Removing the gauze wrapped around my eyes, a faint glimmer of light subtly flickered at the edge of my vision.
That elusive light was like the dawn slowly penetrating through layers of clouds.
Blurry outlines began to emerge before my eyes; first, indistinct shadows, then colors gradually seeped in.
My eyes blinked, and the once familiar scene slowly became clear and discernible.
My name is Allen, not the Allen who constantly shouts about freedom, but a nobleman from another world.
You might not believe it, but yesterday I stared directly at the sun from close range, and I've just recovered from temporary blindness. Even lying in bed now, my head still feels a bit dizzy.
"Madam, the Young Master suffered from extremely strong light magic in a short period, which stimulated his eyes at close range, causing temporary blindness. He is fine now."
"Alright, Will, go tell the Master this news," Madam Anna said softly.
"Yes, Madam." Will then slowly exited the room.
"Allen, do you feel better? Do your eyes still hurt? Do you need someone to bring your meal over?" Madam Anna asked with concern, sitting by the bed. "By knight's glory, you were unconscious for a whole day yesterday and had to be carried back. You scared me to death."
"Mother, I'm fine. I already possess Battle Qi now, so my body recovers very quickly. I'll go down to eat in a bit," Allen replied. "Besides, I just underestimated the unstable magic stone's range of influence. Oh, right, what about that Dragon Beast? Is it dead, or did it escape?"
"Hmph, you've been talking for a while now, and you haven't mentioned me once. It seems you're not worried about my safety at all," the Earl said, pushing open the door.
"Father, it's great that you're alright," Allen said. "Besides, I just heard Mother ask Butler Will to call you, so I guessed you were fine."
"Alright, it was just a small joke. You did very well yesterday," the Earl said with a hint of relief. "If it weren't for you, I might have returned to knight's glory much earlier. Don't worry about that Dragon Beast; it's already cooked."
"Cooked?" Allen asked, frowning in confusion.
"Yes, literally. It was stewed inside its own rock armor. As expected of a Dragon Beast, it wasn't instantly vaporized by the super high temperature at the center of the explosion, and even its outer protective rock armor didn't completely melt.
That's also why all its magic was used to support its armor, but it neglected its severely injured self and was thus stewed," the Earl said with emotion.
"Alright, you've been hungry for a day. Go down and eat first. We'll discuss the details in my study after you've eaten." The Earl added, then left.
With the help of servants, I finished washing and dressing, then dragged my weakened body to the dining chair, looking at the roasted meat and the fish egg risotto, which my previous self loved.
Allen still didn't understand. What kind of good person eats rice and roasted meat for breakfast, especially something as greasy as roasted meat?
Mixing rice, eggs, onions, carrots, peas, cream, curry, and smoked shredded cod together completed the fish egg risotto.
And in the previous self's memory, fish egg risotto seemed to have never been absent from breakfast.
Taking a spoonful of the risotto from the bowl, then a bite of roasted meat, the taste was quite good. It was truly delicious.
Although I've only been here for about four days, I still miss the various snacks from my hometown. Once I go to the territory, I might try to make some.
After finishing breakfast, Allen went to the Earl's study door and knocked, "Father."
"Come in."
Allen pushed open the door and entered the study. This room was very large, with rows of bookshelves filled with parchment books on the inner wall.
In the center of the room was a large mahogany table, on which several books were stacked.
"Sit down," the Earl put down the book he was holding.
He crossed his hands, resting his chin on them, and looked at his third son, saying, "Allen, I'm very curious, what were you thinking, daring to let Curly hook you over? It has never been contracted, nor has it left a human imprint on its mind. It is completely an untamed and un-tempered beast, merely staying with us, and we just gave it some food and a name. It hasn't even been a month."
"Because I saw you get knocked into the pit earlier, I decided to take the unstable magic stone. Then I went into the cave and directly told Curly, 'Naz is in danger, can you take me there?' And then it hooked me and we set off," Allen said calmly.
"You have indeed grown up. Just three days ago, after your coming-of-age ceremony, you were very reserved in front of me. Now you are very calm, so calm it's as if you're a different person. Has something happened?"
The Earl's tone was calm, but his gaze was like a sharp sword, shooting directly at Allen, as if to penetrate his soul and see through every corner of Allen's heart.
Oh my goodness!!! Have I been exposed? Allen maintained his calm on the surface, but his heart was already exploding.
What should I do? Run? I'm just an Apprentice Knight, but the Earl is a Sky Knight and can fly, even if not for long periods, and there's still Naz. Fight? That's even worse than running; at least running lets me live a few more seconds.
Then there's only admitting it or... flat-out denying it. If I admit it, even if my talent is poor, the Earl has raised me for 16 years, and he'll probably kill me with one blow. I can only flat-out deny it.
After deciding to flat-out deny it, should I play dumb or deny it three times? No, neither is good. First, praise. Yes, in this situation, praise first, then shift to growth, and finally draw him into memories.
Allen took a deep breath, then calmly said, "After all, I have your bloodline. Although I'm not as strong and talented as Big Brother, nor as smart and capable of handling everything as Second Brother, I can only think more and make some experimental changes. Otherwise, I would be too unworthy of your bloodline."
The Earl's gaze softened. His hands, which had been resting on his chin, moved to the armrests of the chair, and he leaned back, saying with a hint of recollection, "Although your talent isn't great, you have immense perseverance.
When you were young, I required you to wake up early and train with me. But you, after the age of seven, started training an hour earlier than I required every day, rain or shine. In your free time, you even read all the books I had here several times."
Then he changed his posture and continued, "Until three days ago, you overslept for the first time. I was quite surprised then, thinking that you finally couldn't keep going and wanted to rest for a day, so I didn't have anyone call you.
But I didn't expect you to oversleep again the next day. I asked the butler to wake you up, wanting to talk to you about the fief and also to ask what was wrong. It just so happened that we encountered the Dragon Beast. That's why I asked you just now, but the 'change' you mentioned, does it mean you're no longer going to insist on getting up early to train?"
So he was just asking why I suddenly stopped getting up early. That scared me. Allen, relieved, sighed internally.
"Of course not. The change I mentioned is to try a different approach. Before, I put a lot of pressure on myself from a young age, wanting to surpass Big Brother. So now I want to try a different way, not putting too much pressure on myself, and approaching it with a calm mind. Perhaps a relaxed mood will actually yield better results."