Years passed. William had learnt to exercise a great deal of patience in his search for his lost wife, Allison. Not like it was his choice anyway; at five years old, he was still a small child.
With his aged and experienced mental state aiding him in a young body, he was seen as a prodigy, speaking fluent Maenese at such a young age. But reading and writing, however, were a whole other mountain.
Due to that, Lord Maxton had just gotten William a governess as he turned five years old, and since then, it had already been a few months.
'Argh, why can't I just get out of this damn boring life?' William yawned as he thought, daydreaming. His regular routine.
Coming from somewhere like the twenty-first century, it was no surprise nothing would be as fun in a pre-modern era. Even more especially because he was a child, so he had to act his age.
'So boring, can't imagine how it'll be if I was slacking off in addition to this boredom. Still, keeping a low profile and acting my age, damn, can't do much with that bloody maid always spying on me. There is only so much one can grasp from eavesdropping and observing. Argh, what do I do?' He yawned once again.
From what he had learned over the past five years, he was currently in a city called Denvern in the Empire of Maen.
Other than that, he only learned that his adoptive father, Viscount Walter Maxton, was well respected and revered amongst the people. Under the watch of the maids, William hardly ever left the manor or socialized with those his age.
The only times he ever left the manor were on Lunadays, the last day of the week in this world.
There were only four orthodox beliefs in Denvern City, the Church of the Bright and Golden Sun, which worship the sun and day; the Church of the Night, which worship the moon, stars, and night; the Church of the Holy Mother of Life, who worship the Holy Mother of Life; and the Church of the Holy Trinity of Storms, who worship the heavens, earth, and seas.
'In all my life, I never expected to have to learn to read and write in a new language. I guess, never say never. But this answers my dilemma of how isekai worlds would have the same language as the former world, and coincidentally, every creature in the new world spoke the main character's previous language despite having different cultures and being from different places, therefore, having different history…
'…Although some authors outright make the protagonist learn to speak the new language, every race speaks that same language. Bunkers! Ah, why do I keep complaining to myself? Sigh, I miss impacting knowledge in those internet kids' brains…' William thought as he finished dressing and walked up to the bedside mirror.
He was wearing a typical long-handed cream shirt, tucked into the typical brown shorts. He had flaming red short hair with dabs of orange and properly combed with dull-looking crimson-colored eyes.
He went out to the greenhouse filled with flowers at the back of the mansion. He was lucky enough to escape from the hands of Gilde and that other weird maid.
Upon reaching there, he saw Lord Maxton, standing still and looking lifeless in the middle of the large greenhouse.
'Did Father kick the bucket while standing?' William joked. He had long stopped calling Lord Maxton a monster and now saw the old man as the father he never had.
William kept his distance and hid behind the glassy greenhouse door, observing.
Lord Maxton's chest throbbed, its rhythm matched the wind that constantly blew past the nightingale flowers. Getting into form, he placed his right hand on the sheathed rapier on his waist.
A calm gust of wind blew past the flowers from where he stood. A weak, tiny petal flew with the wind and rose high.
Swoosh!
The petal divided into two perfect halves, faster than the blink of an eye, and gently fell to the ground.
Whoosh. A larger gust of wind blew past from where the sword cut. It was extremely obvious Lord Maxton had performed not even up to one percent of what he could do.
'What was that?!' William gasped. 'I couldn't even see when he unsheathed his sword. It's like these past few years blunted my memory of the events of that day. This old man's a freakin' menace!'
"Am I, getting too old?" Lord Maxton had his eyes closed as he uttered. He let out a sigh and turned to William, smiling weakly as he said, "I can see you, Liam."
William smiled brightly and ran into the flower garden, shouting, "Father! Father! How did you perform that thing just a second prior?! You were so fast like swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"
William imitated Lord Maxton with exaggerated facial expressions as he ran in circles around the old man.
Lord Maxton patted his head gently and he laughed. "My son, do you not know that I am the strongest? Haha, compared to when I was in my prime, I am even too slow."
"Woah, father. You are so strong! C-Can you teach me, Father?" William asked with puppy eyes.
Lord Maxton smiled and knelt on one knee, meeting William's eye. Despite being so old with greyed-out hair, the wrinkles on his face weren't as many as one would expect, exuding an aura of infinite youth.
"Of course, my son. I shall teach you. You shall surely take over from me one day, therefore, it is my duty as your father to provide you with sufficient knowledge and experience. But as of the moment, you must focus on your lessons."
Realizing where the conversation was headed, William made a sad face mixed with disappointment and folded his arms.
"Mrs. Herell praises you and says you learn faster than she expects, but occasionally fall asleep during the lesson?"
Lord Maxton tapped William's shoulder gently as his smile grew cold. "That is not what is expected of you, Liam. Am I pampering you too much?"
A chill rushed down William's spine and his face was immediately covered in sweat. "N-No, father. My apologies, I promise to be more serious," he stutteredly replied.
Lord Maxton stood up and spotted the staring-contest-loving maid staring at them. Then, she silently nodded her head.
"It is time for dinner." Lord Maxton took William's hand and exited the flower garden.
❈ ❈ ❈
Another five years passed by. William had just turned ten years old.
As of now, he had fully assimilated himself into this world. He could speak, read and write Maenese, and therefore, was finally able to carry books to read. It wouldn't be awkward any longer.
This world had already established basic arithmetic operations and a few complex theories that hadn't been applied. Hence, the non-existence of cars. Their latest advancement in the industrial revolution was the steamboat, and that was eleven years ago.
William was presently getting dressed by his maid, Gilde. 'I underestimated this Isekai world. The more I study, the more I understand this world is completely different from the earth I know…'
William was surprised by his findings. For starters, there were only five continents, Arceope, Sansea, Bavana, Nuchia, and the Islands of Critea.
The Empire of Maen, where William currently resided, was located in the southern parts of Arceope. Other than these small world facts, he hadn't learned any other thing.
When he was done getting dressed, he scrutinized himself in the long bedside mirror.
He was wearing a red double-breasted suit with an M-insignia on its chest, a white cravat around his neck, and black socks tucked into shiny leather shoes. His attire was similar to Lord Maxton's but with black shorts replacing the trouser.
'Despite this being old fashioned, I can't lie, I look kinda fire though,' he grinned.
"The Lord awaits in the carriage," A serene, extra-calm female voice said. It was Selene. She was standing at the door.
William followed behind her and got to the carriage. He was to start going to school today. Public school, in fact!