Chapter 1: Idiot Bran

Chapter 1: Idiot Bran

“If this is just a Dream, then when did it all begin? How did I get here?” The 7-year-old Bran stood near the castle gate, pondering troublesome questions about the illusion, truth, and falsehood of this World.

Dreams were not self-consistent. The more he discovered, the sooner he might wake up. This thought became almost an obsession. Bran carefully closed himself off, observing and testing his surroundings.

When the fourth son Bran was born, everyone in the family showed heartfelt joy. But as time passed, aside from the loud cry at his birth, Bran became silent. He did not cry or fuss, only stayed quiet, as if the child was born mute.

If not for Bran’s correct reactions to sounds, his fate would have likely been only one: drowned in a basin and discarded in the family cemetery as a stillborn child.

The crying child gets the milk. Bran’s behavior had a similar effect; he received more care from his mother. Even after his younger sister Xirui was born three years later, this care did not diminish and gradually turned into doting. However, his mother’s doting could not stop certain rumors from spreading. The story that Duke Winchehil’s fourth son was an Idiot had already spread throughout the Castle and beyond.

“I just want to find the way back,” Bran said in his heart. “You are the idiots. You are just empty manifestations in a Dream. You are nothing.”

At this time, Bran seemed out of place with his siblings. He had a neatness that other children lacked. Although he was the mute in his siblings’ mouths and the Idiot in the private rumors within and outside the Castle, no one could deny he was a clean child.

Elder brother Adam and second brother Aki were practicing with their training Wooden Swords not far away. Third Sister Lily stood next to Bran, holding his hand, muttering “Idiot Bran” and complaining that their parents had placed this babysitting duty on her…

Duke and Duchess Winchehil stood on the second floor of the Attic, smiling as they watched everything. Only when their gaze fell on their fourth son Bran did a hint of worry appear.

To any outsider, this was a warm scene. But for Bran, who was trapped here, it was barbaric, dirty, and lacking order. The tall Castle, the thick walls, the stout servant women, and the barbaric Knights—none of this brought Bran any sense of security. Instead, it plunged him into deeper despair.

A long horn blast pulled Bran back to reality. Then the Castle gate opened, and a group of Knights rode in on horseback. The prey behind one Knight’s saddle caught his attention. It was a Lynx. Its tortoiseshell fur instantly matched an image deep in his memory. It was a cat he had raised before entering this Dream. Tortoiseshell fur was considered ugly in many people’s eyes, but human emotions were often like that, unrelated to beauty or ugliness in others’ eyes.

Bran broke free from Third Sister’s hand and ran toward the Knight. Third Sister’s scream did not stop Bran’s steps. Attracted by the scream, Elder Brother and Second Brother also dropped their Wooden Swords and began to chase him. Instinctively, they wanted to stop their Idiot brother’s foolish action.

The children’s commotion did not catch the Knight’s attention. He stopped his horse in front of the Attic, dismounted, and saluted the Duke and Duchess. At the Duke’s signal, the Knight noticed the children running over.

The Knight asked loudly, “What’s the matter? Children.”

“Please give it to me,” Bran pointed at the Lynx and demanded urgently. This simple sentence stunned everyone. This shock made almost everyone stand frozen in place.

Yes, almost. If you did not count the Duke and Duchess.

The Duchess staggered down the steps, ran over, and hugged Bran in her arms. The Duke, following behind, betrayed his excitement by tightly gripping his sword hilt. Everyone thought Bran was a mute and an Idiot. Yet at the age of 7, in the Castle courtyard, he uttered his first clear and complete sentence since coming to this World.