Arrival 1

As one of Anglie's two closest younger sisters, Song Ye naturally had to put on the proper attitude.

"Maggie, is that you? What is it? Do you need something?"

"Can't I come talk to you if there's nothing wrong?" Maggie trotted over to Song Ye's side and looped both hands around his arm. Her small chest pressed against his arm without leaving a trace.

"But there really is something... I actually came to ask you for a favor." Her warm body edged even closer.

Song Ye had just finished exercising, his blood and energy flowing freely through his body. Faced with such temptation all of a sudden, his heart grew faintly warm as well.

"What is it?" In Anglie's memories, Maggie had only sought refuge at the castle not long ago. Although Anglie had no designs on this distant cousin of his, it seemed Maggie herself did not think the same way.

Of course, within noble Lineages, relationships between cousins were everywhere. It was not like Earth, where laws forbade such things.

Maggie liked dressing up, liked beautiful clothes and enjoying life, and liked even more standing higher and living better than those her age. Her parents could also gain a better job and better treatment through her closeness to Young Master Anglie. That was her aim.

The same was true of Cilier, Anglie's other half-sister. Although Cilier's mother was Anglie's elder, she had merely been born the daughter of a craftsman, and her status was far beneath Anglie's noble standing.

The current situation was that the eldest son was nominally away in the army and had yet to return. Although the second son could not inherit the title according to custom, the Rudin Kingdom was now in utter chaos, and the major territories were practically completely independent. The inheritance of a title was no more than a word from the baron. And the baron intended to pass the title to Anglie. Once the baron was gone and Anglie became head of the household, if Cilier did not have a good enough relationship with him, Anglie would have every right to drive Cilier and her mother out of the castle to live on their own. For Cilier and her mother, that was a terror they could never accept. That was why Cilier had taken the initiative to approach Anglie, preparing for the future. Before she married, developing a relationship with her cousin that was closer than mere kinship was the best guarantee of stabilizing her current life.

Maggie stayed close to Anglie and followed his steps toward the residential tower. Now and then, envious gazes and disdainful looks fell upon them. Neither of them cared in the slightest.

"My mother's legs have been hurting terribly lately. I was wondering if she could be given something easier to do..." she said softly, sneaking glances at Song Ye as she spoke.

Song Ye did not answer immediately. He merely nodded slightly to show that he had heard, then quickly brought Maggie back to his bedroom.

Cecilia was still obediently staying in the bedroom and had not gone out. It seemed she had taken Song Ye's words entirely to heart.

When she saw Song Ye bring Maggie inside, a trace of embarrassment appeared in Cecilia's eyes.

Song Ye opened the wardrobe and took out a set of clean underclothes and outerwear.

"Maggie, take her to eat, then have her wash up properly and rest. Have the head maid give her a room of her own. Tell her I said so."

Maggie had thought Song Ye had brought her upstairs because he was preparing to... Yet it turned out to be this. She looked Cecilia up and down, her gaze settling on Cecilia's chest, and immediately felt a little smug. Her own breasts were much larger than Cecilia's.

Though she was somewhat indignant, Maggie was actually a little afraid of that sort of thing from the stories. Since she could avoid it and delay it for a while, she would delay it for a while.

She released Song Ye's arm and went over to grab Cecilia, who still looked timid and tried to shrink back.

"You two go first. Come find me after you've dealt with it. I'll speak to Ward about Aunt Alice's matter," Song Ye said flatly, suppressing the heat in his heart.

Having transmigrated into a world like this, the matter of a man's desires truly was a harsh test.

"Alright." Maggie's face brightened slightly. She gave a small bow and pulled Cecilia toward the door.

As she passed Song Ye, he casually gave Maggie's chest a squeeze. A springy, full sensation traveled from his palm to his brain.

The two girls cried out at once. Maggie let out a coquettish laugh and broke into a little run, pulling Cecilia away with her.

"Though the body's still small, a touch is still fine." A faint smile appeared on Song Ye's face. After suppressing himself for so long, he could at least collect a little interest. Otherwise, he truly suspected he might endure himself into a problem.

After that, Song Ye practiced Basic Swordsmanship on time every day, using the Chip's correction ability to continuously refine his movements.

He soon finished practicing the more than ten thousand basic movements. Through detection, Song Ye discovered that his body had indeed gained 0.1 in strength.

He also used the Chip to collect the physical data of some people his age.

Unfortunately, the average physical data of everyone his age who had undergone Seed Inheritance was at least above 0.8, including several girls. The joy he had felt over gaining 0.1 strength immediately sank again.

The baron and Knight Audis seemed busy handling the wandering criminals who had drifted in, with no time at all to bother with Song Ye. As for instruction, they simply handed it over to Arad for now. Song Ye was happy enough with that. In any case, he had no way of receiving a better training method now. Basic Swordsmanship was enough for him to practice over and over.

As for Maggie, Song Ye only touched her that first time and did not tease her again afterward, lest his body, which was in the midst of puberty, fail to hold back. However, he did mention her mother's matter to Ward and had her transferred to an easier job. Maggie was clearly rather grateful for that.

Four days later...

Early morning.

Leo Castle dining hall.

Around a rectangular wooden dining table sat the core members of the Leo Family, quietly eating their food.

Anglie sat in the secondary seat at one end. With the baron absent, he held the highest status in the castle. On either side of him sat two middle-aged women, the baron's third and fourth wives, taken later in life.

Each had her own beauty, yet even with the baron absent, their expressions remained respectful and courteous.

Below them sat two rows of boys and girls. They all wore noble garments of red trimmed in black. Cilier was among them, as was the little boy named Gelu whom he had encountered at the training ground before.

There were more than a dozen of these boys and girls. Most were delicate and attractive in appearance, sitting quietly in their seats and eating their own food.

Other than the clinking of silverware against plates, there was not a single other sound at the table.

As Anglie precisely cut off a small piece of cooked Horned Ox meat, his gaze swept across the entire table. Old Ward stood behind him. In the baron's absence, Old Ward's formidable martial strength and the power under his command were the guarantee of Anglie's status. Thus, no one still dared defy him.

And the people at the table before him were the members of the entire castle with enough status to dine with the baron. Maggie and her parents naturally did not belong among them.

Anglie speared a piece of Horned Ox meat. After taking a small sip of soup, he immediately frowned. "What soup is this today? Why is it different from the one we had a while ago?" He turned his head slightly as he asked.

Old Ward stood behind him and answered respectfully.

"It is forest game sent back by the master the day before yesterday, made from some mushrooms and several Red One-Eyed Snakes."

Anglie nodded.

"This soup is good. Red One-Eyed Snakes? Are there any in the forests around us?"

"There are, and many of them. But these snakes are highly venomous, and treatment is difficult after being bitten. They are among the least welcome prey. We only get to eat them occasionally," Old Ward replied.

"Oh." Anglie raised the small bowl again and took another sip. The flavor was fresh, rich, and mellow. Several green scallions floated on the surface of the milky-white broth. It looked very much like milk jelly.

"After breakfast, I'm planning to go out for a while," Anglie said calmly.

Old Ward frowned slightly.

"These are troubled times. It would be safer for you to remain in the castle..."

"It's fine. I'll only wander around nearby, around the cavalry's morning training grounds. Nothing will happen." Anglie cut him off. "You can send two men with me." His tone was firm and left no room for doubt.

Old Ward could only nod.

"Very well. Please do not stay outside for too long."

Anglie nodded to show that he understood.

The entire table returned to its previous silence.

After eating, Anglie went directly to the castle's outer gate. Two guards had appeared behind him as well.

Anglie looked as though he were deep in thought. A cross-shaped iron sword hung at his waist, while a short bow and a quiver were strapped to his back. The quiver was filled with fifty white-feathered arrows.

"Are you going hunting, sir?" one guard asked quietly.

Anglie shook his head slightly.

"I'll practice at the edge of the forest and see if I can catch something small."

But no one knew that a row of pale-blue data was displayed in his eyes at that moment.

"A special food compatible with the body has been discovered. Category: meat, serpent genus. It has been named Red One-Eyed Snake. Consuming its snake-eye flesh raw one hundred and nine consecutive times can increase agility by 1."

That was why Anglie had insisted on coming out.

An increase of 1 in agility... That temptation was absolutely not something he, who was now in desperate need of strength, could resist.

And after several days of training, with the Chip's corrections, Anglie also wanted to see the results of his improved practice.

In the early morning, a thin layer of white mist still lingered among the woods outside the castle. On the clearing at the forest's edge, the cavalrymen had already begun running while shouting cadences for their morning training.

Anglie led the two guards slowly around the edge of the clearing, heading toward the forest opposite the castle.

The only passage from the castle to the outside world was a main road, with vast stretches of forest and mountains on either side.

Anglie's departure with two guards did not attract the cavalrymen's attention. Such outings had not been rare in the past, and they had long grown used to them. However, some people noticed that Anglie seemed to be truly preparing to enter the forest.

At once, several faintly mocking gazes shot his way. Within the castle, many people had long been dissatisfied with this second young master who was like a useless waste. Having long regarded themselves as part of the castle, they naturally were unwilling to be led by someone too weak to truss a chicken. Thus, seeing Anglie head toward the forest, they all pretended not to notice. Some among them even hoped in their hearts that Anglie would simply die in the woods.

Anglie, however, remained expressionless. Though his physical condition was not especially strong now, after the Chip's corrections, his movements had become extremely concise and effective. In particular, he had the greatest confidence in his archery. With the Chip's assistance, his accuracy was nearly one hundred percent. He had secretly tested this with the training ground's bow and arrows at night. Even in the pitch-black night, he had an extremely high hit rate from fifty meters away. Therefore, he was confident that hunting some prey would be no difficult task.

Anglie and the two guards had walked less than twenty meters into the forest when one of the guards stopped him.

"That's far enough, sir. If we go any deeper, we won't be able to protect you."

"Alright, then here it is." Anglie revealed a faint smile.

He took the short bow from his back, then withdrew a white-feathered arrow from the quiver and nocked it on the bow.

"Move aside. I'll see whether there's anything worth shooting," he ordered.

The two guards exchanged helpless glances, then simply sat down of their own accord so they would not block Anglie's view. This was not deep within the forest, after all, so the danger was generally not great. There was no need to worry too much.

"The most common things here are Red One-Eyed Snakes, rabbits, Umbrella Squirrels, and other small creatures. As long as we keep an eye out for One-Eyed Snakes nearby, it'll be fine," one guard said softly.

The other nodded lightly.

Standing in the grass, Anglie swept his gaze around the surroundings.

"I remember Father once hunted a Mountain Black Bear in the forest. Although Father suffered serious injuries as well, that black bear's hide became the noblest symbol of strength in the castle," he said calmly.

The two guards did not understand what he meant.

"Mountain Black Bears are considered fairly powerful creatures in the forest, and they are the overlords of the outer forest. But rest assured, sir, their territory is generally another two hours' walk farther in. We would also need to cross the small hill ahead."

A day in this world was evenly divided into twenty-five hours. Its timekeeping was not much different from Earth in Anglie's previous life, except that each hour was slightly shorter.

"Then that's good." Anglie nodded, his gaze fixed on every movement around them. "Though I cannot undergo Seed Inheritance, I still have great confidence in my archery. Since I came out this time, I should be able to catch something."

The moment he finished speaking, Anglie's body spun sharply. He drew the bow and pulled the string.

Whoosh!!!

A white blur shot out. With a thud, it embedded itself in a large tree more than ten meters away.

A small gray snake had been nailed firmly to the trunk, still struggling desperately.