In a quiet room with a large bed in the middle that had a roof over it, the windows were opened, letting in fresh air that had a reviving sound. A young child who appeared to be 5 years old sat quietly.
Sitting in a well-crafted chair with an artistic appearance to it. As he silently looks at him with a deep frown and strange intelligence that is hard to find in any kid his age.
"What the hell is with this look?"
"Plus, am I really into a different world or what?" Prior to this, the consciousnesses of both lives battled for dominance, with the 31-year-old guy's consciousness emerging as the victor.
"Romeo is it... Hmm, not a bad name, but having this name, I would surely like to see the Juliet of this world, if there is one for me." In an effort to give them a flawless appearance, he grinned while finger-combing his hair.
Romeo finally came to terms with his new reality. As he began to accept his new identity in this world—which was yet another requirement if he wanted to live and survive in this world—he began to see it as a necessity.
In addition, he was reminded of a previous child who had succumbed to consciousness easily and was in danger of losing his mother.
He sincerely didn't want to be an orphan in this world as well. A place where there are many fictional characters, including Magic and Knights.
He got up from his chair and made his way toward the door, which was closed by the servant who had brought him here after the previous child lost his cool when he saw his mother pass out for no apparent reason.
"Jia... Jia opened the door. I am fine now, but I wish to go and have a look at my mother's condition." Romeo knocked on the door and spoke in a calm tone.
In response to his call, the elderly man on the other side of the door opened it with a tall stature, stood in front of Romeo, and attested to his words as he observed the boy's expression.
The elderly man calmed down and bowed to Romeo after realizing that he was speaking the truth thanks to his expression of composure.
... ... ...
The elderly man in front of Romeo was dressed sharply in a suit and displayed an upright demeanor that seemed out of character. "Let this old man apologize for his previous action, young master, but it was something I deemed necessary at that scene."
"I accept your apology, Jia... And I will also try to learn those lessons from this event, so you will not need to take those actions in the future." Romeo stifled a cough as he tried to hide his discomfort while speaking in such a formal manner, but he knew he needed to improve.
Only then was he certain to conceal his changes in the near future, so he could only observe the old man's expression while speaking in that way.
"Old Master had called an elder from the Holy Sanctum, and with his healing abilities and spell, I am sure that Mistress will be fine." While following the young master, who was hurriedly making his way to the Mistress Olevia room, Old Jia spoke in a low voice.
Many great powers and major associations that ruled across this vast continent are still interested in exploring the joint county where Westland, Empherean, and Highland once co-ruled because of the abundance of resources discovered on this wide horizon.
It was a newly discovered land.
However, this major nation also contained another major organization that was well-known in other major nations and was one of the major powers. Holy Alliance and its affiliated organizations, which go by the name Holy Sanctum.
"Oh, that weird white robe pops, huh!" Romeo muttered silently as he looked at the room in front of him. As he entered the room, Romeo found two middle-aged men standing next to a stunning woman who appeared to be in her twenties but had a sickly appearance on her face. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
At that instant, Romeo felt an aching pain in his heart. Maybe this was caused by the residual soul of the previous host. His hard-fallen expression began to tear up in front of that frail-looking lady, who was gazing at Romeo's face with adoration in her eyes.
But Romeo was able to firm up his expression as he wiped his tear and smiled at the beautiful lady in front of him. "Come here; it is alright, my boy." Observing Romeo, who managed to contain his tears in front of his mother after just one night of calming period.
Theo was filled with pride as he called his adopted son and drew near to his mother, who was also clearly in tears as she observed her son's sincere expression.
"Are you alright, mom?" Walking beside the lady, Romeo calmed his emotions as he tried his best to act naturally when speaking to her. The struggle Romeo was going through, however, was visible to everyone who was closely observing his actions.
After everything that had happened to him in these few days, they all believed that it was only natural for it to appear.
"Hmm, it is alright..." With tears in her eyes, the woman touched his head as she pulled him close to her and sat down.
After all, Romeo's anxious expression the night before was something she had never seen before, and it was the first time she understood just how highly he valued their relationship.
Romeo still maintained his previously described cold demeanor after being adopted by them. However, after that incident, she understood that Romeo wasn't actually detached from the family's feelings and was actually doing it unintentionally to preserve her reputation.
"Hmm, I think we should let both of them catch up on some personal time, so all of us should leave this room to them."
While speaking to Old Jia, the two maids, and the clergy from the Sanctum and observing his wife's expression, Old Theo coughed and asked them to leave the room in a humble manner. He then gave his wife a small smile before leaving the room.
... ... ... ... ... ...
A silent atmosphere descended on the room. Romeo was at a loss for how to engage his new mother from another world in conversation. "It was the first time that you called me mom, right?" Romeo was looking at her with that awkward expression on his face when Olevia spoke to him.
"Yeah, I just..." It was really trivial to be at a loss for words when asked why the previous host never attempted to call her mother.
"Never mind that, given that I am really happy that you have come to see me again." When spoken like that, as Romeo looked at the smiling expression of his mother, he silently noted that there was no reason for him to worry about getting caught and that he should start to let down his act in front of her.
"Okay, but are you sure, mom, given that I don't have the proper manners of a noble and my tone has a ruffian or commoner tone to it?" Dropping his formality and that weird sense of stiffness that is carried around by every noble.
Romeo quickly left the room and summoned maids to take care of Olevia after having a lengthy, pleasant conversation with his mother. While all of this was going on, Romeo's father, Theo, was sitting in his room, frowning sternly as he recalled the memories of the incident at the get-together the night before.
It rather came as a surprise to him. But he was also thankful that it did not affect other members of his family. Additionally, Olevia's body was able to withstand the effects of the curse that connected her that night thanks to her natural talent for the holy nature particle. If it had been someone else in her place, that person might have passed away quietly and without showing any symptoms, especially if that person had been a child, because kids are more likely to curse.
"Master!" An elderly man entered the room with a knock on the door and walked over to the housemaster, whom he greeted. The old man had a slight wrinkle on his face from fatigue.
"Butler Hank, I am sorry for making you work this hard at your age, but something like that is not something I would have asked of anyone." As the old butler turned to face his master with joy after hearing Theo's words, a small smile appeared on his face. "I am honored to work for you, sir, and being able to work for you even in this period of life is like a blessing for this old man and my generation."
When the old butler began to speak about what he had seen and the specifics of the incident, Theo closed his eyes and nodded but stopped short of continuing.
A small smile could be seen on Theo's face as he listened to the elderly man speak in silence. With a hard-to-find expression that appeared on Theo's face.
"So many things are possible, but I'm just a clueless person who hasn't picked up many things from others, just like how I didn't notice such minute details about the people standing next to me."
Old butler did not respond to the master's remarks; instead, he stood motionless, observing the master as he deliberated and came to a conclusion. "Hmm. Then, Old Hank, I have more important work for you, if that is alright with you."
"Yes, of course, but before this, I would like to take some time to rest, and then I will respond to your request, master." Theo nodded, not wanting to put his aging body through any more strain than necessary while also taking this response into consideration.
"Sigh. It is going to be chaotic for the time being." Theo felt that something was about to begin, but he was not able to pinpoint the exact thing or personality that would bring about such a huge change in this country and his house.
Romeo, who may have been the person behind Theo's intuition and foresight, was relaxing on his bed and contemplating his situation inside the Westland Duke household.
"I have two elder brothers, and one of them is already promoted to have his own title and deed in another land, so he is out of the family infight." Romeo muttered while scowling as he considered the second brother in line for succession and began to experience headaches from the successor issue and potential problems it could lead to.
"I cannot just give up; after all, I was adopted by old Theo, and if I were to throw in the towel, I am sure he would be very upset about it. Plus, I have a mother too; I need to take care of her in the future if that old man finds more concubines." A noble child typically receives his land later in life. It is expected of him or her to care for their mother on their own.
Romeo, who at last had a family in this world, felt the warmth of his new mother and made the decision to accept everything without hesitation.
He had learned a lesson from his previous life, where he had been abandoned by his family and led a life of solitary confinement, and he was determined to provide for his family at all costs. Romeo was determined to treasure them all, even if it came in the form of a stupid brother who would view him as an adversary.
"Master, it is lunch time." Upon hearing a knock, Old Jia entered the room and discovered the young master lying on the bed with a thoughtful expression.
Old Jia grinned amusingly and knocked on the door once more, this time more forcefully, so that the noise was audible to Young Master, who had missed it. "Ah! I am sorry, butler Jia; I was thinking about something and missed noticing you."
In a hurry, Romeo jumped out of bed and walked alongside Old Jia as she led him to the dining room while standing up.
It was a broad table with several chairs, with no one sitting on it for the time being. However, maids and servants were still occupied with other tasks around the room as they served the various dishes that they had all prepared for the lunch.
"Senior Jia..." Old Jia was given the nod by the maid after making eye contact. Jia smiled and silently closed his eyes before moving over to the table and pulling a chair to the left, all the while grinning at Young Master Romeo.
"Please, today we have a full menu, and Master Theo seems to be busy, so you would be dining alone this time." not bothered by how the rest of the family reacted because they didn't even try to join him for lunch after isolating him.
Romeo sat down for lunch with a smile on his face and began to eat with a fork and knife, as he had learned to do while dining with a martial arts expert in his previous world.
He was a fanatic of martial arts and had studied a variety of swordsmanship, bowmanship, and spearmanship in addition to hand-to-hand combat. While making videos for YouTube during his training period, Romeo built up a large fan base and admiration in his previous world.
Never did he imagine that etiquette training from his previous world would come into use after reincarnation like this.
Jia grinned at Romeo's proud expression as he responded. Romeo's unaffected expression caught the admiration of several maids, who noted that the response was coming from a five-year-old child.
"Delicious..." Romeo muttered while eating the meat-based food and found the meat to have a very rich aroma and natural taste to it.
Romeo noticed that the meat contained more spices than he could taste, as well as a subtle spark that only came from the blending of various spices and decorative vegetables with the flavor of ground stone.
"The vegetables are ground in stone-made containers, which is why they contain the texture of stone within them and are especially beneficial for bones and muscles." Romeo reflected as he continued to chew his food thoroughly, remembering that children under the age of five had weak digestive systems and needed to chew their food more thoroughly to ensure that their bodies functioned properly.
This is another justification for why parents everywhere encourage their kids to chew their food thoroughly. But typically it takes a long time for kids from any culture to understand why those systems were created at a later stage in their developmental stage.
"I am done..." Jia pulled Romeo's chair back as he stood up from his seat and began to leave the dining room while maintaining a calm expression. At that moment, Theo entered the room through the open door.
"Oh, Romeo, are you done eating lunch? I was late today." Theo sighed and looked at the young Romeo's calm expression with an adoring expression on his face before he laughed when his expression changed as a result of seeing the empty room with no one around the room eating along with the Romeo.
"Good!" Along with that line, old Theo's appetite turned cold as he returned from that room without having any lunch, which caused Old Hank beside master Theo to turn cold. When he turned to face the young boy again, his face returned to normal as he grinned at Romeo with an expression similar to Theo's before turning to look around again.
Next chapter: Family and Residential Area.