Dianne – POV

  We now had retainers and servants. Though our noble house had yet to be formally recognized by the powers that be, I felt like a noble once more. The sensation was surreal...something I thought I had lost forever. Years ago, when Jakob and I fled our homeland, I resigned myself to the life of a commoner. Yet here we were, rebuilding piece by piece, step by step.

  I ordered the girls to wash, discard their slave collars, and shed the rags that bound them to misery. Freed from those symbols of degradation, they began preparing our evening meal. Their skill was evident; they were fine cooks, likely daughters of farming families forced into servitude by hardship.

  Dinner around the campfire began awkwardly, but once our retainers joined us, the atmosphere shifted. What had felt strange soon became warm, almost familial. The children treated the servant girls as new friends, and laughter rose into the night air, echoing around the fire as if to remind us that joy could still exist even in exile.

  Later, the servants pitched their tents and settled down for rest. Jakob, the children, and I remained awake, savoring the cool night breeze beneath a sky scattered with stars. As I joined them, I overheard Jakob speaking to the children.

  “Always treat our servants with respect,” he said firmly. “Too many nobles see them as tools, not people. I will not have my children grow up with that arrogance. It would displease both me and your mother.”

  “Did you have many servants when you were young, Papa?” Serena asked.

  “A great many,” Jakob admitted. “But my family did not treat them well. Only after losing everything did I understand how they must have felt. I wish I could find them now, just to apologize.”

  His words stirred memories of my own youth. I had not been cruel, but I was indifferent, haughty, as noble girls often were. I never truly saw my servants as people. Like Jakob, my perspective had changed after losing everything. Now, I was determined to ensure my children would never inherit those misguided notions.

  “Your father is right,” I told them. “Do not let pride cloud your hearts. Servants are people, just as we are. When I was young, I too was guilty of indifference. Do not follow our mistakes.”

  “Yes, Mama,” they replied in unison.

  Nathan then asked, “By the way, Mother, how will Christine join our family?”

  “We could adopt her legally,” I explained, “but that requires the church’s sanction. We cannot do that while in these lands.”

  Serena frowned. “But Mama, if we adopt Christine, she will be our sister. That means she can’t marry Nathan.”

  “Hey, I’m right here!” Nathan protested, while Christine gasped softly.

  I ignored Nathan’s outburst and turned to Christine. “What troubles you, child?”

  Christine hesitated, then spoke shyly. “I do want to be part of the family… but if I am adopted, I might not be able to marry Nathan.”

  Her words made me smile. She had truly fallen for him...her knight in shining armor. Though they were still children, her feelings were genuine. Nathan, suspiciously, remained silent.

  “Hmmm… then perhaps adoption is not the only path,” I mused. “You could become a retainer. You would not bear our family name, but you would still be considered one of us, my daughter, until the day you marry my son.”

  “Mother! Stop planning my future for me!” Nathan exclaimed.

  Jakob chuckled. “That could work. What do you think, Christine?”

  Her eyes widened. “Truly? I can be a retainer and still be treated as your daughter?”

  “Yes, sweet one,” I assured her. “If you wish for formal adoption, we must wait until we leave these lands. But if you choose the path of a retainer, you can join us now.”

  “I will be a retainer, please,” she said eagerly.

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  “Excellent. Then make the vow.”

  Christine knelt on one knee and pledged her fealty. Jakob and I accepted her oath, and when she checked her status page, she cried out with delight: “Yay! I am now a retainer of House Mayweather-Abensberg!”

  Jakob laughed. “And when you marry Nathan, you will bear our family name.”

  “Hey! For the last time, stop acting as if I’m not here!” Nathan shouted, his face red with indignation.

  Serena, ever the teaser, grinned. “Oh my! My little brother is getting married soon, to my best friend, no less.”

  “Master,” Shive added, “Christine will be a strong ally in your future endeavors.”

  “Indeed,” Jack chimed in. “But I never thought my younger brother would marry before me.”

  “Oh, come on!” Nathan groaned, while Christine giggled behind her hand.

  The night grew lively with teasing and laughter, the children’s voices rising into the starry sky. As I watched them, I wished with all my heart that such moments would continue, bright sparks of joy to carry us through the trials yet to come.

  Nathan – POV

  The following day brought welcome tidings. My minions were on their way back, their packs heavy with spoils. I had assumed they were selling their loot in the city, but through the whisper of telepathy they informed me otherwise: merchants had set up shop outside the dungeon itself, eager to buy directly from adventurers. By sunset, as they had promised, they would return to our camp.

  Perfect timing for tomorrow, our caravan was set to depart. I updated them on our new retainers and servant girls and instructed them to introduce themselves as our family’s retainers too when they arrive here. They accepted without hesitation. Loyal minions are a treasure greater than gold.

  After breakfast, we turned to training in swords and spells. Dianne expected us in her classes after lunch, which suited our schedule well.

  During my sparring with Jack, however, I noticed something peculiar. My proficiency with the two?handed sword had stalled at level 5. No matter how I swung, the system refused to acknowledge progress. Perhaps it was time to attempt the techniques of the Italian masters.

  I shifted into their stances, movements unfamiliar even to Jack, and after a few minutes, I checked my status page.

  Two?Handed Sword Mastery: 6

  A grin spread across my face. Progress at last. Yet confusion lingered. Why did the system announce level?ups for spells and abilities, but remain silent for non?magical skills? I could conjure a dozen theories, but none satisfying. In the end, I accepted it as part of the system’s mystery and peculiarity.

  “Hey, what are those stances you’re doing?” Jack asked, curiosity piqued.

  “Oh, these? Would you believe me if I said I simply… knew them? As if they were etched into my mind without explanation. Don’t ask me how or why. Would you like to learn?”

  Jack laughed. “Me? Learn from you? Hah! Let’s put it to the test first.”

  I couldn’t fault him. He had trained in knight school, while I was merely his younger brother.

  “Very well,” I said.

  We squared off. From my vantage, his stances revealed weaknesses, openings ripe for exploitation. I moved at once, employing the Italian master’s attack.

  I assumed Posta di Falcone, the Guard of the Hawk: a high guard with the sword raised above my head. Jack faltered for a heartbeat, surprised, but lunged at my exposed midsection. I parried from above, pivoted, and brought my blade toward his neck. Just before impact, I halted and tapped him lightly.

  “What was that?” Father’s voice rang out.

  Only then did I notice our audience; our new retainers, Mother, Serena, and the servants; all staring, wide?eyed.

  “Err… nothing,” I muttered.

  Jack frowned. “How did you move like that? I never learned that in knight school.”

  “It’s… something I just know,” I said, deflecting. “I’ll explain later. Would you like to learn?”

  He caught my attempt to change the subject, but agreed eagerly. So I began to show him one of the most effective and storied stances of medieval Europe.

  Jakob – POV

  Anda and I were watching the boys spar while discussing how best to recruit more people. According to Anda’s party, we could hire adventurers and mercenaries in the towns we would pass before reaching the eastern port city of Milshel. Money was no longer a concern; Nathan’s minions had filled an entire chamber with gold and treasures. I dared not ask where they acquired such wealth, though I had my suspicions.

  As we spoke, Nathan shifted into a strange stance. Both hands raised his sword high above his head, leaving his midsection exposed. Foolish, I thought. Jack lunged for the opening, yet the unexpected happened. Nathan parried with startling precision, pivoted, and brought his blade to Jack’s neck in a single fluid motion.

  Anda’s team gasped.

  “What was that?” I exclaimed.

  “You didn’t teach your boy that, my lord?” Stanley asked.

  “No,” I replied. “And judging by Jack’s reaction, he didn’t learn it either.”

  Anda leaned forward, eyes gleaming. “Perhaps, my lord, your youngest son is a prodigy.”

  If only you knew my friend...if you only knew...