With all my injuries healed, my daily schedule resumes without a hitch.
I wake up at 3 AM to train my body for three hours and stop at exactly 6 AM. Due to the nature of my injuries, I have to take multiple breaks during training. Though they've been healed, my body still needs time to adjust, else I could be causing it more harm than good.
Still, I make sure I use all three hours on training.
Afterward, I freshen up and go to the library to read all the relevant books I can find.
My Aditi Household doesn't have all the books that I require, but I have already informed my Uncle to seek out the remaining ones I need and post them to our Estate.
Thankfully, he doesn't disappoint.
About a week after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the first batches of books arrive for me.
I spend all day reading, only stopping once it's about 5 PM in the evening. Once the sun begins to set, I make my way to an empty Training Area, with only my younger sister waiting there for me.
None of the Warriors trains there once it's 5 PM, since it has now been reserved for me and Selicia.
I train her in swordsmanship, footwork, and all kinds of techniques that she needs to become a proper Knight. I also add etiquette to the list, which I know she is in dire need of.
Of course, none of these can replace the Knight Academy.
However, helping her with this now will give her a massive edge and prepare her for the challenging life she will experience once she enters the Academy. If she continues with her training and doesn't stint on internalizing all the guidance I'm giving, then she'll be an absolute beast once it's finally time to attend the Academy.
Even if she ends up as the only Knight of our Main Family, it will be more than enough to deal with the Minor Families.
After all, my father was able to hold them off on his own without issue.
All she has to do is become a Mid-Rank Knight like him.
Selicia is a woman, so many people underestimate her potential, but I can see it clearly. She isn't any less talented than my father. The most talented one remains Craig, though, as he is simply on another level.
The best way I can describe talent is by using the example of walking.
Let's say there are three people who start walking at the same pace, and they are to cover the same distance. We can even assume they have similar weight and body types, which means their physical ability isn't the issue.
However, one of them has to travel this distance uphill, one has to travel downhill, while the last person travels on a flat surface.
The question is… who will have the easiest time?
It's the one traveling on a flat surface!
This situation can be applied to me, my brother, and my sister. I am the one with the least talent, so I walk uphill. My sister is walking downhill, having a far easier time, but not as much as my brother, who is walking on a flat surface with no obstruction.
With my brother's level of talent, I can even say he is sliding rather than walking.
Speaking of Craig, he sometimes joins me and Selicia when we train, but it's not like he participates in the fights or anything. He simply watches us, and I don't intend on making him join in unless he expresses interest.
He was hesitant to join us at first despite his curiosity, most likely because he was afraid I would force him to train alongside Selicia.
However, ever since I surprised him with my lenience, he has become a regular spectator.
I plan on bringing back the warriors at some point and making Selicia spar with them from time to time. This will give her a richer experience in fighting all kinds of people who have diverse builds and resort to different tactics. Even if she's more skilled, she still needs to put herself in many situations to accumulate experience.
To do that, she can't always be fighting a predictable opponent like me.
After Selicia and I fight, we tell Craig to play something for us. In the past, we would simply rest in silence, since Selicia would be too exhausted to even speak. But with Craig around, we have decided a better use of such a time would be for him to show us what he has been working on.
This usually takes the form of music.
Craig often sings, but sometimes he brings musical instruments that he crafted himself to the training field and plays them for us once we finish training.
Afterward, we appreciate his work and offer critiques whenever he asks for one.
What started off as a way for him to slack off from normal training has turned into an avenue to express himself to his siblings.
Before the three of us realized it, these evenings have transformed into something else.
It has become an invaluable bonding experience—the kind I never got to experience in my past life. For that alone, I am very aware that I have changed things for the better in this Household.
I study to become a Scholar.
Selicia trains to become a Knight.
Craig practices all sorts of things and hones his skills as an artist.
The three of us have chosen rather bizarre and unconventional routes, but none of us judges one another for the paths we have taken. Rather, we encourage one another and offer support where our parents have refused to.
As for our parents—Mother and Father have been rather silent lately.
Clearly, they still disapprove of our actions, but they make no moves to stop us from doing whatever we like.
Of course, my Mother still ensures my sister takes her mandatory etiquette classes, and Craig still has to train during the day. However, she doesn't do anything to stop me.
My Father is even more passive.
He simply watches from the sidelines, not speaking to me—or any of my siblings at all.
A part of him must think this is all a phase, and both my parents are waiting for me to grow out of it. I wish they could know how wrong they are.
*******
Time flies like this, and three months have passed since I returned to the past.
So much has happened during this period. I have gotten much closer to my siblings, and my parents have finally gotten off my back—for now. It appears I am slowly making up for all the regrets I accrued in my past life.
As if things couldn't get any better, the thing I have been waiting for finally arrives.
—A letter from the Royal Academy!
"Young Master, this arrived for you this morning…" Leon presents a sealed envelope to me with a bow, his eyes closed, while his body hangs stiffly in my room.
He almost appears to be a statue, a man frozen in time.
I smile and accept it with grace.
The envelope's soft fabric caresses my hand, and the aroma it gives off alone oozes prestige.
The golden insignia reflecting on the seal is something I have only seen a few times in my entire life—past and present. The letter "R" is written prestigiously at the center of the golden wax, with its fancy font italicized to accentuate its grandness. A swirling circle surrounds the letter, creating a twirling spiral of grandeur within its borders.
I have run out of words to properly describe this seal, so I shift my focus to the pristine embroidery of the envelope—simply sublime.
Compared to what I am used to in the Aditi Household, this truly radiates elegance.
'The fact that it's still sealed means Father didn't check through it before allowing Leon to bring it to me…' I smile to myself. 'Does he really intend to stay out of this?'
My father is the Head of the Aditi Household. Nothing of importance happens within our Estate that the man isn't aware of. As such, something as grand as a letter from the Royal Academy would have surely caught his attention.
Honestly, I would have preferred hiding it from him, but there's no helping something like this.
This is an official letter, so even if I would have appreciated them posting it to my Uncle Damon, it could have only been sent to the official address of the Aditi Household. If that hadn't been the case, I would have ensured my Uncle sent this to me more inconspicuously—perhaps among the next batch of books.
But, no matter, the letter arrived safely.
'The fact that Leon brought this letter to me can only mean my father saw it, and yet he didn't restrict my access to it…' I wish I could be optimistic about this and assume my father has given up on trying to stop me from going to the Royal Academy.
But I know my parents too well.
They won't give up so easily—not when it comes to the future of our Aditi Household.
Still…
"Might as well get to it now."
I pay none of these things any mind when I tear the envelope open to release the letter within.
The paper is delicate and smooth. I end up creasing it by mistake, but this doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Only the words within are of any concern to me.
After spending a few minutes reading through the letter, a relieved grin forms on my face.
Leon stares at me, curious about what is making me smile.
He doesn't ask, but his expression says it all.
"Leon… I'm in a great mood today…" I turn to him and flash him a wonderful smile. "Do you know why?"
"Why, Young Master?" He straightens up now and doesn't hide his curiosity.
I laugh and state the obvious.
"Because I've been accepted to participate in the Entrance Exams of the Royal Academy. It takes place in a few weeks, which means I need to start making preparations now."
"That's amazing, Young Master. Congratulations!"
"Indeed!" I beam at him and let my hand streak through my raven black hair. "I should inform my parents of this as soon as possible."
With pep in my step, I get up from my bed and stretch with unbridled energy.
I give Leon the letter, and without me saying anything, he proceeds to fold the whole thing back in and return it to the envelope. I hum loudly, hurrying into the bathroom so I can get myself ready to see my parents.
They won't be happy with this, of course… but do I care?
Not at all!
**************
News quickly spread around the Aditi Estate regarding my letter.
I don't know how and where the rumor spread from, but all of this is within expectations. Gossip runs rampant among the Noble and Knight Houses. The Clergy maintains modesty, so information barely leaks from that front, and the Royal Family is shrouded in mystery due to the firm hold the Randalorions have over their information.
Even news regarding the High Nobility isn't accessible to those who aren't within their circles.
However, in a Mid-Rank Knight Household like mine, how exactly can one curtail such information? Before long, it will reach the ears of the Minor Families, and they will begin to cause trouble once more.
Since attending the Royal Academy goes against my parents' wishes, I expect my father to remain passive about this problem and make it my problem to resolve, but I don't mind.
I can handle this much on my own.
Besides, if I implicate the Main Family, he'll have no choice but to assist me in my plight.
The letter contains all the details regarding the Entrance Exam, the fee I need to pay, and the deadline for everything. I immediately send the relevant information to Uncle Damon and have him start sorting out the details as my proxy.
It's still unsafe to leave the Estate, so I have to resort to such means by using others.
Leon appears reliable for the most part, but I need him by my side. As such, Uncle Damon has become the only one I can rely on when it comes to errands like this.
I keep our communication as lowkey as possible, too.
If the Minor Family members find out he is my link to the outside world, they'll undoubtedly try to eliminate him. In fact, some of them probably suspect it already, but the reason they haven't acted is that doing so will implicate them as well.
Perhaps they wouldn't have hesitated so much in the past, especially when Uncle Damon was regarded as a nobody in the Aditi Household. But now, he is highly favored by me—the Heir. Plus, his financial situation has definitely gotten better thanks to our collaboration, which they will certainly be aware of with a bit of digging.
All of this will undoubtedly make them suspect that my father, the Head of Household, is somehow helping Damon from the shadows.
How else would they be able to explain his sudden influx of money?
In fact, rather than eliminate him, most of them would rather seek to curry favor with him.
They will seek to get close to him.
Why?
Because of benefits!
As long as Uncle Damon distracts them enough with this allure, and they are still kept in the dark regarding the true nature of our relationship, I can continue to use him as my proxy to sort out all the details regarding my admission into the Academy.
By the time they realize what is going on, it'll already be too late.
"I should write a letter to my uncle now.' A flash of brilliance echoes in my eyes as I sit behind my desk under the moonlight and pick up my quill.
'It's time he put some of the money I have with him to good use.'