Chapter Two - Hywel Inmos
Hywel's day officially started at the crack of dawn. He used the tiny bell near the bed to call for a servant. After so many months it was still uncomfortable for the young master to call his servants this way, for it felt like he was treating them on the same level as a pet or a slave but after being berated for hours by one of the older maids accompanied by vicious finger thrusts in the bell's direction, he had little choice.
Only two seconds after ringing of the bell a maid came in while pushing a three-storey cart. The top two storey held silver platters which he knew was his breakfast while fresh clothes were laid on the lowest storey. This was probably the second most uncomfortable time of day for the young master as he was also forbidden to clothe himself.
After breakfast was a little walk around the mansion. The maid who arrived with his breakfast, who Hywel learnt was called Luteia after he learnt enough of the foreign language to hold simple conversations, accompanied him outside. It wasn't like him to take such luxury in the past as every second spent was a second less of a patient's life, but for the time being it was a necessity. If he had to put every second into saving lives in the past, he had to put every second now to learn about this world and more importantly, this foreign language.
Hywel never found these walks to be boring. From the moment he left the mansion's marble floors the scenery was that of a fantasy book; the trees which grew as tall as the third floor, with marvelous branches and leaves. Magical spots of light danced in and out of the forest floor's shrubbery as the sun rose which he later learnt was Mana seeping out from the trees as they took in the sun's light. This was apparently a unique sight even in this world, where only the places in harmony with nature can create.
Hywel greeted the guards and servants they passed, sometimes striking up a small conversation. They were all insignificant chatter such as the weather, but Hywel couldn't help but feel like they were honoured to even just being able to talk. It didn't help that certain young maids turned red when spoken to. A part of him felt like he had lost, seeing how even the least attractive maid was cuter than he was in his ‘previous’ life.
As the sun rose above the horizon, Hywel decided to head back to the mansion. He knew there were more opportunities to speak with people there during this hour than outside, and from experience he knew that conversation would help him greatly to adapt to this place.
"Oi, wha's that for you pig!" Hywel's ears caught a gruff shout as they neared the mansion. After glancing at Luteia, he quickened his pace towards the source of the voice.
"You're the pig here, stinking up the whole place with your sweat!" Another voice rang out. The second man's voice was slightly higher than the first man as well as a hint of amusement in his words. A group of male voice erupted into laughter after the second man's comment.
Hywel and the maid turned the corner to view the scene at that moment to the small resting area for the guards with a water fountain and shade. There was a group of guards there, each holding an empty bucket and surrounding a soaking wet guard. As the young master watched to gain hold of the situation, the wet guard took off his top with a grunt and threw it to a blond guard. His soaked clothing landed straight on the face with a heavy 'plop' and before anyone could react, the soaked guard snatched the nearest guard's bucket while they were defenselessly laughing.
"I ain't going down by m'self!" As quick as a flash he dunked the bucket into the fountain and expertly splashed the entire squad. They all shouted in surprise at the sudden coldness of the water, but proceeded to laugh hysterically once more. Even the soaked guard held a grin of triumph, and before long they were going at it like wild animals, throwing bucketful of water at each other. Some even followed suit of the first soaked guard and threw off their water-logged top, revealing their spectacular and well-toned body glistening with light reflected on the water droplets around them.
"Sto-" Hywel opened his mouth but had to quickly look away. If there was a heavy secret back in his 'previous' life, it was that he had a soft spot for handsome and strapping men. Despite being in a male body in 'this' life, it seemed his 'weakness' was still there.
Trying not to blush too visibly, he turned to Luteia instead.
"Stop their fight..."
"Young master, those ruffians are just enjoying themselves." Luteia answered back with a hint of amusement. She would not dare talk back if she was dealing with Sir Hugh or Lady Inmos, but over time she has gotten to know the young master. He was very gentle, sometimes extremely so. It made her worry that he would grow up being naive and exploited. She also knew of Sir Hugh's personality; she knew that he would be more than unhappy if his only child grew up to be such a character. On the other hand, there was a certain charm to this young master. Something inside her woke up when she first saw how cute he looked when he was troubled or didn't know what to do.
"Perhaps the young master wishes to discipline them?"
"Ah... no." Hywel spoke while trying to think of what to say. He knew that they weren't really fighting, but for one they were in the way to the mansion. He will have to meet them along the way, and he wasn't sure if his inner expression won't come out if seeing those men up close. For another, he couldn't just stand here and wait until they were done. He looked up at the maid while thinking.
Luteia found herself looking deeply into Hywel's troubled eyes. They were blue, yet not as blue as a clear pond, like that of Sir Hugh. It held a crimson hue, an aftermath of that draining illness. She had overheard the mansion clerics talking about the young master's condition; while she wasn't educated enough to understand majority of what they were saying, she understood that normally the eye's colour is dark enough to cover the colour of blood behind the eyes, but due to the illness only some of the original blue is left. Hence the two colours are reflected in the young master's eyes. A similar thing could be said of his hair and skin as well; it has only been a few seasons since the illness has passed, but everyone in the mansion knew that master Hywel will not be able to recover completely from the illness, at least in the outward appearance. The shades of green flickering like emerald amidst the silvery white of his hair was most likely the closest to the original sheen he would ever have, and his milky-white skin was more than enough to buy the envy of a thousand women in the world.
How long it had been Luteia wasn't sure but she caught herself staring too much into the young master's eyes. She gave a motherly smile, and while she had a strong urge to tease him, she decided against it. She was a maid, and he was her master. There were things she forbid herself to do even if she wanted to. She approached the rowdy guards with steady strokes, then cleared her throat as loudly as she could manage. Thankfully the guards caught it straight away, a sign of well-trained ears.
"Could you gentlemen please make way for the young master?" She addressed them with a half-smile. The men looked beyond the maid to finally spot Hywel with his troubled look.
"Ah! We're so sorry young master! Please, go ahead." The guards quickly gathered themselves and parted to the side for Hywel to go through. With a small sigh of relief, Hywel obliged.
"Please keep this a secret from Sir Hugh though, else our necks won't be on our shoulders knowing we were rude in front of the young master." One of the guards jokingly whispered to Hywel as he went by. He gave a smile and a nod, trying his best not to stare too much at the muscles.
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From his daily walk until Hildes visit his room for studies, Hywel spent most of his time on the first floor of the mansion. While he was within the walls of the mansion, Luteia left him to continue with her other maid responsibilities. He knew he would see her again when it was time for lunch and dinner so it wasn’t that long a separation however. It wouldn't be a lie to say that he was most familiar with Luteia, but she was quite busy when she wasn't there to supervise his meals or his walks. So instead, he used his time to explore the mansion, making small talks with the servants he came by. They were always busy with one housework or another, which the young master gazed at with nostalgia. During the first few months he was afraid of interrupting their work, but over time he realized that they were very kind about it, always greeting him with a smile and being patient with his limited vocabulary. When he was capable of speech without the other party feeling he is lacking for a fourteen year-old, they confessed that they were grateful of the little breaks they could get from talking with him; the reason why they were patient with him at first.
"But now," Marten, one of the older butlers Hywel was talking to responded to him. "We love our time talking with the young master not because of the little breaks, but because it is enjoyful. Some of us even work the whole day with smiles on our faces if we get the chance to speak with master Hywel, ho ho."
"I am glad I can make them smile. It always made me uncomfortable thinking I was disturbing everyone."
Marten shook his head. "Master Hywel can never be a burden to us. Why, over half the maids in the mansion are already falling head over heels for the young master!" He chuckled.
The Inmos Mansion was bustling with activity; servants running up and down the floors, their usual manners long forgotten as they hurried. The commotion could be heard all the way up in the top floor despite the fact it was deserted save for three people.
Hywel was at his desk with a paper in hand, rereading his completed homework. After a sigh, he dropped the paper back on the desk, scraping the chair on the floor as he got up to sit at the windowsill. He heard the two servants’ voices from the other side of the door to his room, but it was nothing he needed to be concerned about. The view outside, however, was a different story.
About twelve horse carriages and people moving about in haste and a beautiful woman on horseback pointing everywhere; Lady Inmos. The servants were loading supplies to take it to the battlefront to the East where Sir Hugh Inmos was. His love for battles was well-known and would always find himself available to the incoming attacks from Runia, using the excuse that he was there to ‘protect the citizens within the battlezone’.
Whatever they did, though, was not Hywel’s concern; not because he was a child, not because they were an adult, but because they were as foreign to him as any stranger passing by. That is, he was certain everything was a dream when he woke up that day with unrecognizable faces and the strange language. The handsome man and woman, the luxurious bed sheets... He was a simple doctor before. With an adult, ‘female’ body and now was inside a fourteen year-old ‘male’ body in a strange world where something as weird as ‘magic’ existed. Science seemed to have taken a backseat to let this unfounded ‘energy’ be the main source of reason and logic.
“Mother...” He whispered to himself as he looked down at Lady Inmos pointing and giving orders around. He shook his head.
‘Parents...’ he thought to himself, closing his eyes. Memories of a kind, but poor couple; the image that pops up when he thinks of ‘parents’. Those who didn’t care about loyalty or fame, but family happiness and safety. Those who would tell their child not to waste food, telling them bedtime stories to sleep. The mother whose hand was always rough from working as a housekeeper, and father who would clumsily sneak into the child’s room after a long day at work to kiss goodnight. The parents who had tears of joy when their child got accepted as a doctor.
“...Was it a good choice to leave them behind?” He muttered to himself again, but he already knew his selfish answer, unable to deny that this luxurious life was much, much better. And yet, he often found himself longing the old ways from time to time...
A loud knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts, automatically answering in the foreign language he had to learn. The days he spent memorizing various chemicals and illnesses to help even one more patient came handy; most if not all the difficult names he had had to learn rarely made sense let alone the chemical structure diagrams, and so the process to memorizing the sounds and associating them to the foreign alphabet was not all that an unfamiliar process.
The door swung open, revealing a woman dressed in travelling clothes; light brown top with a leather vest, a sword in its sheath around her waist and black leather pants tucked under her knee-high boots. Wearing a beret of some sort, her light forest-coloured hair loose down the back. Her amber eyes were shining with delight at the sight of her son, but she held a gracious atmosphere about her; calm and collected as she told the servants behind her to close the door. Her lady-like composure broke down the instant the door clicked shut, launching into a tackling embrace followed by a massive cheek-to-cheek rubbing, chanting ‘Howi, Howi, Howi~!’
“L-Lady Inmos, please let go of me!” He called out from under the embrace, struggling to get out.
“No, no, no Howi, call me ‘Mother’, not that!” she argued, pulling him closer until his face was buried in her bosom.
“M-Mother, let go of me, it’s hard to breathe...” He replied painfully. With a frown and later a kiss on the forehead, Lady Inmos let go of her son. After a few hard breathing, Hywel composed himself and looked straight at the woman.
“Was there something you need from me?” His voice had an air of exhaustion.
“Does a mother need a reason to see her son?” She rebutted with a sad smile; ever since he had woken up from the illness, he had been like this; distant and closed up. In fact that was why she was so unlady-like when only her son was with her, hoping this would let him open up even just a little, back to the fun-loving and cheerful boy.
“I would’ve thought Sir Hugh was in need of the supplies as soon as possible,” the Lady flinched when he said ‘Sir Hugh” instead of ‘Father’; another change after the illness she couldn’t get used to.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like his ‘new parents’ but Hywel wasn’t sure how to deal with them; this place was obviously unlike the place he was from, so he didn’t want to be rude, however expressing their love back the way they found it ‘normal’ was difficult. The way Hywel said things due to this stung the Lady more than Hywel realized.
“Well, your father wouldn’t mind a little quality time with our dear son,” she muttered, emphasizing the ‘father’, but sighed at the undeniable truth of his words. She gave him another kiss on the forehead and got up to leave. She paused at the door once more, turning back to face her son one last time.
“I’ll be back in a few days again and let’s have a proper meal together then,” she said longingly. “Also I left a book you might be interested with Jannet so ask about it after the commotion is over.”
Hywel nodded in reply, making a mental note to ask the head maid for the Lady's gift. He got up and gave a formal bow, and with that the room was occupied by the boy alone again, only the lingering scent reminding him that the Lady had visited.