He wasn't sure of the circumstances surrounding his sister, the eldest daughter of his mother named Iara, but he could ration that her existence was due to some unfortunate event. As a previous assassin, Jody was in no way green to the world's wickedness. Not to mention that his last life also had plenty of broadcast shows that emulated such evil.
It was merely that he had never met Iara, similar to his brother Horus. After some days of digging, he discovered Horus and Iara were both off at what Jody interpreted as a military boarding school. His mother always called it 'training' and not studying.
'How strange that they have to be sent off for training as mere children,' Jody was frowning as he was a bit unsatisfied. 'Does that mean I'll also be shipped off in only a few years?'
While little Jody was sitting on the hill, staring at the stream, and lost in his thoughts, the old butler of the House emerged from the shadow of a tree. It was as if he was once the tree's shadow himself. The butler approached Jody silently from behind. This man stood at two meters tall and had intense eyes that emitted faint black light. He had a clean-shaven goatee, and his hair was long, white, and dreaded. The dreaded hair hung down his back to his bum.
There were silver bells tied to the bottom of his locks.
This older gentleman used a cane with strange markings to support himself, his tall back only ever so slightly bent. The rod looked made of a material like wood, but not like wood. It was burgundy and released a pale black light that was nearly unnoticeable. This man always accompanied the House Lord in the shadows, the head butler Ke Si!
Ke's step was soundless as if he was walking in the air. Not even his bells chimed unless he allowed it. Despite this, Jody had incredibly sharp senses. Senses, which he had always presumed were due to his previous life's torturous training sessions. He didn't understand fully that his instincts were something no adult on his earth could imagine or compare with.
Once Ke Si was within ten steps of Jody, the latter immediately felt the sensation of someone's approach.
Jody subconsciously turned his head back to look. Upon seeing the familiar butler that would usually appear when he felt someone watching him from the shadows, he calmly turned his head back to the stream. This guy was weird and liked to creep around, but Jody knew he was here to protect and not harm!
Ke was inwardly surprised.
The calmness in Ke Si's expression shifted to shock as his eyes locked with Josiah. The boy's face remained emotionless as if seeing the butler every day was no surprise. But how? Even at his current level of strength, the eldest young lord wouldn't have been able to sense his approach.
Ke had experienced this same feat two weeks back when he failed to detect two mid-level vicious beasts approaching this very stream.
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Ke would often accompany the young lord in secret for various reasons. One day, while others were unaware, young Josiah suddenly froze in his tracks, alerting the head butler that something was amiss.
'Hm? Is something wrong?' Ke Si looked around suspiciously.
Suddenly, he sensed the presence of two beasts charging over from afar. Upon further investigation with his fantastic perception, he realized the tamers of the estate had made a mistake. But how could these professionals make such mistakes?
No, how could this kid have been aware of the danger before himself, an existence at the Gold Mage Rank?
That was impossible, right?
There were too many unanswered questions in this ordeal. When he glanced back at the boy, it was as if the latter's earlier reaction never even happened. He was happily playing.
Ke Si was well aware that something was off, but he couldn't shake the suspicion that Jody wasn't at all threatened by the presence of two Blood-Fang Wolves. He just kept playing in the flowers as if nothing had changed! This behavior confused and unsettled Ke Si— how could this little boy remain so calm? Or was it all a misconception?
Soon, the wolves approached, and even if Josiah had been unaware of them before, there was no reason he could still be playing carefree with the beasts snarling at him. Strangely enough, the wolves seemed hesitant about approaching the boy, their eyes shifting between wildly feral and moments of intelligence.
After several tense moments, one of the wolves lost its patience and lunged towards Jody's back. The butler had no choice but to act and protect his young charge. His cane tapped the ground, and a crack made of shadows opened up beneath each wolf, swallowing them into unknown depths.
Despite all the danger, Josiah never even bothered to glance backward. He just sat on the hill, completely unbothered, kicking his feet above the elixir stream. He didn't so much as flinch.
Ke was relieved and perplexed by this experience— it left an impression on him. He also had to get to the bottom of this blatant attempt to probe the young lord's safety measures.
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Staring at this strange kid, who kept stirring up wave after wave in the household since his birth and whom their enemies had decided to target, Ke couldn't help but sigh to himself.
"Indeed…this boy…is far from normal."
Remembering the previous occurrence, Ke had the same misconception he was currently having.
'Can this child possibly sense my presence? Impossible, right? Did he somehow know that he was safe due to me being here?' Though this thought was highly illogical and shouldn't be trusted, it was all that made sense out of the situation in Ke's mind.
Silver bells gently chimed behind Jody as he took his final step forward. The former noted that the boy didn't react to the bells at all. This was all the confirmation Ke needed.
Ke's face remained stoic as he spoke softly, "This humble one greets the third young lord. Young lord, the evening is fast approaching. The sun has begun to set, and the First Lady has been searching for you."
Upon hearing word of his mother, Jody felt overcome with conflicting emotions.
On one hand, he was overjoyed to have a mother who cared for him deeply finally. But on the other hand, he felt an uneasy sense of fear in knowing that he must answer to her expectations too. His mother was rather strict, although it was all done in encompassing love. He glanced up at the sky uncertainly. Indeed, it was getting dark soon - but how much time had passed while he daydreamed away?
'Soon, it will be nighttime. It seems I already sat here for at least several hours.'
His mother was worried after he had been gone so long. Privately, Jody wondered if he would inherit any of her good looks one day - something that could open new possibilities for him and bring added pressure from society to perform well. How daunting would it be if everyone expected him to live up to his parents' success? When Jody considered his father's accomplishments, even with multiple wives and high authority, it confused him further about his place in life.
"Thank you, Head Butler Ke," Jody spoke softly yet firmly as he continued staring upward into the clouds. "As I have been informed, your duty can be considered complete. I will return to my mother's side briefly."
Despite still feeling conflicted, Jody tried to hold back his feelings while addressing Ke Si to avoid appearing weak or inferior. However, deep down, he knew that returning home meant facing up to expectations that were likely too high for him.
This response made the butler Ke marvel at this youngster for a little longer. Even adults didn't speak so correctly. His articulation was astounding. The First Lady was a supreme teacher.
But how unbridled was his tone?
Ke had honestly never seen a child like this. He was the head butler of the household and was responsible for the upkeep of the entire estate. He had his hands in every matter of the House and the lord's Trillwolf Family Faction to a greater or lesser degree. Because the lord viewed him so highly, he was respected almost as much as Jody's father.
One's shadow could often be scarier than the person.
Ke watched little Josiah with appreciation in his eyes. This child could walk without anyone else's help as a mere infant! At first, he was incredibly unstable and could only move small distances before wearing himself out. Within weeks, those little legs gained muscles to move!
That was absolute madness compared to other children! The entire city had its eyes wide open when the news spread. Many believed the Trillwolf Family was shamelessly boasting about their intended heir. Many others thought the truth would only be more terrifying than the rumors.
The latter was, of course, correct.
Ke had fought off many assassins, and the Frozen Night division led by Lady Isis had fought even more of them.
A four-month-old baby taking his first step?
Big news, big flavor!
A true scholar was born! All the rival Houses shook, and the enemies in the dark were especially unhappy for various reasons.
Besides, the House Lord had a bad habit of making things a stunt, so the matter became even more prominent. The Lord had a statue of himself placed in the Southern Imperial District. The statue was of Lord Osiris holding the Frozen Night Master in one arm. At the same time, the lord figure was holding his infant son in the other arm while riding on the back of a giant wolf. The baby boy stood proudly on top of the lord's arm.
Rumor had it that they posed like this for two hours under the guidance of the sculptor.
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"Have you heard of the third young master of House Trillwolf? Josiah Trillwolf could already walk when he was barely three months old!"
"Impossible. The child's little body shouldn't have had the muscles to perform such actions yet."
"My mother is a maid for the House. The young lord frequently visits the gardens, and I once saw him myself. He was so cute and little with his tiny steps! It was wonderful."
"The walking is one thing, but have you heard of this? When he wasn't even a year old, he learned to speak! You can even converse with him. He responds with understanding!"
"I've heard about this! They say his words were clear, and he wasn't shy to speak with others. Quite the contrary. He would often communicate with the maids! My mother is the first lady's servant and claims to dote on him as if he were her own child. It even seemed that they could now converse in a totally natural and unrestrained way!"
"My word…what a smart child. Born to be a Great Scholar, I guess. It's almost a given he has the Origin Body."
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These two things had already set Jody apart from any other child Ke had ever met or even heard of. There was sure to be something special about this kid. How exciting would it be to watch him grow older and stronger?