The week flew by rather simply. By the end of the week, Astrid's proficiency in reading was on the level of a ten-year-old and she began to read books on her own, researching various things to figure out where she is, however, she realized all the books she had been given access to are storybooks, not that they are uninteresting, she just wanted something with more weight in the real world.
Soon enough, it was time for dinner and Astrid could feel a slight amount of nervosity swell in her chest. 'Who would have thought a great dragon such as myself would be nervous to meet a mere human?' Astrid thought as she was carried into the dining room.
"Astrid, this is Levin, your brother." Athel said as he used his hand to point at a young boy around ten years of age who is standing next to the table. He has blonde hair and green eyes, not far off from Athel's blonde hair and blue eyes.
Astrid motioned for Nora to put her down, to which Nora obliged. "It is nice to meet you, Levin Onii-sama." Astrid said with a curtsy
(I decided to use the Japanese form because it allows me to show certain settings. The 'o' in Onii is an honorific that can showcase a more formal setting while Nii-sama/san is more casual. Furthermore, different honorifics used after the initial word can show different relationships.)
Levin gave a slight glare as he looked at Astrid. "Nice to meet you, Astrid Nee-chan." Levin said with a gentle tone.
(For anyone wondering, Nii refers to brother while Nee refers to sister, they both have an 'O' form, i.e. Onii, and Onee, Nii is pronounced knee and Nee is pronounced as neigh, as in a horses neigh. Levin's usage is meant to sound diminutive compared to how Astrid was speaking, however, it can come across as Levin attempting to be closer to Astrid as well.)
'How condescending! This guy really looks down on me!' Astrid thought to herself.
"My, how adorable, my little Levin wants to be close to Astrid!" The mistress said with a warm smile that only Astrid knew was fake.
"Yes, mother, I do wish to get closer with my sister, perhaps we could go play after dinner?" Levin asked.
"Athel, dear?" The mistress asked.
"It is fine with me, however, she has started her studies recently, so do not stay up too late." Athel said.
"Wow, you started your studies already? That's amazing Nee-chan!" He said with a slight emphasis on 'Nee-chan'.
"It is nothing special, I just wanted to read, as it seemed more entertaining, as of now, I have not been proven wrong." Astrid said as she was picked up and put in her seat. 'This little fucker! Stop saying 'Nee-chan' this and 'Nee-chan' that, it is just making me angry!' Astrid yelled internally.
"Does that mean you can read already?" Levin asked as he sat down in the seat next to his mother. Astrid nodded.
"Of course, though not quite fluently." Astrid said as she and Levin were given a plate of food. 'I am a dragon after all!' Astrid thought with pride.
"We should read something after dinner then!" Levin said with an energetic smile.
"Agreed, though I am not quite sure what as of now. There are various genres to pick. There is fantasy which is not bad, then there is adventure, action, and various other genres. Ah, and that is not even mentioning educational genres such as geography, arithmetic, history, and so on and so forth." Astrid said.
"You do not want to read things like those last ones, though, right?" Levin asked.
"I could see why geography and history would be useful, however, only to an extent. I am far more interested in other matters." Astrid said then paused. "Well, a book based on history should be fine, perhaps the book on the death of the last dragon?" Astrid purposed. 'Just a casual self-reference. Of course, I've read that book and they did not even add what I said, they twisted and distorted my last words. Typical.' Astrid thought.
"Yes, dragon fights are interesting! I want to learn all about how people fought dragons!" Levin said with genuine excitement.
'My, my, it seems I have found his interest. Imagine what would happen if he found out I am a dragon... He would either try to fight me or tame me, I assume.' Astrid thought. "It is settled then, we will read that book after dinner. It is currently in the playroom." Astrid said.
'It is strange. Astrid controlled the flow of conversation so easily despite her age. She has been acting strange ever since she woke up, I assumed it was because she bumped her head, but now I am getting curious as to whether or not that was the cause. Perhaps she was always like this and decided to show her real self?' Athel thought.
Astrid looked over to Athel and saw he was contemplating something. "Father, is something on your mind?" She asked.
"Nothing of importance, I was just thinking, dear." Athel said. Astrid nodded. 'Well, she is still growing and forming who she is, of course there will be changes...' Athel thought.
Dinner continued and after dinner, Astrid and Levin read a book. "That dragon was so mean! No wonder they were all hunted!" Levin said.
"I am fairly certain those were not Kyoh Myung-Dae's true last words, history is morphed by the victors, and it happens that we were the victors. We will do everything in our power to show we were in the right." Astrid said.
"But why would they lie?" Levin asked with a confused expression.
"It is simple. To make it seem like they are more righteous than they actually are. Do you really think all dragons were the same?" Astrid asked.
"Well, yeah." Levin said. Astrid sighed.
"What about people? Do you think they are all the same?" She asked.
"No, of course not." Levin said.
"Then why is it that all dragons are the same but all people are not? Not all dragons attacked humans, and most importantly, there are no records of Kyoh Myung-Dae attacking humans." Astrid said.
"I-I see... I did not think of it that way..." Levin said as he looked at the ground.
"Do not worry, most people do not think in this manner. They just want an enemy, a cause to rally against, it just so happened that the dragons were what they were against at the time." Astrid said.
"But that is unjust!" Levin said.
"Indeed, but the world is unjust." Astrid said. "Nora, what do you know about the dragon hunt?" Astrid asked as she faced Nora who is standing by the wall.
"Not very much, my lady. I only know that they were concluded twenty years ago." Nora said.
"I see." Astrid said. "Well, it is getting late, we should sleep now, as I believe the maids require sleep as well." Astrid said.
"Oh, no, we are fine, play as long as you wish, my lady." One maid spoke up.
"Yes, well, I believe we both have lessons in the morning, so it would be best to turn in either way." Astrid said. After putting the book back from where she got it, she was quickly taken to her room.
Levin walked down the hallway. 'She was not nearly what mother had said, but maybe it was all an act?' Levin thought.
"Levin, dear, what do you think of that child?" The mistress asked.
"Ah, good evening, mother. I believe she is a good person and someone I will get along wi-" Levin was speaking when suddenly he was slapped.
"You do not talk with her on equal footing. She is inferior to you, you must not allow her to convince you she is equal. She is the daughter of a concubine and yet she behaves as if she is my child. She is secondary, you are primary, remember that, Levin." The mistress said sternly.
"Y-yes, mother." Levin said as he looked to the floor.
"Chin up, it is not a good look for the heir to look down." The mistress said with a sweet tone as she moved his head to a more level position. "If you still wish to speak with her, report to me after every interaction, let me know what she does and what she says." She added, then walked away.
'I do not wish to do that...' Levin thought as he walked away slowly.
In the morning, Astrid stood up and looked out the window, and saw a small group of what she assumes to be her siblings sparring with wooden swords and shields. 'That seems entertaining, but given my body, I do not believe I have the prowess required to match them.' Astrid thought as she observed the bouts.
She continued watching and observed their movements. After a while, a man in metal-plated leather armor came by and began speaking to them. He unsheathed his sword and showed them a few basic swings, then noticed Astrid was watching from the window.
Ignoring the fact that he had a bit of an audience, he continued instructing the children, occasionally glancing at the window. After a little while, Astrid heard a knock on her door and after a couple of seconds, it was opened.
"My lady, your lessons will begin soon." A maid spoke.
"I see." Astrid said as she continued to observe the practice.
"If you do not mind me asking, what are you looking at?" She asked.
"There are a few individuals who are practicing swordsmanship, it seems. It is rather entertaining to watch." Astrid said.
"I see. I do recall their lessons were to be held in the garden, this morning." The maid said.
"Yes, well, I should get to my lessons else Isaac will be mad and give me extra work. Not that I do not give myself extra work anyway, but I prefer my self-study over his boring passages." Astrid said as she climbed off of the chair she was standing on to view the practice.
The maid went to pick up Astrid. "I request that you do not do that. I wish to begin walking on my own. It seems I am still rather weak from my coma, I want to build my muscle so I may walk on my own more often." Astrid said.
"R-right, my apologies, my lady." The maid said.
"It is fine. This is a new request, after all." Astrid said as she began walking to the door. The maid quickly followed and ensured they went in the correct direction. Upon reaching the study, the maid parted ways with Astrid and Astrid entered the study.
"Cutting it close today." Isaac said.
"I had gotten distracted watching the boys do their sword practice." Astrid said as she walked over to her seat.
"Oh? Where was it held this morning?" Isaac asked.
"The garden. My room has quite the view of the area." Astrid said as she got her learning tools together. A small piece of slate with some chalk to practice writing and a couple of books. "By the way, I was thinking of asking my father to expand my learnings further here soon." Astrid said.
Isaac sighed. "You are a strange child. Most of the time children avoid their education, yet here you are diving headfirst into it." He said.
"Yes, well, it is quite obvious that I am not a normal child. Furthermore, my current position is... Precarious, to say the least. I am unsure as to whether my father has even noticed." Astrid said.
"What is it that you mean by that?" Isaac asked.
"Mr. Harpton, do you know who my mother is?" Astrid asked.
"The mistress, I would assume." Isaac said. Astrid sighed a sigh of disappointment.
"No. In fact, I have no clue as to her identity. Perhaps she had died in childbirth. Point is, I am treated as a primary child and not a secondary child. That is to say, I am treated as a child of the mistress would be despite being the child of a concubine." Astrid explained.
'This child's understanding of politics is monstrous... She is a genius...' Isaac thought.
"Furthering my current train of thought, the mistress dislikes me, maybe she even hates me. The concubines are also likely to dislike me. After all, their children are considered secondary. As such their children seem to have a certain disdain for me as well." Astrid explained
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Isaac asked.
"Simple. I have seen the glares that people send my way. Furthermore, for the child of a concubine to be treated as I am is a rare occurrence, of course there would be those with envy in their hearts. That much is simple. From there, it is easy to deduce that children will see the emotions of their parents and copy them. After all, parents are the role model for their child." Astrid explained.
"I see your train of thought now. Well, even if that is the case,you have the protection of your father, no one will do anything so long as he is around." Isaac said.
"That is correct. But what happens if there is an... Accident?" Astrid asked.
"You are not referring to an assassination, are you?" Isaac asked.
"If people dislike me enough, they will go to great extents to get to me. That is why I am trying to increase my understanding of my current situation and study more." Astrid said. "Of course, if I do too well, I may be seen as a threat so I have to show that I am subservient enough. Someone who is willing to swallow my pride and follow someone else's orders. Oh, and, this does not leave this room." Astrid added.
"O-of course." Isaac said. "However, if your father were to ask..." Isaac added as he eluded to an exception.
"I suppose that will be fine. Well, anyway, let us get on with the lesson, we have wasted a lot of time." Astrid said. Quickly, Isaac gathered his lesson plan and began with his lesson.
After the lesson, Astrid walked to her father's study. She navigated based on the paths she knew others took to get to the study and eventually found it right before brunch was made. She knocked on the door.
"Come in." Athel said from behind the door. Astrid attempted to reach the doorknob but failed. She attempted once more. "I said you may enter." Athel said.
"W-will you open the door for me?" Astrid asked. A few seconds later the door opened.
"What are you doing here by yourself? How did you even find my study?" Athel asked.
"I came to request an increased lesson plan." Astrid said.
"And by that you mean...?" Athel asked.
"Arithmetic, history, geography, literature, etcetera." Astrid said.
"I will increase your lesson plan by two subjects so you have to choose two." Athel said. Astrid nodded and thought for a moment.
'It is annoying that a mere human is the one that is limiting me, but I can understand where his worries are coming from.' Astrid thought. 'Well, I think understanding complex arithmetic will come in handy, I may be an ancient dragon, but I lacked the materials to learn from humans, so I only know things up to multiplication. Other than that... Yeah, I will request those two.' Astrid continued.
"Still thinking?" Athel asked.
"I have chosen mortal, but do not rush me!" Astrid yelled. Athel chuckled. "Arithmetic and I wish to learn basic swordsmanship." Astrid said as she crossed her arms.
"Swordsmanship?" Athel asked.
"Yes, they held their lessons in the garden outside my window earlier and I found myself intrigued in the art form." Astrid said.
"Are you sure? You may be considered unladylike." Athel said.
"Why would that concern me? The more places I can go without guards when I am older the less attention I can bring to myself. Plus, being able to defend myself is a useful skill." Astrid said. Athel sighed as he scratched the back of his head.
"You are a bit young for swordsmanship, however, I think we can probably get you an exercise plan to prepare you for the swordsmanship, however, it will be very difficult for you to keep up with the others, are you prepared for that?" Athel asked.
'I need to remember the only reason I have this opportunity is that I have shown cognizance that is beyond the age of three.' Astrid thought. "Yes, I am more than prepared, in fact, I was expecting as much." Astrid said.
"Alright, I will see what I can do. You will likely have to sacrifice your morning lessons for the exercise plan, though." Athel added.
"So long as I can increase my understanding of various things, I am fine with that, also, when I am of sufficient level, I would like to switch my reading and writing lessons for literature lessons." Astrid added.
"It will be so at that time, I will inform Isaac of these decisions." Athel said.
"Thank you, father." Astrid said.
"You do not have to be so distant, call me papa!" Athel said with a smile as he hugged Astrid.
'Never.' She thought. Astrid went through the motions of her day and during her evening lessons, Isaac was a little bit late.
"Apologies for my tardiness, I was preparing a new lesson plan as I have been given the okay to advance your lessons to a higher level." Isaac said.
"It is fine, it is my fault it was on such short notice." Astrid said.
"I have been informed that you had requested the advancement. Arithmetic is a useful skill that most do not start learning until six years of age, as such, you are likely to have a head start. Furthermore, you will have a mix of literature and reading lessons. You will also continue to practice your writing skills." Isaac said.
"As it should be. Thank you, Isaac." Astrid said. The lesson proceeded. It began with basic addition, which Astrid blazed through and ended with complex multiplication and division problems.
For her literature lesson, she must read a book and give a verbal presentation on it. After the lessons had concluded, Isaac rushed to Athel before dinner started. "Lord Coldblight, I have something to tell you." Isaac said.
Athel turned around and greeted Isaac. "What is it that you would like to speak about?" He asked.
"It is about Astrid and her lessons in arithmetic." Isaac said.
"Did she have trouble comprehending the concepts?" Athel asked. Isaac shook his head furiously.
"Quite the opposite. She grasped the concepts with ease and could easily do long division and multiplication. For a girl of her age, that is just amazing." Isaac said.
"I see. She is certainly a special child. She takes after her mother." Athel said.
"Is that so?" Isaac asked.
"Her mother was the second woman I had taken as my spouse. Unlike my first wife, I had married Astrid's mother because I loved her. She used to be an adventurer, a mage at that. She was well known amongst the people in the magic council as well. She grasped the concepts of magic easily as if it was innate for her. She grasped most complex concepts in a similar matter." Athel said.
"She must be a great woman." Isaac said.
"She was. She died shortly after Astrid was born. Astrid is all I have left of her and Astrid used to pass out at random times a lot. One day she hit her head pretty hard and did not wake up for a week. It was a miracle that she survived." Athel said.
"I see. I remember Astrid had mentioned she does not have any memories of her mother and that she does not know who her mother is." Isaac said.
"She had brought up such things to me as well. I do not plan to tell her for a few years. I want to know the best way to tell her." Athel said.
"Sir, if I may." Isaac said.
"Tell me what it is that you want to say." Athel said.
"Astrid has already guessed that she is dead. She had conversed with me before class about a few things and she brought up the fact that she does not know her mother, she then said that her guess is that she died in childbirth." Isaac said.
"I see. She is too smart for her own good." Athel said as he leaned on the wall. "People may see her as a threat. I have already noticed the way my wife looks at her, but it could get worse. Levin seems to share her disdain as well." Athel added. "Does she know any of this?" Athel asked.
"She had requested I not tell anyone, however, she said if you were to ask, I may speak of it." Isaac said as he paused. "She has a monstrous understanding of politics and understands that your mistress and concubines seem to dislike her, furthermore, she mentioned that the children of each of them are likely to share in these sentiments." Isaac explained.
"So that is where she takes after me..." Athel said with a sigh. "Isaac, do you know how I had gained the title of marquis?" Athel asked.
"No sir, I do not." He said.
"When I was six years old, I was designated as the heir despite being fourth born. My father was an individual who flaunted his power around and abused his authority. It was at that time I decided I would continue to be the best candidate and end his tyrannic regime." Athel said. He paused for a moment. "Well, that is enough of those stories, I must go to the dining room now." Athel said as he walked away.
Athel entered the dining room last. "My apologies, I was finishing up a bit of work and lost track of time." Athel said as he took his seat.
"No worries, father, Levin and I were just talking about the book we had read last night." Astrid said.