"Ha!"
The unexpected noise in the middle of a luncheon turned everyone's attention to the Marquis's son, Ernesto Oliva, who suddenly dropped his hand onto the table.
"Are you a fucking beggar?" he furiously exclaimed.
A fragile-looking teenage boy stopped eating a medium-rare raw steak and gently lowered his hand, holding the fork and knife.
He was sure that the trashy son of the Marquis was referring to him. He immediately wore his sweetest smile, while the young master looked at him with disdain.
But behind his sweet smile, he was grumbling internally. "Every time I visit their castle, I always wonder how this thirteen-year-old punk turned into a rubbish teenager." He composed himself first before he gracefully replied, "No, young master Ernesto, I am Ndulou Miyano, a baron's son, not a beggar."
His face was calm despite his irritation.
"Ha! Who keeps inviting you here?" Ernesto leans back in his chair and fixes his collar as he continues to mock the young man.
"I only interact with someone on the same level as me!" Ernesto shouted smugly. He was actually very far from where Ndulou was sitting, so he was basically shouting.
All of Ernesto's guests sitting at the long table gazed directly toward Ndulou. Some of them look at him with the same contemptuous gaze as Ernesto, and some look sorry.
Ndulou completely let go of the fork and knife. He wiped his mouth and slowly stood up as he grumbled internally, "What a waste! I am not yet done eating that juicy steak! It is rare for me to eat that kind of expensive beef! I want to savor it more! But I have no choice."
With so much disappointment, Ndulou bowed down to the group of young nobles. He bowed his head 90 degrees. It is unnecessary, but he needs to bow deeply so that Ernesto will not bother him more.
"I apologize. I'll be leaving now." He looked at the steak for the last time.
Ernesto smirked while keeping his gaze focused on Ndulou.
"I think it is better to leave than stay at that gathering full of phony young nobles," Ndulou thought as he walked out slowly, which is why he could still hear the young nobles' mocking voices. "Those children! They are still depending on their parents. What are they proud of? Their silver spoons?"
Later, Ndulou walked into the garden to pass the time. His father asked him to get close to the trashy son of the marquis so they could be in favor of the marquis. But how could he even get close to Ernesto if he was so disgusted with him?
Currently, the Baron has a lot of debt because of the academy expenses of Ndulou's brothers, who are acting all rich and mighty at the academy without knowing they are suffering financially.
He grumbled in frustration until he reached the golden statue at the center of the garden. "I understand if they wanted to study, but why the hell did they ask for expensive clothes? Weapons and a carriage?! We never hide the fact that we are poor, but why do they need to ask our parents for those extravagant things? And my father, ugh! He always gives them what they want, even if we starve."
Ndulou was fuming, but then he stopped. He was suddenly in a daze, observing the beautiful golden lady statue who was riding in a chariot pulled by two cats, and weirdly, a boar was beside her.
The Lady statue is leaning forward while her left hand is pointing toward the entrance of the garden.
Ndulou then frowned at the peculiar statue in front of him.
He thought to himself, "This Marquis family must have a lot of money to build this strange golden statue." as he gently patted the statue and thought about how the Marquis spent his money on such useless things. "Shall I just run and steal this? I am tired of smiling and acting obedient."
Money is the main problem in their household. Ndulou thought that it would be great if he also had his own fund.
He wondered, "What if I just steal one of its nails? They won't notice, right?" as he reached for the fingers of the lady statue.
Of course, he would not dare steal.
Despite being poor, he still knows what is good and what is bad.
"I'm not insane yet."
He tapped the fingernails of the golden statue while thinking about the value the statue's nails have.
Tap tap tap tap tap
Clicked!
He heard a click after tapping the nails five times.
He looked around and saw a bush move aside from the others, revealing a small old mahogany door that you can only enter if you crawl.
It speaks of danger, so he removes his attention from it and looks at the fingernails of the statue again. He narrowed his eyes and searched for any button.
"How can I get the bushes back?"
Ndulou was curious, but he is not the type of person who will explore something just because he is curious. Obtaining new wonders is a source of consternation for the young baron's child.
Ndulou thought to himself that the old door seemed like the one you would see in every movie that starts the protagonist's adventure.
For him, it can either be a source of new discoveries or a terrible curse.
It would be better if some parts of the golden statue would fall off and he would happily take them home, but a mysterious door was not in his cup of tea.
"I may sound like a coward, but I do not want to get into trouble."
He already has a great number of worries just by being the fifth son of a baron. He does not want to bother with anything more.
He tried tapping the fingernails many times again, but the bushes did not return to their original position.
He slapped the hand of the statue in frustration, and it caused him much trouble. Suddenly, he could feel vibrations under his feet.
Ndulou gasped as he subconsciously stepped back in shock.
The pavement that he was standing on suddenly split open and revealed a pitch-black pit.
He instantly fell, but the collar of his shirt choked him. Fortunately, someone hastily pulled his shirt up before he completely fell into the pit.
"Whatever the case, both will kill me!" he growled furiously, despite having a hard time breathing.
He thought the pit was so deep that it would kill him if he fell into it, while the one who saved him from falling unintentionally strangled him because he had harshly pulled him up by the collar of his shirt!
"ugh! Huff! huff!"
He gasped for air once his feet reached the ground once again.
"Wha-?"
He was still getting himself together. That was why he still couldn't identify who had unintentionally choked him while saving his life until he heard a familiar voice.
"Y-you!" his savior yelled.
"What is causing him to stutter?" he wondered internally while he was still trying to learn to breathe again.
He looked up and saw Ernesto with a shocked expression.
haaaaaaaa—
Ernesto let out a long sigh.
"T-thank you, young master, for saving me," Ndulou said as he still stayed on the ground, breathing heavily. He was so scared that his whole body lost its strength. He was so shocked that it caused his whole body to tremble.
He almost calmed down when his eyes shook once more.
The mighty and proud son of the Marquis kneeled down and looked at him with concern.
"This punk is kneeling in front of me? He was on his knees! The Oliva family's arrogant trash?" Ndulou yelled in his head, as he could not believe what he was witnessing.
Ernesto kept his kneeling position as he did not care about Ndulou's shocked expression, and his palms touched both of Ndulou's cheeks.
"You are stupid!"
Ernesto showed his infuriation and muttered something under his breath, but Ndulou couldn't care less, as he was more regretful of what he had done. "Yes, yes, and yes! I am stupid for touching someone else's property!"