Chapter 1 : Mount Control Squire, The Son of a Minor Lord
Chapter 1: Mount Control Squire, The Son of a Minor Lord
Harvest Month, Danlun Kingdom.
Blackstone Castle.
The desolate autumn wind swept through the stables, stirring the stench of manure and damp earth.
“Really don’t get it. I’m a dignified count’s son, and they actually made me feed horses.”
“Exactly, Arthur. Making us do servants’ work—our fathers sent us here to be Knight’s Squires, not stable slaves.”
“Only the sons of backwater minor lords are fit for this kind of thing. Let’s go, Arthur. I heard Knight Laforin’s daughter is preparing for a ball.”
Three neatly dressed Knight’s Squires sat atop a pile of hay, swinging their legs as they idly played with the rakes in their hands, their faces full of indignation.
“Laforin’s daughter.” Upon hearing these words, Arthur, the leader among the three, seemed to make up his mind.
It was said she was the most beautiful girl in all of Blackstone City. For noble youths in the midst of adolescence, beauty was the foremost priority in their lives.
Arthur took the lead in tossing aside his tools, and the three of them ran toward the banquet hall.
In the stable, only six tall, robust horses and a slightly slender youth remained.
Leo ignored the departing trio and continued grooming the tall white horse before him.
After all, even if they stayed, they would only chatter noisily.
“Pff~” The white horse let out a contented snort. Looking at the delicate youth who stayed by its side without leaving, its gaze carried a hint of comfort.
“Alright, partner. I don’t care what they say.” Leo stood on tiptoe and stroked the horse’s neck. He was precisely the “son of a backwater minor lord” they had been talking about.
Yes, Leo could understand the meaning within a horse’s neighs.
He glanced at the panel within his mind.
【Leo
Strength: 0.8 Agility: 0.9 Spirit: 1.1
Class: Stablehand (White)
Trait: Horse Whisperer (White) (communicate with horses)
Skill: Mount Control (White) Level 2 96/100 (Spirit +0.2, has preliminarily mastered methods of caring for horses)】
That’s right—Leo was not a native of this world, and this panel had arrived together with him when he transmigrated a year ago.
In his previous life, he had been a bounty delivery rider under a Fortune 500 company.
But a traffic accident had sent him into this other world where true knights existed.
However, compared to those unlucky souls in novels who transmigrated into fishermen or beggars, starving and destitute—Leo’s start could be considered extremely fortunate. The original owner of this body had been the only son of a minor lord.
Although the territory was not large, he had lived a life free from worry about food and clothing since childhood.
Just a month ago, his lord father had sent him to serve under the great Grey Lion Knight Laforin, becoming a Knight’s Squire.
If everything went smoothly, Leo would turn sixteen in two years.
By then, he would have the chance to be conferred as a knight attendant and step onto the path of a true and great knight.
But before that, just over half a month of feeding horses had already dealt these four squires a harsh blow.
This was supposed to be the work of a stablehand—how could pampered noble youths tolerate the filth and stench of the stables?
Only Leo remained consistently diligent.
Because of the panel, every bit of effort he put in yielded visible rewards.
Whether feeding horses, grooming their coats, or cleaning the stable, he could gain corresponding experience. Over the past half month, he had actually found enjoyment in it.
When his Mount Control skill reached Level 2 seven days ago, he gained 0.1 Spirit, and caring for horses became even more effortless.
“Father once said, horses are mounts, but also comrades-in-arms. A qualified knight must learn to take good care of his warhorse.” Leo cleaned up the manure, then began preparing today’s feed.
Cleaning the trough, cutting fodder, mixing, stirring—Leo handled every step with meticulous care.
To him, after half a month of interaction, these six horses had already formed a bond with him.
Compared to the other three noble youths of the same cohort,
simple horses were much easier to get along with.
Leo gritted his teeth and lifted the wooden basin, pouring the prepared feed into the trough in one go.
Then he felt two large horse heads burrow under his arms, affectionately nuzzling him.
Leo quickly stepped back. “Haha, no, no, no—if I’m not careful, you two might crush me to death.”
He had heard in his previous life of someone learning horsemanship getting their ribs broken between two horses.
Not to mention that in this world, horses were all gigantic beasts exceeding three meters.
In comparison, Leo had never been good at sports since childhood.
His Strength was only 0.8, not even reaching the level of an average adult.
He had heard from the original owner’s father that Knight Laforin possessed immense strength and had trained many official knights.
Recalling the first time he met Knight Laforin, Leo felt that although it had only been a single encounter, the impression left on him was extremely profound.
That oppressive presence, like a massive beast, was something he still could not forget.
Although Leo’s father was an enfeoffed lord of the Danlun Kingdom, the Blackwater City he governed lay on the edge of the Misty Forest and was often harassed by Beastkins. He had fewer than a hundred men under his command.
In two years, whether he became a knight or not, he would have to return to his father’s territory—so he could not afford to waste time like Arthur and the others.
Thinking this, Leo set down the wooden basin, sat in a corner, and began reciting on his own:
“Part One, 《Knight’s Code》. First: humility. Second: compassion…”
On their first day, Knight Laforin had given each of them a knight’s handbook.
After that, he had the steward Burton arrange for them to stay in the stables, and Laforin himself had not appeared again.
Unlike Arthur and the other two, who constantly thought about going to the town outside the castle for entertainment,
Leo had made full use of all his spare time aside from tending horses.
He attempted to memorize the entire knight’s handbook word for word.
“…A knight’s etiquette must be upheld until death. Part Three, Kanasi Tulusi Mengduopaxi… Paxi…”
After finishing the first two parts, Leo unsurprisingly got stuck.
This knight’s handbook contained over ten thousand words, divided into three parts.
Part One: Knight’s Code.
Part Two: Knight’s Etiquette.
Leo had already memorized these two sections thoroughly. But the third part, which took up half the book, he simply could not memorize.
Because he could not understand it—it was like a random arrangement of characters.
Like making an elementary school student memorize classical prose—if one couldn’t even read it smoothly or understand its meaning, memorizing it would be even harder.
“What do these garbled texts even mean? Could they be some kind of incantation? I heard Knight Laforin has already gone outside the city… not sure when he’ll return.”
As he thought, Leo stood up and added concentrated feed made from grains and bean meal into the trough.
Watching the horses chew happily, his brow suddenly twitched.
Just now, it seemed his panel had suddenly changed—just as he was about to check it—
“Leo Laide.”
The steward Burton’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Outside the stable, the aged Burton approached directly, accompanied by the middle-aged stablehand Luka.
“Sir Burton. Mr. Luka.” Leo greeted them politely.
Burton glanced at the well-managed stable and nodded in satisfaction.
However, his face remained as stern as ever, like a creditor collecting debts. “Not bad. Just in time—Luka has been dispatched outside the city by Lord Laforin for the next couple of days.
During this period, the stable will be managed by you few.
These six horses are the lord’s treasures. Be careful—don’t let anything go wrong.”
After Burton finished giving instructions, Leo felt a trace of doubt arise in his heart.
Luka was the only stablehand of Knight Laforin and rarely left the castle throughout the year—why would he suddenly be sent out of the city?
Although puzzled, Leo still nodded. “Please rest assured, Sir Burton.”
Burton ignored him and left directly with Luka.
After leaving the stable, he glanced back at Luka. “Leaving the stable to him—there won’t be any problems, right?”
“Don’t worry, Lord Burton. In fact, for the past half month, it’s been Young Master Leo doing most of the work in the stable. If he weren’t a noble’s son, I’d really want to take him as my apprentice. Heh heh heh.” Luka tucked his hands into his sleeves, his speech always mixed with rustic slang.
Burton’s brows furrowed ever so slightly. “A noble’s son? What noble’s son? I’ve never seen a noble lord send silver coins just to have someone take care of his child.”