On a quiet morning, in a small village outside the city, a maid with her hair tied up held a tray as she walked around the village.
The villa was decorated with paintings, furniture and tableware. The walls, painted blue and white, were adorned with flower patterns.
The maid stopped in front of a door and touched it lightly.
"You can come in."
The answer came from the other side.
The maid opened the door slowly.
On the other side, a young man with cropped black hair, bright green eyes, and white skin without any blemish, was sitting in the chair looking at a book.
"What's wrong?" he asked without looking away from the book.
"A letter arrived from the main residence."
"A letter?" he asked as he looked away from the book.
The maid walked towards him and gently extended the letter.
The boy took it and checked the seal. "The seal of the head of the family? What does my father want?" he asked himself as he took a small knife from the desk; It was a knife that could not be used as such, a letter opener.
The boy cut the letter wide open and took the paper it contained; He unfolded it and checked it.
His face went from indifference to curiosity to confusion.
He stayed with that face for a few minutes, before putting the letter aside and murmuring:
"I see, you can withdraw," he said while making a gesture.
"Master Vincent, the servant who brought the letter is waiting for a response," he asked.
The boy, named Vincent, nodded slowly.
"Tell him I accept," he said simply.
The maid nodded and left.
Vincent watched her leave until she closed the door; only then did he look away and sigh slowly.
"Things just got a little complicated," he muttered as he stood up and walked to the window.
He threw open the curtains and stepped out onto the balcony. He looked outside the villa; The village, covered with beautiful landscapes, stretched in all directions.
The clear, flawless blue sky was visible.
"This world never changes," he murmured as he lay on the balcony.
His name in this world was Vincent de Nightingale, a reincarnate from another world.
He had been reborn several years ago; When he was seven years old, the memories of his past life came to this body.
It wasn't a pleasant experience, but as time went by things calmed down.
He currently lived far from the main residence of the Nightingale family, in a small villa.
"It's going to be a little tedious the next few days," he muttered as he walked back inside.
He took the book from his desk and put it away in his small library.
"Although there are e-books, I prefer these thick books," he murmured.
This world was strange in many ways, mixing supernatural phenomena with modern technology in unusual ways.
There was also the nobility, which, unlike what one might think, had little political power and functioned more as an honorific title than as real authority.
They owned land and wealth, but were firmly subordinated to royalty, so their influence on the government was minimal, if not non-existent.
Ordinary people were not as mistreated as in the Middle Ages; royalty gave them rights and the situation was quite similar to the real world.
Slavery also did not exist, and was completely banned throughout the nation.
It's because of those things that, although it was difficult to get used to at first, after the first year he was already accustomed to the oddities and similarities of this world with his original world.
Vincent sat on his bed, which was very large and could easily fit several people without problems.
"The academy…" he murmured.
The letter was nothing more than a notice from the Imperial Academy. It wasn't something he was happy about at all.
The Imperial Academy was an educational institution funded by the empire for the most outstanding talents. All nobles, upon reaching a certain age, were required to attend for three years. Also commoners who were under sixteen years old could take a test to enter.
Since Vincent was a nobleman, he was obliged to go even if he didn't want to. It was, without a doubt, an opportunity: he could learn many things and become stronger. But, since the academy was full of nobles, attending and learning would, in its own way, be a real hassle.
He also had to be careful, because if he was expelled from the academy for causing trouble or something similar, he would be denigrated by the nobility and would have a bad reputation. Worst of all, he would probably be kicked out of the family as well.
Although he didn't care too much, right now he had no money or anything to live on if that were to happen. Therefore, he had to act carefully in case something happened.
"I should check that, too," he muttered, looking at his wrist.
There was a digital watch with a minimalist design that he wore on his wrist. It had no hands or a conventional display; Instead, the surface where the time would normally appear was formed by a rotating disc, like a wheel that could be rotated at will.
Vincent pressed an adjacent button and an interface immediately appeared.
It was a transparent window that connected directly to the wearer's retina, making it invisible to others.
That watch was not a common accessory, but a personal assistant in the form of a watch, very widespread in this fantasy world and available in a wide variety of models. Vincent's was a standard one; There were also versions for nobles with their family emblems, but he preferred not to use them.
Vincent began operating on it; He was very used to it, since in this world smartphones had been discontinued many years ago, and he could only use that device.
"So that's why... I see," he murmured, sighing exhaustedly.
One of the most annoying things that existed was royalty. Anything related to them was annoying and annoying.
Furthermore, since they were very important public figures, a lot of general information about them could be easily found. Therefore, the news that they would attend the academy was something that was already known.
That could only mean that nobles, great and small, would have a less pleasant and peaceful life in the academy.