Alfred turned around and jumped into the carriage. Inside he found Eleonora and Anna telling Henry about their destination and he quickly joined the conversation.

While the people inside were enjoying their talks, the knights and the carriage they were protecting slowly movied along the road. They were all experienced warriors who fought on many battlefields so they were experienced soldiers who kept their guard up at all times, not even relaxing in the heartland of their homeland.

One of the knights turned towards Aron and stated a fact that all the men present were well aware of, “Commander, for the first time ever we actually have to protect someone.”

“Yes, so do your best. Our little lord is counting on us to keep him safe.” Aron said while nodding. "Usually we must protect the outside world from our lord's and lady's wrath." The men in the column burst out into a hearty laugh that ended once Oliver hit them with some light wind magic.

The little lord they were protecting was truly a gem. He was kind and never showed them any disrespect which went a long way. They have served in the army for many years and have had the opportunity to see many nobles and their attitudes. This only increased their desire to protect Henry and see him become a good lord like his father.

The road they were using was paved and well kept. The winter wheat that was growing in the fields surrounding it was being harvested so there were many people around. They stopped their work and greeted the carriage by bowing as it passed along. The scenery around them was truly beautiful and relaxing, if they were not looking out for possible dangers it might even count as a pleasant ride in the countryside.

Henry was glued to the window and did his best to soak in the scenery. The fields of yellow wheat and the windmills that appeared every now and then were in perfect harmony with the wide blue sky. The journey took little less than half a day as they were not in a particular hurry. The carriage slowly reached the top of a hill and before Henry’s eyes stood the city of Ul. His future home, and the center of his parent’s domain.

Alfred, who was sitting next to his son, looked out the window and spoke with a lot of pride. “Henry, that is the city of Ul, it is a very old city, full of history and many wonders.”

“Once we settle in, would you like to take a stroll?” (Eleonora)

“Yes!” Henry could not wait for a chance to stretch his legs and go sightseeing.

Alfred and Eleonora were pleased with his enthusiasm so they continued to talk about various topics until they were at the gates.

***

‘Today is a great day. Master will finally return home and all will return to normal.’ A man in fine attire was sitting in a chair while thinking about the good times to come.

“Thinking about something nice, are we, Stephen?” (knight)

“Yes, indeed. You know me so well captain Gref. I can’t wait to return to my research full time. The constant visits from various people kept me busy for four whole years now.” (Stephen)

“Still, even if you complain, I see no mistake in the dukes decision to place you in charge of diplomacy while he was away.” (Gref)

“I hate to communicate with people, he knew it, he just did this to mess with me!” Stephen was losing his temper, but quickly regained his calmness.

“Don’t speak ill of the master, he did what was best for the domain. With him back I am sure you will be able to go back to your books and trinkets.” Gref reprimanded his friend with a grin.

“How many times must I tell you, they are not trinkets, those are valuable archaeological discoveries, once I decipher…” Stephen wanted to continue but he noticed that the knight was about to burst into laughter so he stopped.

Wiping away a tear from his eye, Gref approached his friend and gave him a hug, “You are so easy to mess with, calm down my friend. I know you love your research, still it was fun to have you around and not holed up in the library all the time.”

Stephen knew that Gref was telling the truth so he could not refute him. “I promise, this time I will make sure to go out with you once a week for drinks? Will that be enough?”

Gref raised two fingers in the air. “Two nights and you are buying, I have a family to feed.”

“Yeah, yeah I’m buying. So no more making that face.” (Stephen)

The two talked some more, until a watchman rushed into the guard station and informed them that the lord’s carriage had been spotted. They quickly buttoned up their shirts and went outside to greet the people about to arrive.

***

The carriage stopped at the entrance, the knights quickly created a perimeter and once their preparations were complete, Aron knocked to inform Alfred that all was ready.

The duke was the first to exit, followed by Eleonora, Henry and Anna. Kneeling before him were two men, Stephen Miller, his trusted subordinate and the de facto ruler of the city in Alfred’s absence. Next to him was captain of the town guards, Gref Kerry.

“Welcome home my lords, my lady.” Stephen was the first to greet the newcomers. He was not a man who liked social interactions too much, still he was probably second only to Anna when it came to social norms and etiquette knowledge.

“Yes, welcome home.” Gref made his introduction short so he got hit on the head by Stephen.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“You two, stop with that, you are in the presence of your master and his family.” Anna said these words but wore a small smile. These two were beyond fixing, one knew what he was doing and still did it, the other one was just hopeless when it came to formal situations.

“Anna, I see you are back…” (Stephen)

“Hello you two, rise up, we have returned home. First let me introduce to you our son, Henry, he will be the next head of the family and your lord. Henry these two might not look like much at the moment, but trust me, when it comes to their respective fields of expertise there are few who can match them in the kingdom.” Alfred said these words with a smirk.

“Lord Henry, we are pleased to meet you. Still I find it insulting that my lord would say that there is someone on my level in the continent, let alone this kingdom.” (Stephen)

‘Is this guy an egomaniac, or is he that good?’ As Henry was contemplating this idea he heard a shocking set of news.

“Stephen, you are relieved of your duties as the chief of staff, return to your usual research. Oh, but I will need you to teach Henry a bit about history and law, if possible.” (Alfred)

Stephen bowed and looked at Henry while speaking words filled with pride. “Of course my lord, I am a busy man, but for the sake of our future I will gladly teach the young lord all that I know.”

Henry sighed inwardly. ‘Yeah, he sounds like a true egomaniac to me, I just hope he can actually teach me something.’

Stephen clapped his hands and gestured towards the town. “Let us not stand in the streets for too long, you had a long journey, the mansion is ready and the people over there are awaiting your arrival.”

***

As they drove through the streets of Ul, Henry could see people standing around the road waving at the carriage. They seemed truly happy to see the duke and his family. They did not seem dirty or malnourished, and the city was quite clean. This made Henry breathe a sigh of relief as he did not want to enjoy a peaceful life while those around him suffered.

Soon they arrived at a huge mansion, bigger than the one in the countryside. Henry came out with the help of his father and stared at the place he would call home in the future.

“Bigger than the other one, huh?” Alfred said with a smile. “You know, if you are so stunned by the house, just wait until you see the gym we have here.”

“Yes, today we will rest, and tomorrow we will run around and introduce you to our home and to the staff. Would you like that, honey?” (Eleonora)

“Yes! I can’t wait!” Henry was excited, he enjoyed exploring and this place was huge.

“Good boy, now let us go inside, I am famished.” (Alfred)

They then proceeded to walk to the mansion while being greeted by the staff. That night his parents slept in the same room as Henry as they were worried about how he would adjust to his new home.

Their worries were quickly swept away as the tired Henry went to sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

***

The next day Henry and his family went on a tour of the mansion. They visited every room and told Henry various stories. After several hours of walking around they arrived at their final destination for today.

“And this, Henry, is the gym.” Alfred said while making a grand gesture with his hands.

The building was huge, it had similar architecture to the one he used before, but the scale of this one was at least three times bigger. Once inside his astonishment only grew as the amount of people exercising and the equipment available was much greater than the one he was used to.

Alfred and Eleonora allowed Henry to skip practice today and just run around inspecting the various weapons they had in the racks.

That night, Henry was put to bed by his parents and once more fell asleep instantly.

***

In the following days Henry was introduced to the staff and the important people of the city. After those few hectic days he returned to his usual routine. The training he was doing was difficult but as his body grew and became stronger so did the fatigue decrease.

“Son, that is enough for today, we are finishing early as we will have something to do in the afternoon. Go wash up and put on the clothes we have prepared.” (Eleonora)

“Alright, mommy.” Henry was disappointed because he had to end his training. He was still struggling to increase his mana control and he desperately wanted to grow.

“Honey, mana is not easy to master, it might take months before you can take the next step. I only did it at the age of five and they hailed me as a genius. So take your time, it is very important to learn to be patient because mana manipulation is not something you can do overnight.” Eleonora was worried about her son, she was once in his shoes and she knew the desire he had in his heart very well.

Henry trotted off out of the gym with a knight as an escort while Eleonora and Alfred stayed behind to finish their training. As they were worried about Henry the training turned into a talk.

Eleonora wore a worried expression and spoke to her husband in a low voice. “He is troubled by his mana, the more he thinks about it the harder it will be to break through that wall.”

“Don’t worry Eli, he is your son, he will break all the walls. But I also understand the situation, it will take time for him to master his own heart.” Alfred had a lot of fate in his son, in his eyes Henry could do anything and everything.

“Al, we need to find a way to help him get over this hump. Many mages lose heart and never truly achieve their potential once they get stuck at a certain level for too long. The bad part is that he is a child who did not have any obstacles so far, this is his first true test.” Eleonora was frowning at her husband who took this issue too casually for her taste.

“Relax, as I said Henry is our son, getting over walls or smashing them is in his blood. Also the best way to get past these situations is to take a step back and not do the thing that is causing you trouble. We will let him take a week off from training and take him around town, have picnics and just play. Once his mind is clear he will beat any problem, he is not like those weaklings who fall and never get up.” (Alfred)

Eleonora was still worried but a bit of her husband’s optimism transferred over to her and she felt better.

***

After he took his bath and washed off the dirt and sweat, Henry went over to get dressed. What surprised him was that the clothes he was given were not noble like. They looked like something a servant would wear on their day off.

Most noble children with a bit of self respect or style, at least, would make a fuss about this. In Henry’s case it was only a curious event and he quickly got dressed and left for the living room for the usual tea and cookies with Alfred and Eleonora.

Once he entered the room he found that his parents were in the same attire as him.

“Henry, great, you look cute dressed up like a commoner.” Alfred gave him a thumbs up.

“Al, our little Henry would look cool and cute in anything.” Eleonora’s eyes were sparkling as she observed Henry from every angle in order to make sure this new look got engraved in her memory.

“Honey, today daddy and I will take you out for a little sightseeing trip.” (Eleonora)