"Am I not dreaming, right?"
I rubbed my eyes with my shirt sleeve and then slapped myself several times to wake up.
It didn't work.
The sound of the wind in my ears was loud because of the great flying ship passing above me. My breathing was heavy at first, but as the seconds passed, I calmed down and then said some strange words.
"That was the biggest fishing boat I've ever seen until now."
Those strange words came out of my mouth, and strange as it seemed, they didn't cause me any astonishment. The great shock of seeing a floating ship faded as I remembered what had happened to me before waking up in the small lake.
(I had come with father to a viscount's estate to try to get to know his daughter, but I never found him and somehow got lost and fell into that lake.)
That was what I remembered, but as I walked towards the end of the fence looking for the estate, those words still seemed strange to me.
(Father? Viscount?)
Those words felt strange to me since I didn't have a father, much less know what a viscount was.
As I advanced following the fence to its end, more and more memories appeared in my head.
People I didn't know, whom I called family.
My birthplace.
And, above all, my name.
"I am Rudel van Bradford, I am eight years old, and I am the third son of a poor and very dubious country baron house."
Little by little, I seemed to understand what was happening, but I didn't pay it much mind since I didn't want to believe it.
I managed to reach the estate, and after walking around the area, I managed to find a man I had never seen, but a part of me knew him; he was my father.
Walt van Bradford, head of Bradford Household.
I ran towards him, shouting...
"Fatheeeeer!"
Then a great fist descended upon my fragile head.
"You... stupid boy!!"
"Didn't I tell you not to move from the boat while I was looking for the viscount?"
"After spending a long time arranging a playdate. You do as you please and disappear, only to appear when he has already left for work."
Then a second, stronger fist descended upon my head.
"It hurts, Father, stop!!"
"Guhh, today was a wasted day of work and time for me, all because of this ungrateful child."
While Father spoke in a bad mood, we headed towards what seemed to be a dock, where there was a small boat; it looked more like a canoe than a boat.
There were no oars; it only had something like a moving box that apparently had a motor hidden inside.
The strangest thing wasn't the boat or the box, but that the boat was floating in the air, and the dock extended about twelve meters; about six such boats could fit there in total.
I boarded the boat without any fear; apparently, I had the sensation of having done it thousands of times, but today seemed like the first time. I was excited instead of scared.
Father started the strange motor by placing his hand at a considerable distance, and an intense green light appeared in the motor, starting it on the first try. Then we left the dock. The speed was slow; you couldn't call it a ride, but I liked seeing the surroundings and this strange sub-reality.
I murmured to myself quietly so Father wouldn't hear. "It's the first time I've seen a flying boat, and there are even floating islands. What a mysterious and weird place."
Little by little, the idea that it was a dream faded, but in its place grew a feeling of joy thinking that my wish for a second chance had come true.
◇
After a few hours on the boat, we arrived at what was our territory; a small island—well, small in that sense, but definitely not something tiny—that was the barony of Bradford Household. There, on the dock, three people could be seen; those people were my mother and my two older brothers.
Sonia van Bradford, a woman with an almost thirty-something appearance, with black hair and eyes. Her status was that of a commoner, despite being the wife of the lord of these lands. She had a surname thanks to my father.
The boy on her right was the firstborn. Lyle, like Mother, he had black hair and eyes, but he seemed to have a handsome face, so that appearance suited him.
The boy behind Lyle was Bram, my second older brother. His appearance was exactly the same as Mother's, but with a masculine face, black eyes and hair.
Maybe it's a bit late to say it, but Father and I also possess the same traits. Like my brothers, they were good-looking; (maybe I am too?)
We arrived at the dock, and Father grabbed me to lift me out. For a second, I thought that despite being angry, he was a good father, but reality crushed me without warning.
"Sonia, listen to what this foolish son of ours did!"
While Father recounted what happened to my mother, my older brothers approached me.
"Hmph, I told you, Bram. This fool was going to mess it up, so I win the bet."
"Tch... if only you had done what I told you, you would have come with good news for the house and for me."
He took out something like a thin coin from his pocket and gave it to Lyle, who had a wicked smile of victory on his face.
I seem to have left another detail out of place since I took it as natural, but the clothes we wear look like those old movies from the eighteenth or maybe nineteenth century.
Mother wore a long white country dress, while we boys and Father wore clothes that seemed presentable with a red bow at the neck.
My mother also scolded me, and we headed to the house. The house looked as you would expect from a poor but modest house—no more than two stories and a large orchard where we grow our own vegetables and greens. There were cattle and chickens in the back, which looked like a field.
Upon entering, we had dinner and went to sleep. I was a little sad about what happened today. I discovered that I died and reincarnated into the body of a boy named Rudel. (I hope I wake up from this dream tomorrow and everything gets better, I hope...)
◇◇◇
It happened after Rudel fell asleep. Somewhere beneath an island, a strange black mucous liquid slowly surfaced. From that small puddle emerged a kind of black wasp with red wings and no eyes. The mysterious wasp flew off to who knows where.
◇
About two weeks had passed since I woke up in this new world. Sometimes I cried at night, knowing that I would never return to my old life.
I am now studying with my older brothers in what is the shed. Apparently, it was the only place worthy of studying in our territory.
I've been learning a lot thanks to these two... well, they say they're giving me a review of things I should already know. I'm pretending ignorance, since they wouldn't explain to me otherwise.
I also didn't understand the text well since I didn't recognize the writing; I couldn't even compare it to any type of writing I knew in my past life.
Bram started speaking like a professor explaining a simple lesson for the third time.
"We are located at what would be the edge of the territory of the Kingdom of Altfode, which originally consisted of many small lands. A man from one of the small territories unified the others one by one and, over time, led to the founding of the Altfode Kingdom, with the King becoming the sovereign of these lands."
"Within the merged territories, any person with meritorious service was conferred a title of nobility and given a territory. As a result, the high nobility of the kingdom wielded a great amount of power similar to the capitals of small countries."
"In this way, due to this historical background, they easily conquered their surroundings with military power. Even to this day, their military forces still have considerable power."
Thanks to my brother's explanation, I could understand the place where I am... meritocracy, huh? If I remember correctly, it's a type of system that favors the best or the most useful, leaving the useless to their fate.
Bram continued as if he had had an inspiration.
"We were originally a baronet, or rather, our great-great-grandfather was. The Kingdom is approximately three hundred years old since its founding."
"Two hundred and twenty years ago is when we officially unified as a reign under a single family. To be a semi-baron/semi-noble, you need to demonstrate great feats as an adventurer or serve the kingdom for about a hundred years. It's physically impossible to live that long, so it's logical to assume your children will take on that task."
"And a century ago, our family became part of the nobility, but unlike the aristocracy, we cannot live in the Royal Capital."
Something he said intrigued me, and I asked him.
"Every noble in this Kingdom has their own territory. If so, why do they live in the Royal Capital?"
"It goes back to the creation of the Kingdom. At that time, when the country was founded, those who provided reliable service received various territories and the position of aristocrat. Even so, those families still continued to stay in the Royal Capital in case of any rebellion."
"The management of their territories was left to their administrators to handle, while the families lived and stayed in the Royal Capital. This wasn't mandatory, but something the nobles did voluntarily, or at least it seemed that way."
"Although it wasn't a crime for nobles and their family members not to live in the Royal Capital. It seems they would receive intense criticism from other nobles if they didn't."
"In the Kingdom of Altfode, nobles exist for the purpose of protecting the general public. For that reason, they all have the obligation to perform military service, whether they want to or not. In contrast, commoners get the worst of it; if they want to earn good money, they must enlist in military service. The true reality of commoners is that they exist for the good of the nobles, and they; the Royal Capital, know that and don't care."
After hearing that, I was speechless for a few seconds.
"..."
"That... that's too horrible!!"
(There's something wrong with this country, isn't there? No matter how you look at it, that system is pure shit in its maximum splendor!!)
This country is messed up. Definitely. I can't believe what my brother is saying, but it's definitely all very weird. I decided to ask him more things, knowing the answer might be grotesque.
"Err, brother... Aren't we also nobles? Don't we have the right to live in the Royal Capital?"
My two brothers looked at me with confused faces, and then Lyle responded.
"Are you an idiot, aren't you?"
"Don't you remember that Father told us all this?"
"We are nobles, but in the eyes of the people who live in the Royal Capital, we are just as inferior as a commoner, but with a surname."
"Just look at our second name, 'van.' How can you expect to compare yourself to a 'von'? You really are stupid, you know?"
I was even more puzzled about my name now.
"What's with that face? Don't tell me you've now forgotten what your name means... Did you really?"
"..."
(I want to cry. This world is very weird, and these people accept it so simply as if it's nothing. Help.)
*Sigh*
"Listen..."
Lyle sighed while Bram, once again, explained the strange things to me.
"We are minor nobles, but unlike the major nobles who earned their title, it was thanks to their knowledge for commerce or finding 'Lost Objects' in ancient ruins."
"I-I see."
I nodded at my brother's words, which were sharp.
"Those nobles, for their achievements, were recognized by the royal family. They were given the name 'von' to show they were useful to the high nobility, which were the king and his family. But in contrast, we are just the leftovers. They gave us the title 'van' because the brother of the King from centuries ago was very picky and wanted to be recognized."
That sounds very believable and too terrible for me.
"Now, the reason why we are 'van' is because the king's brother was incompetent and was exiled to the countryside along with his vassals. The vassals were recognized as the lowest rank, which was baron, while the useless brother was recognized as viscount."
"Then comes viscount, but you can rise in rank to Earl and Margrave."
All this seemed very annoying. (I don't want to go through those strange promotions.)
"Now, the 'von,' to make it short, are everyone from counts up to the king and his family as relatives."
"..."
"I'm tired, let's stop for today. You really should study, since you've given me a big headache."
Bram raised his hands to stretch and left the shed. Lyle followed him but stopped to tell me something.
"As a side note, did you know there's a prophecy among the barons that says if you have only three children—two boys and a girl—your life will improve drastically?"
"Congratulations on ruining our family, hahaha."
With those words, my brother—the firstborn—left, and I was left alone.
"Really... what a shitty world I ended up in."
After saying those words, I left the shed, closed the door, and wished for a better day tomorrow.