In a massive green meadow, the wind rhythmically ruffles the leaves of the surrounding treeline. A small willow tree blocks out the sun, creating a cool shade.

Sitting inside this shade, her back resting on the willow tree, is a petite woman dressed in white linens. Her light brown hair follows the wind, her delicate hands moving towards her face to prevent the strands from entering her eyes.

Resting on her lap is a child, a hair much darker than the woman, but still a clear brown.He is fast asleep, his long eyelashes sometimes trembling.

Seeing the child breathing so calmly, the woman can’t help herself and slightly pinches him on the cheek. The child shakes his head a little and mutters some inaudible words, causing the woman to giggle.

Another breeze comes and goes, yet this time, bright orange leaves fall from the trees, one of them landing right in the face of the child.

The woman tries to remove the leaf, but accidentally bumps her wrist against the nose of the child.

The child’s honey colored eyes shake open, still drowsy, he looks around and recognizes where he is.

“Mom?...” The child mutters, his watery eyes gaining brilliance.

“Of course sweetie” The woman says with a toothy smile, small dimples forming on her cheeks.

Sniffles come out from the child’s mouth and he grips the linen clothes of the woman, pressing his face against them.

The woman sighs, shaking her head in exasperation, before passing her hand through the silky hair of her son, making him grip her even tighter.

“I miss you so much…” The child says in between tears, his whimpering turning into small sobs.

“I miss you very much too” The woman answers, turning her head to look at the blue sky, not a single cloud could be seen.

“Mom...can you stay with me forever?” The child asks once his tears run dry, his grip on the linen clothes faltering a little.

“I…”

“I can’t… you know I am dead” The woman answers in a neutral tone, as if what she was saying was nothing special, but a matter of common sense.

“Yeah...I know…”

The grip that the child has on the woman’s clothes finally lessens completely, his hands curling in front of his face, hiding his expression.

…

“It’s just that…” The voice of the child resurfaces after a while, cutting himself off before he can finish it. Shaking his head, the child just rubs his head on the woman’s lap and gets himself comfortable.

“I love you…” The child finishes his sentence once he is in place, but the slight redness peeking from his ears betrays him.

The woman once again chuckles, her giggle like the most beautiful melody ever made, pleasant to the ears and to the heart.

“I love you too….” The woman continues ruffling the child’s hair until he falls asleep.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jule feels the touch of sunshine on his body, his mind returning from a deep sleep. The warm feeling on his chest being replaced by the cold morning air.

As he opens his eyes, he notices the clumps of tears on them.

“How shameful…”

He moves his hands towards the thick blanket covering him and clears his eyes of tears, taking a few seconds to regain his calm.

After some more minutes, three loud knocks echo from the door at the furthest wall in his room.

“Are you awake, Young Master?” The voice of his elderly maid slips in through the cracks.

Jule stretches his body a bit, making sure to relieve his sore muscles, releasing involuntary groans. He doesn’t mind making the maid wait, that’s what they are here for after all.

His morning stretches done, he jumps out of bed, landing barefoot of the cold wooden floor. Thanks to the recent warm climate, he is only wearing a set of cotton pants, his bare chest exposed for all to see.

Jule did not feel even the slightest shred of shame, his body was fit and healthy, all thanks to the endless physical training expected of him.

“Come in…” Jule finally shouts and briskly pulls the curtains open, letting the sunlight from the sun warm his body and absorbing the morning sky. The light from the sun finally brightens up the room, reflecting off the dozens of swords hung as decorations.

The elderly maid finally opens the door, taking four steps inside the room, her head lowers in a bow, the usual routine.

What was new though, was the girl following behind the maid. Black hair tightened into a bun and bright eyes that looked around the room. As she took in the decorations, her bright eyes sparkled in admiration.

A maid in training...

Jule chuckled in response, his eyes observing the maid from top to bottom,vivid red lips and a rather bountiful chest. She could be considered good looking, and Jule wouldn’t ignore that.

It was refreshing to see such a cute face in contrast to the stern and haggard look of the older maid.

The young maid finally stopped looking around after hearing Jule’s chuckle, her eyes focusing on the older maid bowing next to her, giving her the stink eye. A bright crimson grew from her chin to the tip of her ears and she nearly stumbled, forcing herself to bow so quickly that her hair piece fell off.

Jule couldn’t help but wonder what punishment the older maid would inflict upon her once they left his room, from the veins pulsating on the older maid’s forehead, it clearly wouldn't be light.

“My apologies Young Master, she is new and will be your new personal maid. Though inexperienced, she shows a lot of promise”

The older maid tries buttering Jule up, trying to lessen his anger, she didn’t need to though, He couldn't care less.

Besides…

“What would you like to wear today, Young Master?” The older maid asks Jule after he waves her concerns away, her sharp tone being betrayed by her sagging skin and cracked lips.

“Some light clothes and leather gear, I will be having training with Lord Parn today” Jule sits down on the bed, continuing to observe the sun rising from behind a distant mountain range.

The older maid bows once again and walks towards the walk-in closet on the right of the room, followed closely behind by the young maid who hurries to put her hair piece back. Not before sneaking in a glance at Jule for the briefest of seconds.

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After a few more minutes, both maids come out of the closet carrying a white loose blouse, some brown trousers and black boots. On top of these clothes a leather chestplate and a pair of gauntlets lie.

Jule stands up from his bed and lets himself be dressed. The older maid takes care of cleaning his face with a pail of water next to the bed, brushing his teeth and wetting his hair. The younger maid takes care of actually putting his clothes on.

The younger maid’s hand brushes against Jule’s chest a few times, causing some redness to return to her face. Upon raising her head to fit the leather chestplate, Jule winks at her, causing her already red face to turn full flown crimson.

What a cute gal… He can’t help but think, her reactions amusing him to no end.

Most male young nobles take a servant as their lover when nearing adulthood, they do this in order to become experienced in matters of relationships and carnal pleasures. Preparing themselves for their eventual marriage and future partner for life.

Even though he was two years away from adulthood, no one would punish him for becoming an early bloomer.

As he watches the maid’s finish putting on his clothes, he makes sure to burn the young maid’s image to his memory, making her a candidate for his future lover.

Both maids finish and they bow, the older maid with an indifferent expression and the younger one with tinges of red still present on her face. She slightly hides her body behind the older maid, twiddling her thumbs and trying to hide her expression.

Once they finish their bow, they walk out of the room, the younger maid glancing back at Jule one more time, and in return, Jule gives her a wink. The result is as expected, she becomes extremely flustered and hurries out of the room.

Having had his fun, Jule follows the maids out of his room, reaching a horizontal hallway. Smoke is flowing from the braziers on the wall, clearly having been just recently extinguished.

The open stone windows are covered in dew, a result of last night’s weather.

Jule takes a turn to the left, walking through the keep for some minutes until he reaches a set of long wooden doors, quite a number of servants flowing through it. Jule rests his arms on the balcony, watching the flow of servants.

He didn’t want to mix with them while leaving the castle.

Once all servants entered the keep, he walked down the Imperial staircase separating the upper levels from the bottom floor. A few servants cleaning the entrance spot him and bow, keeping their posture until he leaves the hall.

....

It wasn’t long before Jule was intercepted by two guards wearing steel armor, the simple design of the armor a testament to its mass produced nature.

“My Lord” Both guards bow.

“Arrange a horse and a set of guards for me, I wish to take a morning stroll through town”

After hearing Jule’s words, one guard rushes to the stables and the other starts giving orders to the guards around the area.

Without much to do until they return, Jule walks towards the nearby garden and observes the flowers, the white orchids reminding him of his dream.

….

After a while, four guards on horseback arrive, all of them wearing the same sets of steel armor. Behind them is a stableboy, dragging with a rope a white mare.

Jule brushes his hand over the snout of his horse and climbs the saddle, waiting for a guard to take the lead. The guards take a diamond shape around him and they start riding towards the secondary gate, right next to the enormous normal one.

Both are made of wrought iron, but while the main one can be said to be a true castle entrance, it was only opened for important events.

Daily transport was made on the portcullis next to it, called the secondary gate.

They go under the massive wall separating the castle town from the regular town. While the castle town was big enough, it was mostly soldiers and their families living there, it missed the best aspect of a true town.

In between the castle town and the regular town is a paved road, big enough to fit two carriages, this road leads all the way from the castle to the entrance of the city and vice versa. It could be called a Main Road.

As they continued riding down the road, the sounds of a bustling town reached them, making the guards surrounding Jule tense up. They keep a tight grip on their sheathed swords and tighten the formation around him.

Once the townsfolk spot our procesion, the earlier boisterous noise lowers down to nothing, until not even a peep could be heard anymore.

Ah...this is the best…

The whole town is divided in two by the main road. Usually, merchants, entertainers and all sorts of people gather around the Main Street, trying to call the attention of the busy throng of people using the road to commute.

Yet, it is not everyday that a noble rides down from the Castle Town, much less the heir to the lord of the whole Dukedom.

A smile creeps up Jule 's face.

Before he can complete the motion though, it transforms into a frown, a man jumps from the crowd towards his group. Immediately, all the guards surrounding Jule jump into action, freeing their blades from their sheathes and pointing them at them man. Jule’s own hand tightly clenched around the sword holstered on his saddle.

“Please Lord Redshield, a moment of your precious time” As he says this, the man gets on all fours and pressed his head against the ground.

The guards stare daggers at the man, but keep their distance in case it is a trap.

Jule scans the man, looking for a weapon or some indication of any scrolls, but finds himself shaking his head.

Worn down, rag like clothes, a greying hairline with a bald spot in the middle and yellowish nails, there is no getting around it, this man is trash.

“Speak” Jule motions while waving his hand, the guards slightly relax but still keep their weapons at the ready.

“My Lord, my daughter is extremely sick. I have spent all I have in order for a doctor to check her…” The man’s words get drowned in his tears.

“She... The medicine she needs is much too costly for me..”

“Please… I beg of you...please help me” The man forces his tears back and presses himself even deeper into the ground, to the point of groveling.

Jule’s eyes wander over to the spot the man jumped out from. His eyes meet with the ones of a small girl, covered in rags like her father. Her arms are covered in rotting bandages, hundreds of rashes peeking out from under them, some of them even staining the bandages with their blood.

“I beg of you!!” The man shouts with a passion, his hands clenching together and his tears pooling on the ground.

Some people surrounding the scene gasp, shocked out of their wits from the bravery of the man, not just anyone was bold enough to stop a noble in their tracks. Mixed between these bewildered gazes, Jule notices some hopeful ones, even one of his guards peeks back at him.

He can’t help but inwardly sigh.

The man raises his head in surprise, as if he was not expecting anything, as Jule climbs down from his saddle, taking out a pouch of coins from it. Tears continue streaming down the man’s face, even the tough looking guards help him up, as if taking a hint from Jule’s actions.

“Please take this money and heal your daughter, I consider you all my family and would hate to lose a member of mine” As Jule says this, he copies a smile which is often present in his mind, the warmest smile he knows.

The man completely breaks down, loud sobbing and aggressive nodding was all Jule got back for a while.

Warm gazes from the spectators shower the man and child, the child is overwhelmed and tears form on her face, even though she probably has no idea what is going on.

“My Lord, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have nothing to give you in exchange, all I can offer is my daughter once she is healed” The man calms down and finally gives his thanks to Jule, his head once again touching the ground.

Jule feels vomit building up on his throat from the mere idea, the daughter of trash is still trash.

“Nonsense, please use the money before anyone may get any ideas and take care of your daughter”

The man dashed towards his daughter, face still wet with tears, and hugs her tightly, making sure to avoid her injured arms.

“Honey, Lord Redshield helped us, you will no longer hurt, isn’t it great?” The child’s eyes wander towards Jule, full of life and curiosity and she bows in a similar way to her father, nearly toppling over.

The man gently carries her scrawny body and repeats a much more normal bow to Jule, bolting off to what Jule guessed was the doctor’s office.

….

Jule’s eyes wander over their figure until they can no longer be seen.

What a fool… I even gave him a hint…

They would surely not last long, the way to the nearest doctor’s office was long enough for some interested parties to take action. Besides even if they reached the doctor’s office, Jule had given them far more money than they would probably need, even after they bought their medicine.

Their greed had gotten the better of them. Had they asked Jule for another thing, whether that be for Jule to heal his daughter or for Jule to buy him the medicine, they would have lasted longer.

He even took Jule’s bait, not listening to what Jule was saying in detail, blinded by the generosity.

Well, it wasn’t Jule’s problem anymore, either way, he had reached what he set out to do.

Jule focuses on his surroundings, and he notices a sizable amount of the people on the street bowing to him, some of the more sensitive ones even holding back their tears. His guards seem to stand straighter too, making the crests on their chests stand out.

What a bunch of fools.

In Jule’s mind, all of humanity can be separated into two, the foolish and the smart.The blessing of the foolish is that they can never stop being foolish, and the curse of the smart is that they can become fools.

Most of the uneducated wouldn’t know, but it only takes reading a single history book to know the ending of all those figures who openly mistreat or abuse, they are killed or betrayed.

It is quite entertaining, while animals often bite the hand that feeds them. All it takes is a bit of showmanship and they give you a grandiose image, preventing them from doing things they would regret.

It only costs him a trip to the Castle Town once in a while, granting some favors. In the span of a year, his image shifted completely into a man who is wise, kind and gentle…

And they are none the wiser…

It is for this reason that nobles exist, to guide this clueless flock. They sacrifice their freedom in order to gain the right to rule over others.

That man, and all those people on the Main Street are part of the foolish.

And Jule, of course, is one of the smart.