1 Humble Beginnings

"Milord, it's sunrise." An old raspy voice spoke.

'A voice? Is someone in my apartment?'

"Milord, there's no use hiding in your bed anymore. You must uphold your responsibilities!" The voice continued but clearly in a louder tone.

This time, Kai Sen was truly confused. He recalled sleeping in his bed after a long day of work, could he be having hallucinations?

Kai Sen opened the corner of his eyes and took a slight glimpse at the source of the voice. There he vaguely saw the contours of a man dressed in a plain black uniform.

Believing that he's having hallucinations, Kai tries to force himself to sleep.

But before he could drift back into his deep slumber, he jolted up from his bed and scrutinised the person and the room. Darting his eyes from the person, the bed, the room and even his clothes!

'What is going on?!'

But before he could do anything else, an excruciating headache came, causing him to pass out.

In his head, decades of memories flew through his head, learning his circumstances and the current situation.

When Kai finally woke up, he was no longer his former self but the last member of the noble Alfhard family, Kent Alfhard.

As the son of the noble Alfhard family, Kent had been indulged in riches and beauty from a young age. But when his father died of an unspecified illness, he had been handed the responsibility of taking care of both his family's land and the people that lived upon them.

But it was a well-known fact that Kent was a scoundrel and maintaining the Alfhard family's land was basically impossible for such a character. Everyone is expecting the end of the noble family.

(sigh) 'Looks like I'm tasked with managing this territory.'

Kai shook his head whilst observing the bedroom chamber he currently dwells in; a massive queen-sized bed, as well as lavish paintings and decorations, laid all over his room. Well suited for a noble like his previous owner.

It was only then that Kent noticed that the man in black uniform was still standing by his bed, silently waiting. "It seems you're awake, milord,"

Kent nodded his head.

Taking breathe out, the butler walked to the massive door, preparing to leave the chamber "I will get the servants to prepare you for breakfast."

"Umm Sebastian, please don't disturb the servants. I will prepare myself." Kent communcated across the bedroom.

Sebastian was about to exit the room, but he stopped in his steps, raising his eyebrows, and stared at Kent. The butler was clearly confused; never in the old butler's life did he see the young master do anything by himself. Did something happen?

Sebastian clearly had questions, but he didn't dare to ask more, and briefly exited the room.

Kent approached his vintage arc window and looked out. What lay in his eyes was the city of Hestanar.

Rows and rows of medieval buildings littered within the castle wall. Taverns, inns, shops, houses. The amount of infrastructure in the city suggested it was prosperous, but the number of people wandering on the streets said otherwise.

Just from the high castle window, Kent sees the lifelessness of the city, there was no trade, nor was there any noise. If a blind man walked through the city, he would mistake the city as an abandoned one. The barren scene left Kent perturbed as he moved away from the window.

The young and inexperienced lord dressed himself before making his way around his castle.

Stone walls and wooden furniture decorated the interior. Brightly lit torches hung on the dull stone walls to provide lighting in the dark interior. As Kent further explored the castle, servants and maids would occasionally stop and bow down to him, sending him their greetings.

Time passed in a flash.

It was not until midday that Kent probed every corner within his castle, his intrigue getting the best of him. As a man that had transmigrated from modern Earth just this morning, he couldn't help but explore the medieval castle and the way people act in their daily routine.

From the castle maid to the cooks, the groundkeepers and even the castle guards, they are all important in maintaining the castle in its pristine condition.

In Kent's memories, Sebastian is the head butler of the castle, kind of like the manager of all the workers in the small castle. But his duties also extended as his father's right-hand man. It was he who took care of the city's matters after father Alfhard's passing.

'Let's investigate the city…'

Kent left the castle and walked towards the centre of the city. Along the mud ridden and stone engraved road, medieval architecture sandwiched the puddle filled road. Weed could be spotted on various corners of the street.

Commoners were also on the street busy doing their business. Tattered clothes covered their pale, thin bodies. This was the busiest road in the whole city, being the direct road that connects the main gate to the centre of the city.

Yet even as the supposed most active road, there were no more than dozens of people within Kent's view.The young city lord continued his walk, making his way to the centre of the city.

Before long, he reached the very heart of the run-down city of Hestanar. What he saw was only the last fragment of what once was a busy marketplace.

Only a few market stalls were open even in the most hectic time of the day: midday. Poor traders and stall owners all gathered to form small clusters of trading hotspots. Most of the stalls sold food, but a few do sell other processed goods such as clothing, weaponry, and tools.

But judging from the few commoners that were lingering around the marketplace, business was not good.

Kent could sense something was wrong.

From the few people he saw on the way to the almost vacant marketplace, Kent could already deduct the city was short on population. For a city as grand and as large, the population is incomparable to the land the city walls covered.

Whilst Kent was deep in thought, he felt a slight tug on his pants, almost as if someone was yanking him back. The young city lord spun around and glanced at the person who has gotten his attention.

There, a frail youthful girl not even in her teenage years glanced at him with watery eyes. Dirt smudged over her delicate face. Only a long piece of fabric covered her entire body. Feet laid bare on the primitive road.

The girl from her pocket, took out a single rotten apple. Presenting it as if it was a precious item, she had teary eyes as she gazed at the lord.

In the faintest of voices, she spoke.

"Would you please buy this apple... kind sir?"