Sofia was a blonde, blue-eyed young woman. She was not especially beautiful, but she had a gentle nature.
She had come to Shelby Manor when Altair was three years old, at the age of eighteen.
In the blink of an eye, eight years had already passed.
"Good morning, Master Altair."
Sofia entered the room and set the clothes in her hands on the cabinet by the bed. Then she walked over and pulled open the curtains one by one before opening a window in the corner.
The morning sunlight of July streamed into the room. Outside the window was a sea of green, everything full of life and vigor.
"Good morning, Sofia."
Altair greeted her, then went to the bathroom to wash up.
Sofia had prepared a fitted white shirt for him, along with a close-cut gray waistcoat and matching suit. As for accessories, there was a delicate gold pocket watch.
Since Altair did not need to go out today, Sofia had not prepared a hat for him.
The Shelby family's hats were always special. Sharp razor blades were sewn into the brims. It was a symbol of the family's pride.
While Altair changed clothes, Sofia stayed at his side watching. She had nothing to feel shy about. She had cared for Altair for eight years, and sometimes she even treated him as if he were her own child.
Once he was dressed, Sofia stepped up in front of him, slipped the pocket watch into his suit pocket, fastened one end of the chain to a button on his jacket, then adjusted the collar of his shirt for him.
"A handsome young gentleman. Once you grow up, who knows how many girls you'll leave completely smitten."
Sofia praised him sincerely. Even though Altair was only eleven, she could already feel a charm about him that was different from everyone else.
Handsome, elegant, steady, noble.
It was hard to believe he was only an eleven-year-old boy.
Altair had inherited his mother's Roman heritage, with black hair and black eyes. In modern Britain, that was considered a mark of nobility, since all of England's history was said to trace back to Rome.
And most Romans had black hair and black eyes, including the famously great Julius Caesar.
Of course, in Altair's view, it was not all that different from his previous life. The only real difference was that his eyes in his former life had been a lighter shade, leaning more toward dark brown, whereas now they were almost pure black.
All in all, Altair was quite satisfied. The familiar black hair and black eyes made him comfortable in his own.
The two of them left the room and headed for the dining room on the first floor.
The entire Shelby family lived at Shelby Manor. Besides Altair, there were also his two uncles and one aunt.
Naturally, that also included their large families. One of his two aunts by marriage came from a noble London family, while the other was the daughter of an underground gang leader in Birmingham.
Apart from the Shelby family itself, nearly a hundred servants also lived on this vast estate, including the butler, cooks, gardeners, maids, and others. In addition, there were dozens of Peaky Blinders members responsible for guarding the manor.
And beyond that, the Shelby family kept dozens of hunting dogs, a hundred fine horses in the stables, and a fair number of dairy cows and hens in the manor's pasturelands.
After all, Shelby Manor covered a full hundred acres. In easier terms, that was the equivalent of four hundred thousand square meters.
The Shelby family had a habit of dining together. It helped strengthen family bonds. The lessons of the past were still vivid, and the decline of the Peaky Blinders had everything to do with the fragmentation of the Shelby family.
"Uncle Michael, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Fiona, Aunt Nancy, Aunt Kate, Cousin Paul... good morning!"
When he arrived in the dining room, Altair first greeted the whole family.
"Good morning, Thomas!"
The reply came from everyone at once.
Altair sat down at the dining table, and the maids in the dining room began serving breakfast.
Breakfast was more or less the same every day, mostly smoked meat, fried eggs, mushrooms, sausages, and things of that sort. Toast was the staple, accompanied by milk or black tea.
Britain was, after all, a culinary wasteland. Altair had never expected breakfast to contain anything that might truly surprise him.
"Thomas, after breakfast, you'll be attending two hours of lessons with Paul and Jenny. In the afternoon, you still have shooting practice. Only after training ends are you allowed to go swimming or play ball."
After Freddy had gone to prison, Michael had taken over Shelby Manor. Every day, he arranged everything for the younger Shelbys.
The children of the Shelby family did not attend school, because the other gangs in Birmingham might try to assassinate them to strike at the Shelby family. Altair himself had once experienced exactly that.
In fact, ever since that incident, the younger Shelbys rarely left the manor unless it was absolutely necessary.
"I understand."
Altair nodded and ate the food on his plate with elegant composure.
He did not mention Hogwarts to the others, because the time was not right, and there were too many people in the dining room.
A wizard had appeared in the Shelby family. That would become one of the family's highest secrets, something only a very few people would be qualified to know.
After breakfast, Altair went to class with his cousin Paul and his cousin Jenny.
He also had several younger cousins, but they were still too young and did not need lessons yet. Altair was the exception. Because he was the future leader of the Shelby family, even at the age of eleven he had to attend lessons alongside two children of fifteen or sixteen.
Today's subjects were philosophy, politics, and economics. The professor was said to be from Oxford.
Altair listened with great interest, and from time to time he asked a few questions, leaving the professor astonished.
"I can hardly believe you're only eleven, Altair. The way you think about problems is excellent. I believe you'll go very far in the future."
After class, Altair said goodbye to his cousins and went to walk the dogs with Sofia. He had a dog of his own, a Doberman named Charlie.
"Looks like you can't bring dogs to Hogwarts?"
Watching Charlie devour raw beef with wild enthusiasm, Altair fell into deep thought.