Chapter 8: The Blackwood II
Serafina laughed loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."
She paused, then looked at Dominic.
"That's quite good. And don't listen to your brother. You might actually become one of the strongest. Even if not the strongest, you are definitely going to be better than those no-good nobles of the kingdom."
Dominic sat there quietly and listened, knowing that what she said was true.
The Blackwood family was a duke-rank family, one of the Three-Headed Households—the three great powerhouses of the kingdom. Their influence was so overwhelming that even the strongest factions of rival empires hesitated to encroach upon the Crystal Kingdom's territory, where the Blackwoods resided.
But with such strength came a cost—low survivability.
Most Blackwoods either died because of their Wood Heart or fell victim to assassination attempts from other powerhouses and even the Crystal Royal Family.
As Dominic drifted into these thoughts, Serafina's voice pulled him back.
"So, how intense is this feeling?"
Her words snapped him out of his daydream.
"Mother," Dominic replied, "from how this feeling is, I predict I should awaken within a week."
All of them looked at him strangely.
They thought he was underestimating the difficulty of awakening. Under normal circumstances, it took half a year. Even the fastest—his sister, Alexandra—had taken two weeks, a record believed to be unbreakable.
Serafina looked at him seriously.
"Do not underestimate the Wood Awakening. It is not as easy as you think."
"I know, Mother," Dominic replied calmly. "I'm just explaining what I feel. I might be wrong."
Serafina smiled.
"Even if you are wrong, with how close your prediction is, I'm willing to bet it won't take more than a month."
Collins scoffed lightly.
"Maybe I was wrong. You're not the most useless. But at the very least, we now know you're the latest to awaken a heart."
Dominic couldn't help but smile slightly. He knew Collins was right.
In the Blackwood family, awakening usually happened by the age of five or at the latest 7.
'The reason I'm this confident…' Dominic thought, 'even though I'm not feeling anything… is because in the novel, the protagonist used a shortcut with the help of the Chaos instructor. He learned how to undergo the Wood Awakening faster… after stealing my Wood Heart.'
With that thought, Dominic refocused on his meal.
Suddenly, Serafina spoke again.
"Protect him until he awakens. You will now be his personal maid."
As she spoke, a girl with pink hair and pink eyes, dressed in a maid uniform, stepped forward. In an instant, she vanished and reappeared behind Dominic, her face expressionless.
Dominic flinched slightly, letting out a small gasp as he recognized her.
Rachel.
The one who would later be known as the Witch of Darkness.
Rachel, too, looked at her new master with slight curiosity. It seemed he recognized her, even though they had never met before. Still, she maintained a professional expression—though faint dissatisfaction lingered within her at being assigned to someone who had awakened so late.
Without a word, she stood behind him.
Then, strangely, her body seemed to dissolve into Dominic's shadow.
Dominic was not surprised.
In the novel, this ability was known as Shadow Realm Merge—a skill unique to Blackwood assassins. It allowed them to bind themselves to a person's shadow, becoming their eternal servant.
It had its advantages and disadvantages.
The stronger the master became, the stronger the bound servant would grow. But if the master stagnated, then no matter the servant's original potential, their growth would halt completely.
since it seems is presence has already brought changes to the novel, as in the original novel Rachel did not become a servant of anyone in the blackwood family but only gain her reputation after Dominic was killed, becoming the main antagonist of that arc as she sorted revenge on the protagonist.
Shaking off the thought, Dominic focused forward again.
"Thank you, Mother. I'm truly grateful for this."
He sat back down, his expression returning to indifference.
Then Collins, smiling slightly, he spoke playfully.
"You truly have changed, haven't you?"
Alexandra glanced at him for a few seconds before returning to her meal.
That alone surprised Dominic.
Throughout the novel, she had always been indifferent to everyone. Even when he had first arrived at the table, she barely acknowledged him. Yet now, she had reacted.
After that, they all continued eating in silence.
Once the meal was over, Alexandra stood up first. She gave a slight nod to her mother—then vanished, leaving behind a faint red blur where she had stood.
Dominic stood up as well.
"Thank you, Mother. I shall take my leave."
Serafina nodded.
Dominic turned and walked away.
As he left, Serafina and Collins couldn't help but watch his departing figure, a silent anticipation lingering in their eyes as if they couldn't wait to see what he would become in the future.
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