Volume 1 & Chapter 1 : Grasping Situation.
Lying in bed with wet pants. I started Crying. Not understanding what was going on, a maid rushed and took me up in her arms and changed my diaper.
Time Stopped and a ball of light appeared , "You are a newborn, fresh out of the womb and into a world of magic and wonder. With the power of magic at your disposal, you are free to explore this new world and all it has to offer. Bye."
And Zapped out of existence. The Maid Didn't seem to notice.
-The Ball of Light Definitely said Magic …..hmmmm… I don't know , I don't care, A problem for future me.
-Now let's go Back to the Maid, An old lady in her 70s?!?!?!? Do they not have any retirement laws??? Where are those Beautiful young Nannies? sigh.
Looking and after understanding my surroundings I can surmise that it is like a big building like a castle or fort. By the looks of it seems like the architecture of the middle ages.
"Ahhhhhh maaan it is too much information to cram inside this little head."
I am gonna do what an infant does best, That is Eat Sleep Shit and repeat.
As i Eat Sleep Shit and repeat, 4 Years Go by and now I am 5 years of age.
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I should have been elated, but instead I only felt frustration. In this world, it was every man for himself. There was no such thing as a desk job or a stable income. I had to scrounge and scavenge to make sure that I had enough to live on.
I was born a son of a Count. I might not have had much lately, but I was still a noble. I was going to find a way to get a life of luxury and privilege. Even if I were to be born in the bottom ranks of the high nobility.
-I Was Born in the Dynasty of the Emperor, The House Geog. That Means I Have a Legal Claim to the throne but no merit to back it up. The politics of the middle ages is disappointing. Emperor title is Succeeded by primogeniture for Males Preference. Titles below King are Divided through partition. Hence my father became a count.
It is just that in the Line of succession I am way too Behind. Instead of being a Marquis, my father was granted the title of a count. My father is an idiotic pervert drunkard who does nothing but waste money and is swayed easily by others. If he had any martial merit he would've been one up in the noble peerage.
The only income this household has is Tax from the county and Mining of metals with a blacksmithing industry. My father being an idiot he is, has never seen a ledger and passes his day with alcohol. We are too poor to even fight against barons, if a dispute did break out.
My mother is a daughter of marquis Damas (Of House Damas). The Damas Marquis is a household of warriors and a part of the imperial faction Loyal to the emperor after serving the family for generations.
Being how my father is, he always seems to be in trouble from the church. They accuse him of fornicating and extort funds from him for their own dirty deeds. He is usually drunk and doesn't remember anything afterwards so accusing him is easy.
Seeing all this My mother left the Manor, as she could not tolerate all this humiliation.
The Weakness of my father and narrow-mindedness of my mother brought about this situation, where I am now in.
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Right now My Maternal grandfather is standing in front of my father. Overhearing their arguments I could understand some serious things. They are arguing over my custody because I am the only legal heir to the county. My maternal grandfather does not have a male heir so I am also the heir to the Borderlands of the Marquis and the inland of the county making me equivalent to a Duke in terms of power after inheriting all the land and titles.
The emperor has 3 daughters. The second son of the later emperor gave up his succession rights to marry a lowborn woman he loved, But he has 3 sons.Then is my father the third son, with only me.
Making me a Duke in the future after inheriting both the Count and Marquis titles , I would be eligible for the Bestowal of the peerage of duke, as the lands are side by side and it would only make sense to make it a dukedom after uniting these lands.The Power and prestige of a duke is just the best , The Obligations are not high and you can always offload your incompetence on your Vassals. The authority is also just below the emperor, because the emperor holds all the three kingdom titles of the empire.
Being a marquis, my maternal grandfather is a Warlord of the east region, responsible for the whole eastern front of the empire for invading the eastern kingdoms or defending their attacks. Being the sole Heir to all this power is exciting and dangerous at the same time because I am not interested in the game of thrones.
Because My grandfather thinks I won't get any education if I am left with a drunkard like my father. The liege of my father the emperor does not need my father's support but the emperor relies on my grandfather for the prosperity of the east region of the empire.
"You cannot teach him anything the way you are!" He shouted. I was startled and farted. He stared at me and Said, "My Grandson is a goddamn craven piece of shit and will stay as one if I leave him here anymore!"
My grandfather wants me to be Taught the martial education required to wage wars and increase my physical prowess to lead troops into battle. My father's territory is rich in Metal minerals and my maternal grandfather is a warlord so my grandpa, the late emperor thought it would make sense for the marriage and defense of the east.
The only Grandson the late emperor could see on his deathbed was me, since all my other cousins are sisters and the other grandsons had no way to approach him .That makes me a point of envy for other Branches. So my grandfather wants to protect and educate me in state and military affairs, so when the time comes I can fight back.
My day starts with my idiot father being staunch and stubborn about me not leaving the manor but now it is evening and he is grieving and pleading with my grandfather.
My grandfather is taking me away , and all I can see is him crying.
"Grandfather, is father going to be alright?" I asked, "he will be fine, now you should think of your mother, I will take you to her" he said.
My grandfather is muscular for his age but seems a little old. His cane was really fat and looked heavy with a decorated handle that looked like a Hawk, which could swing upwards to make it a stick capable of beating.
Slavery was Common, here my grandfather had brought 12 slaves with him and about 50 soldiers with carriages and carts. My father didn't think it necessary to have a standing army as they were costly so he didn't even have proper guards let alone knights.
So he was powerless against force being used against him.
I was in awe after observing all the swords, armor and horses. My grandfather felt some satisfaction when I showed interest in the war gear. I felt pity on the slaves though, they had no choice other than obey their masters. That is when I saw a Tattoo on their necks above the larynx. It was there to make it seem visible that they are slaves and aren't allowed to cover them. The Tattoos were some sort of Magic Circles drawn on them as contracts.
A camp just outside the manor was set up, in which my mother was there in one of them. She refused to step into the manor where my father was.
Ah My beautiful mother was really happy to see me. She stopped drinking her tea and rushed towards me. I was still in my grandfather's arms, So she just asked me gently," Did my father scold you or was he rude to you?"
"No mother, he was very nice to me", I said with a smiling face. She seemed happy.
"Oh…was he , seems like this old man has a sweet spot for his grandson" said my mother.
"Let us pack and leave this place" Shouted my grandfather to the captain of the guards
The small army started moving at night , as I slept on my mother's lap I finally thought to myself that I will have a better life now.
We were ambushed!
"Assassins! " shouted my grandfather. Turns out it wasn't a cane, but rather a sword disguised in one. He Unsheathed the sword and the cane handle perfectly complemented the flow of the blood in a way that the blood did not touch his hand when it was dripping down the sword and the blood would spill out via a tube inside it connected to the eyes of the hawk. It was a very cool sword with detailed artwork and a strong sword.
After easily killing them my grandfather realized that they were simple bandits. He was furious that just on the outskirts of a city governed by someone with imperial blood are bandits roaming free.
"When you take over make sure to have control over the people by hook or crook !" said my mother. "Your father can't manage an easy territory , imagine if he was made a marquis and had the responsibility of a border essential for trade and skirmish or invasion!"
That day my grandfather told me many things regarding war and death. He made me see dead bodies of bandits! He said "These are nothing but corpses ,they can't harm you unless they turn to undead. That's why we burn them after killing .He took a torch and threw it inside a pit which had a pile of bodies. The soldiers had already poured oil in the pit.
There seemed to be a problem though. There were bandits who were still alive and were mixed in the pile. They screamed. Their Bodies were burning and were trying to climb out of the pit. My grandfather handed me a bow and said "Shoot them in the leg to make them fall back in" .
I just stood there at first with a blank face but when one bandit made it out he grabbed a rock and charged at me. My mother said "Shoot the Arrow! Kill that filthy thing".
I Shot.
The arrow hit his neck. Pierced it half way through.
He Bled.
From his Mouth blood splattered. He grabbed the arrow and pulled it out and a fountain of blood came out.
I Vomited at the sight.
I thought to myself – what kinda world is this ? a 5 year old is made to kill a man, is made to see these horrific things like a sadist and should feel satisfied. When I saw the soldiers it made some things clear though. They were terrified, and trembling. Then I realized that being a noble meant doing stuff that normal people won't ever think of.
My grandfather Told Me, "Congratulations you have lost your virginity! HAHAHA" . I thought what a lunatic! But then my mother said something that blew my mind ! She said "Now go and Kill all the remaining ones, at your age I already had killed 16 peasants like this. You got low quality playthings though".
There was anger in me ,as well as fear, This resulted in me using magic for the first time in my life. It was a Fire Wall that covered the pit and burned everything to ash in it. The fire was my burning anger that I felt against this world and its laws, its values and everything.
Everyone was in awe and my mother and grandfather were delighted. I, at age 5 , used magic to kill. My mother was intrigued. I had collapsed from the rebound of using mana.
After waking up, I saw myself in the carriage and we were almost on the gates of the Castle governed by my grandfather.I was welcomed in this huge castle with way too many guards and soldiers. The castle had training grounds, where about a 100 soldiers were practicing. Just behind the castle was an open field where mages trained and the castle had Two sets of walls. One for the Districts surrounding it and one for the castle itself.
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I started My training here and wrote letters to my father. No matter what or how he was, he was still my father. After 2 years of training in mana and swordsmanship, I was getting used to life here. I Said to myself "Maybe my life would not be that hard that i had imagined in the county of my father. Huh."
I will recieve my baptism in a few months on my 8th birthday. It would be a celebration grand enough to guarantee my entry in the upper echelon of the noble society. I will meet my peers and make friends , my cousin sisters will be there as well. My three cousin brothers won't be able to meet me then, as much as I want to meet them.
My Grandfather had me privately tutored by the best warriors, Scholars and priests that he could summon. Before entering University I am supposed to be well versed in matters of theology, Basic techniques and tactics of the battlefield and have some experience at hand. Rest I will learn in the university from the best of the best from the empire.
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"Grandfather , will father be there at my Baptism?" I Asked. "I have no idea… I did send a letter of invitation. He should be." He told me calmly and in an assured voice. My mother grinned on that exchange, which I saw but didn't react.
We were sitting and having dinner with each other on the dining table. A Messenger came to the doorsteps and requested permission to meet my grandfather. He bore a letter from the city near the castle which was under the jurisdiction of my grandfather. He got up and attended him with full care. It seemed that some wolf packs had banded together and had attacked the villages bound to the city and many villagers were killed in the attack.
My grandfather left for the defense and led the charge himself. After he left the castle, me and my mother were alone discussing some minor things happening recently. She then politely asked me to go to bed, which I found a little out of place but I complied. As I went towards my room, I saw a carriage in the front yard and a merchant company emblem on it. My mother greeted and handed over a bag to the person sitting in that carriage.
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After a month my grandfather came back highly injured. He was a warlord renowned all over the world for his contribution of turning a small kingdom into a holy empire alongside my grandpa. He became a Marquis from a baron jumping two noble titles in a lifetime!
"Grandfather, are you alright?!?!!" I screamed as he stepped in the castle. He smiled towards me and said nothing as I saw him go towards a bed.
After a week he came to the training grounds where I was practicing. He just saw, as I was trying to perfect my form, I was so engrossed in myself I didn't realize he had been watching me all this time from morning. When I took a break he suddenly exclaimed, "Okay this much is enough, now you need to learn Magic Law!".
I got Startled and didn't seem to understand what was going on.
I thought to myself,"Did his old age finally get his mind?". My mother grinned at me, "He isn't that old yet ,Hahahahha" laughing uncontrollably and my grandfather not understanding the situation left.
He then told me to wash up and meet an acquaintance of his in the study room. There I saw an old man in white robes and he was seated alongside my grandfather having tea.
I thought to myself who this man was seated equal to my grandfather.
The Old man saw me, got up and said "my lord, it is a pleasure to make an acquaintance with you, to the future Duke of the empire". It was an understatement to say that it didn't feel awesome when someone bowed to you and addressed you like that.
My grandfather introduced me to my new teacher. He was neither a Warlord or affiliated with any mage organizations. He was a servant of the damas household responsible for magic related matters.
He will Teach me magic, I guess.
After I got a call from my mother for my different training session that is supposed to be unique to the House of damas.
I was learning to be an assassin and a torturer. My mother excelled in both of these things.
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I see a man in a chair with blood and my mother sitting on the chair far from him.
As I walk in, the gate closes.
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