3rd Month of the 1135th year of the New Era Calendar, 1st Entry:
It seems Lucia finally realized the reason for the boy’s habit. The little rascal was building relationships with all the castle staff. After 2 years of effort, it seems most of the castle looks upon him favorably now beyond a simple respect for his position.
In between reading, he would strike up conversations with the staff in the area, asking about how their day went, their lives outside of service, and eventually when they got comfortable, even about any areas in their work they were dissatisfied with. Julius would then do anything his limited authority allowed to fix it.
Thicker oven mitts for the cooks, blade sharpeners for the gardeners, sewing kits for the maids, and many more
They were small things that cost him no losses but led to innumerable gains. After all, even if they were lowborn, they were still those that ran the household and ensured his safety. Being looked upon as a kind ruler was a good way to foster loyalty.
First that mana disturbance during his birth and now this natural talent for diplomacy. Is there anything the boy can’t do?
Of course, it could just be a kid being as talkative and curious as a kid is but either way whether he plans for it or does it naturally, it’ll serve him well in the future.
Lucia also added some interesting additional input, in her words:
“There’s one more thing I observed, my lord. I don’t know if it's only my imagination, especially given the age of the boy, but I believe he could have another motive besides simple childlike talkativeness or gaining good favor.”
“I’ve observed that during these conversations with staff, he would particularly focus on the areas of how the staff were raised, what their families were like, and how close they were to family members and friends.”
“The conversation would drag on nearly thrice as long on these sorts of topics than anywhere else, as if the boy was searching for a certain answer. Though given how this practice continues until the day I am writing this report, it seems he has not found what he was seeking.”
Hearing Lucia’s reports about this boy really put me at the edge of my seat.
How I’d love to give him fully access to the family’s mana arts right this instance. It's a shame that the family code prohibits it before an individual’s aptitude test.
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4th month of the 1136th Year of the New Era Calendar, 1st entry:
Finally, the long awaited day is near, tomorrow in fact.
I’ve made sure to personally visit the Royal Reader’s Guild in order to ensure only the best of the best arrive at my household tomorrow to assess my son and only with the best stones available in their vault.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Adrianna and I have cleared our schedules for the next year, in order to ensure that we can personally watch over the boy as he learns the basics of mana processing. Though we have no shortage of trainers, being taught by people who have gotten close to the pinnacle is still much more efficient, especially for a branch like mana processing which relies a lot more on theoretical concepts than other branches.
Enough tonics for recovery and for boosting constitution has also been prepared, as well as caged beasts from the nearby forest for practice. Afterall, combat dynamics become different when facing monsters, so it's necessary to train in both.
Overall, everything cost around a fourth of the Dukedom’s yearly budget, though I believe it was money well spent.
The Dukedom will probably take a few losses this year, but objectively speaking, it will be nothing compared to the gains Julius will bring one day.
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4th month of the 1136th Year of the New Era Calendar, 2nd entry:
Tch, I made a large blunder. Maybe the biggest in this lifetime. I never even considered it.
That trash, to think the very first in the main lineage to not be born with a single unique attribute would be the son I sired. To think I prepared so many resources ahead of time for that waste of space.
How is that even possible? Then what was the mana disturbance during his birth, was that caused by an outside force?
It's no matter, it's useless to speculate about now. No matter how hardworking he is, the boy’s fate is sealed. He’ll never be able to ascend past the adept level, and even a hundred such warriors will lose to just the pinky of someone at my level.
All I can do now is try again.
Adrianna and I are both still in our primes. Producing and nurturing another heir won't be an issue.
Fortunately, thanks to the code which I have a newfound appreciation for, the boy’s existence hasn’t been made public yet so the clean up will be easy.
All the staff that met him are trustworthy, they won’t utter a word until their last breath if ordered.
I wanted to kill him right then and there to finally erase my mistake but the family’s code as well as my pride as a noble didn’t allow it. Instead I decided to exile him to the 3rd ring of the Southern Slums. There he will be the furthest away from anything that will link him back to the Dukedom. If I’m lucky, he won’t survive at all and that will be the end of my problems.
As a precaution, I’ve also ordered Lucia and two warriors with an aptitude for sensory type mana arts to stand guard by the border for the next 15 years.
By then he would most likely be dead or begging in one of the many alleyways for scraps. Even in the worst case where he somehow found a way to thrive, by then anything linking him back to the Dukedom would be completely erased.
4th month of the 1136th Year of the New Era Calendar, 1st entry:
That little trash, it seems he does have some Ronwen in him no matter how diluted it is. I recently received a report from Lucia that was delayed due to the great distance.
They successfully dropped him off at the 3rd ring of the Southern Slums, and informed him of their surveillance by the borders, even exaggerating it a bit stating that they would be there for the next 20 years instead of 15.
It was only when they reached the Kingdom’s fort by the borders, their accommodation for the next 15 years, that Warrior Glen’s satchel was missing. What a blunder.
It seems over the months of the trip, the boy made it a point to look weak and out of spirit in order to lower their guards. Of course it isn’t a valid excuse but I acknowledge that it could have happened to anyone. Afterall, who could last in other travel conditions while still having that much fight left in him.
It isn’t just a matter of motivation either. Guard down as they were, they were still well trained warriors at the Adept level. It would take quite the skill in sleight of hand to make off with such an object without the warriors noticing. Could that boy have been practicing for a moment such as that? He really could have been a monster if he wasn’t so lacking in talent.