"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid."

***

The carriage ride home felt different with infinite Authority humming through my veins.

Every bump in the road sent vibrations up through the leather seats that I’d never noticed before. The wheels had a rhythm to them now. Worn axles. Uneven weight distribution. The kind of details that used to be background noise but now registered like someone had cranked up the volume on reality itself.

Father sat across from me, weathered hands folded over his walking stick. The wood was polished smooth from years of use. I could see the slight tremor in his fingers. Age, probably. Or maybe the stress of watching his house crumble one debt at a time.

Lady Vivienne had claimed the window seat, her emerald dress catching the afternoon light as she stared at the countryside with the kind of boredom only nobles can really pull off. Every fold of silk was perfect. A costume she maintained with the same care she put into her social schemes.

Lucius lounged beside her, still riding high on the social victory of my public humiliation. He had one leg crossed over the other in a pose he’d definitely rehearsed in front of a mirror.

Alright. Time to test the new toys.

I focused on Father first, letting [Narrative Appraisal] wash over him. It felt like reaching out with invisible fingers, poking at secrets hidden under that stern expression.

[Lord Aldric Leone] - [Noble Administrator] - Level 5 - Role: [Declining Patriarch] - Authority: 8

The information came through, but something was wrong. Like trying to read a book through frosted glass. I could see the shape of words, but the meaning stayed frustratingly blurry.

His skills were a smeared mess. [Estate Management]. Obviously. [Political Maneuvering]

That phrase hit me like a punch to the gut.

Oh. Oh no.

Grandmother’s jewels that vanished last spring. The eastern pasture sold off to "consolidate resources." It all made a sick kind of sense now.

But the details stayed foggy. Wouldn’t sharpen no matter how hard I squinted at them.

Interesting. So there’s a level gap I can’t see through. He’s four levels above me, which means even my broken cheat skill has limits.

Good to know I’m not omniscient. That would’ve made things boring. Or worse, made me sloppy.

I shifted focus to Lucius. He was examining his fingernails with the same bored expression I’d worn at the ceremony. Funny how we both defaulted to similar masks when we wanted to look disengaged while actually paying attention to everything.

[Lucius Leone] - [Tactician] - Level 1 - Role: [Ambitious Rival] - Authority: 4

This one came through crystal clear. Like looking through perfectly polished glass.

[Strategic Planning]. [Social Manipulation]. [Resource Management]. [Battlefield Coordination]

Well, well. That’s a respectable toolkit for someone planning to steal Father’s chair.

More than respectable, actually. It was exactly what you’d need to pull off the kind of political coup the original novel had outlined for his character arc. He’d probably been building his network for years while everyone dismissed him as just another ambitious stepson.

Nice moves, big brother. But I’ve read ahead. I know where your story ends.

Lady Vivienne was next.

[Lady Vivienne Leone] - [Social Manipulator] - Level 2 - Role: [Scheming Stepmother] - Authority: 3

Her skills painted a picture of ambition wrapped in silk and expensive perfume. [Court Etiquette], because of course. Every noble lady had that one. [Information Gathering], which explained how she always seemed to know things she shouldn’t. [Alliance Building], the foundation of her growing political power.

And then, almost hidden at the bottom like an afterthought: [Poison Resistance].

Hold up.

I looked at her serene, smiling face. The face of a woman who’d clawed her way from minor nobility into the Leone main family through pure social warfare.

[Poison Resistance]. A woman either has that because she’s paranoid, or because she’s given a lot of people reasons to want her dead.

Looking at Vivienne, I knew exactly which one it was.

Mental note: if I ever need to remove my dear stepmother from the board, poison is off the table. Good thing I prefer less direct methods anyway.

The carriage rolled through the estate gates. Servants were going about their evening duties. A stable boy led horses to water. Maids hung laundry in the courtyard, their hands red from the cold wash water. Guards made their rounds along the wall with spears held at identical angles.

House Leone might be broke, but Father still insisted on military discipline for the handful of soldiers we could afford.

Each person appeared in my vision with their own little story written in skills and roles.

[Thomas Hartwell] - [Ambitious Servant] - Level 1 - Role: [Useful Tool] - Authority: 1

Oh hey, Thomas. You’ve leveled up from [Background Scenery] since the Grundy thing.

The threads around him had grown thicker. More complex. Someone worth watching. Someone who might become genuinely useful if I could point his ambition in the right direction.

We pulled up to the main entrance and dismounted. Father vanished into his study with a stack of letters that had arrived while we were gone. Bills, probably. Polite inquiries from creditors wondering when certain debts might be settled.

Lady Vivienne glided toward the drawing room, emerald skirts rustling against marble, already planning her next move now that the Awakening Ceremony had reshuffled the social deck.

Lucius lingered in the foyer.

His eyes tracked me as I headed for the stairs.

"Feeling better about yourself, brother?"

That familiar condescending tone. But underneath it? Something new. Uncertainty, maybe. Or suspicion.

"A Chronicler. How wonderfully... academic."

I let my shoulders slump.

"At least I awakened to something. That’s more than some can say."

Safe response. Humble with just a touch of defensive pride. Exactly what the original Kaelen would have said.

"Quite." He stepped closer. Close enough that I could smell his cologne. Imported from the eastern provinces, probably cost more than most servants made in a year. Close enough that I could see the intelligence behind his brown eyes. The gears turning as he tried to reconcile what he’d seen at the ceremony with the pathetic brother he thought he knew.

"Though I must admit, there was a moment during your awakening when you looked almost... different. More focused than usual."

Shit. He noticed.