As the mother and son duo returned from their morning escapade, breakfast was being served.
Weasley sat fidgeting at long rectangular table that was approximately three metres long while trying his best to keep his saliva from overflowing.
Mountains of culinary delights were being piled on the table.
Weasley eyed the apple pie that came freshly from the oven with delight. It is was an unmistakable aroma. That buttery crust surrounding the freshly sliced apples laced with sugar and cinnamon nearly opened his floodgates to his saliva down the sides of his mouth in a slimy and unsightly mess.
Eventually, all the food was served and the remainder of the maids left the hall to have breakfast at their mess hall. Only Sylvia's personal attendants were left in the room alongside her and Weasley.
Weasley's hand shot out for a slice but it was slapped away!
Weasley looked at his mother in confusion.
*" That's not for you! Not yet! Gods, you're so young yet you're already hungry for sweets. I can't spoil you."* She admonished with a disapproving look on her face.
She pulled down her blouse and took Weasley into a sachet which hung around her neck and down to her waist. It was close enough such that she could breast feed him but also leaving her arms free to move about.
Weasley's disappointment was immeasurable and his day was instantly ruined.
Now that he had thought it through, he was technically only a few days old.
For a literal baby to be eating apple pie would be unheard of! Hell, he didn't even have the teeth to chew yet!
As such, Weasley grumpily settled for drinking his mother's milk while watching enviously as she chowed down.
After the breakfast, Sylvia entrusted Weasley to her personal aide for caretaking before leaving to tackle the mountain if paperwork on her desk.
While she didn't usually handle these things, Weasley's father was away in the capital to settle matters in the royal court. Thus, domestic matters would naturally fall into the hands of the First Lady and she didn't have much of a choice.
As his mother left the room, Weasley eyed the elderly caretaker in front of him curiously. The man looked like he was in his 70s but his posture and bearing displayed none of the qualities that one would expect from a man of his age.
His long white hair was tied into a neat ponytail and he was wearing a butler's uniform that seemed almost tailor made to his size. A white beard hung from his chin, almost a laurel that celebrated his wisdom and sageness.
The man bent down on one knee and looked into Weasley's inquisitive eyes. He had been a retainer of the Ashborne clan for many years and had served as his lady's caretaker since her childhood. Throughout the years, the two had been very close and Sylvia saw him as a kind and reliable grandfather while he treated her like his own daughter.
As such, he took this task of caring for his lady's heir very seriously. For this great Madel Cambridge, there was no task he could not do as long as it pleased his lady!
Entertaining children? Phfttt, child's play!
" Young master, I, Madel Cambridge pledge upon this my very soul that I will never give you up, never let you down ,never run around and desert you. I promise never to make you cry or have to say goodbye. You can count on me young master."
" Bubugaga wah?"
" As such, shall I entertain you with an epic tale of great proportions, one that I, Madel has personally fashioned to your taste? "
" Gagawah?"
" Very well! It started a long time ago, in a land far far away. This land was a beautiful place, ruled by a kind king and queen. One day, they gave birth to a marvellous child. This child was blessed by destiny! She was given the power of fore sight! And then ...."
As Madel droned on, Weasley sat dumbfounded before him. He didn't understand what the man in front of him was saying at all!
However, the old man looked so caught up in it that Weasley felt bad to interrupt him.
He decided to let the man finish with whatever he was doing.
Weasley knew that he wouldn't be able to receive any form of education yet since he was still too young.
Not only was there the problem of his cognitive ability still being in the early stages of development thus rendering any kind of memory work extremely difficult, there was also a chance that people might freak out and label him a demon possessed monster once they found out about his intellect.
He had read way too many novels to not know how that would end up.
Weasley's eyelids became increasingly heavy and eventually he fell asleep. It was only late in the morning, but babies weren't exactly known for being energetic.
Eventually Madel noticed that he who was dozing off.
He harrumphed. "You uncultured swine! How can you not feel the thrill of such a story? I must educate you well later!", completely overlooking the fact that Weasley couldn't even understand the language.
He picked Weasley up and set him down on his cradle before silently resuming watch.
And thus for the next half a year this cycle continued. Weasley's mother would come over to play with him every morning and afternoon. The rest of the time he spent with the old butler who would carry him around the residence and "entertain" him with his stories.
Although his father would regularly return home from the capital, he felt awkward and estranged around him and they didn't communicate much as a result. Despite this, he wasn't too worried.
His parents loved each other very much and Weasley was sure that they could mend their relationship when he got older.
Other than all this however, Weasley did try his best to learn some bits of the language as he was tired of being completely oblivious to what the people around him were saying. Whenever he got bored, he would simply go to sleep or chill by looking out the window. That was when he had discovered one of his favourite pastimes by complete accident.
Looking out the window. Seemed boring? He would beg to differ!
As the Ashborne residence was built on a hill overlooking in the surrounding territory, Weasley would often go up to one of the higher floors in the residence and press his face against the window to be greeted by the majestic sight of a bustling city beneath him.
This city was the second largest settlement in the Pixis empire and it came under the direct jurisdiction of the Ashborne clan.
The city of Eldoria.
Due to the fact that a large number of trade routes passed directly through this territory, trade here was extremely lucrative and merchants from all over flocked into the city to sell their wares.
Smelling a golden opportunity, the Ashbornes had long implemented a policy of low tax making Eldoria even more attractive to traders.
Eldoria became a melting pot for multiple cultures and people of different backgrounds to mix and converse and was famed for its diverse selection of foods and its nature as a major economic hub. It was one of the reasons why the Ashbornes were so powerful as the city played a large role in the economy and international relations of the kingdom itself.
Weasley longed to go out into the city but the times he had tried to bring it up with his mother or Madel, he was met with confused or disapproving looks. Eventually, he gave up asking and decided to leave it to the future.
In this manner, Weasley's uneventful early days passed by in a flash.
As his one year birthday approached, Weasley was dying of boredom. He had tried doing everything he could think of including trying out magic but all had been fruitless.
' There are probably some other mechanics that I don't yet know. I guess I will just have to wait.' He thought.
Weasley's mind drifted to a few days back where he had spoken his first word.
He grinned. His mother's expression when he called her "Mama" had been quite a sight to see. Ever since then, his mother had began teaching him a number of other simple words.
Unfortunately, the list consisted of only generic nouns and weren't all that useful in conversation. He had managed to piece together the meaning of a few verbs through the conversations he had overheard but for now, that was all he could do.
While it wasn't much, he was satisfied with his progress.
' Baby steps, Baby steps' he thought.
Eventually, his first birthday arrived.
The usually quiet Ashborne residence was filled with a bustling and busy atmosphere as the servants scrambled about their tasks.
They couldn't afford to screw up. Not today.
As night fell, the most of the attendees had arrived and started talking and bantering with their acquaintances.
Weasley was snuggled comfortably in his mother's arms was he watched the procession. He had seen such events before in books and novels but for the life of him he had never thought of ever being able to attend one!
Weasley's father who was standing beside his mother stepped forward. Since everyone was here, it was customary of the host to announce the start of the event.
He cleared his throat and said in a booming voice,
" Welcome one and all! I thank you for taking the time to be present at my son's banquet. I hereby announce the name of my firstborn. His name is Rumius Zy Ashborne! I am sure he will grow to become a great man who will bring glory to our kingdom! Long live the Pixis kingdom!"
" Long live the Pixis kingdom!" Everyone echoed
" Without further ado, let the banquet begin!"
Classical music played in the background as everyone enjoyed the banquet in high spirits. The food served was delicious and of high quality, and the attendees who accompanied their partners to dance in the centre of the hall were a beautiful sight.
As the festivities reached its tipping point, the doors to the banquet hall suddenly burst open with a resounding "bang!".
A young man dressed in a set of gold and purple robes stepped into the hall. He had a kindly look on his cleanly shaven face and his short black hair was well combed. A playboy vibe oozed from him that would generally make the girls fall over screaming" kyaaaaaa!"and professing their eternal love.
Following behind the man was a small entourage of people who looked like his the servants. However, they were all very well dressed and looked presentable enough to be mistaken for a noble.
Seeing him, all those present in the hall went onto one knee and bowed with their right hands placed over their hearts.
" We greet his Majesty King Louis Vi Pixis II! Long live his reign!"
The king flashed a brilliant smile that made the women in the hall feel wet in their pants before looking around. His gaze fell onto Weasley's father and he made a beeline straight for him.
Weasley father stood up before the handsome golden clad man and the two faced off for several moments.
Then William broke into a smile.
" I thought you wouldn't make it, your majesty. Turns out I was wrong."
" You've got to be kidding, do you know how rare it is for you to hold a banquet?"
William chuckled, "I'm glad you made it"
The king laughed. The two of them exchanged a few more words before he noticed Weasley and looked in his direction.
By now, most people had gotten over the king's sudden appearance and had gone back to enjoying the banquet.
It was common knowledge among nobles that the archduke and the king had a close relationship. Officially, they were king and subject but without they were sworn brothers and the best of friends.
Hence another reason why no one messed with the Ashbornes.
" Looking stunning as always Sylvia." The young king said as he flashed his pearly whites.
" It's an honour to receive a complement from one such as yourself, your majesty." She replied with a glint in her
The king's smile widened slightly at his friend's "unfriendliness"before fixing Weasley with an intense gaze.
" Damn he looks like a scarecrow." He muttered before adding stutteringly as Sylvia fixed him with a death stare." A cute one, of course!"
Weasley didn't know what he meant but for some reason he felt a bit insulted.
" You say that to every baby you see Louis, why not try something new." Weasley's father signed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Had the nobles not been here he would have already beat the living daylights out of his old friend.
" Sheesh chill guys. My tongue slipped that all."
'Anyway, you guys should know that his magical aptitude is quite a bit higher than most, even amongst nobles. Looks like he's got potential.' The king said via a mind transmission.
He didn't want anyone listening in on such sensitive information so he had sent the message this way instead of saying it out loud.
While the transmission could still be heard in on, they would have to overcome the king's innate magic ability paired with the artifacts he wore to boost it. The number of people who could do could be counted on one hand.
William and Sylvia both jolted as if they had been electrocuted.
' Can you find out how much?'They asked him simultaneously.
' Yup, be patient for a bit...…..Ah! It's uhhhhh lower to mid A class I think.'
Magical aptitude was a term used to quantify the amount of mana one had and it's purity. This was split into classes of S,A,B,C,D,E and F with each class having three segregations from low to middle to high.
These two factors affected the strength of one's magic as well as the amount of magic one could use.
When one ran out of mana, using magic would be impossible and most people would experience fatigue and dizziness as well. It could be considered the quantity factor to using magic
On the other hand, mana purity could be considered the quality factor. Each and every spell had a requisite mana amount needed to activate it and the mana here referred to pure mana.
This meant that if one's mana was impurer than most, one would have to feed more mana into a spell to make up for it. On the other hand, if one's mana was purer, the amount of mana one would have to expend to use the same spell would be exponentially lower.
This was why it was important to have both. Without enough mana, one would be unable to use certain spells and chants that required high amounts of mana. One would also be unable to use magic for a prolonged period of time. The same goes for mana purity. Without pure enough mana, one would have to spend too much mana on any spell making it impractical as one would quickly become drained, prolonged research or combat would thus be impossible.
The classes are given based on a combination of both factors. Simply put, the higher the class of an individual, the more mana he or she has. The internal ranks given in each class followed a bell curve that indicated one's level of mana purity, with high being the purest and low being the most impure.
However, this doesn't mean that a lower A rank was worse off than a higher B rank. The ranks are designed such that one with a higher rank would be better in almost all regards than one of lower rank. As such, even the lowest of A rank would still have higher mana purity and quantity than the highest B rank, and so on across the other classes.
This grading system was foolproof, making it a universally accepted system across the kingdoms of the world.
For the most part, commoners would usually have the magic aptitude of classes E and F with those at the higher end reaching up to class C. While there were cases of prodigies with ranks A and even S amongst the commoners, they were infinitely rare and were events that happened very millennia or so.
For nobles, the range becomes wider. Noble offspring could have aptitudes as low as D class or as high as S class. The majority of the were in the classes B and C which was treated as the average.
As for royals, it was almost unheard of for one to have an aptitude below lower A. This was because all royal bloodlines in the world were given blessings by certain patron gods to whom the royals swore their faith and allegiance.
Some royals also gained special abilities like the king's ability to gauge the magical aptitude of someone by simply looking at them.
Weasley's parents were elated!
This meant that there could be considered to have great talent for magic! While he was no prodigy, he was still far above average.
The king grinned as he saw his friend's smiling faces. A bright idea popped into his mind.
" How about we pair your son with my youngest daughter? They're about the same age too!" He asked-announced
His voice carried across the hall and once again attracted the attention of all present. A stunned silence washed across the hall and everyone present felt their jaws slacken and almost hit the floor.
Sylvia's and William's was equally dumbfounded when they heard their friend's proposal as he stood like clown with a mad grin on his face.
William didn't care for the nobles present anymore. He was about to go and beat the shit out of the king when he froze in his tracks.
Suddenly, the proposal didn't sound so bad.
By engaging his son with a princess, he would not only solidify the bond between their families but also strengthen the political position of the Ashborne household. There had been some nobles who were getting pretty bold recently. With this, they would now have to think twice as they would be messing with royal authority!
William turned his head and looked at his wife. Her beautiful face stared straight back at him as her head moved in an almost imperceptible nod.
'If my son doesn't like the engagement he can always break it off in the future. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.' He thought.
William turned back and replied in an equally loud voice.
" On behalf of the Ashborne household, we agree to his majesty's suggestion!"
His voice broke the silence and awakened everyone from their stupor as people stumbled to protest against the engagement or support it.
" And so it shall be!!" Came the loud voice of the king above the cacophony of noise"On this day, I pronounce the engagement of Rumius Zy Ashborne and my daughter, Lillia von Pixis!"
"May their engagement serve to bring prosperity to the kingdom and to our two families! Long live the Pixis kingdom!!"
"Long live the Pixis kingdom!!"
In the midst of it all, Weasley who was comfortably settled in his mother's arms looked at the commotion that had erupted in bewilderment. Only one thought passed through his mind.
' What the fuck just happened?'