Bradlley's Arrival

Evellyn POV

I can't believe this!

I had such a bright future ahead! I was going to receive so many awards, so many Nobels... And most importantly... I WAS ALMOST REACHING TOP ONE IN THAT DAMN GAME!

With the body of a baby, unable to speak or move very well, there were few sounds I could reproduce, one of them was crying. And cry I did... I made sure to be the most crying baby I could be in my first week of life. Not on purpose, I was actually really sad. Not a day went by that I didn't try to figure out what could have happened for me to be reborn in a new body.

If I recapitulate well, I remember I was winning a League of Legends match before waking up here. Was I transported into the game? No, there's not even a character similar to the more than one hundred and fifty champions. Wait, could it be... AN ISEKAI!?

I stopped crying immediately. Maybe, just maybe, I could be one of those protagonists who learned to use magic even as a baby. I will be overpowered! Considering my history in D&D games, I hope not to be a tyrant, but... I WILL BE A SORCERESS QUEEN MUAHAHAHA!

Or so I thought at my birth...

Four years have passed, and I haven't seen a sign of magic. No humans carrying weapons twice their size, miraculous cures, not even a little fireball...

"Evellyn, where are you?" Oh, it's me.

My name in this new life is Evellyn von Bradlley. To be honest, this life is not all bad, especially considering how rich my family is; I couldn't complain. My father's name is Klaus von Bradlley, and my mother is Anelise Bradlley. I must admit, I struggled a bit in my early moments of life. I barely scratched the surface of German; I had no idea what people were saying around me when I was born. Still, I think with so much interaction, I became practically a native, although at first, they were quite surprised that I had an accent in my first words... My father is a man who spoils me a lot; I think if I didn't have the mindset of an eighteen-year-old woman, I certainly wouldn't put up with so much pampering, but I am a grown woman and can live with it, hehe!

More recently, my father has been indulging my wishes even more. Since he mentioned that we would take a trip to the west, I... Threw a tantrum saying I didn't want to go... So he started giving me gifts and a lot of attention. The old man, if I can call him that, since he must be at most in his thirties, began to get very clingy... On the other hand, my mother didn't support this extra pampering he gave me; she always tried to educate me to be a lady, and that was extremely difficult. She didn't demand much from me, but I feared it was because of my age... I presume that in my adolescence, I would have to learn to dance, sing, and a whole set of activities that court ladies do.

Terrifying... But at least in those moments, she tried to educate me in a cute and childish way, so it still works!

I miss my cell phone so much... And my computer... And a decent bathroom!

In less than a month after my father announced our trip, I finally got into a carriage with him, my mother, and a bunch of soldiers, headed towards our destination. Apparently, our family's territory was on the border of the Empire; my mother spent a lot of time teaching me about our customs. Apparently, we are from the secondary family of the Hohenzollerns; they threw us to the eastern border of the Empire about three hundred years ago, and we weren't the only ones; the Sigmaringens, whom we were going to visit, are also from a secondary family to the Hohenzollerns and were thrown to the western borders of the Empire.

As expected, both the Bradlley and the Sigmaringen were not supposed to have good land for agriculture due to the constant battles in their territories, and they would weaken while the main family strengthened. On the Bradlley side, that was true in the beginning; the Baltics were a problem in the last centuries due to the tribes that lived there. Still, my grandfather made good treaties with the people, converted them to our religion, and gave them land to stop the attacks, and just before I was born, Klaus conquered the entire Baltic territory that was occupied by wild tribes.

I swear, sometimes I feel a certain animosity when she talks about the royal family... But it's understandable.

Mikail POV

It's been a few months since they talked about a visit. My father mentioned that it was planned for them to arrive on my fifth birthday.

"In case they arrive after the date, we will just celebrate when they arrive or a little later."

I don't remember them celebrating my last four years; I think it's a custom not to celebrate always around here. Since children are so prone to die, maybe they only start celebrating in the fifth year of life? Despite that, we celebrated every year of Verena's life and a few of Heinrich's when she insisted.

My concerns were in vain; exactly on my fifth birthday, there was a commotion, not because of my birthday tho, but because of the people who would be visiting us, the Bradlleys.

Apparently, when I was born, Heinrich was supporting them in a military campaign, and because of that, the map I saw earlier in that book was severely outdated; in fact, it was outdated for at least two hundred years. It was somewhat disappointing... But I must admit, things are very, very slow in this time. A trip that I was warned about months ago only concluded now! Europe is not even that big...

At the castle gates, a pair of knights trotted ahead of a carriage that slowly passed through the gates of the bridge leading to the city. The knights carried a banner each; one of them carried the Sigmaringen banner, a black and crowned bird, while the other carried a banner I hadn't seen yet, but I assume it was the Bradlley's; it was a kind of castle with a crown on top. The soldiers on top of a tower also raised a third banner, which I had already seen; it was the Hohenzollern's, a helmet above a shield with a black cross.

The carriage stopped in front of us, and a man in refined dark blue and black attire descended, his hair was red, and his hairstyle made it seem like he used a lot of hair gel, and he didn't have even a hint of facial hair; this must be Klaus. He helped a woman down, wearing a dress that barely made me believe she passed through the carriage door; she was beautiful, but not as much as Verena. Her hair was brown, and I couldn't see her eyes very well from this distance, but her nose was pointed, and she gave me an air of arrogance at first glance; she must be Anelise. Finally, a little girl with red hair came down; she must be my age, at least the age of this life. She glanced at me for a second, furrowed her eyebrows, and immediately looked at her father. Embarrassment, perhaps? They haven't told me her name yet.

Klaus came forward and bowed, "With many thanks, I..." He stopped, and Heinrich immediately slapped both his shoulders and lifted him.

"We are old friends. No formalities here." Heinrich said, smiling and opening his arms for a hug. They hugged each other with pats on the back and stepped back for a moment.

"It's very good to see you again, old friend!" He turned to my mother and bowed his head. "It's also very good to see you again, Miss Verena. These years have treated you well." He then turned to me, knelt down, and smiled. "You have your father's face, but your mother's eyes. It's a truly charming combination, show me those muscles." I raised my arms, flexing my biceps, and he laughed. "Haha! You will be a warrior like no other!" He then stood up, and my father said:

"I presume the journey was long; rest, your quarters are already prepared. Tomorrow we can talk."

"But what nonsense is this? If I remember correctly, today is the Fifth Day in the Name of the little Mikail here! Let's celebrate!" Klaus seemed quite excited, to say the least.

"Just rest, Klaus."

Heinrich smiled and relaxed his shoulders; some servants were taking the Bradleys' things to put in their rooms, and everyone entered.

I watched as everyone entered. For some reason, my body didn't move; I just wanted to wait for everyone to enter so I could enter last, and so I did.

Evellyn POV

I understand what's going on here!

When we got out of the carriage, and I saw a boy about my age, I immediately understood what this was all about! An arranged marriage! I can't say I'm surprised, considering the role I'm playing here, but seriously? So soon? And he... He... He looks like an idiot! He looked right in my direction before I made a weird face and looked at my father. Ahh, how embarrassing! Now it's too late...

Well, not all is lost. It's one of two things: I give him a chance when he grows up, or I run away... I'm a smart woman; I could manage if I ran away... Right? Nah... Better give up on that idea.

When my father finished greeting the Sigmaringens and they started entering, I noticed that young Mikail stayed behind. He watched as everyone entered; one of our guards tried to talk to me while I observed the boy to get him to enter, and then I moved.

"Why are you standing there?" I asked as I passed by him, and he almost jumped, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, nothing."

I see, an introverted boy... At this age? Weird. Usually, introversion starts later in life; I even expected him to invite me to play or something. Or maybe he's just shy... I can take advantage of that.

"Hmmm, let's go then." I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside. He didn't resist and just followed me.