The Birth of a Prodigy

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, let me hold him! Let me hold him!" said Velanova's older sister. She had just turned 3 years old.

"Alright, sweetie, be careful with him." And so, Velanova was in the embrace of his sweet and caring older sister.

"I'll go tell the duchy." He kissed his wife's head and petted his daughter and newborn son.

And so, the big day arrived for the new heir of the Silvannor family. On the same day, the beautiful plum blossoms bloomed. Everyone celebrated the birth of the young master Velanova.

The first two years of his life, he was cared for by his mother, sister, and the servants of the Silvannor family. Everyone liked him and found him to be cute.

And so the day came—he was turning 5 tomorrow. Velanova snuck out of the house to play with the animals in the deep forest, just playing and not minding the family or anyone else.

Meanwhile...

"Where is the young master?!" said his personal attendant.

"Calm down, Lanna. He probably went into the forest again," said Gale, the sword unit's captain.

"Gale?! The young master needs to be measured and prepare for his birthday party. All the nobles in our district will attend. The Silvannor Duke family is very close with the royal family. His Majesty the King and his family will all be there. This event is important for the whole family. There are rumors that the young master will get a fiancé."

"I'll get him." A voice came from up the tree. That was the honorary member of the shadow unit, specialized in scouting, infiltrating, and assassinations—the infamous Savanna, also known as the Perfect Shadow. She was the elite of the elite, as you'd call it. The only problem was that she was extremely lazy.

"Savanna, I'd appreciate it if you would. You're always the one who somehow finds him."

"No worries, Lanna! I got it." And she disappeared.

"She's so mysterious, don't you think, Gale?"

"Yeah, I never really know what she's thinking. Let's just wait for her."

It took even Savanna at least half an hour before she finally found the young master. Velanova was learning Shadow Step from the wild beasts. Savanna was shocked by the sheer immense talent of the young master.

It took the young master merely 3 tries before he grasped it. And he was laughing together with the animals. The animals all cherished the young master. He always gave them food and cared for them when they were hurt.

Savanna needed to report this to the Duke. Shadow Step was really advanced magic that normally took about 3-4 months before anyone could even grasp it. It took at least a month after that to perform it. But the young master performed it almost perfectly on his 3rd try. Savanna reported it to the Duke.

"Hahahahaha! So my son is a genius. What a funny outcome. Bring him to me, Savanna."

"Yes, sir!"

Savanna went to the young master, who was learning flight. High magic, that almost no one can perform. But a beast spotted Savanna, and they all fled. They did say something to the young master, but Savanna couldn't understand it.

Velanova turned around and pouted at Savanna. "Look, you scared them all away."

"Young master, the lord has called for you. We need to go."

"Dad has called for me? Why?"

"I don't know, but let's go."

"Alright." Velanova sighed and followed Savanna, saying something to the beasts in their language.

"How can he understand and converse with the beasts? Even the best of the best beast tamers can only understand a word or two. How can the young master possibly speak with them?" These thoughts lingered in Savanna's mind.

"Let's just go to the lord."