James learned quickly that silence made him invisible.
The servants passed him by without fuss, assuming compliance where there was only calculation. Swaddled in cloth and left in a small corner room off the servants' quarters, he observed more than any infant should. His body was helpless, but his mind was awake.
Cognitive calibration: 19%. Linguistic absorption underway.
Recommendation: Passive observation until verbal capability increases.
He couldn't speak yet, but he could listen. And the estate of House Reed was not shy about its decay.
Through half-open doors and thin walls, James heard whispers.
"Taxes unmet again. The baron's sold off two more horses."
"He still won't acknowledge the boy. Pretends he doesn't exist."
"Another bastard. As if the house isn't falling apart already."
James watched faces, memorized routines, and catalogued names. The maid who fed him—Mira—handled him with rushed care, not cruelty but not tenderness either. She changed his blankets, left him to sleep, and spoke only when others were listening.
He did not cry, not once.
Mira mentioned it once while speaking to another servant. "He's too quiet. Babies don't act like that."
The other woman shrugged. "Better quiet than wailing."
They didn't understand that James stayed silent because his mind was elsewhere.
Motor development efficiency: accelerating. Baseline surpassing native neural potential.
Objective: Early self-sufficiency.
By the time he could sit upright without support, he had already grasped the layout of the servants' hall, the location of the kitchen, the timing of rotations, and most importantly—the absence of anyone who cared to watch him closely.
The baron never visited again.
Once, when James was barely past his first year, the baron's legitimate son wandered into view. A boy of five, red-haired and sharp-featured, flanked by a stiff-backed nursemaid.
The child glanced briefly at James, nose wrinkled as if at something unpleasant.
"Is that him?" the boy asked.
The nurse's voice was low. "Yes, young master Cedric. But don't concern yourself. He's of no consequence."
Cedric stared a moment longer, eyes filled with disdain he hadn't earned. Then he left without another word.
Emotional reading: hostility latent. Probability of future conflict: high.
James returned his gaze to the floor. He did not glare. He did not reach. He simply watched and remembered.
At night, he exercised what little freedom his body allowed—extending hands, crawling, gripping objects with intent. Every motion, every repetition, sharpened his coordination faster than any normal child's.
Mira began leaving small wooden toys beside him, perhaps out of guilt. He didn't play with them. He practiced with them.
Neural pathways adapting. Fine motor control development: ahead of schedule.
Suggested target: speech initiation within 6–8 months.
The world of House Reed ignored him.
That suited him perfectly.
For now.