It has been about two years since I was reborn on this world. I only know this because they threw me one hell of a birthday party, not that I could have enjoyed any of the party. I could walk, but was rarely allowed to do so. I was dressed in some fine clothes that I would guess were worth about a year’s worth of pay from both of my old jobs combined. I did manage to have some success on the whole new language front however. I knew enough to speak simple words now, and ask for a few things that I really wanted to see.

Namely books. I used to love the smell of parchment, the texture of the written word, the feel of the leather cover in my hands. Even in a new life my love for books never changed. The first book I had asked for was a basic language book. To my surprise it was easy to understand, considering I never liked to study before I was reborn. The language was called Opecish, and it consisted of about fifty letters. Thankfully most of the sounds were much the same in English, with a few new ones thrown in.

The gifts I received for my birthday were fairly expensive. From what I could tell, books were still not mass-produced in this world. Something I would try and fix later, but explaining that it can be done as a one-year old child might raise some very big questions. Ones I am not ready for yet. Of the gifts I received, one really stood out, well, barked out really. A shadow wolf pup.

Mawry, the family wolf, had puppies three months before my birthday. I had asked for one and did not expect to receive it. He was playful and extremely energetic. So much so, that I had to hug him tightly to get him to stop moving for a few seconds, which promptly landed me on my back. My parents looked alarmed when I fell down, but relieved when I stood and brushed myself off. I smiled at them and gave my thanks for such a wonderful gift. I ended up naming him Jethro, after my favorite TV hero growing up.

The other gifts I received were from the nobles that supported my father, and a few from other kingdoms that we had good relations with. One such noble had offered my father a contract to consider. Luckily, I understood what he was saying, and was slightly alarmed that he offered his nine-month old daughter to me as my fiancée. I managed to hide my alarm and was relieved when my father said that he could not speak for my future, and what I would feel towards anyone. And that he wanted me to marry someone I loved, and not enter a political marriage.

The final gift that stood out was not really a gift so much as my father allowing me into a room in the mansion now that I had proven I could read, with a semi-elaborate test. A key to the library. I nearly lost myself when he presented it to me before I was going to bed and after most of the guests headed off.

The next day I made sure to use the privilege, and asked to go to the library with the maid, Ellen, carrying me. She was nice to me all the time, which I knew was her job, but still. As soon as she opened the door my jaw dropped, I had never actually seen a library like this in my past life. I had seen pictures of the library in Dublin on the internet, but this was like a bibliophile's dream come true. Shelves upon shelves of books, at least three stories tall, and a good few hundred feet deep.

“Ellen, do we have any books on magic?” I asked as I looked up to her. She had a disturbed look on her face every time I spoke in an adult tone. I just shrugged it off most of the time. But this time she had to consider for a moment if I was allowed to read such books. She relented shortly after I gave her the good old puppy dog eyes trick from my previous childhood.

“Yes, young master, the mansion has a few such books in the library at the moment. Would you like me to gather them for you?” Ellen asked while setting me in a very big and very comfy chair. I nodded enthusiastically towards her. “Yes please!” I could even feel my eyes sparkling with thoughts of shooting fireballs from my hands as I said it.

Ellen took off down an aisle, and about five minutes later she returned with a small stack of books. Which she set down on a nearby table. I looked at her and sighed. “Sorry for asking you to do so much heavy-lifting for me Ellen.” I must have made her very uncomfortable with my manner of speech, because the look she gave me was somewhat mortified.

“It is my job young master. I live to serve the Gracehart family. I will endeavor to aid you as much as possible. Now which of these books would you like to start with, young master?” Ellen asked as she lifted the top book and began to examine the titles. “How about this one, A Beginner’s Guide to the World of Arcanum. By Archmage Windrow?”

I looked at the book she had lifted towards me and realized two things. One, I was still small enough I couldn’t hold it properly. And two, my hands were still growing, and didn’t have the strength to flip the heavy pages just yet. “Ellen, can you help me read it please? I am still having trouble with some words.” I practically begged as I stood on the chair and almost lost my balance, nearly falling out of the chair and onto my head.

Ellen nearly lost it when I almost fell, dropping the book and moving to catch me as I managed to right myself and land in the chair. “Sorry Ellen!” I exclaimed as she fell face forward and landed on the rug. She stood up and brushed herself off as she reached for the book, picking it up. “Young master, please be more careful. If something were to happen to you on my watch, I would get scolded by your father and likely punished by your mother.” She uttered with a visible shiver down her body.

Ellen sat in the chair next to me and lifted me into her lap. She placed the book in my lap and opened it for me. “Thank you, Ellen!” I said in an enthusiastic voice. I began to read the first page and found it was a basic introduction page like those found in technical manuals. It listed most of what the book was for and what to expect from learning from it. After I finished reading one page, I asked Ellen to flip the page for me, to which she did almost out of reflex after a while.

***

The young master Alex is such a kind hearted child. If a bit rambunctious at times. I sat there flipping pages for him as he asked me to, after his near accident. I am glad he is okay, but I worry for his safety. He needs to slow down a bit, normally a child his age would be playing with toys, not reading books. Especially not books on magic.

After about an hour he started to yawn and mumbled something weird. “It reads like a technical manual...” At first, I did not understand what he said, and wanted to ask him what he meant. But I thought better of it, since he is a gifted child, and the future duke. He turned to look at me and asked me if he could eat here while reading. “I do not believe that your father would like that very much. But I will ask him before we return tomorrow. Would that be acceptable?”

The young master’s smile was bright considering his baby teeth were still coming in. It reminded me of my younger brothers back at home. “Yes! Thank you, Ellen!” He replied as I lifted the book and placed it on the table for later. “It is time for lunch young master.”

I carried him down to the kitchen where my mother was working as the head chef for the Gracehart family and asked her to prepare young master Alex’s food, as I took him to the table we used for the house staff on normal days and seated him in the high chair the duke had made for him here.

I went to help my mother with the dishes after feeding the young master, and only left the young master alone for a few seconds when a small humming pop like noise came from the table where I had left him. I dropped the pan I was carrying when I saw what he was playing with. Electricity was jumping from his left to his right hand. And he had full control of it. I turned to my mother and asked. “Did you hear him utter any magic words?”

“No. He just cast magic without words. Usually only the royal magicians can do that, or so I hear. And only after years of training.” My mother ran from the kitchen and started yelling for the staff to find the duke quickly, he needed to see this. Shortly after the duchess stuck her head into the kitchen and her jaw dropped at the sight of her son. The duke soon followed as he came in from the opposite door, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

“Alexander! How are you doing that?” The duchess nearly shrieked as she finally found her voice. The young master must have lost concentration as the lightning soon evaporated from his hands. “Um...” He replied shocked that he had been caught playing with magic.

The duke moved towards his son and spoke with him in a calm voice. “Son, do you know what you have just done?” From my angle I could tell he was alarmed for the young master, but also his eyes held a glimmer of pride. “Um... I... Just thought about it, and it sort of happened? At least I think that was all I did, father.” The young master’s words nearly caused the duchess to faint, luckily the duke manage to grab her before she fell and lifted her up. “Ellen, take him to my study and stay there until I get there.”

“Of course, your grace.” I replied as I lifted the young master into my arms. He seemed scared as I took him to the duke’s private study. He was visibly shaken from the tone the duke used with him and I tried to calm him down. “It will be alright, young master. You just startled everyone with your magic.”

“Ellen, am I in trouble?” He asked in the most frightened voice I had ever heard from him since he first learned to speak. “I do not believe so. Young master Alex. But I do not know.” Soon after we sat there the door opened and the duke strode in and took a seat behind his desk. Before speaking in an anxious tone. “Ellen, please wait in the hall for the time being. Thank you.”