"What a beautiful view." The maple leaves outside the window were like flames, fluttering down in the breeze like a rain of fire.
"But, the scene is wrong." He turned his head, looking at the scene, but his brain was thinking rapidly. This isn't the original place, where is this?
This pattern.
The pattern on the quilt beneath him immediately pulled him in. Such an ancient pattern!
He had once specifically studied this pattern. Such ancient things, legendary, the kind favored by the nobles of the Celts, the ancestors of the Britons in England.
How interesting.
The decorations, patterns, and style of this room were all inextricably linked to the ancient Celts.
Why?
Just as he was pondering, a white woman with a bulging chest, constrained by her clothes, pushed open the door and walked in. Seeing the infant who had opened his eyes and was surveying the world, she revealed an innocent and brilliant smile. The white woman naturally acted as she pleased, immediately walked over, picked up the infant, and started speaking a string of English.
It was called English, but in reality, it was much harder to understand than true modern English. The English, mixed with accents and archaic tones, made it so he could only half-guess what the woman was saying.
"What a beautiful baby! The Grand Duke's son certainly has extraordinary blood. I'm sure he'll be a magnificent Knight in the future." He definitely heard the word "Knight." Knights? The Middle Ages?
The era is wrong!
The Celtic century was much, much, much older!
It completely mismatched the title of a medieval Knight.
Just as the infant was getting tangled up, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Baby?!
You've got to be kidding me?!
This body of his… is an infant?!
He was instantly stunned, offering no resistance as the woman picked him up.
Finally reacting, he flailed and struggled, but it was useless. He could only be held by the white woman as she walked outside.
He was shocked the moment he stepped out the door. The inner courtyard of the luxurious castle was planted with countless red maple leaves, gently swaying in the breeze. And the view from this small, highest peak within the castle was absolutely more spectacular than overlooking an entire steel forest from a steel city.
Forests, plains, rivers, lakes, grasslands.
It was as if the entire world was contained within this single piece of land. The tangible sense of overlooking made every cell, every drop of his blood, boil.
This was a grand chessboard with heaven and earth as its board, something people like him had always dreamed of!
He was carried towards the main hall of the castle, the largest hall and the central system of the entire castle. Here resided the highest authority of the castle and of this vast land, Grand Duke Andrei of the Red Leaf, who sat on the highest ducal seat with a dignified expression, looking down at a row of middle-aged men dressed in heavy armor.
However, upon seeing the maid approach with his son, the Grand Duke Andrei's dignified old face immediately softened, blooming like an old chrysanthemum, his face full of silly, foolish smiles. Heaven knows how blessed by the gods it was in this era, with an average lifespan of only fifty-two, to have a son at forty-five.
Grand Duke Andrei's foolish smile made the Knights below let out good-natured laughter. Grand Duke Andrei was seen fumbling, unsure how to hold his delicate descendant, who might wither with just a slight squeeze.
He could only carefully use both hands as a cradle to place the child on them. Although it wasn't quite comfortable, seeing the old man's efforts, he forgave him.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the foolishly smiling Grand Duke Andrei press his bearded face against him. The beard, like steel needles, and the rough face, like sandpaper, rubbed against his delicate little face. A sharp pain on his face made him want to scream.
But it was suppressed by his adult pride.
He cried out twice to express his displeasure, which immediately made the Grand Duke flustered.
Smiling, the maid took the child from the Grand Duke's hands, intending for him to go back to sleep. But Grand Duke Andrei shook his head, "Helena, no need."
Grand Duke Andrei's voice was full of charm and magnetism. Weathered by time, his voice was somewhat hoarse, but it could not conceal his power, spirit, and authority.
"Lion cubs are brought to observe their parents hunt from a young age. My son, no matter what he becomes, must observe how I, his father, conduct myself from a young age. Only then is he a grandson of Red Leaf!" Grand Duke Andrei's words made the middle-aged men in Knight's armor below all laugh.
He was thus placed on the armrest next to the Duke, held by the Grand Duke's large, fan-like hand, and the meeting began.
Perhaps it was a meeting, because throughout the entire process, only Grand Duke Andrei was heard speaking.
"Ross, your territory has too many bandits. They need to be cleared out. If absolutely necessary, lead a team yourself to eliminate them. His Majesty the King has already issued a notice; if you don't clear them out, it will greatly anger His Majesty." Ross was an uncle with dark eyes and brown hair. However, his two distinctive curly mustaches, he didn't know how he managed to get them in this century without perms.
"Carrot, this year's harvest from your territory wasn't good enough. Although I understand your difficulties, I hope you can make up for this year's taxes next year." Carrot was a slacker uncle, with only a tuft of black, unidentifiable hair, either nose hair or mustache, beneath his nose. Despite being a white man, he unusually had black hair and black eyes. Hearing Grand Duke Andrei's serious words, he somewhat sternly nodded. When he saw Grand Duke Andrei look at others, he reverted to his slacker demeanor.
"Goones, pay attention to the Barbarians to the west. Our harvest isn't good, so they naturally won't be doing well either. We need to guard against them raiding this autumn." Goones was a burly man with a scar on his face. He was taciturn; he only moved his face when Grand Duke Andrei was smiling foolishly just now. At other times, his face seemed to be cast in bronze. Hearing Grand Duke Andrei's words, he nodded steadily. His action made Grand Duke Andrei sigh in relief.
"Cain, the coast is your responsibility. Damn Gauls, damn Romans." Grand Duke Andrei cursed twice without saying more, but everyone present knew, even the child had some impression of these things—before the Celts completed their racial assimilation and occupied the entire island of Britain, they were always suppressed by the Gauls.
And the Gauls were the ancestors of the French, often called the "Gallic rooster."
"That's all for today, everyone. You may disperse." Knowing the Grand Duke was eager to be with his son, the Knights smiled slightly, bowed, and exited.
"Phew, so tiring. Next up is my precious son, precious son, precious son~~" Smiling foolishly, his rough hands, accustomed to holding swords for years, made him hesitant to use force, and even more so to pinch his son's tender cheeks, fearing he might accidentally bruise his son's delicate face. He could only rub his son's cheeks with his own large face, which he deemed harmless.
"Oh, right! Marcy! Marcy! Go show Marcy! Our son! Our precious son!" Humming a strange English folk song, holding the child, he walked with a light step into the castle courtyard. Passing through the cool and beautiful corridor of the inner courtyard, he arrived at the bedroom, where he saw a beautiful, silver-haired, blue-eyed woman with a pale face sitting on the bed, wrapped in a quilt, languidly reading a parchment scroll in the sunlight. Her entire being exuded an intellectual beauty.
Seeing the Grand Duke, like a male lion, enter with the infant, she casually placed the parchment on the oak bedside table. Her face lit up with captivating radiance: "Andre, is this our child?"
"Haha, yes, my dear, this is our child, the future Grand Duke. Haha…" Happily cradling the child, he joined his wife in doting on him.
"Oh, by the way, my dear," Marcy, who had fainted on the day of childbirth and only recovered these past two days, suddenly turned to her husband, the ruler of this land, Grand Duke Andrei, and asked, "What is the child's name?"
"Uh…" Grand Duke Andrei's expression stiffened, and he was speechless.
"My dear, don't tell me it's been three days and you still haven't named the child." Marcy's smiling face… so terrifying!!
"Well, my dear, I wasn't concerned about your health? I wanted to wait until you recovered to discuss our precious one's name with you." As expected of the Grand Duke, he quickly thought of a perfectly good excuse that could also earn him a kiss, despite the cold sweat.
Sure enough, Marcy's smile immediately brightened considerably. She lightly pecked Grand Duke Andrei's old face, then nestled into his arms and softly asked, "My dear, what do you think we should name our precious one?"
"Kailar? Kailar Etolk!" Grand Duke Andrei said loudly and proudly.
"That's a very good name. So… that's it?" Marcy asked softly.
"That's it!" Grand Duke Andrei said loudly, his lion-like roar making Marcy frown. She gently pinched him: "The baby is still here, don't be so loud."
The previously domineering Grand Duke immediately became as docile as a lamb, chuckling foolishly.
"Kailar… huh? That's good too. New parents, new body, new name. Let everything start anew…" He gently closed his eyes, as if something in his heart had been released. Accompanied by Grand Duke Andrei's loud voice, Kailar, with his new name, fell into a deep sleep.