As the maid barged into a luxurious room, laid with black, pristine ram wool carpet and furnished to a cozy atmosphere, she glanced at the lazy-young master resting, seemingly oblivious to her intrusion. Her actions were swift and practiced, loudly drawing open the curtains without care for the sudden sunlight, she made her way to the circular tea table and packed and tidied up the books taken from the manor library.
If she were any ordinary maid in this world, her behavior would be punishable through lashes but, to her gratitude, her young master - perhaps already in annoyance at the light shining in on his eyelids yet unwilling to give off any signs of being awake - allowed her to do almost anything she wished and had even made a large showing to tell the residents in Holt manor that she, his personal maid had special privileges.
Of course, this assignment of trust was uncommon and could be said as 'weird' in this world yet the discussions that followed after could only be dismissed as these were the words of the 'weird' and lazy young master.
The youngster awoke from his fake sleep and sat upright on his throne of pillows. His eyes were open but served no purpose to be so, as the maid knew his mind was never present in the mornings. She soaked a warm towel in the small tub she brought back and didn't take much time in wiping her master's drowsy face and settling his hair.
He slowly turned towards her with a stiff and wide smile on his when she was about to unclothe him.
"What?"
Lizabelle sternly returned his smile, abusing her right to talk back to the young master which he had given silent permission for. Was he about to give his gratitude for packing his books or thank her for washing his face? she thought but quickly threw away as she knew that maids should just be doing what they were told without the urge for appreciation.
"Teeth"
"...What teeth?" She asked.
"...Brush...teeth?"
"...?"
"...oh...yeah...those haven't been invented here"
Blake blinked twice more while shaking his noggin awake and spoke once again.
"Nevermind that, help me get dressed Liz"
"Yes, young master"
Blake continued to smile at the back of his maid who acted serious one moment and subservient in another, as she walked away. The smell of fresh air from the window that had opened some time ago worked well on rising the young man from his rest. He took a deep breath and begun his morning routine.
---
"There's about a month until you leave for Central, have you familiarized yourself with the capital yet, kid?"
Count Jacob Quills spoke to his eldest son.
The count sat at the head of the dining table that was currently topped with a simple breakfast feast. The servings included some bacon, fried eggs, a leafy salad, and some buns of baked brown bread. Every food item was one requested by the young master years before, which gradually took over the menu and became the family breakfast.
"Blake has been reading the books about Central, dear husband. Little Liz and I met in the halls this morning"
Said a woman with a warm smile, who sat next to Count Jacob. Blake's mother had an appearance of tranquility, she was the same age as his father yet she looked some years younger. It could be attributed to his mother's mild attitude and upbringing or perhaps a showing of how stressful the responsibilities of a Count were. She had light brown short hair while the count had black. Blake shared the same hair colour as his father and younger brother.
Lizabelle returned the miss's smile whilst attending at the doors of the open dining room. The table was only a third of the way filled, its large size allowed many potential guests to sit and took up most of the room. Blake spoke up after a while.
"Sis, how did your first trip to the capital go?"
"uhh, 5 years ago... hmmm. I wouldn't want to spoil it for you"
"Mum-"
"Hey!"
Ignoring his sister who was deliberately acting mysterious, he asked his mother who went on the same trip. His sister was not typically mischievous, yet when she held the upper hand against her younger brother, nothing could make her relinquish.
"Joanne, if you're not speaking, then I'll tell our whole family everything that happened, and I do... mean everything-"
"FINE! mother. Listen up 'younger' brother!"
The count gave a knowing grin at his daughter, a girl who looked similar to her mother, albeit a teeny bit slimmer. He had listened to the recounting 5 years ago, as the events within the family would definitely be reported to him.
"As you may or may not know, the capital is the most prosperous place in the kingdom-"
Someone else may have rolled their eyes but Blake was not nitpicky.
"There are beautiful plazas and streets filled with well-dressed nobles. There are also many large buildings comparable to our manor or even larger so don't act so surprised and get laughed at, okay? That's not even to mention the royal palace, a palace so grand and huge, it would take you longer to walk from one side to the other than in our town"
Blake nodded in understanding, which was contrary to the astonishment that Joanne wanted to provide. He had asked the question just to see what kind of impression the capital had left on his sister and was satisfied from the underlying tone of her explanation. Of course, he knew what things there were in Central as there were more than enough books and anecdotes. In fact, he had even seen the city itself through a viewpoint that he no longer retained. Though he wouldn't speak about it unless he was asked.
She continued...