Tom enjoyed the little celebration planned by his sister. He knew that he could count on her, but he still couldn’t get his mind off things. Fate lined up against him in more ways than just his birthday.

It is fine to be a minor noble in peaceful Lodestone, a happy kingdom where you can guiltily pass down partial privilege to your family. Baron, baronet, lord, and knowing a little etymology, Tom knew those were wrong anyhow. Tom can only be glad to be born to a baron.

Still, he wondered if it was best if he was born in another place, another time. Preferably, life would be filled with far less anxieties if it was before the Great Reverse, an event dreaded by all over the globe, extensively covered in every history textbook. Now there’s magic and Darklings that accompany it, and while it brings wonder.

For Tom, he would not be a baronet if there were none of those. Grandpa was a knight of Lodestone, working to soothe imperfections in reality. He watched those mercurial things, born from strife, and kept them from making strife. That was his career for the entirety of his life, but he lost his daughter-in-law too at the end of his life. No amount of training could beat that ‘effect’, even for an elite that gave extended status to his son, too.