Fons, Thire 30

Mansion, Nursery Room

'Hang on a minute. Did I read that right?' I thought with a sense of disbelief and wonder. 'Was I actually a prince of a kingdom?'

'Oh! This just made my life a lot easier. I already have an extreme head start to completing my challenge.' I thought excitedly.

This was a huge head start because the first part, which was to build an empire, was basically almost there. I am a prince who is heir to the throne, which means I only need to gather a few more kingdoms under my control and lead my empire into prosperity and I'm done.

'But wait. I need to check something quick.' I glanced at my status screen again and was horrified. My excitement all went down the drain as fast as it came.

'Curses! I am a fourth Prince?! Couldn't I have been born as the crown prince? Why is fate really against me?' I ranted to myself.

After calming myself a few minutes later, I thought 'No big deal, I realize that this path wouldn't work perfectly so I placed it as one of my first back up plans instead. I could definitely work around it if needs be.'

To explain why I thought that way, there were a couple of ideas that I could use to work around the fact that I was a fourth Prince and still obtain the throne. Namely getting close to my brothers and eliminating them, whether it was in a violent or non-violent manner was yet to be determined.

'Moving on, I desperately need to gather more information about my surroundings. What's the situation of the kingdom like? What are the current technologies available in this world? Where can I find reliable and talented people I can command?' Those were just some of the questions I needed answers too in order for me to have a clearer plan.

Firstly, the kingdom's situation is a must. I need to know how it is fairing in terms of its economy, military capability, political arrangement, and more. Some exact information I needed to know was how much this kingdom earns and spends in each of the different sectors. It's capability in defending itself or attacking an adversary. How the government system that this kingdom uses works and if there are any flaws to it.

The clearer the picture I have about my birth kingdom the better I can gauge it's worth as the place where I accomplish my task.

'For all I know, the kingdom might be on the verge of collapsing from internal disputes, or maybe is losing at a country war. There could even be a plague or drought raging across the country which while still salvageable, would cause me more time lost into stabilizing the kingdom instead of improving it.' I thought to myself.

I continued to hash out a plan, refining each further as much as I can with the little knowledge I have about this place. A few hours have passed and my stamina has already worn out.

'Oh great!' I said exasperatedly. 'It's time to rest once again. I honestly wish this body can grow up faster and keep up with my needs.' I thought as I began to fall asleep.

-A Week Later-

After repeating what I assumed was an ordinary day once again, I was surprised that there was something new about this day. I was first bathed and then dressed in a formal attire for kids, something alike to clothing worn for baptism. After which I was carried around our mansion, or castle I still don't know which one it is yet, for the first time.

'Man, I really want to go outside the house soon.'

Although being carried around the house was still quite a good thing. I was brought out of my room and we went straight to what I think was the main hall. On the way there, I picked up as much as I can about my house and possibly my family's history.

I saw numerous grand corridors with dozens of decorated doors which lead to different rooms. A generous amount of portraits and paintings hung on the walls with openings every so often for what I assumed were windows.

'Huh. That's interesting. Although my room has glass windows, which aren't in a great condition themselves, the entire mansion uses wooden boards as windows which means this world, or at least the kingdom I am in still hasn't developed an efficient method into creating windows, specifically glass.'

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This suggested to me that I am living in a world which is in the medieval era. Which made me uncertain of whether it was beneficial to me or not. There was the chance of 'innovating' new technologies and earning a huge profit from them as well as having a technological edge in terms of military strength since people use cold weapons.

Of course, there was also the chance for me to be betrayed, cast out, or marked as a heretic and what not. Especially during this period where chaos was common. Infights within kingdoms, wars fought over for territorial expansions, and people were uneducated and often have poor understanding of the world around them.

'I have to tread carefully here.' I reminded myself.

At the main hall, I noticed there were a lot of people gathered around the room. There were knights wearing full body armours carrying ceremonial pikes with their swords sheathed at their waist. There were also plenty of people dressed in fancy clothes.

'I say fancy but in reality they were nothing more but some shabby looking attempts at formal wear, observing from the perspective of a modern society.'

They all looked like important people, nobles of this country perhaps. I then saw my father and mother sitting in a chair atop an elevated podium. I was brought to them whom my father then picked me up. He then said to everyone,

"Welcome everyone to my son's right of birth! He has now been with us for half a month and is very healthy and growing strong. Our Kingdom of Olden, through the rule of my family the Olden's, has been very prosperous these past seasons. And today having our fourth child is a sign from the heavens of their approval and grace!" Cheers and applause followed after my father said these words.

"From today onwards, I officially introduce Blake Donovan, the fourth prince of Olden! May he continue to grow strong and help our nation rise up to greater heights!" My father bellowed and an excited crowd answered back at him through cheers and applause.

'I guess this is a custom of the people in this world to celebrate a child's second week of birth as some sort of occasion that they've overcomed.'

"Congratulations your majesty!"

"Long live the prince!"

Those were just some of the words people shouted out in the main hall.

---

The celebration lasted all the way till midnight however I only stayed there for three hours at most and was then returned to my room for my meal and nap times. During the celebration, I was able to gather quite a bit of information about the kingdom I lived in.

'Everything seems to be going great at the kingdom so far. The nobles in attendance wore fancy clothes for this time period and seemed to have no worries plastered on their faces. This suggested that their territories were doing nicely and had no huge problems.' I thought matter-of-factly.

There is also a counter argument to this. 'The nobles could also be faking it and are actually facing tremendous problems but are holding it in whilst in the presence of the king.' Both are equal assumptions.

'The only certain fact I gathered was that the king, my father, has a good reputation and is well respected within the kingdom. I always had this talent in identifying when a person dislikes someone based on their facial reactions and body language when in the same room as the said person they dislike.'

This was good news for me since my father, and by connection my family, is well trusted by the kingdom and its people which only benefits me more in achieving my task.

That night, right before I went to bed. I overheard my father and mother talking outside my room. They were talking in a soft voice as if they didn't want anyone to overhear them.

"Dear, although I am happy and glad to have a fourth son, you know there will be a tough road ahead of all four of them." Said by my mother in a worried voice.

"I know Ella. I have thought about this problem for quite sometime now. I might create a right of ascension between my sons to see who can succeed my crown. There has never been a case in our kingdom where there are more than one son directly in line for the throne." said my father a bit weakly.

"I know you'll think of something great Michael." comforted my mother.

"I'll assign each of my sons one servant for now and see who possess the qualities to be my heir."

-Two Weeks Later-

After that night, I met my butler or personal servant, Nick, who has since been following me around and looking out for my needs. He has been very helpful and has contributed to answering some of my questions, unknowingly.

'I figured out that the people in this world have a different language but I can understand them no problem and it was all thanks to the hidden skill I've received from the outside ones'

'I still need to confirm if I can speak the same language with no problem, when I can speak that is.'

I have been reborn for over a month now and a lot has happened already. I have collected more knowledge and information about my immediate surroundings, namely the castle I lived in and how the overall look of the kingdom was in.

Things are getting more and more exciting for me. I really can't wait to start my task and maybe even explore this new world. At that moment, a screen popped up in front of me.

[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the hidden trial of 'Scouting' You will be awarded a special gift. Note, this would normally have been awarded to everyone on their first birthday however since you have gone ahead and collected enough information about your starting kingdom, this has been given to you early. The gift will arrive in the coming month.]

'What the heck is this?!'