Sean Winchester

Sean Winchester was a fourteen-year-old noble youth with short, bright golden hair and purple eyes. Though his face still carried a trace of childishness, it was already clear that in a few years, he would grow into a handsome young nobleman.

Sean's father, Eustace Winchester, was a noble lord holding the title of viscount in the Southern Wilderness Region, roughly two hundred kilometers southeast of Linshui City.

He possessed more than four hundred square kilometers of land as his family's territory, spanning from the eastern coastal region of the Southern Wilderness Region, south of the Dorosun River, to the Southern Wilderness Mountains. He was also one of the largest noble lords in the Southern Wilderness Region.

Sean was the second son of his generation in the family. Above him was his older brother, Jamie Winchester, who was already seventeen this year. He remained in the family territory, helping their father, Eustace Winchester, manage the estate.

Sean was not especially close to his older brother, Jamie Winchester. Though they shared the same parents, this world's nobles practiced primogeniture. All family lands, wealth, and even noble titles were inherited by the eldest son. As the second son, Sean could only leave home and make his own way after coming of age.

If a second son received his father's favor, he could obtain financial and other support upon adulthood, which would undoubtedly greatly harm the eldest son's interests. What was more, should the eldest son die unexpectedly without an heir, Sean, as the second son, would inherit the entire family.

At the age of twelve, Sean had been sent by his family to study at Lassos Noble Vocational Academy in Linshui City. The territory of his mother Margaret Winchester's older brother, Baron Lex Horton, was near Linshui City, and he was also a member of the Linshui City Noble Council. Sean's enrollment papers and proof of noble status had been provided by his uncle, Baron Lex Horton.

After Chen Mo seized his body, he had only briefly absorbed Sean's memories. Acting on instinct, he had wanted to return to the academy dormitory. Yet after returning to the academy, he unexpectedly fainted by the roadside. He was later discovered by the academy guard and sent back to his dormitory.

At the time, Sean had been soaked through by the rain, and his white Knight uniform had been covered in muddy water. Later, a physician from the Academy Medical Office determined that he had merely caught a chill and prescribed several herbal remedies for him to recuperate with.

By the following evening, Chen Mo awoke from his coma. He felt as though he had had an incredibly long dream.

In that dream, memories from his birth until the present played endlessly through his mind like a film. Chen Mo felt as if he had become someone else, yet also as if he had fused with another person. A sense of contradiction and discomfort filled both his body and mind.

It made Chen Mo feel miserable, and he instinctively let out a groan. The dormitory door was gently pushed open, and a young man of seventeen or eighteen, dressed in the gray linen uniform of an academy servant, hurried in while carefully trying not to make too much noise.

The young man noticed that Sean, lying on the bed, had awoken. A respectful and ingratiating expression immediately appeared on his face. While still several steps away from the sickbed, he bowed and said, "Good afternoon, honored young master."

After a pause, the young man continued, "I am Nick, a servant assigned by the Academy Medical Office to temporarily attend to your daily needs. It is my pleasure to serve you!" After speaking, he slightly raised his head while maintaining a slight bow, assuming a posture of awaiting Sean's orders.

The Noble Academy Sean attended accepted only students of noble birth. The academy managed its students strictly, stipulating that noble children without inheritance rights could not bring family servants with them to the academy. Noble heirs, meanwhile, could bring only one personal male servant when enrolling. However, even if noble heirs performed poorly in their studies, they could still inherit titles and lands and live free from want for the rest of their lives.

Because the vast majority of noble heirs were personally taught and cultivated by their fathers, nearly all students at the Noble Academy were noble children without inheritance rights. Only occasionally would one or two noble heirs enroll for the sake of social connections.

Noble children without inheritance rights had to leave the families they were born into once they came of age. Suitable paths for them generally included noble steward, Imperial officer, internal affairs official, business manager, academy instructor, Knight, and so on. All required strict and lengthy study and training. Learning how to live and think independently thus became the academy's first lesson for them.

Sean steadied himself and sensed the strange condition of his body. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Nick... please pour me a glass of water."

"At once, young master. Please wait a moment," Nick immediately replied. After speaking, he gave a slight bow, backed away several steps, and only then turned toward the table.

Sean struggled into a sitting position, leaning his entire back against the edge of the bed. By then, Nick had already returned to the bedside with a metal cup. He respectfully handed it to Sean and said, "Please drink, young master."

Sean took the cup and drank eagerly. After moistening his throat, he asked Nick, "Nick, how long was I unconscious? Has anything happened at the academy recently?"

"You were unconscious for about a whole day, young master. The physician said you caught a chill. Take some medicine and rest for a few days, and you will recover. As for this period... nothing has happened at the academy..." Nick answered respectfully with a slight bow. At the end, he thought carefully for a moment before stating it with certainty.

Then he suddenly remembered that Sean had not eaten for an entire day and asked, "Young master, is there anything you would like for dinner? I can prepare it for you. Also, the Cold-Expelling Potion from the Medical Office will be delivered after dinner..."

Sean frowned and said with some discomfort, "Nick, you can call me sir, or address me as Mr. Winchester." After a pause, he continued, "For dinner, hot milk, Fruit-Flavored Salad, and finally a piece of Smoked Beef. When can it be ready? I'm a little hungry." After speaking, Sean casually handed the cup back to Nick and looked at him.

"Th-this... yes, sir. The academy kitchen has everything prepared. I can bring the food to you within half an hour. If you have no other instructions?" Nick hesitated slightly after hearing Sean's words, but quickly let go of his concern over the form of address. He took the cup Sean handed him and asked for Sean's instructions.

Sean waved a hand at Nick, signaling him to go prepare it immediately. He truly was hungry.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will prepare it immediately..." After speaking, Nick bowed to Sean, backed away several steps, and only then turned to leave the bedroom. As he left, he gently closed the door to Sean's dormitory.

After Nick left, Sean raised a hand and rubbed his temples. He knew that academy servants like Nick were highly sought-after jobs among Freemen. It was not that servant wages were particularly generous, but rather that servants who left the academy normally usually had promising futures and might even have opportunities to rise into the noble class.

Academy servants were generally selected into the Noble Academy at around fifteen years old. They were responsible for cleaning, carrying things, and other miscellaneous tasks around the academy. Occasionally, they were assigned to care for Noble Cadets whose movements were limited due to illness, injury, or other causes.

When they left the academy normally at around twenty, they would generally receive letters of recommendation from the Noble Academy. During breaks from their usual work, these servants could also sit in on lessons taught by academy instructors. Someone like Nick, who could skillfully observe etiquette and possessed literacy and writing skills, had the opportunity to enter the Imperial Civil Service System, or catch the eye of a noble and be hired as an estate official.

If they possessed talent in Knight training, servants of Freemen birth could enter the Imperial Army system after leaving the Noble Academy and become low-ranking Imperial noncommissioned officers.

Given enough time, enough luck, or a breakthrough to the Formal Knight level, they could hope to be promoted into the Imperial Noble class and enjoy noble privileges. Throughout the Empire's nearly thousand-year history, the vast majority of Imperial Nobles had been promoted from Imperial officers who had earned military merit.

Compared to the Freemen class, servants who left the academy normally could skip the rank of ordinary soldier and directly serve as low-ranking noncommissioned officers. This gave them an enormous advantage from the very beginning. In Imperial history, there had never been a precedent of a soldier rising directly to become an Imperial Noble.

The officer class, particularly senior officers, held a status slightly higher than that of minor nobles and received widespread respect and welcome from all classes throughout the Empire.

Sean's original wish had been to become a mid- or high-ranking Imperial officer after leaving his family. When he learned at the age of seven or eight that he had no inheritance rights, his father, Viscount Eustace Winchester, had taught him the family's inherited Knight Training Method, including the secret Knight Breathing Technique. This continued until he was sent to the Noble Academy at the age of twelve.

Knights were a special class throughout the Empire. In Sean's memories, Knights were beings who possessed extraordinary power. An ancestor of the Winchester Family had obtained a Knight Secret Method by chance.

He had then earned merit in war and established the foundation of the family. After more than two hundred years of planning, the family had finally advanced into a Viscount Family.

After resting briefly, Sean got up and dressed. A large wooden wardrobe stood against the wall near the foot of the bed. Sean walked over, pulled open its doors, and chose a set of training clothes made from an unknown black leather, along with a pair of short cowhide boots.

After getting dressed, he surveyed the bedroom. It was roughly twenty square meters in size, and the entire room was built of brick and wood. The window on the southern wall was very small, making the room seem dim even at noon. There was a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk beside the window at the head of the bed.

A lit candlestick sat on the desk, its flame illuminating the dim bedroom. Beside it was a clock, ticking away without pause. A three-tier wooden bookshelf stood beside the desk. More than a dozen thick leather-bound books rested on its upper two shelves, while his Knight sword was also laid on the third and highest wooden shelf.

Sean casually hung the Knight sword from the belt around the waist of his training clothes.

He opened the desk drawer. Inside was a small Wooden Box, where his former self had stored gold coins. Opening it, he saw more than thirty gold coins lying quietly inside. Sean casually closed the Wooden Box, picked up a leather coin pouch beside it containing more than twenty silver coins, and tucked it into his belt as well. It was not heavy; one silver coin was only about the size of two one-yuan coins stacked together.

Sean pulled open the wooden bedroom door, revealing a small living room. A dining table stood across the middle of it. At the center of the table was a metal candlestick, and its five candles had already been lit to illuminate the entire living room. Four chairs were neatly arranged around the table.

Two low wooden cabinets stood against the wall, each with a decorative wooden flowerpot on top. In the corner stood a rolled-up bundle of bedding, though he had no idea what it was for. A balcony door on the southern wall led to the balcony, while the door on the northern wall led out of the room. Opposite it was the door to the washroom.

Sean passed through the corridor and entered the washroom directly. Inside was a wooden bucket filled with clean water. On a small shelf beside it were several wooden basins, while a wooden ladle and several pieces of white cloth hung next to the shelf.

There were no mirrors in this world, so Sean could only examine himself through the reflection in the water. He looked at the handsome yet pale face in the reflection, still carrying traces of childishness.