Without him even realising, the day he’d leave his family forever had come. Today Vince would officially begin his service as an attendant in the von Sideria family. It was his last day with the surname Dawmond, his last day as a noble, and his first day as a commoner.

To bid him farewell, his father had organised a goodbye lunch today. Therefore he had to dress up neatly. In the last few months, outside of the Cultivation lessons, he didn’t have much time to train. His father had arranged for him to learn how to live without relying on anybody.

‘Finally, I’m free of those lessons over etiquette and common sense! I couldn’t bear it anymore!’

One would expect someone losing his status and turning into a half-slave to be depressed, and for sure, not be happy. But today was an enjoyable day for Vince instead. He would finally be completely free of his responsibilities, and he’d only have to act as a part-time babysitter.

At first, he thought being a young master wasn’t so bad, but after looking at his brothers and sisters for so long, he didn’t think so anymore. There was ruthless infighting, and everyone spied everyone. It was not the kind of environment he enjoyed.

After he got out of bed, he went into the wardrobe, which had turned pretty empty. All the previous contents of his luxurious wardrobe had been packed in countless suitcases, except for the one he’d wear today.

Once he finished dressing up and tying his hair, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. He looked like a child about to attend an important social event, such as a marriage between nobles. The servants had combed his brown hair to the point that one would think it was a woman’s hair, not a boy’s. The outfit had predominant dark colours, such as black and navy blue, and he also had a shiny green jade just below his neck that matched his eyes’ colour.

‘Jewelry usually suits only women, but I must say this Jade suits me well!’

After admiring himself for a good minute, he nodded and proceeded to leave the room. A few attendants waited for him right in front of his room and proceeded to conduct him to the dining room.

‘Now that I think about it, this is the first time I meet my whole family. And luckily the last time too.’

When he entered the dining room, he could see four tables. Three were parallel to each other, while there was also a perpendicular one slightly elevated compared to the others. The three parallel tables were occupied only by the lord’s children, while the elevated one was occupied by Rupert Dawmond, his wife, and all of his consorts. If looked at from the top, the tables would look something like an “E”.

Once his father noticed him, he stood up and made a sound to make the bustling stop. As soon as he had gathered everyone’s attention, he proceeded to start his speech.

“Welcome, my dear son, Vince. Today I made sure to gather all of the family to give you bid you farewell and wish you the best of luck in the coming years. You will face many hurdles, and you’re going to need to learn the hard life of working as a servant. Such a position is often looked down upon, and you won’t even be able to use your family’s name anymore. I know I’m asking a lot from you without paying you back; therefore, granting you this last meal with your family is the least I can do. If you ever find yourself in trouble, feel free to come and seek my help, and I promise I’ll help you the best I can.”

“Thank you, father. I can only accept this last meal with you all and hope for the family’s prosperity.”

‘You probably wanted to make it look like I was the one who made this choice, old coot. Don’t worry; I won’t disrupt your plan as I want to forget about this family!’

“For this occasion, I shall grant you to a seat by my side!”

“Thank you, father!”

‘Make me sit already. I have to be at the von Sideria mansion before dusk, you know?’

Not long after he sat, the attendants started to bring countless cloches, filling the long tables with all kinds of dishes. The room was once again filled with laughter, and soon the lunch was about to come to an end.

“One last announcement. As a departing gift, I shall give you a Tier 3 Mana Weapon! I brought a few here. Feel free to choose the one you think suits you best!”

For the first time that day, Vince raised an eyebrow with interest. He knew how expensive those were, especially Tier 3 Mana Artifacts. The number of blacksmiths who could forge such weapons in the Flossen Kingdom didn’t go past twenty. He hadn’t expected his father to give him such a valuable gift.

‘The old coot probably wants to keep a relationship, as it can always be useful. Any random servant from the von Sideria family is treated way better than any of the Dawmond family’s direct descendants, even if he isn’t a strong cultivator. Having many connections is always useful in this world too, huh.’

Vince proceeded to make his way to the small cart, which had seven different artifacts. There were three different swords, a spear, a pair of daggers, an axe and a shield.

‘Swords are way too popular; I should avoid using them, as people are way too used to fight against them. I want to take the spear, but I’m not tall enough to properly use it. The shield isn’t even a weapon, and the axe has too many flaws. For the time being, I have to stick to daggers.’

Being done with his quick analysis, Vince chose the daggers. Such a choice left all of his brothers dumbfounded. They constantly desired to get their own Mana Weapon, but they would have picked without any doubt one of the three swords. The envious eyes quickly turned into ridicule ones, but Vince couldn’t care less.

“Thank you, father, for this wonderful parting gift. I shall accept this pair of daggers.”

Even his father was a bit dumbfounded. He had put the other weapons just for show, thinking he would pick a sword for sure. But that only made him happier as he had just gotten rid of an Artifact nobody would probably ever use anyways.

“Farewell, Son. It’s time to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye, father.”

After giving his father one final look, Vince turned and started walking away. As soon as he crossed that door, he would have to relinquish all of the privileges he had until now. But he didn’t hesitate.

Vince left the room without looking back and made his way outside, where two carriages towed by horse-sized lizards waited for him. One was filled with all of his luggage, and the other was the carriage he’d travel in.

Even though lizards were slower than horses, they could tow way heavier loads and were far cheaper. Horses were a rare commodity that usually only the military and nobility had the privilege of owning.

‘I feel like a woman with all this luggage. Well, whatever.’

Not giving the matter much thought, he immediately stepped into his carriage. He didn’t want to be late as he knew that impressions were crucial. He will have to work hard to earn some rewards, so he’d better give a solid first impression.

Old Mo and Instructor Tyrak came to see him off one last time. As the carriage started moving, they also bid him one final farewell. He wasn’t the brightest student they ever had, but he was still one of the few children that didn’t scream at them, calling them slobs or whatnot. They for sure were grateful for that.

““Farewell, Vince.””

The carriages soon after surpassed the final gate. It was expected to take two hours to get to the von Sideria mansion by carriage. The Flossen kingdom’s capital, Duskburg, was gigantic and had over fifty million citizens. Its size wasn’t something to scoff at, and the lizards being slow didn’t help either.

For the whole time, Vince looked out of the window, observing the city’s bustling streets. It was a lively city, filled with stalls, street vendors and people doing all kinds of business.

‘It’s about time for my debut in business. This city looks like a good starting point for a business. As soon as I have some free time I’m going to look into it. I also need to have some wealth to invest beforehand too.’

Countless stalls could be seen everywhere along the streets. They sold any kind of product, ranging from primary goods to weapons and mana artifacts.

The carriages finally arrived in front of the von Sideria mansion, just short of the estimated two hours. The guards halted the convoy, and after checking all the papers, they opened the gate, but only after snickering at the boy. It was always enjoyable for them, seeing the noble kids struggle when they had to work.

Once the convoy arrived, a good fifteen minutes later, Vince saw a few people waiting at the mansion entrance. A cute blond girl, a middle-aged man, a pair of guards, and at least a dozen servants.

Vince proceeded to step out of the carriage and greet the familiar faces.

“Good afternoon, Sir Albert. Good afternoon, milady.”

Albert nodded and proceeded to explain the schedule.

“Welcome, Vince. You will be given three days of free time to adapt to the new environment before starting your duties. Your duties will consist of staying by Estelle’s side four hours a day, while you will spend another eight hours a day learning about your job. In the remaining hours, you will be let free. For the next sixth months, at least, this will be your schedule. Once you have learnt the job properly, the schedule will be rearranged. Also, please keep in mind you won’t be Estelle’s only attendant.”

“I understand. May I ask where I can put all of my stuff? My father insisted on bringing along all sorts of clothes, as I may need formal clothes for social gatherings.”

“Don’t worry about that; all those servants are here to help you throw away all of that stuff.”

“Throw away? Come again?”

“You indeed heard correctly. I said to throw those away. We will give you the required clothes for all occasions.”

‘I had to bring all of this stuff to throw it away? Next time tell me beforehand so that I take a horse like last time!’

Even though he was already cursing in his head, he didn’t show it at all on the surface.

“I understand; I’ll throw everything away later. If I may ask, where will I lodge?”

“You will share a room with three of the other attendants. One of them is here, and he will lead you to your quarters.”

“Got it all.”

A young man in his teens proceeded to step forth and signalled Vince to follow him.

‘I wonder how my daily life will change. In a few months, we will go to the academy as well.’

While he was following the teen, he started wondering about his future. He was sure a lot was about to happen, and this hunch was indeed correct.