Eric Harxeau was 12 years old.
From 4 years old, he was raised to be the heir of his estate by his father, Lancelot Harxeau.
Lancelot Harxeau was not the best father in the world. Far from it, he often would verbally abuse Eric's mother. Because they were nobles, they had to put on a show of seeming like a happy family, and as such the father kept the abuse to verbal levels in order to avoid any social repercussions of beating his wife. After all, it would be unacceptable to leave any visible bruises or marks.
As the son of a noble, Eric accepted that he had to obey and respect his father, however that did not mean that he did not secretly have any resentment towards him. Even so, this resentment was not anything out of the ordinary, and he certainly didn't hate his father.
Eric had been strictly taught how to act elegantly by his father, and was occasionally given a light beating when he did not meet expectations, but it was nothing irregular. As a matter of fact, Eric was mature enough to understand that his father had done this for his own sake, in order to prevent him from becoming someone unworthy of inheriting the estate- or even worse, a complete delinquent.
Eric's life wasn't perfect, and he worried often for his mother, but even so he was happy, and she too seemed to bear with the difficulties. She was a strong woman on the inside, bearing with the struggles, but to an outsider she would be viewed as weak and defenseless.
However, one day his father didn't come home.
Instead, a carriage arrived outside the grand mansion in the center of the capital city of the Ruthobold kingdom, where the Harxeau estate was located.
On the back of a carriage lay a coffin, and from his window, behind a curtain, Eric watched the carriage pull up.
He had been studying the entire day, eagerly awaiting the return of his father so that he could show him what he had learned. Eric had an examination coming up in the next few weeks, and he didn't want to fall behind the other noble sons.
But this was not the usual carriage that his father rode in. The usual one was made of a luxurious mahogany wood, and painted with a red coating, symbolizing the nobility.
However, the carriage that arrived had a purple coating, symbolizing those who were above the nobility- that is, the royals.
Eric hurried downstairs to receive whatever guests had arrived at his home. He may have been a young boy, but he was educated enough to the point where he had no hesitation when it came to etiquette. If a royal had arrived at his home, and his father was gone, he would have to take the place as the man of the house and welcome the guests with open arms.
His mother was also combing her light brown hair, which was put up in a bun and then draped down. She seemed to be getting ready to answer the door as Eric had come down the stairs and seen her.
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"Mother! There seems to be a carriage from the royal palace in our courtyard. Shall I invite the guests inside?"
His mother finished fixing her hair and adjusted her elegant white dress as she stood up gracefully.
"We shall welcome them together. It is indeed rare that a member of royalty would show up at the home of a noble, and so it must be urgent... to think that your father is not here at such a time is shameful, but we must do our best to show them the sophistication of the Harxeau household."
The two walked without stumbling, as if their steps had been practiced, to the front door where the son exited and bent his knee towards the carriage, which was parked just a few meters away from the grand entrance.
Marble statues, hedges, and fountains filled the courtyard, and marble pillars as well as intricate carvings marked the entrance of the home. It was without a doubt the mansion of wealthy nobles.
The carriage door opened, and inside it was a man who had a handsome face and wore a strange outfit. It looked like it might have been the outfit of a commoner, but it was unlike any outfits that Eric had seen before. His shoes were not made of leather, but rather of what seemed to be an odd cloth material, and had a swoosh symbol on them. On top of that, the same swoosh symbol was on this mans shirt, which was made of a material that seemed to look like it would stretch if it was pulled.
Was that his family symbol? No, it was too simple to be a crest. His pants were also made of a similar material. What an odd person.
Extravagance and intricacy were defining features of nobles in the Ruthobold kingdom, and as such this simplicity screamed out that this man was a peasant, yet he carried the air about him of a royal.
The man stepped out of the carriage with refined maneuvers, such that even Eric was impressed by the way he carried himself. Perhaps this man was a revolutionary, who insisted that simplicity was the best way to show oneself off to the peasants who lacked understanding of complicated things?
Eric himself was dressed in a school uniform, with a buttoned vest and silk trousers. He wore a red undershirt, symbolizing his relations with nobility, and he attended a school meant only for nobles such as himself, along with his own personal studies.
Eric's long blonde hair was slicked back, groomed perfectly. There was not a single flaw in his appearance, as that would be a shame to his family name if he was seen in an imperfect state, and then rumors were spread.
Another thing that was odd was that this man's hair was completely ungroomed. His long blonde hair flipped from side to side as he walked, and if it were anyone else then he would be reproached for his unrefinedness, however the way this man exerted an air of complete sophistication completely countered the inelegance that his appearance would suggest, to the point where Eric did not even consider criticizing or spreading rumors about this person.
Eric waited for the man to walk up to him before the man made a bold statement.
"Hey kid, can you go play or something? I need to talk to your mommy for a sec. This is a grown up talk, so we don't need someone like you interfering."
The man coldly walked past the kneeling boy, who was filled with rage and humiliation.
"With all due respect, Sir. I am the current heir to the Harxeau estate, and the acting leader of this household while my father is gone. While I may be young, I have been educated from a young age in order to take up this position."
The man looked back and gave a condescending smile.
"Oh, really? I didn't know you were so important. Perhaps you want me to play along with your little game? Did you not hear me? Did I stutter before? I suppose I will have to repeat myself. I said that I don't have time for your games, so go off and play or do whatever you kids do these days. I have business with your mother."
The man said this all with a smile on his face, and then slowly turned away from the child and walked over to his mother.
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