The clothes that Emil had to wear were itchy and stiff. The shoes he wore didn’t fit him properly, either. They were too large, causing his heels to pop out with every step that he took. There was even a scratchy collar on his shirt that couldn’t help but scratch and itch at until he had been scolded by the maid.

He didn’t know her name, but she was very pretty. Prettier than his mother or any woman that he had seen. That Celina lady was pretty too, but she was mean, so he did not like her.

But even though this one was not kind either, she wasn’t mean. She just was.

“When you meet Johan, do not look him in the eye. Do not look him in the face, either. Rather, if you meet any nobles, stare at the ground. You will get in trouble if you do not.”

“Why?” He thought about how William had allowed him to stare. Wasn’t he also one of these nobles she spoke of? According to his father, William was somebody very important.

“Because you are not worthy,” she stated.

Emil also pondered this. He recalled his dirty body and his tiny home. He had never walked on floors like this before, either. They were polished to the point where he could see his reflection clearly. So, he thought, if Johan was lived to such a place, then perhaps he wasn’t worthy to gaze at him.

“Okay.”

But still, he was very curious.

In order to imagine what Johan looked like, Emil conjured up the image of his elder brother. Did they have the same brown hair? The same eyes? William had been very handsome and cool. Was Johan that way, too?

His pulse quickened, his palms growing sweaty.

He felt a great deal of nervousness, but also excitement. This was something that he had never experienced.

He and the maid stopped in front of a door and the woman raised her hand to knock on the door twice with two solid raps.

“Enter,” an orotund voice called.

She pushed open the doors, entering the room with Emil on her heels. Her head bowed and Emil mimicked her actions.

“Greetings, master. I have brought your new page.”

“This is my new servant?” Johan questioned, barely stifling his laughter. “But he’s so short and skinny like a twig! What use is he going to be?”

She answered very quickly, “I am responsible for training him, master. If your benevolence is patient with us, I will make him into a magnificent page.”

“Hmm.”

Emil could hear Johan’s fingers drumming against wood. “Well, since it’s you, Mary… I’ll accept it.” He changed the topic, “Have you brought my dinner?”

“Yes.” Mary picked up the platter from the cart that she had been pushing, walking it over to the table where Johan must have been sitting.

Emil pushed down the urge to glance up and take a peek at was what was happening. He could hear the shuffling as Mary set up Johan’s supper. Soon, the cover had been lifted, and the smell of rich food drifted through the air. Emil’s stomach seized. He had never smelled anything so delicious! He was salivating.

The sound of silverware clanking started. He could Johan’s quick chewing and drinking.

His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had any food since… it had been a while. He wanted to devour whatever Johan was eating! A savage sense of hunger rose up in his being. He was so hungry. It felt as if his stomach was feasting on itself, causing him a great deal of pain. He did not like this at all.

So much had been happening that he had pushed the fact that he was starving to the back of his mind. If his mother was here, she certainly would have rushed to get Emil something to eat. In fact, she had always let herself go hungry if it meant that he wouldn’t. But those times were gone now… he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on them. His father had warned him that they could not show any weakness.

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Thus, Emil swallowed all the emotions that had started to bubble up bitterly, forcing the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes to go away. Not here. He couldn’t. He couldn’t let his father down if that was the last thing he had. He recalled the pure exhaustion and pain that had been evident in his father’s face, despite how much he was trying to mask it. If his father was being strong, then so could he!

Unaware of the struggles that Emil was currently going through, Johan and Mary conversed. Emil decided to listen to what they were saying, because it would probably be important for him to learn.

That said, he didn’t really understand what they were talking about. They were using words he hadn’t heard before and talking about subjects that were far beyond his current knowledge. Even though Johan and Emil were the same age, the level of education that they had received were leagues apart. What one considered to be basic knowledge was out of this world for the other.

From what Emil could gleam from their conversation was that they were speaking about some school’s entrance exam and a renown wizard that would be visiting the estate soon to pass on wisdom to Johan. They had gone into far greater detail and talked about a variety of subjects involving each, but Emil, obviously, didn’t understand a single thing that they had said.

After a while, they finally acknowledged Emil’s presence after Johan had finished eating his dinner.

“Emil!” Mary’s sharp voice called. “Come help me clear the table.”

The boy jumped into action, keeping his head bowed as he darted over to where Mary was. He couldn’t help but whine internally. How was he supposed to clean if he couldn’t lift his head up?

Still, the two somehow managed to get all of the dirty dishes and wipe down the table without any particular hassle. It was then that Emil realized that Johan had long walked away from where they were.

He didn’t know where the boy had gone, he just knew that he was still inside of the room. Emil couldn’t help but worry a little. What if he accidentally glanced up and Johan was right there? Or what if he ran into him… Oh, no… That would spell endless trouble for him.

While Emil was fretting over where his master was, Johan spoke suddenly, “Mary, you’re dismissed.”

“Master, I—”

“Dismissed!”

Emil kept his eyes focused on his feet while he listened to the door shut quietly behind Mary.

Was he alone with Johan now? But Mary had told him before that he would be apprenticing under her for a while until he was allowed to be on his own. He could only hope that he didn’t make any mistakes. His father had warned him that they had to be very careful.

Footsteps neared him. Emil still didn’t dare look up, even with a pair shiny shoes appeared in front of his poorly-fitting ones. But he was still able to tell that the person above him was taller than he was, casting a slight shadow on his vision.

“Hey,” Johan said. “Look at me.”

Emil’s neck remained stiff.

“Are you disobeying me?” Johan questioned, an edge in his voice.

Emil felt as if someone had doused him in cold water. What was he supposed to do? He had been told not to look at Johan, but he had also been told to obey the boy’s every word.

With a heavy heart, he lifted his head. He could only hope that Johan wasn’t using this as an excuse to get him in trouble.

Other than their similar coloring, Johan did not resemble William. Where William’s green eyes had hints of kindness of them, Johan’s were glittering with a mischievous light. There was an impish, sly aura to him instead of the confident air of nobility his elder brother had. There was hardly any comparison between the two. Johan was tall for his age, but rather thin so he just seemed to have been stretched out.

This was Emil’s first impression of the child in front of him.

“Good.” Johan’s lips pulled into a thin smile. “When I speak to you, look at me from now on.”

Emil nodded his head, not daring to say a word.

“You’re not a complete idiot, are you?” Johan’s smirk grew wider. “This is your first task: read this to me.” Johan walked over to the table and snatched up a piece of paper, holding it out loosely.

Emil hurried over and took the paper from Johan’s hand. He stared down at the words carefully printed onto the crinkled sheet. The letters were printed very neatly in beautiful handwriting. But to Emil’s eyes, it just looked like a mess of squiggles and lines. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He couldn’t read. His parents had only taught him a few words that they knew, but he could barely remember them! After a few moments of silence, he responded, “I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, master, but I don’t know how…”

“You can’t read!” Johan exclaimed, sounding very irritated. “What use are you then?” He snatched the paper back from Emil. “I’ll have someone teach you. Having an illiterate servant is worse than having no one at all.” His eyes scanned the contents of the paper and then he made another annoyed sound. He crumpled it in his hands then hurled across the room. “Fuck!” he yelled.

Emil wanted to retreat and go back to his father’s side. What was wrong now? Why was Johan so angry? He didn’t want to be on the receiving side of it.

He whipped back around, pointing an accusative finger at Emil. “What do you know how to do?”

Emil’s face heated. He knew that Johan would not like his answer. “Not many things…”

“Fuck!” Johan roared once again. “You really are useless!”