"Can't help it, can he? Being a Marquess is hard work," said Baldwin, shaking his head.
"Marquess?!" yelled Yan, abruptly.
"What's with this kid?" asked Baldwin, raising his eyebrow.
"He's probably one of the commoners. It takes time for people like him to adjust in the area of nobles," said Gillian waving it off.
"I'm back! Thank you, Lady Meslander," said the Marquess as he took his seat next to Mavislin.
"You sure you're gonna sit there? Mav might bite you again," joked Baldwin.
"Nothing beats what I had to run from today."
"And what would be a Marquess running from?" asked Yan, peering to take a better look at the Marquess.
"From the bloody mafia. Those bunch of misfits keeps tailing me about... Pisses me off," mumbled the Marquess.
Yan was taken aback at the Marquess's appearance. It fitted nicely with what Ashley had told him. Pale as a ghost, with small eyes. He looked slightly like Ashley. But, he did not look like a leader or anything like a noble. He looked like a common folk with that get up.
"Oh? Didn't see you before," asked the Marquess looking at Yan.
"He's my new friend," said Mavislin, cheerfully.,
"Not fair! I thought you could be mine..." said the Marquess, in a saddened tone.
"Not a chance," said Gillian and Baldwin in unison.
"Hmph. Anyways, I'm Minwoo," said the Marquess, extending his hand out to Yan.
"I'm Yan," stuttered the poor boy.
"Today we'll be having beef goulash. This time, it has got potatoes and carrots. And I've dwindled on the paprika for the kid's portion," explained Ysabeau gestured the bowls of soup to be placed onto the table.
Yan was amazed as the dishes flew from the big pot in the kitchen and landed in front of him. It seemed impossible. How easy would life be if humans had those kinds of powers?
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," assured Minwoo, before digging in.
Yan looked hesitant to eat.
"If you think that it'd been poisoned, then change your thinking. Not all Mages have a nasty heart," said Baldwin, enjoying the dish.
"Mind your manners. What that Angry Man is trying to say, is to enjoy the food. We have no ill-intention against you," said Ysabeau, smiling warmly to Yan.
"It'sh nice! Eat, eat!" said Mavislin, with her mouth full.
She then gave small head pats to Yan, ushering him to eat. He nodded as he took a spoonful of the steaming dish. His hands shook but quickly recovered. As he bit into one of the beef pieces, his eyes started to water.
"It's... It's real meat... And it's hot," cried Yan, body quivering.
"It's not spoiled. It's edible..."
Tears came down like a waterfall as he continued to chow down on the stew. His heart was filled with so much pent up pain from throughout the years. From the time that he had lost his brother to losing the twins, he had been only surviving on rotten foods.
When Ashley adopted him, he'd upgraded to eating bread and rice. But even those he had to work for it. He had to start by eating stale bread and cold rice. Even at his peak of glory, he could only eat cold dishes.
Tasting meat for the first time in years made Yan crack under pressure. His mouth could not comprehend the taste, he was just too overwhelmed. And not only he could eat meat, but there were actual side dishes in the stew. Potatoes like that were meant for the wealthy.
He had been killing, stealing blowing up houses, all just to have stale bread. He'd joined the mafia, he hid from authorities. He watched his mother being tortured. He went through so much just to earn so little.
But now, just because he sat down with a little girl, a little Mage, he was being treated like a human. All his life, after the mill explosion, he was treated as nothing by humans. The irony of everything made Yan laugh on the inside.
"Fancy that... For so long, I was treated like crap by my kind. Tossed aside, the filth of the domain. And with other kinds, you treat me like..." mumbled Yan, through his tears.
"Like family? Don't be so surprised," said Baldwin, waving the boy off.
"Us Mages have almost nothing left. The least we can give others is a sense of home and family when we had nothing," explained Ysabeau.
"But why are you so nice to an outsider?" sobbed Yan.
"We know how it's like to have no family or home to go to. So, we try to make the best of what we have. And to give back those who are kind to us," said Gillian, smiling at the poor boy.