"Good morning, kuya!" Ernesto greeted Ndulou with so much enthusiasm, but they immediately ignored him. Ndulou was still grumpy toward Ernesto.
Ernesto pouted and watched Ndulou getting dressed by Lucas as he said, "What the hell, still in a bad mood?" He barged into Ndulou's room while Ndulou was still getting ready for the morning breakfast with the Marquis.
Ernesto noticed Ndulou was going to wear his light blue polo shirt again, along with his dark green vest and bow tie, and his coffee-colored pants were obviously not originally meant for him because they were too big for Ndulou.
The reason for the child's oversized clothes was that they were pre-loved and were originally used by his elder brothers.
Ernesto wanted to lend his clothes to Ndulou, but his clothes wouldn't fit Ndulou either. Ernesto's build differs greatly from Ndulou's. He is much healthier and taller.
Ernesto just became silent while sitting on Ndulou's bed to wait for him to finish getting ready. Yet, a loud opening of the door made the three of them look at the person who doesn't have the brain cells to calmly enter the room.
"Good morning!"
The blue wolf used a different level of enthusiasm while greeting everyone. Of course, he was ignored, too. Lucas and Ndulou get back to what they were doing.
Ernesto simply tapped the bedside and ordered Watson to sit. As if Watson were a dog, he wagged his tail and obediently sat beside him.
Ernesto asked, "Where's Ate Fe?"
Watson shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "She went home. She didn't mention why she left."
"Okay."
Ernesto didn't ask for more details. He didn't need to worry about the dragon.
Fetahaya lived for more than a hundred years, so he was not bothered by her safety at all. He then motioned to Lucas to hurry because Marquis' time was so strict that they couldn't be late.
After Lucas nodded, Ernesto focused his attention on Watson, patting his spikey blue hair, and he said, "Behave here with Lucas; don't make a mess."
Ernesto felt like he was taming a house pet, but Watson's response formed wrinkles on his forehead.
"Master, master's daddy invited me to eat breakfast too." The blue wolf's eyes are sparkling as usual.
"What? Why?" Ernesto was shocked for a moment, but then he recalled, "Ah! I forgot, you're from the Duchy." He let out a sigh as he advised him to act like a proper noble and to stay still and not be noisy. He was seriously warning the blue wolf when he heard Lucas sneer at what he said.
"Mister servant, what's funny?"
"Haha!" Lucas let go of his laughter, now that Ernesto pointed at him and said, "Nothing, it's just funny that a trashy noble is teaching another trashy noble to act like a proper noble."
Ernesto raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, saying, "It appears you're enjoying your time as a slave." as Lucas's remarks entirely displeased him. He was just taming the blue wolf to behave so that the Marquis and Ndulou could have their serious talk.
Ndulou, who felt annoyed by this nosy morning, gave a fake cough and said, "Let's go, we will be late."
The three agree and march down to the dining area.
The Marquis was already sitting at the end of the long table, sipping his coffee while reading the newspaper.
"Hello, Father!" Ernesto instantly greeted his father the moment he passed the room's door.
Ndulou, Watson, and Lucas followed behind him.
"Good morning, Marquis Oliva." Ndulou respectfully bowed down and greeted the Marquis. He then chose the seat that was one seat away from the Marquis. Ernesto followed him and sat down between his father and Ndulou.
"Good morning, Marquis Oliva."
Surprisingly, the blue wolf respectfully greeted the Marquis. He gracefully introduced himself, saying, "It's our first time meeting each other. I am Watson Ayam, the youngest son of Duke Allan Ayam." and sit across from Ernesto and beside the Marquis.
"It's refreshing to see young people first thing in the morning," the Marquis commented while wearing his benign smile. He put out the newspaper and gestured to the servants to serve their meal.
"How was your first night here, young master?" the marquis asked the mischievous blue wolf that was disguised as an innocent-looking young noble.
"It is very nice, Sir. Young master Ernesto and your people treated me well, so that I had a comfortable stay."
The blue wolf winked at Ernesto for showing off his ability to perfectly converse like a true noble. In fact, the blue wolf actually did this disguise multiple times, which was why he was acting naturally.
Ernesto had furrowed brows as soon as he saw the blue wolf's wink. He was upset that he could not open up a conversation with Ndulou, and he felt irritated at the proud look of his slave. He only thought inwardly,"I am going to beat him up later."
Also using telepathy, Ernesto warned Watson to shut up and sit still, and Watson only smiled at him.
After a short chat with the duke's son, the three of them silently started their breakfast.
Jose noticed the discomfort in Ernesto's expression, so he asked, "What's wrong, my son?", but received no response.
Instead, upon hearing that question, Ernesto immediately looked at Ndulou and asked, "Yeah, what's wrong?"
The Baron's son was confused and pointed awkwardly at himself. "The Marquis is asking you."
"Ah!" Ernesto flinched and smiled awkwardly. "I thought you were asking Kuya. Sorry I misheard." He awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Anyway, Kuya and 'that' will accompany me to my study. Is that okay with you, father?"
"I'm fine with Ndulou, but with young master Watson, we need to wait first for the duke's response," José Oliva responded.
"Oh, no! No need to worry about approval. They will surely permit me."
Watson smiled splendidly, and the marquis said, "No, young master, we cannot do that. I probably hired the best teachers, but the dukedom's education differs greatly from ours."
Jose and Watson were chatting again, which greatly irked Ernesto because he thought this meal would give Ndulou and Jose time to talk to each other, but all of Jose's attention was on Watson because he had a far greater rank than Ndulou.
Ernesto couldn't bear to listen to their formal conversation anymore, and he slammed his hand on the table. The three looked at Ernesto, wondering what kind of strange thing he wanted again.
"Ah! Sorry, young master Watson. Can you see me out for a second?" He smiled menacingly toward Watson, but his father grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Child, finish your meal first."
"We will be out for a minute, father." Ernesto immediately stood up and pulled the shirt off of the blue wolf, dragging him out of the dining area.
The Marquis shouted, "Ernesto! Come back here!" but the two of them were already out.
Dumbfounded, Jose looked at Ndulou instead. "Can you still keep up with dealing with my son?" he asked his eldest son.
"Actually, sir, I wish to leave if the duke approves his son's stay here," Ndulou said, lowering his head.
Ndulou tightened his grip on his fork. Talking to the marquis was stifling for the young noble.
"For what reason? Aren't you doing well?" The Marquis felt bad that he could do nothing to protect him from the lowering gaze of others higher in rank. Yet, for some reason, he needed not to uncover his eldest son's identity.
Jose said, "Out of all the young nobles, you're the one I'd like to accompany my child." He studied Ndulou's face first before continuing, "I wish you could do me a favor."
Ndulou couldn't respond right away as he felt only dissatisfaction, the only thing he could bring to the marquis.
He said, "I don't deserve this, my lord," still lowering his head. He was scared that the Marquis would be angry at how he responded, and gladly, Jose remained calm.
"You don't? Please trust me, I know you are fit to be here." Marquis continued to chop his food, showing no kind of emotion.
Ndulou wanted to talk more about leaving, but he didn't know how to persuade the Marquis.
He could only look up to see Jose's stoic expression, but they both jumped out of their seats after they heard a loud explosion outside the dining room.
"What was that?" José Oliva asked his servants to check what the sound was. The butler hurriedly walked out of the dining room, and a knight appeared after the butler opened the door.
"My lord, young master Ernesto, is fighting a knight from the dukedom!"
"What!?"
"What?"
Ndulou and Jose hurriedly walked out of the dining area to see what kind of outrageous things Ernest did again.