When the first ray of sunlight peeked through the balcony window, Joseph's eyelids twitched and his eyes then opened soon after.
He was not able to perfectly execute his sleeping habits yet, which was always being alert of the surroundings and respond accordingly. Hence, not being able to wake up immediately.
But then again, he was in a new body, and that of a child, so it was acceptable. He could just gradually restart his habits and even fix some things, while he was starting anew.
Joseph sat up and inspected the room now that it was morning. The room was relatively simple; only decorated with a closet, a mirror, a desk, a family painting and some wall lamps in the corners. That is until you look at these things closer and notice their quality. Take the lamps for example, it was carved with intricate designs and was made of gold.
Getting used to things aside, he got out of bed and headed for the bathroom that's located on his left. The bathroom also followed the theme of simple but luxurious.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, Joseph opened the closet and appropriately dressed himself. He wore a white long sleeve with frills and black shorts, paired with black shoes.
He looked at himself in the mirror and thought, 'Starting tomorrow I should be able to gradually start dropping the act of a child.'
His feet then started moving towards the door. He turned left and took a few steps, then faced right, walking down the spiral stairs. His memory guided him along the way.
To the right of Joseph, after he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, was the dining room to which he gradually adjusted his posture as he entered.
With just a few steps, he saw the "familiar" grandiose dining room. There was a big and long rectangular table in the center, with one chair to each of the short sides and four to the long. Below, on the ground, was a red carpet while above were three chandeliers.
Sitting at the two chairs on the short sides of the table were none other than Joseph's parents. His father was on the far side while his mother was the one near the entrance.
However, Joseph didn't greet any of them as he simply trudged towards his seat which was to the right of his mother. Immediately after that, he began to eat in silence.
He had decided to act "out of it" instead of trying to cry. The reason was that the latter didn't suit him and it was counterproductive of what he was planning. Maybe he'll consider doing it in the future in a situation that calls for it.
Silence~
It was Joseph's mother, Isabella, who spoke first, breaking the ice. "Good morning, son, how's your sleep?"
"I–"
But Joseph just bowed his head deeper, and the knife that was cutting the steak paused.
Looking at the slouched figure of her son, she decided to give him time lest he stop eating and miss his meal.
Silence once again ensued.
Only the utensils hitting the plate filled the emptiness of the vast dining room space. Fortunately, Joseph began to eat again which relieved Isabella.
Although Joseph indeed felt some sadness well up within him, he's been dealing with death god knows how many times. He had constantly danced at the edge of the knife in the battlefield that he's almost immune to not only death, but also fear. "Almost," after all, it was not good to completely lose your emotions.
Immediately after finishing his meal, Joseph got up and went back to his room. After he was out of sight, his parents looked at each other's eyes for a while. Isabella then got up and followed Joseph into his room.
When Isabella opened the door, she saw Joseph laying on the bed, with his back facing away from her.
The atmosphere in the room looked gloomy despite the sun lighting it bright.
Isabella did not say anything and simply sat down on the edge of the bed. She stroked her son's back to soothe the slight trembling of his body. However, she did not do anything say nor did anything else.
She waited for her son to sort his own thoughts, apparent from his listless look during breakfasy. She would let him open up to her first before she would start to say anything. Sometimes, saying nothing was a thousand times better than saying a hundred comforting words.
Sure enough, after a minute or two, Joseph's trembling body stopped and his muscles tightened. It was as if he was bracing himself. Noticing this change, Isabella took off her hand and perked up her ears and heart.
She too was mourning for her daughter's death. In fact, it's not only the family that felt this way, even the servants and guards in the manor were sad to see the bright young miss suddenly go.
However, Isabella was not some vase that could only be used as decoration. She knew how to manage her emotions. Even if she were to cry at the thought of her late daughter, she would not do it in front of her son who needed her support.
At this time, Joseph had already sat up and looked at his mother's eyes. However, Isabella was shocked to see that her son's expression was that of firmness, instead of distraught. The aura around him also seemed to suddenly change.
If the current situation surprised Isabella, then Joseph's next words completely dumbfounded her.
"Mother, I want to practice magic. I don't want what happened to sister happen again. I want to protect you all!"
"I thought about it and realized that if only I was strong enough to protect her, this wouldn't have happened..."
"I was weak!"
"I was powerless!!"
"I was useless!!!"
"That's why, I decided to become stronger than everybody else!"
Typically, children would only start getting into magic at around 8 years old. Of course it's just the majority and the actual age varies to even as young as 5 years old. This was expecially so for big families that train their children young and different races who had different age brackets.
Currently, Joseph was 7 years old so it was not weird for him to get interested in magic. What's unexpected was the motivation that drove Joseph to suddenly to get interested in it.
Though, it was not a bad thing at all. If anything, Isabella was happy that her son didn't succumb into depression! Although she said she wouldn't cry in front of her son, she couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face.
Her young son had just said something so brave and mature, so how could she not be proud as a mother?
Seeing this, Joseph panicked and stumbled his way into his mother, as he clumsily wiped off her tears.
"Did I say something wrong mother? I– I'm sorry!"
"No.... No. You didn't do anything wrong dear. It's just that, your mother is very happy!" Isabella replied with a dazzling smile.
Joseph was not going to lie, his mother looked very charming right now. It's no wonder that that horny orc dad of his stuck to only his mother unlike some of the uncles he had seen who had many wives.
However, what he's feeling was just appreciation for beauty, just as one would to a scenic waterfall. He may be the descendant of a horny orc, but he wouldn't stick his dick back into where it came from.
Morals aside, he sees Isabella as his dearest mother. Her figure means greatly to him as someone who had grown up without one.
"So * heuk * son, would you want to be like mother... or father?"
"I... Uhh~ haven't decided yet. I actually... Uhh~ Haven't thought that far... Could mother explain it to me?" Joseph awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
To this, Isabella couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Why of course my knight! You said you'll be protecting mother in the future so you need to choose carefully. However, let's wait a bit, you're father is already coming upstairs."
Isabella had already informed Agustus of the pleasant news through telepathic communication, and the latter was already on his way.
After Agustus entered, the small room seemed to have become nothing but a vast land of warmth. The family temporarily forgot about any negativity and simply enjoyed each other's company.
[Author's Note: Since I have no experience in how a child realistically reacts with death, I had chosen to go through the cliché shounen route.]