the head butler came into the greenhouse and informed him that it was time for luncheon. Ever since the matter with Rei was resolved, the meals they have as a family wasn't as unbearable as it did before. It gradually made him feel satisfied since he won't be eating his meals alone anymore like he did in his previous life. 

While they were heading back into the manor (since the greenhouse was a separate building from the main building where they reside), a ruckus by the manor's gates roused his attention.

"What's going on there?" Ryo asked the head butler as he observed the ruckus. 

"Ah, that is just a minor inconvenience, this servant will handle it immediately." The head butler said was about to go there alone but Ryo stopped him. 

"Let me see what this is all about." Ryo said and strided ahead. 

As Ryo got closer, he could faintly hear a childlike voice that obviously belonged to a girl and frowned as he felt that this situation was quite familiar. The guards who were arguing with the little girl and blocking his view from seeing the girl's appearance noticed his presence and bowed respectfully at him. 

"Why is it so noisy here?" Ryo inquired as he observed the little girl before him. 

The girl was a head shorter than him. She had pretty golden hair that flowed freely on her back, reaching her underside with curly ends. She had blue round eyes that sparkled like gems under the sunlight. Her cheeks were bulging with baby fats making her look soft and innocent like a little white rabbit. She was holding her suitcase tightly as if afraid that the people before her would steal her belongings.

She was trembling, probably from nervousness or excitement or a mix of both especially when her clear eyes landed on Ryo, there was an obvious joy there. The reaction puzzled Ryo but he could help knitting his eyebrows as he felt the oozing light mana that was emanating from the little girl before him. It made him extremely uncomfortable. 

"Young master, this girl insisted on requesting an audience with the Duke even though she did not make any appointments. She said she had something important to discuss with the Duke and stubbornly refused to go away." The guard still had his head lowered and although he couldn't see his young master's reaction right now, just the sight of Ryo's boots made him feel nervous. 

"Oh? And what exactly is that important matter you're talking about?" Ryo raised an eyebrow as he hid the discomfort he was feeling. 

The little girl looked at him with a troubled expression, as if torn between choices that only she knows. She pursed her lips and as she probably decided on something, she took a shaky breath and gripped her suitcase tighter than ever to alleviate the nervousness she was feeling. 

"M-mother said that I should only discuss this with the Duke but s-since you're his family, I'll tell you… " She peeked at Ryo to gauge his reaction and when she saw that he was still as expressionless as before, she continued. 

"The Duke… h-he's my f-father." 

"How presumptuous! You dare spout nonsense in the presence of the young master!" The head butler exclaimed in anger, startling the little white rabbit. 

"What are you… " Before Ryo could even finish his words, his head started throbbing fiercely. 

There was something that snapped in his mind, as if a seal was broken and the memories that weren't his started flowing in his mind like a broken dam. His head felt like it was about to explode, it was as if his brain was under heavy pressure turning into paste. 

Ryo was standing in a room where everything was white, making it look endless. His surroundings suddenly shifted and turned into a surrounding he was awfully familiar with. There was the same gate of the minor, the same guards that were reporting to Ryo that wasn't him, and the same little girl quivering in fear. 

In the original Ryo's memories that suddenly assaulted his mind, the same situation was happening. Although everything was happening before him, none of the people present could see him, he couldn't even compare with a ghost. It was only natural since this was only a part of the original Ryo's memories. 

The original Ryo's current appearance looks like a teenager in his rebellious phase. He wore a dark shade of clothing and the gloomy aura emanating from him made him look more emo. There was also a black whip dangling on his waist. He coldly glanced at the little girl before him as he listened to the guard's report. 

"Hah? What's so important that she dares to be so rude? You're supposed to be a guard but you can't even drive away this impertinent little git! Useless!" Ryo pulled out his whip and hit the guard before him without mercy. 

The guard was down on his knees as he begged Ryo for mercy but it fell on deaf ears as he continued whipping the guard. When he was done, the guard was breathing heavily as blood oozed from the wounds. Ryo clicked his tongue as his gaze landed on the quivering little girl before him who's complexion turned pale from witnessing this harsh treatment. 

"Leave at once or you'll end up worse than that man." Ryo said as he looked down on the little girl coldly, as if he was looking at a being more insignificant than an ant.