I Was Framed, Now I'll Take The Throne

- - -

Name: Lionel Silvestre Exelio

Age: 14

Mana: D-

Swordsmanship: B (S+)

Archery: D+ (S+)

Horseback Riding: C- (S+)

Hunting: D (S+)

- - -

[Available Skill Points: 1]

Lionel stared at his stats. He only had one point, so he needed to spend it carefully.

His eyes naturally landed on Archery. Among all his skills, it was currently the weakest.

His swordsmanship was already far ahead, so he wasn’t thinking of upgrading it. He thinks that his horseback riding didn’t need that upgrade much urgently, since he was at least average at it.

As for hunting, it was useful, but it was not something he would directly need in military training.

But archery... it was different. It was a mandatory training within the imperial army. Aside from that, he knew that it would be a viable skill.

"I guess I should focus on my archery now."

Without hesitation, Lionel selected Archery.

[Would you like to use 1 Skill Point?]

[YES / NO]

"Yes."

[Ding!]

The moment he confirmed it, the screen flashed brightly.

[Congratulations, Host. Your Archery has increased.]

[Archery: D+ → C-]

For a brief moment, Lionel felt a strange sensation spread throughout his body. He felt an electrifying feeling in his shoulders that spread from his shoulders to his arms. His hand instinctively clenched at it.

When the feeling disappeared, he raised both of his arms in the air. For some reason, his arms felt lighter, and when he moved his fingers, they felt more flexible.

He knew that with this small upgrade, his performance would be significantly better than before.

A satisfied smile slowly appeared on Lionel’s face at that.

Not bad.

The Imperial Army training grounds would begin in only a day, and tomorrow will be his last free day in the estate.

With that thought, Lionel finally put the system aside and leaned back deeper into the warm bath that he was in. The hot water reached his shoulders while steam slowly rose around him.

For a few moments, he closed his eyes. The exhaustion that he had ignored throughout the entire evening was finally beginning to catch up to him. The ball became much more tiring than he expected.

He forgot how tiring interacting with people can be.

Fortunately, the warmth of the water was slowly loosening the tension in his muscles. His shoulders slowly relaxed at it.

Tomorrow, he still needed to check on the bird, then prepare all his things for the training.

While thinking of those things, his thoughts slowly became hazy. The comfortable warmth surrounding him only made it worse, too. Eventually, Lionel’s head tilted slightly to the side.

And before he realized it...

He fell asleep in the bath.

- - -

Several minutes later, the bath chamber’s door slowly opened. Diana peeked inside first to check on Lionel. She only intends to check whether Lionel needs something.

"My Lord?"

However, the moment she entered the room, her eyes widened.

"My Lord!" Diana immediately ran forward when she saw that Lionel was completely motionless inside the bath.

Lionel, who accidentally took a nap, stirred awake.

"D-diana?" Lionel slowly opened one of his eyes after hearing the familiar voice.

For a brief second, he looked completely confused at why the woman was shouting. When he saw the panic in her eyes, that’s the only time he realized what had happened.

"..."

"..."

"Uhh..."

"My lord! How can you fall asleep in the bath?" Diana looked horrified at that thought.

"Right... it seemed that I did," Lionel rubbed his forehead helplessly.

"My Lord!" Diana looked so stressed. "How can you be calm? What if something happened?!" she scolded for a moment as she completely approached her.

"I must have been more tired than I thought." Lionel could only chuckle.

"That isn’t funny, my lord," Diana immediately scolded him again. "You cannot sleep inside a bath!"

"I know." Lionel laughed quietly at her reaction, but seeing her deeply worried actually made him feel a little guilty.

"Alright, sorry."

Diana sighed dramatically at that. She looked at Lionel and was relieved that at least he looked completely fine. But still, she crossed her arms and gave him a look.

"My lord, next time, please remember that baths are for bathing."

"I’ll keep that in mind." Lionel playfully smiled.

Diana stared at him for several seconds before eventually giving up. She took a deep sigh and shook her head.

"We’ll finish your bath immediately." Just then, she turned to the door and clapped a hand.

"All of you, you may come in now."

Immediately, several waiting maids entered the bath chamber. All of them were just right at the door when Lionel asked them to leave earlier. Now that they’re back, they quickly began preparing fresh towels and Lionel’s sleeping clothes.

This time, Lionel didn’t stop them. After accidentally falling asleep in the bath, he honestly didn’t have the energy anymore.

The maids helped him finish preparing for the night while Diana supervised everything carefully. A short while later, Lionel finally emerged from the bath completely refreshed.

Now, he was already wearing comfortable sleeping clothes. The exhaustion from earlier also felt much lighter now.

"Will you require anything else tonight?" Diana asked.

"No." Lionel shook his head.

"Then we’ll leave you to rest."

"Good night, Diana."

The maid smiled softly.

"Good night, my Lord."

The other servants bowed as well before quietly leaving his room. Soon, silence returned once more.

Lionel walked toward his bed and sat down. The soft mattress immediately welcomed him. Lionel let out a small breath before he lay down comfortably beneath the blankets.

What a long day. He sighed before he closed his eyes.

Soon, sleep overtook him completely. Lionel slept peacefully and when he woke up, he felt more refreshed. Even his mood felt surprisingly good.

"I slept well." Lionel sat up and looked toward the window.

Bright sunlight immediately greeted his eyes. Today was his final free day before entering the Imperial Army training grounds. Tomorrow, his new life would officially begin.

The thought made him feel slightly excited. Still, before thinking about training, there was something else he wanted to do first.

Lionel swung his legs off the bed and stood up.

"It’s time to visit the bird."

= = =

A/N: Happy New month for everyone! I have been MIA for the past week. But I promise you all the 2 Chapters a day will continue this month. (I promise this time)