A year had passed since. Due to Kamil entering the workforce pool for his family, his father began to have free time. Day-off was actually possible. In fact, he was having a day off right now which according to his mom wasn’t possible before.
He was currently watching his mom cooking in the kitchen. She had a large pot and was boiling something. In fact, she had been boiling the pot for hours.
As for Kamil, he had a chair backwards and was sitting on it. It was this point that he realized -
“Mom.”
“Yes, Kamil?”
“What is your name? What is dad’s name?”
Yes, he didn’t actually know their names. He had no recollection of hearing their names in fact. His mom always called his father “dear” normally and “darling” in bed. His dad always called her “hey”. Now that he thought about it, it was weird. He, as Tom, always called Fionara by her nickname, Fio.
His mom paused watching the pot and looked up with her index finger on her lip.
“I guess we don’t call each other by our names,” She said to herself in an almost whisper tone. Turning around to face her son, she told him.
“My name is Vilma.”
Then she told her son a little bit of their history.
Vilma was the third daughter of the noble house Fenchel. The house had three fiefs under control. They ruled Lux (city), Laufeld (town), and finally fort Reen. The house basically ruled the southeast portion of the Kingdom of Egra.
image [https://twoclusters.com/novel_img/LM/vol1_ch8_pic.jpg]
Her father wanted to bring Grent, the Macomaco tea farmer from Laufeld into his extended family tree so that his family could purchase the tea directly from him instead of using the market.
However, Grent being a commoner and Vilma being a noble’s daughter, her father had a really hard time entertaining the idea to his daughter. After all, a noblewoman expected to marry a nobleman, not a commoner.
“Didn’t matter to me though,” Vilma said as she smiled. “I mean we were dating in secret already anyway.”
Kamil beamed a crooked grin mentally.
It turned out that Vilma was a realistic and daring woman, for a noble at least. As a mere third daughter, she expected no good marriage. She'd probably be married off to some random no-name noble at one point. If so, she at least wanted to marry someone she loved, she figured. In other words, she was willing to pursue romance over a loveless political marriage even if it meant marrying down to become a commoner.
She did, however, play a damsel in distress as if she did not want to marry the commoner. The act was meant to save her face. On the surface, she was ordered to marry Grent when in reality those two were already in love with each other.
As for how they met in the first place, the members of the Fenchel house stayed usually in Lux, but Vilma visited Laufeld frequently since the town was where Macomaco leaves were the most fresh. Her frequent visit was how she ended up meeting Grent who was trying to sell the tea leaves on his own after getting fed up with lowballing merchants. Neither knew each other’s real identity at that time. For Vilma, she thought Grent was just a merchant. Likewise, for him, he thought Vilma was just a wealthy lady.
“You may become a noble one day,” She told her son.
“Eh? How?”
“My brother who took over the house has no male heir. He does have a daughter but he may choose to adopt a male heir.”
Her elder sisters did have male children, but their children belonged to their husbands’ house. Vilma’s children would be different as she was married off to a commoner. Thus, belonging to no noble house.
Still, she didn’t bet Kamil on becoming a noble. Never did in fact. The moment she chose to tie the knot with Grent, she had already given up her life as a noble which was why she learned cooking and how to perform chores.
Thus, the turn of events had her somewhat surprised. Her brother had a wife and two mistresses none of which bore him a son he desperately wanted. Although she didn’t tell her son, her brother had a legitimate daughter and five illegitimate daughters. So, one couldn’t say he wasn’t trying. Alas, he could no longer afford to have more children at this point. He would have to support his – five – illegitimate daughters for at least ten to fifteen years after all.
Again, she never thought she might be able to return to nobility. It was an interesting turn of events. And, by birthing a second son, the chance became even higher because now they had a so-called “spare” son, meaning losing Kamil wasn’t a world-ending event as parents.
As for Grent, by marrying Vilma who was a noblewoman, he no longer had to deal with merchants which had been a headache for him. They’d always tried to lowball him over tea leaf prices. Additionally, while he couldn’t be promoted to a noble due to lack of blood ties and merit, his status as a commoner increased. He wasn’t just a commoner. Although there was no such a rank, he became more of a high ranking commoner, just below nobility. Even Laufeld town mayor bowed to him.
In short, their marriage was working out to near perfection.
As for Kamil, numerous thoughts were popping in and out of his head. In order to avenge his family, he knew he had to become strong. Becoming a nobility would certainly help him as well. But the first objective was to become strong. That had to be the top priority. Only then, he could look forward to further steps.
The next day, Kamil was out in the field. His father no longer accompanied him since he had become good enough that supervision was no longer required. In fact, he was on his own schedule. They no longer worked at the same time from morning to evening. On some days, only Kamil worked. Grent had been somewhat busy from other affairs which he didn’t know what they were about. Thankfully, there was no problem with meeting the monthly quota.
Once Kamil poured down the day’s harvest into the storage house, he picked up a short pitchfork who had been reduced in length for his own use. It was safe to say that the 6 year-old was showing remarkable maturity for the age.
Meanwhile, back at the house. Grent had just come back with a horse. He actually rode it. That was a big deal. The guy never owned a horse to begin with. Normally, Vilma would welcome him warmly but, this time, she stood stoically like seeing a total stranger.
Grent dismounted his horse as gracefully as possible and then got down on a knee like a knight.
“Milady,” He said candidly. After a while, he sneakily looked up. “How did I do?”
It was only then she had a warm smile on her face. “I’d give you seven out of ten. Not bad for a first try.”
“Not easy, this,” Grent grunted as he stood up. “Acting all noble and all.”
“You are no mere tea farmer now,” Vilma told him as she laid her arms around his neck, kissing him. “You need to learn the act.”
“I know, I know. By the way, Lord Fenchel told me that he is going to send a scholar to check on Kamil.”
“Oh?”
“I guess he wants to educate him?”
“More like he wants to know whether he has potential,” Vilma retorted. “My brother wants to know whether our son is good enough.”
“The lad was a fast learner. I am sure he has potential.”
Both of them knew that their son had potential. The way Kamil conducted himself in a mature manner was not something normally seen from a 6 year-old.
About three days later, a scholar from Lux arrived in the early morning. The middle-age man with short black hair donned a brown robe with a staff. He looked like a typical mage.
“Greetings, Lady Fenchel and Mr. Grent, my name is Elias Hunt. I am a retainer from the Fenchel house in Lux.”
In response, Grent nodded, and Vilma curtsied. After they sat down at a dinner table, Vilma asked.
“Would you like some tea?”
“Would it be Macomaco tea?”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Grent laughed. “Of course, what else would you think we have?”
“Then please. It’s been harder to get it in Lux.”
“We’ve been selling our entire produce to the Fenchel directly though.”
“Please do remember that we have six young ladies in the house.”
Right, Vilma’s brother’s six children.
“Here you go, Sir. Hunt.” Vilma delivered a cup of light red liquid. Elias gracefully smelled the aroma.
“Ah, this is the real thing,” He remarked with glee. “Smells like high grade as well.”
Macomaco tea tasted sweet, yet it had little sugar. That had made it very popular among ladies since it could act as a substitute to sugar. For weight control, the tea proved to be the best. Depending on how much one diluted, the sweetness could be controlled as well.
After taking several sips, Elias looked greatly pleased. After a bit of casual conversation, he got to the point.
“As you know, I was sent by Lord Fenchel to educate Sir. Kamil.”
Both Grent and Vilma nodded.
“First, I’d like to check which elemental affinity he has. Lord Fenchel wishes a mage in our ranks. After all, warriors can be trained. But mages cannot be made without appropriate elemental affinity. With appropriate affinity, a warrior can be both.
“Right,” Gent replied with a nod. He had a weak affinity to fire which he had never really used. He had no need for it. Vilma had a weak affinity to fire as well which again she never used.
“We both have a weak affinity to fire. I don’t think you can expect much from Kamil,” Vilma commented.
“We will see about that. Elemental affinity is something everyone is born with and it is not something a child inherits from his parents.” Elias looked around as he said so. “By the by, where is Sir. Kamil?”
Grent stood up. “He is out at the field, working. Well, I will go get him and send him back home. I will work in the field now.”
“See you later, dear.”
Nodding, he left the house at once. Once Grent was out, Elias told Vilma.
“I am going to say that Lord Fenchel never expected something like this would occur.”
Vilma smiled in response and said nothing. When a man sires six children, he would at least get a son out most of the time.
“And there is something I must inform you, Lady Fenchel.”
“Oh?”
“Depending on my evaluation, there is a chance that Lord Fenchel might want to engage Sir. Kamil with his daughter instead of just adopting him.”
Vilma frowned immediately. It would be incest. Elias knew this as well. Cousin marriage wasn’t prohibited explicitly but wasn’t readily accepted, either. It wasn’t legally forbidden precisely due to situations like this.
“Lord Fenchel is worried about the future of his legitimate daughter. If Sir. Kamil shows enough potential, he wants to entrust the future of his legitimate daughter to him.”
“How old is she?”
“She will soon turn ten.”
Four years older than Kamil. This was a bad deal. It would have been far better if Kamil was adopted and inherited Fenchel house. However, in such a case, the future of the legitimate daughter would become really mucky.
Matrilineal marriage where a man enters his wife’s family tree was certainly an option. However, Lord Fenchel was a man who believed in male supremacy.
“I do see where he is coming from though,” Elias said. “It is Lord Fenchel’s best interest to keep his own child relevant.”
“It must have been bothering him a lot.”
“It has. He has grown a lot of grey hairs as of late. He has given up siring more children and is planning to cut off some of his other children by paying them off.”
That would save more money in the long term, she understood.
“Mom, I am back.” Kamil entered the house and froze momentarily as he spotted a strange man in the house.
“Kamil, this is Sir. Hunt. He is a scholar sent by my brother. He wishes to educate you.”
Elias stood up and bowed weakly. “Elias Hunt, at your service.”
“O, okay,” Kamil replied timidly.
“Lady Fenchel, please give us some privacy.”
Nodding, she quietly left the house to do laundry. Elias had a pouch on his belt. Opening, he pulled out four small crystals and placed them on the dinner table.
“These are elemental crystals, fire, water, earth, and wind.”
Elias touched one by one, and one of the crystals began to shine in blue brighter and brighter as he touched it.
“As you can see, this water crystal is reacting to my water elemental affinity.”
Basically, Elias was a water mage and was acting as a doctor within the Fenchel house.
“Sir. Kamil, please gently touch each crystal until one shines. You need not touch more once one of them reacts.”
“Right.”
Full of curiosity in his eyes, Kamil touched a reddish crystal which showed no reaction. He then touched a blue crystal, no reaction. When he touched a green crystal, it began to shine in green immediately.
Elias narrowed his eyes as he carefully gauged how much it shone.
About five out of ten, not bad. Better than what I expected.
He knew, from Fenchel house records, Vilma had a fire affinity of just one. It would take her entire stamina just to be able to cast a simple firebolt. Five out of ten was the bare minimum to become a mage. Elias himself had a water affinity score of about six.
Reaching five out of ten was important for mages because, once a certain threshold was met, almost all spells became available to an individual. That threshold was five. It might take an unreasonable amount of stamina as a 5 out of 10 mage to cast advanced spells, but he could still cast it.
“Not bad at all, Sir. Kamil,” Elias said earnestly. “Much better than what I expected to be honest with you.”
Kamil was quite surprised as well. As Tom, he knew that his affinity to wind was weak. He was told that his affinity had increased slightly, but that didn’t look “slight”. It looked substantial.
“Um, what happened?” He played a fool.
“I’d say you could become a wind mage, Sir. Kamil. Lord Fenchel will be most pleased.”
Kamil didn’t know what was going on. This wasn’t supposed to happen, thus he was confused.
“Can I touch the crystal again?”
“Feel free. Only the wind crystal will react to you.”
He touched the green crystal once more, and it shone brightly. There was no mistaking it. It was a decent affinity. Elias, meanwhile, looked pleased.
“Now then, do you know how to read, Sir. Kamil?”
He certainly did. However, his parents never taught him how to read. He assumed that Grent wasn’t even literate. Thus, he had to act a fool here.
He shook his head. “I don’t. Mom never taught me.”
“I see. Well, you are only six years old. It’s not too late. I suppose teaching you how to read and write should be the first step.”
“Okay.”
“Bro -” A blond boy with blue eyes came out of a room suddenly. He was rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up. It was his brother, Faro. He was two years old.
“Peeee,” He whined cutely.
“Alright, let me help ya.”
Once that was done, Kamil was back with Elias once more. He showed virtually no interest to Faro and focused on Kamil only.
He learned reading and writing quickly, probably because he already knew from his former life as Tom. However, Tom knew only basic vocabulary and grammar. He was born and raised in a small village after all. Therefore, while he did seem to grasp basics quickly, when it came to more complex vocabularies and grammar, he struggled.
Overall, though, Elias was pleased with how fast his education went. It was mostly smooth. Coupled with his decent affinity to wind, his evaluation on Kamil was pretty high. He also taught him the basics of magic.
“With your affinity, you will call to elementals. I am not well versed in wind magic spells, but the basic spells should be breeze and gust.
You are right, Mr. Hunt.
As Tom, those two were the only spells he could ever cast.
“Spell incantations work like this. Allow me to show you an example first.”
They were outside, and Elias began to invoke an incantation.
“Elementals of water, heed my call. I wish to water the field: Rain!”
For a brief moment, it rained on the field. Kamil’s father was there and shrugged in protest as he got wet.
“This is the most basic form of an incantation. For the majority of spells, this will be enough. However, when you cast high tier spells, you will need a longer incantation. Allow me to demonstrate. Let us go outside of the town as it would be dangerous to cast it here.”
Once they were outside of the town, he inhaled deeply before starting.
“Elementals of water, please heed my call. I wish to vanquish those who stand against me. I command you to create a wave that will push my enemies away and ensure my safety: Seiche!”
A huge 10 meter water wave that was also equally wide appeared out of nowhere and pushed forward, uprooting trees and eventually vanishing after going on for several seconds.
“Awesome!” Kamil exclaimed joyfully. It was indeed the first time for witnessing an advanced spell. Well, he did cast levitation before but he was enraged at that time.
The spell drew attention from town folks as they gathered around the gate and murmured. Dozens of trees were uprooted. It was not a pretty sight. The uprooted trees would need to be taken care of.
“Oops,” Elias whispered to himself. He dashed toward the town folks at the gate and conversed with them, handing them a bag of what appeared to be coins in the end.
Once they were back at the house, Elias told Kamil.
“Sir. Kamil, it’s extremely important that you do not mess with details of an incantation.”
Kamil cocked his head. He had no idea what Elias was talking about.
“During my last incantation, I asked to create a wave. If I said waves, it’d be down to elementals on how many waves they’d create. If there were too many waves, I might have passed out.”
“Ah!” Kamil hit the palm of his hand.
“Always be very specific with your request.”
“I understand.”
“Good.” Then he began to touch his stuff on his body as if he was inspecting himself for some reason. “I don’t think I am missing anything,” He said to himself. Patting Kamil’s head with a satisfied smile, he told him.
“Sir. Kamil. I am departing now.”
“You are leaving? Already?”
“It has been a pleasure to have served you, sir. Alas, I must report back to my lord. Please send my regards to Lady Fenchel and Sir. Grent.”
“Bye, bye!” Kamil waved as hard as possible as he watched Elias leave.
“Bye, bye!” Kamil shouted. When he was far enough that he was just a dot, he sagged his shoulders, pouting.
“God, this act is tiring,” He muttered. “I want to get older soon so that I can act more like myself.”
While he walked into the town and toward the field where his father should be working, he recalled how his new life had been so far and compared with how it went in his last life.
Tom’s parents weren’t as loving as Grent and Vilma. In fact, he felt that those were a bit too, for the lack of a better word in his mind, into each other. Even when compared to his married life with Fio, he didn’t feel he was that close to her, bar the honeymoon period.
His relationship with Fio was more platonic than romantic. They were more like good friends who happened to sleep together than a man and a woman deep in flames of love.
“Better than fightin’ and arguin’ but ...,” He said to himself. “Kinda grosses me out sometimes, especially at night.” Smirking, he whispered, just in case. “It’s a damn miracle that only two children are born.”
Well, he jinxed it.
When he arrived at the field, he shouted.
“Dad! I will take care of the field now!”
Upon noticing Kamil’s arrival, his father signalled him to come closer.
“What is it, dad?”
“We’ve got good news, lad! Your mom is with a baby!”
“Eh?”
He jinxed it.