“Do you think that I am useless?” Johan suddenly asked Emil one day after the latter had brought him his meal.

Emil blinked slowly, not sure how he was supposed to answer this question. To him, Johan was a complex character. He was both full of talent and lacking talent. But his intelligence was undeniable and his maturity was advanced far beyond his age. “No, I do not.”

“My father thinks that I am useless.”

“Oh.” Emil had never met Johan’s father. Not even in passing. He had been here for a little over two months, but the head of the house and Emil never crossed paths. From what he had heard from his own father, Alexander Damgaard was a fearsome man. Because of this, Emil was all right with never meeting him. Dealing with his son was more than enough.

Johan stared Emil down. “I am jealous of you.” Before the boy could have a chance to respond, Johan continued, “Your father obviously loves you. He’s tearing his body apart just so that you can live in safety. With his skills, he probably would’ve been able to get a job on the outskirts of town. But, instead, he endures it all because he knows your life isn’t in danger here… My father would never do that for me.”

Emil inwardly agreed that he was lucky that his dad was very dedicated to him. But to him, this was not a reason to be jealous of his life. He would much rather have his entire family even if it meant that they did not dote on him as much. At least they were alive. Inwardly, he felt a bit of disdain towards Johan who didn’t seem to treasure that.

“You look like you have something to say,” Johan stated dryly.

“I do not.”

He barked, “Speak!”

“I wish that I was you,” Emil slowly responded in turn.

“Why?”

Emil shrugged helplessly. He was not very good with words so he didn’t know how to explain it to Johan. His literacy had increased significantly lately, but he still couldn’t explain himself well. “I can’t remember my mother’s face clearly… her features are blurring,” he said. “One day, I will lose that, too. And then there will be nothing.”

Johan was silent, he simply turned his gaze back to his half-eaten plate of food. “Do you want to learn magic?”

“What?” Emil was jarred by the topic change. Learning magic? That was something that he only dreamt of. With his status, he would never even look at a magic book, let alone cast any spell.

“I can teach you magic,” Johan stated simply. “You have the aptitude to learn. I can sense it.”

Emil’s mouth formed an O. “I don’t think that I’m allowed to.”

“Why not?”

“I…” He felt the slightest bit of embarrassment burning. Why did he have to explain it to Johan? “I am just a servant.”

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“There’s no law saying servants can’t learn magic. Gerhard is a wizard. Mary is one, too. So are the others.”

“I’m not the same as them.”

Johan rolled his eyes. “Don’t compare yourself to those stiffs. They’re boring.”

“Oh…”

“Besides, we’re friends.”

“We’re friends?” Emil echoed.

Johan stared at him strangely. “Obviously. You’re useless as a servant, so what else could you do for me? That’s why we’re friends.”

Emil quietly wondered if friends treated each other the way that Johan treated him. In fact, he felt that the former’s concept of friendship was incorrect…but he kept silent on the matter. And he did not like being called useless, either. “Won’t your father be mad?”

“He’ll be mad no matter what I do.” Johan sipped from his drink then laughed. “Right, so let’s get started.”

“Now?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Johan’s tone was mirthless. “What do you know about magic?”

Emil scratched the back of his neck, feeling rather awkward. He knew that Johan was being serious at the moment, but he also felt as if this could not be real. Part of him did not want this to be real. “Well… nothing.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Johan appeared to be thoughtful for a moment. “Follow me. We’re going to the library.”

“The library? Together?”

He had never been allowed to step foot inside even when he was following Johan. He would always wait outside until his master was finished. Emil had been curious about the inside, of course, but he assumed it was simply something else he was not worthy of. They told him that a lot.

“Yes. Come.” Johan tossed an apple in the air casually and caught it before biting it as he shoved the door open.

Emil trotted behind him, anxiety flickering in his hazel eyes. Was this truly all right? He didn’t understand things that were too complicated, but he felt as if this was an issue. And he was being dragged into it. But his mouth remained clamped shut even as they entered the Damgaard’s personal library.

His eyes widened as he took in the scenes around him, having never seen so many books in his entire life. Their collection of books could be considered to be rather small in comparison to others, but it was still enough to line the shelves that filled an entire room. And to Emil, he had nothing to compare this sight too, so it was nothing short of amazing.

The faint musk of paper and ink lingered in the air, tingling Emil’s nostrils.

Johan did not pay the confused boy any attention though and quickly headed towards a specific bookcase and plucked a couple of books from it. “How is your reading comprehension?”

Emil grew stiff and awkward. “I am still working on it…” The amount of time he had to learn reading and writing was quite minimal and so he was still largely illiterate.

“That’s fine. I’ll read them to you back in my quarters,” Johan said rather proudly, excitement sparkling in his eyes. It was clear that he found great joy in becoming a teacher.

“Eh… okay.” Emil shifted, constraining his body to be even smaller. He didn’t want to be in here. He was sure that if they got caught, he would be the one to receive punishment. Not Johan. Even though it was his idea.

Johan wasn’t bothered by Emil’s feelings though and continued to search for more material to teach his servant. After a short while, he stopped and thrust a stack of five books into Emil’s arms. “You carry those.”

Emil’s frail arms trembled as he held the heavy load. Johan would have had an easier time carrying it than he did. The expression on his face slightly ugly, but he wiped it blank after another second.

“Follow me!” Johan cried excitedly before darting out of the library.

With no other choice, Emil clumsily shifted his arms again and again and peaked his head out from the stack of books. “Right behind you, Young Master.”