New day.

Eldric sank into his new luxurious bed as soon as he lay down. He didn't have enough time to properly appreciate it in the morning with how disoriented he was. It was only now that he could feel how soft the mattress was, and especially how silky the fabric was.

He had the same nightwear from the morning, however this time it was more detailed. No longer was it so simple, there were now multiple embroidered lines on the top and bottom of the wear.

He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.' What a day this was.' He flexed as many muscle groups as he could and smiled.

'I still can't believe it.' he murmured in disbelief.

But his smile turned flat when he remembered his little reading session.

He would have never guessed this world had such a dark history behind it.

'I suppose humanity wouldn't change just because it's a different world from mine.' He wondered, shaking his head.

Eldric found out about all sorts of things that he otherwise thought were impossible.

And that made it only more imperative for Eldric to start making his way to the top.

If anything, the most important thing he caught after all that reading was that this world was not a kind one. No matter which perspective, strength was needed for anything and everything. Magic beasts were a rare occurrence nowadays, according to what he read, but Eldric would rather not take a chance.

And he finally understood why his half-brother was seething when looking at him. Being the eldest is not the only prerequisite to inheriting the head position of the household. It seems the previous head has to approve of your strength.

Looking at the way Cenric was acting, and Jame's apparent heroism; his chances might as well be zero at this point.

James would sooner choose his half-sister Elah than him.

But Eldric thought that hatred was completely misplaced. 'I don't care if I get to be the head of the household or not.' he deadpanned.

'I'm not too enthusiastic about the sleepless night that would be spent thinking about —whether my brother would murder me in my sleep or not instead.' monotoned Eldric.

Alas, what he thought didn't matter on this subject, and Eldric knew it well.

'I don't know if this blessing is indeed a blessing or a curse in disguise.' He looked at the palm of his hand and squeezed it.

It seems, before terminally falling ill, Little Eldric managed to acquire the long line blessing of the Armsworth household.

The Armsworths were one of the leading houses of the Alabax kingdom ever since its founding, they were the knights and the infantries in the wars razed in the name of Robert Alabax. Their blessing enabled them impressive command over all arms, whether it be swords, axes, maces… They were the best at it.

However, with the extended time of peace, their positions dropped.

Going from the known fearsome warmongering household to over-glorified sentries watching over the northern borders of the Alabax Kingdom, shared by the large forbidden forest and the Audun Kingdom.

'That's enough for the day.' He stopped all his inner thoughts.

Eldric was still not that comfortable in this new position he suddenly found himself in, but he was not a headless chicken running around anymore.

That was a major improvement.

Eldric's eyes slowly started to close down, his childish body could only handle so much stress.

'I'll just do my best each day. No need to overcomplicate things.' He thought as he drifted into sleep.

What Eldric didn't know however was throughout the night, two raven black eyes were carefully watching over him; blending perfectly into the cover of night darkness— several emotions going through them.

—--

A blue-eyed and silver-haired child was peacefully sleeping on a rather large bed, he hardly fit even its quarter. He turned around in his sleep for the nth time.

That was when two hands reached to grab him.

The child woke up completely startled, his hands went to his sides in panic. He didn't know why he did, but that came off instinctually to him somehow.

The child's vigilance slightly dropped when he registered the appearance of the only other person in the room. It was a black-haired young woman in a maid uniform.

"Epine?" The child asked in confusion.

The now named Epine bowed and said, "I apologise for frightening you, young master Eldric."

The child's mouth twitched with the way his personal maid seemed to phrase that. He just sighed and said, "No problem, Epine. Just knock on the door next time."

Despite clearly being the one in power in this dynamic, the child chose to just let it slide.

"Of course, young master." said the maid.

There was an extended silence, both of them simply staring at each other. That continued until the child could no longer bear the silence.

Eldric coughed. "Epine? Hello?"

"I will help you get dressed and undressed, young master." the maid replied naturally to his question.

Eldric grimaced" Epine, we talked about this topic the day before." He paused. "I would much rather bathe and dress, myself. I don't need the help of anyone."

"But young master Eldric, you—"

"No, Epine. This is non-negotiable. I simply won't." answered Eldric resolutely.

The maid seemed to drop the topic after that; she stayed in the room nonetheless.

Eldric sighed and grabbed his nose bridge, "Epine… I meant you should get out of the room."

Only then did the maid go out of the room, and the door closed behind her.

When she got out, Eldric breathed a sigh. 'Even if I have a child's body this time around, I'm still an adult in mind.'

'It's pretty shameful to be dressed up and bathed by someone at this mental age.' He shook his head. 'Especially by such a beauty,'

'Luckily, I'm still in the early stage of my life. I'm not too keen on reliving puberty again.' He grimaced.

'Too many hormones.' joked Eldric.

Eldric looked at the neat stack of clothes on top of the bed. The butlers must have had a hand in this; his wear was not as simple as the day before, again.

It was a pseudo-suit, black with golden lines on its fine edges, there were also black pants and leather shoes along with a coat.

He touched the clothing's fabric and couldn't help but be impressed by its quality.

Too bad— such clothes were unsuited for what he had in mind this day.