Aidan pointed at a word as he asked the teacher, "What is this word?"
Aidan could recognize most of the alphabet and pronounce many words, struggling with only a few.
Aidan didn't reveal his full abilities to everyone, but now he wasn't holding back as much as usual. He tried his best to appear more normal even when learning. Even then, his mother and teacher saw him as a genius—perhaps he already knew he had been blessed with a good mother.
His teacher's name was Henry. He wasn't a noble, just a peasant, as he had introduced himself. The man was old, probably around sixty or so. His facial features made his age easy to guess—his sunken eyes and wrinkled hands showed the years he had endured. He had a goatee, and most of his hair had turned white, with only a few strands still black. Yet, he wasn't weak in any way. He walked straight, his head held high, and spoke with confidence while holding a cane with his other hand.
He addressed Aidan by his name, not with some title like "young master," and he spoke without flattery. That was one of the reasons Aidan liked him.
"Ahh, that word. It's pronounced 'si,' not 'see,'" Henry said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Aidan scrunched his nose. "That's weird. I was sure it was 'see' and not 'si.'"
"Language usually is," Henry replied, chuckling. "It doesn't always make sense—just like people."
"Anything else, Aidan, or should we pack up for today?" he asked, now stroking his beard.
"No, teacher. That's all the questions I had," Aidan replied, setting his books aside.
He stood up to walk Henry to the entrance of the room—something he had learned from noble etiquette.
This was also why everyone had hesitated about him studying so early. In this world, children normally began learning at four years old, but Aidan had started much earlier, making him a bit of a genius for his age.
"Bye, teacher," Aidan waved in farewell.
Henry, just about to leave, stopped and turned. "Practice what I gave you today, and remember—tomorrow, you'll have etiquette class. I know you don't like those lessons, but don't try to be cheeky. If you perform well, I'll let you ask me any one question. Understood, Aidan?"
"Alright," Aidan replied, scratching his head.
Just when he thought he could finally take a breather, Sophia entered the room, followed by Lily.
"How was today's class, my little genius?" she asked while putting a plate of fruits down and hugging him, planting kisses on his cheek.
Lily, standing behind Sophia, couldn't hold back her laughter. "Just look at him—it's ridiculous! And funny!"
Sophia glared at her, a warning in her eyes. "Laugh one more time and see what happens."
Lily immediately stopped, gesturing a zipping motion on her mouth, shutting it, and throwing the key away.
"Mom, I need to go to the library. I'll meet you later," Aidan said helplessly, unable to stop his mother from clinging to him like this after every class. Even after accepting her, he still struggled to reciprocate her clinginess.
He sighed before he ran on short legs toward the right side of the room. After going straight for a few minutes and ignoring two left turns, he took the third left and entered the second room on the right.
The library door opened with a clank that echoed in the silence, making the sound even louder. Even his little steps made a thud-thud noise.
The library wasn't vast compared to the other grand things he had seen—it was relatively small, with ten rows of books, each containing five shelves filled with texts. A staircase led up to a built-in seating area that extended along three sides of the room, with the fourth side having two staircases—one at the far right and one at the far left.
Aidan had been coming here for a month, sorting through all the information he could find. Now, he took some books to the seating area.
He flipped a page, his small fingers tracing the inked words. His eyes darted across the parchment, absorbing every detail.
His lips pressed into a thin line as he reread a passage.
"The world of Maaya is ruled by four races: humans, elves, lizardmen, and demons. Each commands its empire, its domain."
And one big thing that he found was that only these four nations had the right to call themselves an empire, while all others, no matter how vast their population or territory became, could never refer to themselves as an empire.
He didn't find any other information on other empire structures working, but he did find the power structure of the human empire. That was interesting.
"The Theodore royal family rules absolutely, yet the true foundation of the empire rests upon four duke houses, each overseeing vast territories in service of the crown."
Aidan leaned back, his thoughts swirling. Four dukes—his father was one of them. And yet, there was something drastically different about his estate compared to the other three.
"The Wilson family. Unlike the four dukes, their power is sovereign. Not even the emperor may interfere with their estate."
That was something he learned from his mother when he asked, but she did not reply.
His fingers tightened around the page. He thought he would find the answer, but he didn't.
Why? "What makes Wilson?" he asked out loud, as it echoed in the library.
That wasn't normal. In every kingdom and empire he had read about in his past life, power always flowed upward. The emperor should be the ultimate authority. Yet here, a single noble house stood beyond his reach.
He turned the page. Nothing. He did not find what he was looking for.
Aidan clicked his tongue and closed the book, staring at its worn leather cover.
He stroked his chin, thinking over everything he had seen so far. One possibility came to mind.
Is it because Father is a fourth-rank being? he wondered, still uncertain.
Aidan felt disappointed—he had expected a complete piece of the puzzle, but all he had gotten were crumbs, like a beggar. He had worked so hard to learn the letters as soon as possible for this very reason, and yet, this was all he had uncovered.
Calm down, Aidan, he told himself.
He stood up and left the library, heading toward the field to get some fresh air—he needed a breather.
As he walked, he relaxed his mind, focusing on the intricate designs on the walls and the pillars. At the top of each pillar, a stone seemed to hang—something he had seen many times but never cared to observe so closely before. The stone was crafted, yet for some reason, it felt natural. Whoever had crafted it was talented.
But more importantly, this very stone was also the source of light in this world when night settled.
Shrugging off those thoughts, Aidan continued toward the entrance. For some reason, he felt a sudden chill, which was odd since it was still afternoon. Confused, he kept walking.
The castle had multiple entrances. The one he had chosen led directly to the living hall.
As he stepped forward, he saw a woman emerging from a carriage.
At that moment, realization struck.
The chill he had felt—it was coming from her.
Even on the upper floor, he had sensed it, and now, standing only a few meters away, he was certain.
Her gaze locked onto him.
A subtle smile formed on her lips as her eyes curved into crescent moons.