Aidan woke as he saw his mother gently stroking his hair. His mother, Sophia, sat beside him, her brow furrowed as she studied his face.
"You slept through lunch," she murmured. "And you barely ate breakfast in the training grounds."
Rubbing his eyes—still feeling the slight ache in his leg—Aidan offered a smile before saying,
"I was tired after class, Mom. I'll eat now, don't worry."
Sophia's hand paused. Aidan never napped. Yet today, he'd slept so deeply he hadn't even woken when called by the maids for lunch—unlike his usual self. Her voice stayed soft, but her grip tightened on the blanket.
"Did Matthew push you too hard?"
Aidan recognized danger if he said something, for Matthew would likely suffer. "No—he was careful with me."
"Good." She smoothed his hair again, her smile sharp. "Or I'd have given him a beating unlike ever—at least he listened to my warning."
Sophia gave a gentle sigh. "It's understandable for you to be tired on your first day of training, but remember to train within limit," she warned, standing and kissing his forehead before continuing, "I'm going out for some work outside the castle. I'll return by dinnertime. If you have any problems, ask your grandmother—she'll be in her office."
Aidan nodded. "Alright."
Sophia reminded him one last time before leaving the room.
Now alone, Aidan resumed his day. He ate his lunch, devouring it while thinking training had really exhausted him today. Then he headed to the library, searching for useful information. He hadn't stopped reading since childhood, and his persistence paid off—he found some general information regarding strange phenomena in this world.
One of the biggest—and eeriest—phenomena in this world was none other than the Dark Forest, something he'd heard about from his father's own mouth. He didn't find anything significant about it, but he did discover that the Dark Forest was one of the oldest things in existence—even older than the demons, who were also called the oldest race of Maaya.
He learned how the Dark Forest was much closer to the Lizardman and Elf Empires—while there was distance between them, it wasn't significant enough to be called vast. After being unable to find inside information on the Dark Forest, Aidan stopped reading and made his way toward the outer castle garden.
He meditated for half an hour in the garden as the evening sun sunk, casting an orange hue across the sky. After that, he did some light exercises before once again practicing basic stances. He remembered not to overdo it.
Soon, the darkness of night touched the sky, and he was invited for dinner by a servant. Reaching the dining hall, he saw his mother, who seemed to have arrived just like him.
The dining hall he ate in was only for family members who carried the Wilson name. Unlike this one, there was another for formal arrangements, but for as long as he could remember, he had always eaten here only.
Aidan felt most comfortable here. It wasn't extravagant like all the other rooms in the castle. The room wasn't adorned with high-end luxurious coating, but it was simple and refined, with a large mirror hanging above on one side and, on the other, a window giving a direct view of the night moon.
The table was arranged by the number of seats at the time. Aidan took his seat toward the right side of the table, settling on the second chair. Liam was seated at the head—to his left sat Uncle Erwin and Aunt Violet, and to his right sat Sophia, Aidan, and Lily (she wasn't a Wilson but was allowed at the table by Liam's grace). Opposite Liam, Lady Charlotte sat, her elegant grace still unmatched.
The servant, seeing Aidan take his seat, began bringing out the dishes. None of those seated spoke or acknowledged anything.
Liam glanced at Aidan before asking, "So, how was your training?"
"It was alright," Aidan replied.
Liam looked him up and down. "Seems Matthew went easy on you—even when I told him not to." His tone was laced with amusmed.
Aidan swallowed hard. If that was easy, then I don't know what hard would be, he thought, his expression tightening with discomfort. It was a strange conflict—part of him burned to train harder, while another part feared what it would do to his body.
Sophia pinched him from below and she shot him a glare before saying, "Aidan, do not listen to your father. He didn't train when he was your age—do you know that? So you're already doing much better than him. Do you understand?"
Hearing her words, everyone chuckled—except for one person, Violet, who just seemed bored.
Having had their laugh, after everyone finished their dinner, Erwin coughed, getting everyone's attention. Unlike his usual self, he seemed hesitant before he spoke: "I want to announce that Violet is pregnant," he said, a foolish smile on his face.
He looked at Liam. "Brother, you are going to be an uncle too." Then he turned to Sophia.
"Sis, you are going to be an aunt." He just nodded at Lily before turning to Charlotte and saying,
"Mom, I'm going to be a father."
As he stood, taking Violet's hand into his, he declared:
"I hope all members of the Wilson family will bless this child—to carry the name Wilson with pride and honour, to never bend before anyone, to stand tall, be it nation or royalty. For we carry the name Wilson—the name of an immortal!"
His voice boomed through the hall as all the servants bowed, their heads touching the ground in reverence. Even Lily was on the floor, her head pressed on the ground.
Liam stood, followed by every other member, before they said: "For we carry the name Wilson—the name of an immortal."
Aidan didn't understand what was happening, but he followed hurriedly, standing and following the custom—he knew he would get the answer soon. Even more than the speech, there was one more thing that caught his attention: the word immortal.
Erwin, having finished speaking, bowed before family members like Liam and Charlotte before taking his seat again. Congratulations and blessings followed—everyone had a smile on their faces: Liam, Sophia, and even Charlotte.
This time, her smile was genuine, unlike her usual playful one. Only Violet remained unchanged as she sipped her wine. Aidan noticed her lack of reaction. Everyone smiled, but her eyes were distant, unreadable.