"Mama, read this book," Aion said while pointing to another book that described the life of another crazy warrior.
Artemisia frowned since it looked like her son liked the bloody tales too much, but in the end, she said yes with a smile. She just had to censor the bloody scenes.
For someone as mentally old as Aion, he put a lot of strain on his mind and forced himself quite a bit to call Artemisia mama. Still, she looked so happy when that happened that he decided to endure all that and eventually got used to it.
Regardless, Aion could read all books by himself, and he could understand almost all the words. Still, since his mother didn't have much to do, he let her read books for him. Eighteen months had passed since he was born in that world and he got used to that life… the only thing that he missed was the freedom of adult life.
Since they didn't have much to do, they spent most of the days reading books, it seemed that even before coming to that kingdom, his mother didn't have much freedom, so she really liked reading new books… thanks to that, he felt more motivated to get rid of the shackles of her life.
During the next eighteen months, Aion studied hard to learn about most things of that kingdom. Common sense, culture, history, daily life, professions. It was hard to get everything he needed to know from books, but he was fairly certain that he got most things. During that time, he learned that he lived in the central area of the Riles kingdom. He also lived in the capital, and his family was one of those who had the longest story of serving the royal family, that was why they had such a big house.
In the last war, a lot of talented individuals died for numerous reasons, so even though his father was pretty young, he was one of the most important guys in the army. Still, he spent his morning training his sons, and only in the afternoon, he left to work.
Although magic was common, and they even had a magic school, mostly girls went to that place, and their magic was hardly applicable to the battlefield. So, boys didn't have much interest in going there and learning. Aion wondered how difficult it must be to grow to be so hard-headed.
During that time, Aion heard from his mother that he had a path prepared for him. While he wouldn't become the head of the family, he still could become a high-ranked minion. The real word was official in the army, but Aion decided that minion was more appropriate since he apparently couldn't do anything else. While in his old life he followed a hierarchy, he chose to follow that, it was different now, and he wasn't satisfied with things as they were, but he had to play along with it for the time being.
In any case, once he was able to walk freely, he used some chances when his mother was taking an afternoon nap to explore the house by himself. On the first try, he found a mirror near the living room and finally learned what he looked like. It was pretty good if he could say himself that while he had his father's black hair, he had his mother's crystal blue eyes. He also looked like someone who would grow to become quite robust, but with some fine lines in his face. All in all, he could become someone who would have the best of both worlds: cool and handsome.
Aion felt bad about them, but among the kids of that house, it looked like he would truly grow to be quite the guy, at least in terms of looks. That made him feel complicated since he was average in his old life, and the idea of obtaining so many things without paying a price bothered him.
During those explorations, Aion found all the members of his family, aside from his father. He already knew that, but Aion and his mother were really in a bad spot in that house. The other concubines and wife of his father really disliked him, and they didn't try to hide that they were also teaching their kids to dislike him. He could only shrug since the mothers were jealous of Artemisia's good looks. Still, Aion felt bothered since they were transmitting their bad feelings to their children.
Regardless, Lexus' official wife was really pretty, perhaps only one or two levels below his mother, but her face of utter disgust spoiled all of her beauty and high-class air around her. It was a pity since she also was a green-eyed woman who had light brown hair that looked red against some lights, and Aion had a weak spot against redheads and gingers. Still, somehow, that expression of utter disgust still combined well with her…
Since the first encounters ended like that, Aion decided to use Furtivity whenever he saw them getting close. As long as he doesn't move, he pretty much becomes invisible, after all. Thanks to that, he explored the house many times without being bothered. The servants frowned, though. Since they never saw Aion crossing the house. From their perspective, he teleported from one place to another.
On the day of his third birthday, Lexus showed up in their room. He occasionally showed up every few months, but he never said anything. He just looked at Aion and analyzed his growth.
"Can he understand everything that I say?" Lexus asked.
"Yes," Artemisia replied. "He can speak fluently, and he can also read, although not out loud."
That was something that Aion had tried too hard, but as expected, his mother wasn't stupid and could tell that he was reading when he was staring at the books instead of listening to her words at times.
"That is hard to believe… Nevertheless, he is old enough to do some basic training," Lexus said. "Considering his future, that can't be delayed. Our family has to stand out in the military from the very beginning if they want to be respected. We can't rely solely on our name for that."
That was reasonable, but it would have been more convincing if his father didn't say that in a high and mighty manner. Lexus worked hard to reach the position in the kingdom where he was standing, but he didn't work much with his communication skills and humility. That was a common problem with some people in the military. Mainly leaders who spent years having their orders followed no matter what for many years.
"From tomorrow onward, you are going to be trained by me, and you will join your half-brothers. Do you understand that?" Lexus asked.
Aion was a man… in the body of a boy. Still, he wondered what would happen if he said no in that situation. Challenging others and difficult situations was in his blood. After all. His father needed to be corrected, but things probably would get worse if he rushed ahead.
"Yes," Aion said.
"Wake him up early and bring him to the garden tomorrow," Lexus said.
While Aion had leveled up his classes quite a bit over the years, learning actual combat techniques and obtaining experience through real training would be pretty valuable, so he couldn't miss that chance, either. In any case, after saying that, Lexus left.
"Aion, you are such a brave and cute boy!" Artemisia said while she hugged her son from behind and swung him from one side to the other.
Although his mother stayed in that room most of the day, she still had the sweet fragrance of the flowers in the garden. Putting that aside, Aion didn't like when he was treated like a Roly-poly toy like that.