Chapter 2: A lesson in composure

Months went by, and the mind-numbing monotony of an infant's life continued. The same humiliating routine of eating, shit, and sleeping. The difference between an infant's brain and an adult's necessitated more sleep than other children if he wanted to prevent permanent brain damage. Still, with the newly gained, albeit limited motor skills. He set out to do the most essential task, gather information. It was easier than he thought. People were far more forthcoming with information if they believed wrongly that the one in front of them was incapable of comprehension. Still, he hadn't unearthed any information of consequence. No great conspiracy or anything merely a better understanding of the interpersonal relationships between the castle's residents, Love triangles between guards and maids, etc.

The one news of moderate importance was that his birth had weakened his father's first wife's tenuous hold on the household. Her inability to bear a male heir being the main cause. In other news, the mistresses were jealous since their children were now out of the line succession for good and his grandmother was a control freak.

He also pieced out more about his family from the bits of conversations he had overheard. The Farlier family was an old noble family, they had ruled the lands northwest of the gulf of Gilead in the Furze kingdom. The lands they ruled were part of the emerald coast, known for its pristine forest. The lands were centered around Marburg castle and the small port city of Andburg. His new family had three knights as retainers. His father was one of only 20 high-rank knights of Furze. The entire castle was full of servants and men at-arms of the Farlier family. The grey-haired butler Melvon had the highest status, and there were also a large bunch of kitchen ladies, maids, servants, apprentice knights, and the like present.

The entire fief was able to supply flour, vinegar, wine, and similar items in large quantities, as well as iron farm tools in smaller amounts. Even if they closed their doors to the outside world, they would still be self-sufficient for a very long period of time.

His life continued with little change. As Months turned to years, he felt more like a caged bird sure he lived in the lap of luxury and spent a lot of time in the library gathering as much information as possible. But, except for the occasional trip to the port, there was very little first-hand information. He analyzed everything he could but with his limited freedom, the accessible data was limited hence the database was limited. Moreover, he needed to rest a lot and avoid taxing his brain before it reached maturity. He remained wistful thinking about the life he lost.

For the first few months, he went to sleep believing that this would just be a dream and that he would wake up to see his friends and family. But, as time passed, that hope dwindled. Eventually, time withered his trust. If it was indeed a coma, it was a long one but increasingly that possibility seemed unlikely. Still, he held out hope that against all odds he would return home but there was little sand left in the hourglass.

He had to stop breaking his brain over things beyond his control.

Whatever said and done Leylin was born into a noble family, he had reasonable talent. Liam consoled himself honestly, it could have been much worse.

'I have to give up on Liam if I am to survive in this world', he thought.

'But what if I wake up and this turns into a nightmare', he shuddered.

'I will have no future if I keep living in the past'.

'If I look back I am lost', Leylin felt his conviction solidify.

'status'.

[Beep! Displaying status of user]

Soon enough a 3d model and information was made visible.

[Beep! Name: Leylin Farlier Gender: Male

Strength: 0.2 Agility: 0.3 Vitality: 0.5

Status: normal physiological functioning, abnormal neural activity for toddler, neural activities within acceptable limits, lowered estrogen level, initial signs of depression and anxiety]

The warm glow of the hearth, danced around the room contrasting the white chandelier framing the arched canopy. The ebony furnishing contrasted the well-lit room. The warm air hung over the room like a cozy quilt, sharply contrasting the cold dark world outside it.

A long mahogany table with ivory inlays stood unassumingly in the center of the hall. On it were silver lamps and precious porcelain, all laid out carefully by maids under the direction of the butler.

All of the tableware was luxury goods; imported from across the great plains of death and even more exquisite and smooth than a newborn's skin. Decorated with extremely elaborate floral motifs, they were simply high-quality pieces of art, they had been in the family for generations and were brought back by grand knight Volar Farlier after his journeys.

The price of this tableware was certainly terrifying, and couldn't compare to the family properties of all the maids even if added together. If they broke a piece by accident, the Viscount would fly into a rage.

Seven courses were served. The soup was made with eggs and lemons, the long green peppers stuffed with cheese and onions. There were lamprey pies, capons glazed with honey, an emerald Carp caught from the bottom of the gulf of Giliad. After that came a savory stew with Chevon, slow-simmered with dragon peppers and blood oranges to give it a good bite. The stew was fiery hot, Leylin knew, though he tasted none of it. Sherbet followed, to cool the tongue. The main course was hunches of venison with juniper and marmalade.

Leylin was adeptly using his tender fair hands with the fork and knife. He dabbed a piece of venison evenly in pepper before delivering it to his mouth. For the sweet, a skull of spun sugar. When the crust was broken, they found sweet custard inside and bits of plum and cherry. The chef's skills were not bad; the beef was very tender and chewy, which made Leylin nod his head slightly.

"Haha… Look at that! Leylin is now a grown-up too!" the Viscount laughed joyously from the head of the table, a glass of grape wine in hand. Even after his second son was born, this viscount treated his Heir differently. Much to the consternation of his first wife and mistresses even now Leylin could see bitterness in their eyes. They tried to hide their feelings but they were not quite as adept as they thought they were.

Leylin was sure he was dying miserable death in their mind but the reality was there was little they could do. His mother was the niece of Count Von Forman. Even though his father's first wife was also a noble her father was merely Viscount. Should they be caught they would find out that sometimes dying is easy, but living is harder.

Moreover, Leylin in his little time had developed a reputation as a genius, further endearing him to his father. This had completely secured his position as heir. Not, that he was going to inherit his family lands but no one knew that yet. For now, he maintained the façade as his status would aid his plans.

"Alright. Leylin, I wish to say something!" His father put down his wineglass, his expression slightly serious. The viscount looked at him and spoke, "I think you are ready to start your education Leylin, I have spoken to an eminent person, who has agreed to teach you".

"But he's still so young…" His mother seemed rather concerned.

"He may be 5 years old, but he has shown exceptional abilities. He has already completed his letters and numbers, would you have him waste his time? If he completes his education early, He would be able to give more time to martial training later", The Viscount curtly replied.

"But, other nobles' children all receive education when they are 8", Sarah tried to argue.

"He is my SON!", the Viscount cut her off, rendering his mother speechless.

His mother sensing the annoyance in his tone decided to cut her losses.

Leylin was drinking and eating, but he was listening carefully.

'Finally, the monotony ends. I will be able to move forward with my plans', Leylin thought. His impassive visage hid his excitement.

Every heir of a noble family would receive strict and harsh education from a young age. This was passed on down throughout the generations, and even though there would be the occasional good-for-nothing fellow once in a while, a majority of them were the wisest and most learned people in the world. From his understanding of this world, the paucity of resources was orders of magnitude worse than on even medieval earth. While there were luxuries that were unthinkable in the medieval era. They were remnants of a bygone era with the knowledge of producing them lost in the sands of time.

Mostly even food and water were extremely scarce. While the living conditions of the nobility were far better than medieval earth, the living condition of the rest was abysmal compared to even medieval Earth. Famine was a regular occurrence losing a tenth of a population during winter was not unheard of.

'Implementing elitist education and monopolizing knowledge?' Leylin thought secretly to himself. At the very least, he understood that the education fees here were simply frightening. As a result, among all the servants in the Castle, only the butler and a handful of the knight apprentices were able to read, while the rest were illiterate.

The commoners that grew up in such an environment were unable to compete with the later generations of the noble families. If this was the case even in terms of intellect, the amount of power they were in control of would be worse. Added together with Knight and mage training there was little to no hope for those without a chance.

He sighed; this is his life now. In this world there are his 21st-century principles are of little use. Might is right. What is the point of working together when the power of a single individual can surpass the might of an entire empire? The very incentive for working together is lost. There would be no rebellion, No great hero, No hope. For those without power, there is only misery.

Here even limited Freedom belongs to the few who have some modicum of power. You have no right to happiness without power.

'How troublesome', Leylin sighed and with that, he gave up on the last vestige of Liam.

"How about you, Leylin?" His father asked him.

"I think I'm up for it, father," Leylin's response was very composed. He'd had more than enough of pretending to be a child.

"Haha… Now that's a true descendant of the Farlier family! Excellent behavior!" The Viscount laughed heartily and downed the red wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Your mother should learn something from you", the viscount commented.

His mother sulked at the barbed comment. He was sure the other ladies of the household were laughing in their minds but no one dared to show it. His grandmother just watched to proceedings uncharacteristically silent.

After he had eaten his fill, Leylin returned to his own room. This was a benefit that he had tried his very best to fight for. His early maturation made his mother very pleased, yet she also felt a little upset and regretful.

A faint light flashed in Leylin's eyes, 'A.I. Chip! Show my current statistics!'

Soon enough a 3d model and information was visible.

[ Beep! Name: Leylin Farlier, Gender: Male Strength: 0.4 Agility: 0.3 Vitality: 0.6, Status: normal physiological functioning, normal neural activity, no hallucinogenic effects]