Alexius was led into the mansion while his young servant was led to a separate building for servants.
It was extremely spacious, with a front yard paved with stone- a rarity for roads at this time, showing off the wealth of the Rictor family. Great cone trees stood erect at fixed intervals, and an opulent fountain spewed water in the centre of the yard.
The effect was beautiful, and coupled with its walls that were made out of whitewashed stone, it seemed like a home from heaven; and all for a lowly knight!
If even knights could benefit themselves to such a large extent, what sort of life would the upper echelons be living! The interior was just as amazing, being spacious and made of cool stone, it was very refreshing and naturally cooling to walk through.
The man leading him on suddenly stopped by an innocuous-seeming room and bowed to Alexius. "This is your room, young sir- it has all the amenities you'll need, such as a chamber pot, a great bed, and plenty of space to stow your valuables."
He said, his gaze landing on his young master's right hand, in which was a pouch that contained all of the things he wished to bring.
Originally, Rowan had bugged him to bring along enough luggage to put an elephant to shame, but he had left most of it back in the carriage, just pretending it didn't exist.
Thinking of this, Alexius couldn't hold back a slight giggle. How could that old man have known how cunning an eight-year-old could be? As someone with over four decades of life experience, one shouldn't look down on him!
Then again, who in their right mind would take precautions against children who possibly was a reincarnated person from an advanced society?
*Thump!* The door closed, and he fell back onto the bed, not caring to unpack a single thing; he was dead tired from the long journey and the drama at the knight's gates.
...What time was it? Ten? Eleven? Wishing for a clock to exist, he sighed, listening to the gala going on in the background and the continuous cheering sounds coming from it. By Earth's standards, a great night out usually didn't end till early in the morning.
It would be a miracle if he could sleep through that ruckus!
Lamenting his situation, Alexius begrudgingly got up, his back aching. 'Argh! How old am I, eight? Why the hell do I feel like my old forty-year-old self, then?' Taking some cloth out from his large pouch, he stuffed it under the door which made it a little more bearable.
'Damn... I wouldn't be surprised if the estate master gave me this room just to mess with me for the night, but at least I got a decent one. He knows his limits, that's what makes him bearable.'
Blowing out the candle by his bedside, he collapsed once more onto the bed.
***
*Knock! Knock!*
"Ughh... who the hell is it?" The door opened with a creak.
"Sorry, master, what was that?"
Alexius blinked and rubbed his eyes, seeing the young servant who had come with him standing by his doorside with some refreshments.
'Oh crap... did I just use English on this guy?'
Well, it couldn't be helped. He had been speaking it for four decades now- although he was quite fluent in the Standard Language, he mostly thought in English.
Properly minding himself this time, he spoke to the servant once more. "Nothing, Ronald. I sometimes mutter to myself my home language."
The matter of him being found three years ago by the Knight Captain Rowan had been spread around Cassidy Town many times now, with almost everyone, including this servant, being aware of it, he was sure.
The tale had been romanticised into a story of how Alexius' parents' were humble peasants from the Ammal Kingdom in the far east... wherever that was.
The servant continued as if the previous episode never happened. "Master Dalitso, you've received a missive from the Lord of the estate to see him after lunch. He left instructions for you to head to the courtyard out back."
Alexius nodded and thanked him, gently shooing him away, leaving himself alone to his thoughts. 'This knight must have drunk a little too much last night to only be able to meet with me in the afternoon. I wonder what kind of person he is to be able to acquire such luxuries in this cruel world.'
Putting his thoughts aside and looking out the window, he estimated the time to be around eight or nine in the morning; more than enough time for him to engage in his morning routine.
Over the years, he had demanded to bathe at least once everyday, which usually was in the morning, as he was unable to get used to the continued dirt and grime accumulated throughout the day and night, which Ronald, of course, couldn't stop complaining about.
"Kids these days- bathing everyday? Now they are getting too soft! Maybe we should make them hunt some wild boars to teach them a lesson about what real hygiene is!"
Chuckling, Alexius took a quick bath and ate his breakfast, which consisted of a couple of weird, blood-red fruit native to this world that looked disgusting but tasted like heaven, giving him a pep in his step.
Going for a walk round the powerful Knight's manor, he once more lost himself in his thoughts.
'I must continue drawing up my plans for common and easy-to-make mechanical devices and other goods in order to grow my riches. It's the only path I can take, with my talents solely lying in war.'
'Perhaps they won't have alloys like aluminium- hell, do they even have bauxite here? Considering that this world is similar to Earth, I would wish so.'
*Bam!*
"Hey, you... you... idiot! What are you doing?" Another young boy's voice rang out through the hallway.
Alexius, still slightly stunned, instinctively got ahold of himself and stood up straight.
Then, he frowned slightly. Just who did this childlike voice belong to to dare to insult a page boy under a noble master? Was he Knight Rictor's son?
A shiver ran down his spine. If he was truly the Knight's son, and he kept a grudge, Alexius' future as a Knight would be in jeopardy, as Knight Rictor could simply kick him out or brand him unfit for military service.
Then, making himself seem less intimidating so as to not provoke any further anger from the boy, he spoke in a soft tone.
"I'm truly very sorry for my mistake. I was lost in my thoughts while walking around, and as such did not notice you around the corner."
The boy replied with his brows furrowed. "And it serves you right for not paying attention! You should know that you're a guest in the Lord Knight's home; any idiot on the streets would still behave themselves in here, let alone you!"
What the hell? A vein on Alexius' head throbbed. This guy certainly had a point, but did he have to say so in the rudest way possible?
"I..."
"I'll inform the Lord Knight immediately; let's see what will happen to you! This'll make your mommy and daddy teach you proper manners when speaking to a superior!"
Was this kid crazy? So young, yet so foul mouthed! He seemed more like a back-alley thug than a young noble son. "I sincerely apologize, sir, but I am going to see the Knight, so it would be best if you didn't block my way."
He replied, having had enough of the boy's bullshit.
The expression on the boy's face changed from one of arrogance and anger to one of surprise.
"The knight? Who told you that you could see him? He's a very busy man, you had better watch your mouth!"
'Ugh- this kid, he definitely isn't the damn knight's son by the way he talks. I'm too tired to deal with his shit.' He groaned inwardly, walking off and completely disregarding the young boy, who continued shouting and cursing his parents.
Noontime came, with Alexius having a delicious fish with several fruit and boiled water which he forced his servant to heat up to the man's great displeasure.
'You can drink water with shit inside all you want, but hell if I'm dying a second time due to cholera!'
Soon after, he headed to the courtyard at the back of the manor. When he reached the exit, he found a middle-aged man standing by the doorframe, with both arms crossed. His arms had muscles that were densely-packed but compact, and he looked like a dashing actor even back home- there were no blemishes of any sort on his body.
"Alexius... uh, Dalitso. Right? I'm a Knight, and, as you'll know, the Lord of this estate. I'm here to welcome and introduce you to your new classmates."
Classmates? He didn't know that page boys now had classmates! This Knight Rictor, he must be highly trusted by the Baron to carry out his orders and train so many new soldiers with such devotion!
The fact of the matter was that training a boy into becoming a soldier was expensive, requiring a skilled teacher who usually was also a high-level mage around tier 3 or 4.
As such, the Knight being able to train so many kids further showed off his wealth!
As they walked down to the courtyard, Alexius heard the sound of things crashing and shouting coming from young boys like him, though he never really felt like one.
'I guess these are my classmates, huh? I really hope that we can peacefully coexist...'
The words died in his mouth as he made eye contact with a young boy holding a wooden sword, staring at him with fury.
"It's you!"
"It's you!"
The two voices sounded in unison as two young boys glared at each other in rage.
"What's... going on here, boys?" Knight Rictor, who was truly befuddled at the sudden outburst, interjected.
The boy who knocked into Alexius stopped, and he adopted a look of innocence so fast that it was like a blur.
"Respected Lord Knight, this boy..." He cried, pointing at Alexius. "He... he hit me and refused to apologize!"
"Bullsh- I mean, that's not what happened, I promise, Sir Knight! I did bump into him, but I apologized immediately and went on my way!"
"Nonsense! You liar!"
"Well, then, do you have any evidence to prove otherwise?"
After a few rounds of back and forth with the Knight helplessly standing by the side looking like he didn't want to be here, the boy dropped what he thought to be his trump card.
"I'm Arkadios, the son of Lady Zenobia of Hahn; a distinguished Lord under the service of Baron Littlesberg! I hope you know who you're going to be up against when the time comes!"
The other kids standing at the sidelines, having stopped their sword practice just to watch the show, whispered, cheered, or booed intensely at that line.
"And I'm the adopted son of Knight Rowan, subordinate to Lord Caymen of Cassidy Town, and in turn, the Baron of Littlesberg." Alexius replied.
"Pah! So you are a commoner! How did you even get-"
Just then, Knight Rictor, who had tried to distance himself from the fight, finally intervened.
"I think that's enough, the two of you. Come on, resume your sword practice when the teacher returns. I'll bring Alexius here up to his room; he's had enough of a warm welcome."
Arkadios hung his head in shame after being rebuked by the knight, his idol.
Alexius once more gave a wry smile. Although on the surface it seemed like Arkadios, who was the son of a Lord, had a higher status than Alexius, whose father was an adopted Knight, he had bet on Knight Rictor being smart enough to break up a "feud" between Lords.
After all, if the Knight were to let the fight escalate, or pick a side, the one who would suffer would be him. How could a lowly Knight stand up to his lords?
It was this shrewd evaluation that allowed Alexius the confidence to stand up to the boy when he revealed his identity.
'However, Arkadios will definitely continue to be a pain in my ass. I cannot allow him to compromise my education and my future...'
Although Alexius would've loved to gloat about outsmarting Arkadios, he was well aware that he had just delayed the inevitable. There would be no reconciliation with the unruly boy.
'And this, right after the estate master openly showed his hostility! Is there nowhere safe outside of Cassidy Town?'