Apolo approached the horse with an apple, and the horse naturally took the apple, allowing the young man to get close enough to stroke the horse's soft neck fur. It was right at that moment of distraction, when Apolo was petting the creature, that the little horse released the apple and violently grabbed the young man's clothes with its mouth. With force, the horse shook its body and threw Apolo beneath its legs.

—Darn it...—cursed the young man, realizing the dangerous situation he was in. Without wasting time, he tried to get up to move away from the horse's legs. But his speed was not as fast as the stallion's, which had already positioned itself to deliver a kick.

*Crush*...The horse's kick sent Apolo's skeletal body flying through the air, making him roll on the ground.

—Sir!—cried Mateo and Orrin, realizing the severity of the situation. A horse's kick could easily kill a person, and there were many instances of individuals being fatally injured by upsetting these noble creatures.

*Ahggg!*...Apolo bit his lips and tried to endure the pain, not wanting the onlookers to notice what had just happened. Unfortunately, the boredom of waiting and the loud cry of the servants worked against the young noble's plan. It didn't take long for several people to rush over and try to help Apolo.

—Orrin, disperse the curious onlookers, and Mateo, help me drag him to a tree. He got hit in the leg—ordered Apolo, observing the bones sticking out from his right leg.

—Do what the sir says!—Orrin ordered, seeing his son frozen as blood was oozing from Apolo's leg as if from a fountain.

—How the hell is a tree supposed to fix this?!—exclaimed Mateo, looking at his father as if he were crazy —The lad will be crippled for life because of us! We're going to get killed, Dad!

—Shut your mouth and follow the damn order, Mateo!—shouted Orrin authoritatively as he moved to disperse the people approaching to help Apolo.

With all the doubts in the world, Mateo lifted Apolo and carried him to the nearest tree, more due to the inertia fueled by the hysteria of the situation than his own logical judgment. Without wasting time, Apolo grabbed the tree and felt uncomfortable with about 50 people watching him. The gold ring on the young noble's hand began to glow, and as the inscription finished changing, the tree Apolo was touching began to wither away. Meanwhile, the bones in his leg retracted beneath the skin as if they had a will of their own, and the wounds began to close on their own.

While this grotesque scene unfolded on his leg, Apolo completely ignored it. Instead, he blushed like a tomato and looked at all the eyes around him. The embarrassment he was feeling right now had reached the highest point in his life, and Apolo eventually exploded.

—Haven't you ever seen what a real magician can do, you bunch of morons!—Apolo yelled with his face red as he got up. He glanced sideways as the beautiful tree in the Ministry of Magic's garden turned into a dry stump.

Seeing the strange scene, most of the aspiring wizards wavered in uncertainty. On one hand, it was unthinkable that someone would injure themselves with their own horse at this moment. On the other hand, it was a good idea to do so to showcase such magical ability. So, for most of the curious crowd, which by this point was everyone in the queue, Apolo was either a genius or just an attention-seeking idiot putting on this whole show.

With his face still red and his gaze fixed on the ground, Apolo approached the carriage. Meanwhile, Mateo, somewhat stunned to witness the strange ability of Apolo's family for the first time, had rushed to the carriage to open the door for the young noble, noting the blush on his face.

—What are you doing? Come help me get to my seat!—commented Apolo, observing his servant open the carriage door and noticing how everyone else was looking at him strangely.

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—Don't you think it's better to wait until the crowd disperses?—Mateo asked, seeing his father still futilely trying to get the people to stop gawking at the young lord.

—No, of course not. This is my struggle: this is my battle—Apolo motivated himself as he approached the driver's seat and tried to get in on his own. His weak body, however, wouldn't cooperate —You'll see... all these idiots, they'll see what I'm capable of...

Ignoring Apolo's request for help, Mateo remained frozen as he watched Apolo try to climb into the driver's seat on his own. It wasn't out of morbid fascination with watching a useless noble, but rather due to the intense life shining in his master's face. During the six long months that Mateo had served Apolo, this was the first time he had seen him so serious. Every time the young man stumbled and fell to the ground after failing to achieve his goal of getting into the seat, he would rise again. And no matter the laughter that could already be heard from some carriages in the line, Apolo persisted in his attempts. He tried to climb again, only to fail and fall, but his eyes continued to sparkle.

There was something strange about this scene. While others couldn't see that strangeness and only laughed at Apolo's futility, Mateo, who knew the young man well enough, could sense the anomaly unfolding before his eyes. Apolo, a perpetually pampered noble, was trying for the first time in his life to achieve something on his own, even if he was cruelly failing. He seemed unable to escape his fate. Yet, the young man didn't give up. He kept trying because climbing onto that simple seat had become a profound matter in his life.

As for Mateo, he could only watch as an observer. He knew the situation was as silly as it sounded, but for the servant, this situation had a special quality, something that couldn't be described in simple words. It was the mystique created by someone who didn't give up and fought against the world. It was the mystique of the eternal incompetent trying to surpass himself. It was the young man maturing and learning to accept his flaws in order to overcome them. Faced with such mystique, Mateo stood frozen, silently wishing that, for this one time, Apolo could actually achieve his goal of getting onto the seat.

That's when Mateo heard a familiar voice, interrupting his thoughts:

—He lacks the strength. Lean on the bar, swing your body agilely, and I'm sure you'll manage it, young sir.

Mateo looked at his father; he was standing there, tall and steady like an oak, his hand on his back as if awaiting a great miracle. It was as if he was witnessing over 60 years of service as a servant to Apolo's family passing before his eyes. In the face of such a scene, a shiver ran up Mateo's spine. He understood what his father was experiencing at this moment better than anyone in the world. His father, an old servant fueled by the pride of serving a noble family all his life, was watching as hundreds of people laughed behind his lord's back. Yet, his own back was upright to the sky, straighter than ever, seemingly enduring all that humiliation to uphold his honorable promise to Apolo's grandfather.

And then the miracle happened. Following Orrin's advice, Apolo took the bar and, shifting his body forward, managed to get one of his legs into the seat. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed in getting the second leg in, and the fall seemed inevitable. However, extracting every last bit of strength from his skeletal body, Apolo managed to exert enough force with his hands to compensate for the mistake and land inside the carriage. Finally, Apolo didn't need anyone else's help.

Despite the significant "achievement," Orrin listened with sadness as everyone laughed from behind his back. Nevertheless, his face was as resolute as his back, refusing to show even a hint of weakness. The family he served was one of warriors, and if Apolo couldn't defend his own pride, then it was his duty as a servant to carry the pride of the Black Forest colossi. However, the complexion of the old servant couldn't hold up against what was about to happen:

*Plaf, plaf, plaf *...Amidst the laughter of the others, Mateo's applause rang in the air, breaking the harmony of the laughter. Immediately, Orrin looked at his son with concern. Initially, he thought his son, as inexperienced as ever, was ironically applauding Apolo's "achievement." However, to the old servant's surprise, his son was crying with a wide smile on his face as he clapped for Apolo as if his achievement was his own. Seeing this scene, the old man's face began to soak with tears, just like his son's, because for the first time since he taught his son the trade of a servant, the old man could see Mateo enjoying the profession he had gifted him. For the first time, the old man felt that his role as a father had borne fruit and that his son was finally starting to enjoy the life that he had worked so hard and sweated to provide.

As if a great stone in Orrin's heart had been released, the old man began to cry heart-wrenchingly as he knelt on the ground. Orrin knew better than anyone that the life of a servant was not the life of the nobles, but it was a dignified life, full of pride, and above all, it was the best life he could give to his son. So, nothing made him happier than seeing his own son happy with the life that he had worked so hard and sweated to give him.