"Uh… Good morning," I awkwardly greeted.
Selene stared down at me coldly and turned to leave, but faintly said in passing, "Breakfast is ready."
"T-Thank you," I quickly said, a bead of sweat forming at my forehead despite the early morning still being quite chill.
It was without saying that I was afraid of her, and had therefore been unable to ask her to teach me magic. It wasn't open that she knew I knew, but if I said it to her face outright, she might decide it was time for me to turn into a rabbit… or something.
I always wondered whether Father knew she was a witch, as he was a knight who was meant to bring such people to justice. But then I thought about it logically. There was no way he didn't know she was a witch. In fact, that could have probably been why he took her in, to shield her away from the Church's eyes.
'A holy knight protecting a witch,' I jokingly thought. The irony was there for sure.
My adoptive father—Count Dante Black—was quite the mysterious man. As a bastard from Norland, his surname was 'Black', as opposed to bastards from Kingsland who had the surname 'Grey'. He was a renowned knight with a fearsome name in the empire and beyond, personally rewarded with an earldom by the Holy Emperor. There was no doubt that he was an extremely valuable asset to the empire.
"And to throw all that away by protecting a witch… hmm…" I suspected there may be more chips involved than I wasn't privy enough to know.
I turned back to the mirror and smoothed my clothes with my hands, but then sighed.
"Another day without wizardry powers."
I picked up my side bag, exited my room, and walked down the lengthy gallery hall that led to the stairs. The hall featured portrait paintings of the former owner of the manor and previous emperors, wooden furnishings, and patterned floor tiles.
One particular portrait stood out most. It was the painting of Baron Albert Maxton, the previous lord of the manor. He and father, Count Black, shared similar facial expressions despite the obvious difference in appearance, both bearing a calm and restrained gaze with thin eyes that looked down at the world.
Black Manor was at the north-eastern edge of Winterholm's inner city wall. The present manor was built in the late 23rd century (about 200 years ago), and was owned by Sir Albert Maxton, a royal knight who was granted peerage by the current emperor's grandfather.
Back then, it was called the Maxton Manor.
The Baron never sired a child but instead, adopted the Count and trained him to become the knight he is today.
After Count Black was given the manor, he renovated it, eliminating the majority of the demesnes and distributing most of the surrounding land to aid in further developing Winterholm. After selling the majority of the estates to the local nobles, he continued to rent out a few of them, which allowed him to still retain a 20% ownership stake in Winterholm land assets. A significant reduction from his previous 50% ownership stake. Against my will, I was forced to learn quite a lot.
With these riches, Count Black modernized the Baron Albert-founded textile cottage industry and transformed it into a manufactory by adding the newly invented spinning and weaving equipment. And now, the factory ships textiles all over the world.
'We may be bastards, but we're stinkin' rich!' I muttered and ran down the curved staircase that led down to the hall, with the rail edges topped with carved ravens.
The hall was the principal room at the center of the south front of the manor house, connecting to a little parlor, the staircase, and other rooms. This hall was the first of the large reception rooms and had checkerboard-patterned flooring of black-and-white marble tiles.
Shortly, I arrived at the large dining hall. Father was already sitting at the top of the long table, but hadn't begun his meal yet.
"Good morning, father," I casually greeted before taking out my chair and sitting down, right at father's right.
There was a simple meal right before us, pancakes with honey, eggs, and more.
"How was your night, son?" Father asked with a light smile.
"I had a nightmare, actually. It was quite vivid. I even woke up screaming before I realized it was all a dream. But other than that, everything's fine."
Count Black, looking twelve years older than when I first met him, nodded. "I see."
"Let us pray," he said, and we recited in unison, "Glory to the night, to the moon and stars, to the great prophetess of the holier realm, to the guardian of blissful rest. Bless and sanctify us, O holy night. To the light, a season was set; but everlasting and boundless is the dominion of the night."
After that, I was permitted to dig in, in which I candidly obliged.
"How has the experience of going to the academy been?" Father asked.
I couldn't immediately answer with my mouth stuffed, so I had to jug down some milk.
"Quite alright, to be candid. Although most of the students still fear me, some of them have started loosening up. I have a friend now, his name is Reede Jarl. Other nobles are quite stuck up, though."
"He must be Wilhelm Jarl's son, the current assistant manager of Black Port Company."
"Wait, he is the son of your employee?" My eyes and lip corners twitched. Reede's friendship was business-motivated!
"No wonder he looked so scared when he came to talk to me," I muttered with a slight frown.
Father laughed, having already understood my underlying thoughts.
"That is just how it is, son. Outside this home, all there is is war and honest lies. Never forget that."
"Yes, sir," I said in passing and bit down on another pancake.
A minute passed in quiet eating fashion before father spoke up once again, "The church academy has a lot of children from the middle and poor classes, but attendance is a mandatory requirement for enrolment in the Knights Academy. What do you think about that?"
I shrugged and simply answered, knowing what Father was really asking, "I sincerely do not think anything about it. I can't look at myself above anyone else just because I get to have good things I didn't have to work for. I have no right to look down on other children just because I was born wealthier than most."
Father nodded, wearing a satisfied smile.
"Good. You are growing up to be a fine young knight your mother can be proud of," he said and patted my head.
Just then, Selene came to pour Father a glass of wine and frowned and berated me with the same cold expression on her face.
"We shall begin your sword training, starting this weekend."
"Really, Father? Thank you! That's so awesome!" I exclaimed and laughed playfully. I was finally going to begin my journey to ultimate power!
With the joy I felt, I stuffed my mouth even more. The pancakes were just so good.
"Eat properly. You are not a wild dog."
I was stunned, as I didn't expect her to blow off on me so suddenly, but Father just chuckled and waved her away, saying, "He is a child. Let him be a child. Some attitudes naturally come with age."
Selene just hissed and went away after she was done.
"I was just enjoying the meal, my goodness," I muttered and got up from the table, having lost my appetite.
I informed Father that I was running late and couldn't finish my meal before leaving for school.
At the entrance of the manor, a pure black carriage with a gold design was waiting with two black horses in front.
Danis, the carriage driver, was wearing a black overcoat with black gloves and holding a top hat on his chest, standing beside the open door of the carriage.
As soon as Danis sighted me, he bowed slightly as he greeted, "Handsome morning, youngmaster Williem…"