Felix turned from Isabella’s smiling face to observe himself in the mirror. This was the first time he’d properly looked at his new self since his rebirth and he felt quite disillusioned.

Felix’s healthy complexion and chubby babyface were at complete odds with Jared’s pallid complexion and gaunt cheeks. Felix ran his chubby fingers through his short black hair, careful not to mess up the hair that Isabella had just brushed.

Jared used to have curly brown hair that was always so difficult to maintain, a feature he had inherited from his father, but that was before he lost it all during chemo.

Mentally shaking his head of depressing thoughts, Felix took a step back to observe his outfit. Felix was dressed quite smartly in a neat white shirt and fitted grey trousers, coupled with a slim grey blazer, tidy brown loafers and a blue bowtie to match his eyes.

Isabella couldn’t seem to stop going on about how adorable he was, and to be honest Felix had to agree. His black hair and clear blue eyes seemed to form an entrancing juxtaposition, and his chubby cheeks added to his childish charm.

As Isabella traversed the manor’s hallways with Felix in her arms, Felix couldn’t help but notice how the house help would bow to him when they saw him but would whisper amongst themselves when Isabella’s back was turned to them.

He couldn’t catch a lot of what they were saying but he managed to make out the words “Lady”, “sick” and “locked”, so piecing the words together, he assumed that his mother was claiming to be sick and had locked herself in her room to avoid the party.

Felix completely understood. Why would she purposely go to a gathering of people she didn’t like, just to be ostracised and called a ‘barbarian’ behind her back (Felix had heard house help labelling him a ‘barbarian’s son’ when they thought Isabella couldn’t hear)?

He didn’t know the full reason why his mother’s people were labelled barbarians, but apparently, sometime in the past the Northern people had gone to war with the kingdom of Agrona but were pushed back, and this belief that they were warmongering savages was perpetuated from there.

Even if the public sentiment was neither with Felix nor his mother, his curiosity was getting the best of him as he had never left the manor’s walls.

Felix’s suspicions were confirmed when Isabella stepped out into the front courtyard only to see a single carriage waiting for their arrival. The dark brown horse & carriage seemed to add to the dreary atmosphere created by the overcast skies.

Felix didn’t think much of the carriage’s plain exterior but judging by the small frown on Isabella’s face it seemed like there was something wrong with it. Felix assumed it wasn’t grandiose enough for a duke’s son, but he wasn’t particularly in favour with the Duke so he could understand the lack of luxury.

Felix wasn’t fussed by this at all, so to get Isabella moving, he turned to her with an excited smile, saying “mama, wet go!”. Isabella seemed to relax and cede to Felix’s request, as she smiled back at him before nodding a greeting to the waiting coachman and alighting the carriage.

The inside of the carriage was just as unassuming as the outside with minimal furnishings, but fortunately, at least the seating was cushioned, and Felix was pleased to find a window in the carriage.

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Even though he couldn’t easily see out of it from the comfort of Isabella’s lap, he quickly called for her attention and gestured towards the window. Isabella seemed to immediately understand and readjusted Felix’s position to help him easier see outside, maintaining a firm grip so that he wouldn’t fall from the rocking of the carriage.

A quick jolt of the compartment was enough indication to Felix that they were on the move, and the carriage seemed to bounce rhythmically as it traversed the cobbled path leading away from the manor.

Following the carriage passing the guards’ barracks, Felix’s vision was blanketed by a sea of yellow and brown intermingling, as he took in the sight of autumn leaves making their slow descent from branch to ground.

The striking colours were a welcome change from the dreary shades of grey painting the overcast sky. Unfortunately, that was the only real highlight of the journey, as a short while later the carriage broke through the sea of trees to reveal a grandiose Manor.

Felix knew there would be a difference between his current residence and the main residence but seeing it still came as a shock. If Felix’s residence were to be compared to a single-family house in his former world, then the main residence would be a mansion.

The manor’s aged grey walls and menacing gargoyle sculptures gave the residence a very imposing feel, fitting of an army general’s home, coupled with the bold statue of whom Felix assumed to be one of his ancestors standing heroically atop a fountain as the centerpiece of the main courtyard.

The man’s weapon of choice was depicted as a double-edged axe, which Felix assumed must be the infamous bone reaver. The statue’s stocky frame coupled with the axes glorified(?) size seemed to insinuate you needed an incredible level of physical strength to wield it.

Felix gazed admiringly at the statue, wondering just how strong the man was to be immortalised in such a manner. He didn’t see himself becoming a beef-head, but could he have enough strength to make a name for himself?

Funnily enough, the carriage seemed to drive past the front entrance onto a side road that led around the manor. Felix was confused by this but since Isabella didn’t voice any complaint, he assumed that everything was fine.

The carriage slowly jerked to a stop as the coachman came to open the door for the duo. Felix was greeted by the sight of various servants hustling and bustling in and out of the manor, and he immediately understood that he wasn’t an important enough guest in the duke’s eyes to be greeted at the front entrance.

As they made their way to the entrance, those present in the area briefly stopped to observe the newcomers before most ignored them and turned back to their respective tasks. Those who most likely recognised Isabella gave her either a small smile and nod of greeting or a contemptuous smirk before speeding off to their own business.

In their haste, they probably assumed that Felix was her son and therefore not an important enough reason to shirk their duties. ‘Honestly, who could blame them? Which noble personage would turn up at the servants’ entrance in such a plain carriage? If anything, I feel bad for Isabella. She worked here for so long, yet that princess had her ostracised from most of her co-workers. It’s their loss anyway!’

At the entrance waiting for them was a face that Felix knew he would see, but was irked by it, all the same. It was the smiling face of the head butler Emerson. Felix noticed how all the servants busying themselves around him kept glancing at him with eyes filled with a mixture of admiration and nervousness.

‘Funny how I still can’t shake the feeling he’s dangerous, maybe he has a twisted side to him.' At Isabella’s arrival, she briefly curtsied to Emerson with Felix in hand, to which Emerson reciprocated with a nod of the head.

He then began to scan Felix from head to toe (to which Felix hid his displeasure behind a strained smile) before nodding his head once again in apparent approval.

Emerson uttered in a low voice “greetings, young master” which seemed to go unheard by all those sneaking curious glances at the two parties, but resounded clearly in Felix’s ear, to which Felix replied with a simple yet bright “Ewwo!”

Emerson gave a small smile in response before pivoting on his heels and walking inside, wordlessly gesturing for the duo to follow him.