It had now been three years since Alex was reborn into the new world, thanks to Xymaris. Alex was now able to finally walk and talk, which impressed his mother, Anna, since he could speak so much better than kids around his age. Thanks to his previous life, he already knew how certain words were pronounced, which made him thankful that this world retained his previous world's language. His day-to-day life changed from when he was a baby. Luckily for him, he still got baths from his mother and sometimes Mary, which were his favorite times of the day, but he no longer fed off of breast milk from his mother, so one of his favorite snacks was now lost to him, but he found other ways to distract his mind.
Due to his knowledge of his previous life, he had advanced reading comprehension for his age, which, like his speech, shocked his mother and the housemaids. While Raven was an above-average child with her speech and reading, Alex was on an entirely different level. So due to this, Alex had near-unrestricted access to his mother's library, which, of course, had a few books he was not allowed to read, but he didn't mind. What Alex wanted to do was learn about the new world he had been born in. He learned he lived on the continent of Lemuria, one of the four continents in the world.
Lemuria was broken up into five major regions. The Western Region, which resembled a mix of America and Europe from his previous world, was where Alex lived in the Empire of Lycia, the largest country in the Western Region. Then there was the northern region, which was filled with mountains, and from what his mother's books said, the people in that region were similar to those of the Vikings of his previous world. The southern region resembled that of the Middle East and Africa's desert regions. The Eastern region resembled that of Eastern Asia, and the final region was the island region located at the northwest of the continent. These islands bear resemblances to those of the Polynesian regions of his old world. Alex found it absolutely interesting that the world he now lived in had similar but also very different characteristics.
The Empire of Lycia that Alex lived in was a very historic country. One of the oldest remaining empires on the continent, they had survived through wars and apocalyptic omens, not to mention the various wars that the demons unleashed upon the continent. The Empire, while the largest on the Western part of the continent, was actually the second largest on the entire continent, the first being the Republic of Thesia, which incorporated parts of the Eastern, Northern, and Southern regions. The two juggernauts tended to stay out of each other's way since they didn't border each other, but there has always been tension, which has scared the city states stuck in between the two behemoths, as if war broke out and they were trapped right in the middle.
The Empire of Lycia, while historic, was not without its faults, however. The biggest fault, at least in Alex's opinion, was the class system structure of the empire. You see, the Empire was divided into four different parts, all located in different cardinal directions, each of which had a variety of characteristics. The western part of the empire, which Alex lived in, bordered the main coastline of the empire, meaning there was plenty of trade coming through the various ports from up and down the coast. The western part of the empire was home to many members of the nobility that made up the empire's upper class. These nobles were typically those who were either born with a famous name, earned their honor while serving in the military in a high position, or were merchants who bought their way up the social class ladder. Alex's family, the Blackwood family, had a historic name, but originally they were nothing more than a lower-class noble family. That is, until Alex's grandfather got into the merchant business and was very successful doing so. His business increased his wealth by so much that his Blackwood family status went from that of a lower-class noble family to that of one of glory, now a member of the six great houses of the western region.
Then there was the southern region, a region belonging to mostly commoners and very low-class nobles. This part of the empire was mostly responsible for food production, with most of the cities and villages being those of farmers. This region supplied the empire with its fruit, vegetables, grain, meats, and other various essentials regarding food, including fishing off of its small coast lines. The southern territory, while essential for the empire to survive, is highly looked down upon by a lot of high-class nobles due to its high number of commoners.
About 40 years before Alex had been born, some of the cities in the southern region and the commoners who lived there attempted to rebel against the empire itself with the belief of destroying an outdated class system; however, their rebellion didn't even survive a full month before the Empire's superior military might crush any hopes the rebellion had, causing cities to be burned down and many others to be arrested and even tortured. Since then, no other major group has tried to rebel against the empire and has treated the Southern Rebellion as a warning to never anger the capital of the empire.
The eastern part of the empire was actually a mixed bag of higher-class nobles and commoners, with both giant cities and farmlands. However, there was something else just as interesting about the eastern part of the empire. In the previous centuries, the East was where the demonic armies would always invade, which caused one of the previous emperors to make the Eastern part of the empire filled with military personnel as well as several established military schools that allowed both nobles and commoners to enter, a rare practice with the schools of the Empire.
The northern part of the empire was filled with mountains, and since it did incorporate part of the northern region of the empire, its population had a few similar values to those of the Vikings. The region was mainly mountains, but beyond the mountains were frozen lands that contained the cities and villages of the region's population. There isn't much military presence from the empire, but why? The people of the region can take care of themselves. According to books, the warriors that the northern region produces are very strong and skilled in war and tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the empire.
And the last part of the empire was the capital, which was located right in the middle of the empire. It was named Lycia, and it had three walls surrounding the city. Each wall contains nearly an entirely different region from the others. The outermost wall contained where the commoners lived. This wall contained the markets of the capital as well, which saw many items pass through the stalls into the hands of various people. The middle wall of the capital contained that of lower-class nobles, merchants, and families, each of which had a member serving in the military, making it one of the most secure walls of the capital but not the most secure one. That belongs to the third wall of the capital city, where the Imperial Palace of the Imperial family resides. This part of the Empire also contained that of high-ranking noble families, the high cathedral where the masses prayed to the divines, and lastly, the three imperial academies of the capital.
As Alex was reading about the country in the book, he heard a voice call out to him.
"Alex, sweetie, it's time for lunch!"
It was his mother who had come to get him; she knew that more than likely he'd be sitting and reading right when the day began, so she let him read until it was time to eat.
"Is it really?" Alex asked his mother.
"Yes, Mary maids it specifically for you, so you need to show her thanks when we get to the kitchen." Anna said.
"I will, mommy." Alex responded. He figured he at least needed to speak occasionally like a three-year-old would in order to not stand out too much.
The pair walked together to the dining room, where Mary, Raven, and Kaede were already there waiting for them.
"It's about time, mommy! I'm starving here!" Raven said, as she had been patiently waiting for her food.
"I know, sweetheart, but we will eat as a family; I had to get Alex from the library." Anna said, looking at her daughter.
"Well, he's here now, so let's eat!" Raven said it excitingly.
Soon, three plates were handed out by Mary, Raven, and Alex, each receiving a plate of spaghetti noodles along with tomato sauce and cut-up pieces of shrimp in the sauce. Meanwhile, Anna had received a plate of salmon with lemon pepper seasoning. Alex could smell the lemon scent wafting by his nose as soon as Anna had received her plate.
"Enjoy." Mary said this before bowing and excusing herself. Kaede, who was also there, was preparing our drinks, which were water for both Alex and Raven, while Anna had a bottle of red wine. Kaede, who now had the look of an older teen, had her hair now down, its length reaching down past the center of her book, and looked even more beautiful to Alex than previously. Alex always found it weird that while everyone else had usually sounding names for the region he lived in, Kaede's name was different. He didn't know why that was, as nobody mentioned it, but he figured there was a story behind it.
After the three ate their lunches, Raven and Alex went outside to play as Anna and Mary talked over a glass of wine that Anna decided to share with her. Mary was used to such treatment, as Anna had never treated her like a usual maid and instead confided in her a lot and felt as if the two were friends, at least on some level.
"So how are you feeling since we went through with your treatment?" Anna asked Mary.
"I feel fine, ma'am. The gift you and Lyanna gave me. I will forever treasure it." Mary said, bowing her head in thankfulness.
"There's no need to bow your head to me, Mary; you're like family to me and like a mother figure to my children; of course I'd let you use my family's gift." Mary said with a smile before realizing something. "Oh, I forgot to mention Lyanna and her daughter Amelie will be coming over in a few weeks."
"I didn't know your sister had plans on coming to visit. Is there a special occasion?" Mary asked Anna, who took a sip of her wine.
"You could say that, but we also just wanted our kids to officially meet. Lyanna hasn't been over our house since the children were infants; we both figured we should start growing their friendships with each other." Anna stated.
"That's nice to hear. I will start preparing a guest room for the two." Mary said.
Anna then took another sip before telling Mary something important "Mary, soon we will be adding a third maid to our little family."
"A third maid?" Mary asked.
"Yes, a young girl around the age of Alex. She will grow up next to him just as you did me. This way, no matter what happens with...that man and his ideas, Alex will grow up with hopefully a true friend." Anna said.
"What's her name, if I may ask?" Mary asked Anna.
"Eve."
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