Howard, or Philippus, a name he didn't like much, but well, it was the name given, and even though his soul was still Howard, his body no longer was. Howard truly believed it was impossible to change someone's name, even if they legally changed it or hid it and only used nicknames; they would still remember their true name, and it would always be with them.

And now, he couldn't do anything to change it because, even though he didn't base his identity on this name, his parents did. After realizing his mother had gone away, Howard noticed he had forgotten to remove the rabbit's horns, which could easily be exchanged for some silver coins at the fair.

Upon remembering this, he quickly returned and spent a few minutes skillfully sawing off the useful part of the horn without damaging it. After confirming he had succeeded, he left the place feeling triumphant. He returned to his room, even though the day had barely begun, he had been awake since three in the morning, and he liked to distract himself while lying down or practice magic during this period before lunchtime.

Arriving in his room, which was now indeed a proper room, with a real bed he sank into every day, a table, and a space with large French windows that allowed the room to be well lit during the day. There was also a grand bookshelf covering an entire wall, filled with fairy tales, fantasy books, and some historical books dating back twenty thousand years or even older. Unfortunately, magical knowledge for Lemnos people seemed to be passed down orally, and so his parents were surprised when asked about it. There could be millions of words and phrases to express a single magical action, but without practical instruction, it would not only be more difficult, but even if successful, it would be too simplistic.

Contrary to what Howard initially believed, not everyone had the same ease of understanding magic as he did. Often, a spell failed, and there was nothing to be done about it except to train more until, somehow miraculously, it worked. The individual would have to discover and memorize the feeling of the spell to make it work consistently, or almost consistently.

However, for Howard, spells always worked, and it wasn't just because he had an enormous amount of mana, even more than many adult Lemnos people. It was probably due to his astounding talent for spellcraft, as he had not practiced or studied alchemy or any other mystical art, although he had encountered some very mysterious and curious ones in his village, like the ability to create magical incenses or even see spirits, something Howard was grateful not to possess a talent for.

But if there were no books on magic, he just had to be as annoying as possible and keep asking, repeatedly, until he got what he wanted. This was relatively easy for a child, especially when orchestrated by the cunning and devilish mind of an adult who wanted to manipulate everyone around him in search of knowledge.

Thinking about it, Howard almost let out a diabolical laugh but was afraid someone might hear and think he was an idiot or something. So, he decided to train something simpler that wouldn't exhaust him too much his control. He would meditate to be able to maintain control over his spells for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, this control was relative, depending on the spell. If it was too complex, it would tire him out, and if it was volatile, like maintaining a fireball that would explode upon impact, it would wear him out even faster, as his brain had to calculate many things for it to happen. After receiving some insights from his father and mother, he started meditating from the age of five. Today, after losing almost all of his meditation abilities after being born, he was slowly regaining them, albeit at a much slower pace. Now, he had many other things to do or think about, making it almost impossible to maintain a meditative state for more than an hour.

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After meditating for forty minutes, Howard could hardly bear the situation any longer. It felt like self-torture. Finally, his mother saved him by calling him for lunch. He left, not blaming himself for stopping before he intended, but rather for starting at such an inconvenient time. Luckily, his daily meditation had already been done, and he now only needed to worry about it the next day, perhaps trying to get more insights from his father, who, despite recognizing his son's potential, still treated him like a child.

As he descended to the main hall where they would eat, Howard noticed his father was already there, arriving home earlier than usual.

"Good afternoon," Howard greeted his mother and father, who were already eating without waiting for him.

Seeing that his mother had pleased him with a delicious roast of a strange species of cow with four horns, the most common creation in the village, he quickly arranged his food and sat down with his parents.

His father, in his usual state, simply said without looking at his son, "Your mother told me what you did this morning."

In his mind, Howard thought he was completely done for, but his father almost made him lose his composure with his next sentence.

After taking another bite of the delicious roast and swallowing it, his father said, "In that case, I'll teach you how to take care of the meat later." Then he looked at Howard and continued, a beautiful smile forming beneath his mustache, "Today, we'll get our hands dirty."

With that, he returned to eating, leaving not only Howard but also his mother shocked. She looked at her husband with an almost lifeless gaze and tried to speak to him discreetly so that their son wouldn't understand.

"Philippus, aren't you forgetting something?" She said, staring fixedly at her husband's face.

He acted as if he had just remembered something and said, "Ah, yes, dear, well-remembered." Turning to Howard, he continued with a smile that transformed into a smirk beneath his mustache, "We can't do it today; I have appointments already scheduled, almost forgot about them, but without fail, maybe tomorrow, in the morning, shortly after dawn, we can meet in the shed." Finally, he could go back to eating.

After that, she simply thought she had married an idiot. Seeing that he wouldn't take the initiative, she quickly said, "Philippus, you're forbidden from going into the forest for six months."

Before Howard could say anything, his mother added, "And I don't want to hear about this matter anymore," putting a final nail in the discussion's coffin. After that, they remained silent for a long time, and when they realized everyone had finished eating, they quickly got up and went to do the things they had planned. His father would return to work, his mother would clean up all the mess, and Howard, well, Howard would do what he did every day. silently question his life.

Howard found the situation very strange for his taste. He had been forbidden from doing something, and that was at least strange for an adult. But as a grown man, he knew very well that arguing would only lead to more arguments and more discord in the house.

So, he decided to do what every good child who loved their parents would do or do someday. he would lie to them and continue going to the forest, but in a totally hidden way.