"Victor Agosto was a toddler unlike any other. If not his monstrous mana pool, his complete opacity to any of my magic effectively crippled me into a blind man. Meanwhile, the one-year-old stared at me, casting magic with ease and speaking as though an adult had possessed a child. In these peculiarities of the boy, I find great interest and intrigue: and will hope to see him again when he will have grown." – Dr. Paul Agosto, Secret Journals.
"Have you fed dangerous medicine to the child? If that is the case, Lady Alice, then I believe we cannot trust each other enough to continue this arrangement."
Paul tidied his suitcase and then slammed it shut. With fast steps, the man stood upright and barged toward the door.
"What do you mean, Dr. Stefano? Your sudden shift perplexes me…" Alice halted before the man, restricting access to the doorknob.
If she allowed this life-changing opportunity to escape before her eyes, she would be a moron and the biggest fool in Lusland.
Paul stopped in his tracks. Tilting his body around, he mocked, "I would ask you to refrain from testing my intelligence. Never have I seen such a young child with such a high amount of mana – it is ludicrous, even, that the child naturally possesses it."
Alice reddened. It was ludicrous that she was blocking the door. However, daring to break every rule of etiquette for her son, she retorted, "My son has always had ample mana! Why then, would he be able to cast a spell if not for repeated training that would disprove your conjecture?!"
'Does it disprove, then, why your son is effectively a dead man? Possessing no mind at all, he can't be anything but a devil's child!' Paul's head spun with this response, but he had enough tact to keep silent. If possible, he didn't want to reveal he was a psychometrist. People usually became very cautious when he did that.
"My lady, may I?" From the shadows of the room, Emilia came out and asked.
Alice nodded.
"Sir Dr. Stefano. The Young Sir indeed possesses and has possessed mana beyond his age. Our local doctor believes it has almost killed him."
"Yes! Dr. Stefano. I recall very well, for my son fell to a fever no bodily concern could explain."
Paul frowned and rubbed his glabella. 'A fever is indeed a symptom of mana overexposure.' Though it usually occurred to mana crystal miners, not toddlers…
Looking back at the sneering child, he asserted, "I will believe you."
The child wasn't his main goal here anyways, only a distraction - a very strange and potentially dangerous distraction.
"Thank you!"
"Dr. Stefano, will I be going to a magic school?" Tugging at his legs, Victor looked at Paul with round eyes.
'Devil child.'
"It does seem that you possess enough mana to enroll in a magic school before I calculate the specifics."
The three members of the Agosto household cheered at this positive progression.
"However."
Always a, however, or a but, wasn't there?
"Have you considered the boy's growth? He will have even more mana in the future, and I believe he cannot keep casting light spells eternally to drain his mana. If he wishes to avoid harm and succeed within a magic school, he needs to learn to control his mana."
Paul's fingers shook. If it was indeed true that the boy possessed this much mana, and that his reserves would grow even more alongside his age, then perhaps he could solve personal trouble of his. Just small trouble.
"How can he do that?"
"Repetition is the mother of learning. I'll send you various booklets for your child when I go back to the capital."
Alice raised one of her eyebrows, "The capital? I believed the main estate of the Agosto household was within the Agosto province."
Paul chuckled awkwardly, "Well, in theory, yes. But the capital has attracted more branch family members such as myself."
The group engaged in meaningless chatter. At one point, Emilia requested if she could test her magical aptitude as had done Victor.
Sneering, Paul replied, "I wish no ill intent with my following words, but – woman, you seem rather old. It is useless for you to consider a magical career at this point."
"I-i-…Understood."
Emilia bowed respectfully as she always did, but her convulsing hands betrayed her true feelings away. Paul hadn't realized he brought her entire world crashing down with that remark.
"I shall take my leave then."
However, within his mind flowed different aspirations, 'Ask me to stay longer – the night, please.'
"Already? Dr. Stefano, you have brought such good news to our house. Grace us for the night, we shall feast."
"This one would wish not to encroach," Paul waved his hand and played his act.
"We insist. Has Dr. Stefano tried Monteverdi's wine? It's great, much better than the capital, I'd say."
"If you so insist."
Wallowing in his unsuspicious victory, Paul deposited his light luggage in a guestroom.
…
-Later that evening-
The Agosto estate was louder than ever. Granted, four awake people graced the estate, but that was still higher than it had ever been for the last lonely years.
Within the dining hall, those four now occupied a table decorated with ample foodstuff and greasy-looking dishes.
"How plentiful! I'm honored to be part of such a banquet," Paul laughed and praised, inserting slight amounts of mana to improve the mood of everyone present.
Excluding Victor.
Paul wasted much more mana on suggesting Victor and seeing the results of his magical interference. As expected, the child only fixed him due to his repeated and prolonged stares.
"Distasteful."
"Ah! What is, the food?" Alice reacted immediately.
Paul wiped his mouth and shook his head. "Lady Alice, the meat is prepared fabulously. How is it then I see you eating none?"
Alice rubbed her hair and averted her eyes, "I need to abstain from meat in respect to the Goddess of the Green Months, Nativesia."
"Oh? I believed you were rather atheistic."
"It's a long story-
As they spoke, the nighttime bell rang out throughout the small town outside.
"I'll excuse myself, Dr. Stefano. I need to groom my child, then it will be Emilia who shall escort you to your chambers."
"I wish you a great night then."
…
Going through the corridors opposite Victor's chambers, Emilia walked behind Paul.
"Sir Dr. Stefano?"
"Hmm?"
"I apologize for my boldness, but I do not doubt the words of a wise and pleasant man such as yourself. Is it true then, that I have no chance at starting a magical career?"
Paul slowed down. Still walking, he replied, "Perhaps I expressed myself wrongfully. Unless you are a prodigy, it will be impossibly difficult for you to catch up to one who had attended magical education."
"Do I then still have a chance? Do I?"
Paul furrowed his brows. Invading the woman's mind, he analyzed her thoughts. 'Delusional,' he concluded.
"It is time for me to sleep. Go to sleep, woman."
Under his magical persuasion, Emilia only had a blank gaze for a second before she nodded and departed. Nodding and entering his chambers, Paul began work.
'No sleep for me.'
He would wait. He would wait for when everyone was asleep.
…
And thus, sometime later, when the mansion fell into a deep and hollow silence, Paul left his room. Knowing which chambers he could not go to, he snuck around and searched for one specific chamber.
The one where the crippled mage was held – was Matteo Agosto.
Nullifying his steps with stealth magic, he made no sound as he traveled through the estate. Soon enough, the darkness around him became a lot brighter – also the result of a spell.
"There."
On the bedding was a familiar face. A very familiar face indeed. Paul grabbed a lighter from his pocket. Then, lighting up a small candle beside the bed, he sat down.
The handsome yet blank expression of Matteo Agosto met his gaze back, and he smiled. "It has been a while."
Approaching the bed, his hands moved toward the man's head. Frowning, he said, "Your mind is crippled beyond repair. No life in there, only pain and the instinct to live on."
Paul then began a monologue, "I've thought about it for a while, you know."
"You have a family. Had you had no children, I'd be more reluctant. However, you have a son who will pursue your legacy and a happy wife."
"Is it right then, to keep you in a state of constant misery?"
"Perhaps I would be your murderer, but your greatest benefactor in the heavens above. I hope then that you can also let go of the past – for we both had promises and ambitions to maintain."
His mana buzzed around his body. It was rare that he let his emotions affect his magic. However, he had to do what he had to do.
Matteo had his respect. He wouldn't end him with a chantless spell or a basic psychological attack - but his very best. "Creo-
"Dr. Stefano, what are you doing?