Amon Maria Silvermoon
Chapter 2: Routine and Plan
Amon was woken up by his mother before noon. He looked at his mother, and she seemed well-rested. He didn't think he would sleep till this late, but he had underestimated the fever and a child's body. He quickly washed and had breakfast with his mother. The good thing about a duke's household was that they could have a lavish breakfast.
The notification of Nyx, his A.I. chip, once again told him that what he had eaten wasn't ordinary. Ordinary food wouldn't increase constitution, right?
Maria didn't notice it yesterday as she was too tired but could sense it now. Her son was a bit different. She couldn't place a finger on it. She got a little worried and asked him, "Amon, are you really feeling well?"
"Yes, mom," replied a face-stuffed toothy grin Amon. His sunny smile also had an infectious impact on Maria. She felt relieved. Her son was just a bit more...mature. And she didn't feel anything terrible so let it be. She was a little sad that her son was not getting the childhood he deserved, but the environment was less than kind, and all she could do was try to make their lives happier.
After the meal, the mother and son pair left for the library on the estate. The library in the duke's household came up short only against the royals, or that's what he had heard. And it was indeed huge. His mother wanted him to at least be learned and knowledgeable, even if he couldn't be a knight. It's not that she wanted her son to fight. She wanted him to be safe, but the world was a dangerous place, and she merely wanted him to have some ability to defend himself. She didn't want her son to be as helpless as she was. If he was well-read, he could also have a great life. Not many were educated in this day and age.
So she brought him to the library and read books with him. She was lucky that she was taught at the prostitute house. Those people would go to great lengths, even beating it into girls, just to satisfy customers' desires. But they did take care of treating the girls after beating as their looks and bodies were what they were selling. It would be a loss if the goods were damaged. It appalled her that they considered living beings goods. But it was only later she realized how common it was.
Her parents sold her to the pimps only for a bit of money as she was good-looking. She didn't want to remember and relive the past now.
She would make it so that her son would lead a simple happy life.
Amon also focused and learned whatever his mother taught him. He had done the same previously and would continue to do the same in the future. The kid had realized their circumstances were not so optimistic.
However, Amon didn't display a performance more than his usual self. It would be difficult if he were to act by himself, but with Nyx, he could control his facial expressions to even the most minute of twitches. So he didn't unconsciously give himself away.
After studying, the two left the library and returned to their yard. The yard was secluded and peaceful. Amon and Maria played in the yard, giggling and tickling. It was one of the warmest times they had.
They had an early dinner, and after Maria recited a story about martial artists, heroes, and evils to Amon, they both retired to bed.
The times he spent with his mother were the most blissful and happiest Amon had in his whole day.
They got up at sunrise the next day and followed the same routine. Eat, go to the library and study, play, sleep, repeat. It was a peaceful time. Despite that, Amon had never forgotten that such moments could end at any time. So he was observing, listening, and learning. The two would barely meet anyone else in the mansion. There were some maids and butlers, but that was about it.
He had asked Nyx to record everything from what the workers were talking about to the tasks they were performing, the amount of physical exertion the said job was incurring, and just about everything.
This would help him build the data to accurately conclude the average person's physical stats. The A.I. couldn't just reach conclusions out of thin air. It needed data to extrapolate from. And just seeing people doing tasks wouldn't help. So, he would go ask questions with very childlike innocence and pure curiosity radiating from his eyes.
"Aunty, how heavy is the bucket of water you are lifting?"
"Uncle, how long does it take to wash such a big mound of clothes?"
"Sister, what are you carrying?"
He would ask seemingly random questions to different people doing different jobs and other people doing the same jobs, and he would ask them very casually. He didn't want to be seen out of place. And the people being asked also thought the child was bored and curious, so they answered him. Even if he was a young master who was not favored, he was still a young master. His position was above theirs, and it was not their turn to step on him. They could gossip in private, but out in the open, they had to watch themselves.
All this worked out well for Amon. The most useful was watching the guards train as he could obtain much information from their motions.
A year passed by, and he was now four. His mother had him when she was eighteen, and now she was twenty-two. He and his mother had celebrated their birthdays by themselves in their room, but it was one of the memories he would cherish for life.
He was lying on his bed with his eyes closed, breathing like he was asleep. Internally, he was talking to Nyx.
After a year of watching people and assembling data, he finally had his most accurate results yet.
The average adult had stat values of 4. And the guards were even more. He knew there were martial artists and whatnot in this world, but he was still a little surprised.
"Taking 4 as the standard, set this average value of stats as the new 1", he instructed Nyx. So, if what was 4 before is 1 now, then what was 1 before is 0.25 now.
These were not the only things he had registered. Through continuously documenting and analyzing the guard's training sessions, sometimes in which even the duke joined, he had stored quite the fighting experiences and training regimens. He would continue this as it would come into aid later.
From what he could garner, the duke was strong. More powerful than anybody he had met yet.
He had also seen the other wives and their children now. There were snide remarks, sarcastic comments, and bullying but not too much. They didn't meet every day, and no one had the time to give a damn to them.
He had made some plans. After one more year, he would start reading in the library by himself. He would gradually copy the library into his database. And he also had to see the city for more information but would have to wait until he was a little older. He still had to keep up the act of learning and learning slowly. He had made his progress seem a little slower than his other half-siblings. Even then, his mother was always encouraging and pushing him. He was really grateful for getting such a great mother. Not everyone was so fortunate.
Especially in this world, which seemed like a more fucked up place than his previous one.
What worked in Amon's favor was the other kids' ignorance of the library. There were only the caretakers who came every day. The other children didn't seem to value the library all too much. And who could blame them? Knowledge for them was available whenever they wanted. Why would they treasure it like the peasants and the plebeians? They were too busy fighting each other, and Amon's actions, who was the youngest of the lot, of going to the library were not taken seriously. Something Amon was all the happier for.
During the past year, he had also been cataloging the food he had been eating with Nyx. Those were all things that nobles ate. They were not the true treasure, as only the duke and those talented in the house got those to consume. But even if he ate what nobles ate usually, it wasn't something he made light of. He understood that the commoners didn't have such luxuries. He wasn't going to get arrogant. Arrogance was the fast lane to downfall, but he could use the authority he had to further his goals. And being respectful and polite, even if not something beneficial, was not a loss, so why not do it. A few nice words today could save his life tomorrow.
