I am Brian, I have no family name for I'm of common birth. I have worked in the Valter estate for more than a decade now and I have seen and experienced most people would consider a privilege.
House Valter is one of the few houses that treat their employees well and consider them as humans when most houses don't. I am grateful to have lived a life where I don't have to look for scarps everyday to survive. Therefore, to show my appreciation for being treated like a human. I have given everything I have in all the tasks I was given, fulfilling them on time without fail.
That's what I intend to do in everything I was ordered to do. Fulfilling every task without fail is what I intended, and I thought there is nothing I can't do. After the sudden appearance of our master's guest, I was tasked to observe him, follow him, and figure out his intentions.
Never have I thought that it's the first task I have to consider as impossible.
He spends his day training from morning to noon. He doesn't even bother eating breakfast like most nobles do and only eats lunch after his training. After resting for a bit, he goes back to training till the sun sets. He is unlike every noble I have seen in my entire life.
He doesn't allow the maids to bathe him and just goes to take a bath beside the well, where most attendants would. In the times where the well is crowded, I can see him waiting in the corner as if he is waiting for them to finish before he takes a bath himself.
The way he acts and does things is completely different compared to the other nobles. I even went on to ask Head Butler Arnod if he really is a noble and was told that the guest had a family name. Although it is not well-known, having a family name means he is indeed a noble. But why is he so different from the rest?
And why does the master allow him to do everything he wants? He doesn't do anything wrong nor does he make trouble. In fact, he is considerate to everyone in the estate.
But what's really surprising is that he can do all those things without the use of his eyes. I was told to assist him in any way, but I have yet to do that as he is able to do his daily routine without fail. That's just amazing– no, it's beyond that. I can't even describe how incredible he is.
"It's like I'm taking a long break from work. It's unsettling." I said to myself. Bored out of my mind.
Before I noticed, the guest was already walking towards me. It looks like he finished his training for the day and handed him the towel.
"Good work today as usual, Mister Jakob." I said.
"Thanks a lot for helping me all the time, sir Brian."
"Please, just call me Brian. My job was supposed to assist you, but I just ended up handing you your towel for the past few weeks." I replied.
No matter how many times I see his body up close, I can't help but get mesmerized by the sight.
At a glance, one can say that he has a normal body. But if you take a closer look, you can immediately tell that there is not a single ounce of fat around his belly like most nobles. I once bumped into him one time and I could not tell that it was a person at all. It's like I bumped into a stone wall. That's how toned his body is.
That's why most of the maids— no, most females in the estate would flock and watch him bathe as they can see his body through his white shirt.
"Are you done with your training for the day?" I asked.
"Yes. It looks like seniors will return soon so I should at least try to be as clean as I can be. He may not tell me, but I'm sure he is not delighted to smell sweat whenever we talk."
He is really considerate of others. I can tell that our master and the guest are quite close just by his words alone.
"Before I take a bath, would you like to join me?"
I was surprised by his words. Join him? In what?
"You have been following me ever since the day I arrived in this place. I'm sure you are tired of doing that everyday. It's not bad to relax sometimes."
Oh! So he was talking about taking a break? I have done nothing but hand you your towel everyday, though? I can't even call it work. There is no way I can tell him that so I just told him some things that came to mind.
Since he mentioned the word relax, I offered to guide him to the spot that is the most relaxing place for me. In the garden, there is a large tree that has been there long before I even got to work in the Valter estate. It is said that the tree has witnessed the entire generation of the Valter house. So it is so much of a big deal to everyone and the tree is well taken care of almost every month.
And just ahead of that tree is a large pond connected to the river just outside the Valter estate. The breeze sweeping through the grass will surely relax anyone who sat under the tree.
"It sure is a great place to relax…" He admitted.
And to my surprise, he left the chair I prepared and lay down on the grass.
".....as expected, laying on the grass under the tree is the best way to relax." He added.
Mister Jakob, our guest, is really mysterious and interesting. Since he wanted to lay on the ground, I had no choice but to respect his decision.
"...uhm. Mister Jakob. Is it alright if I ask you a question?"
I broke the ice. It was silent for a moment so I wanted to take advantage and ask him something I've been wanting to ask.
"What is it?"
"Please do not be offended, but are you really blind?"
"Yes. I have been blind for a long time now."
He did not even hesitate to answer nor did he take time to answer my question. But still, I'm not satisfied.
"You claim that you are blind, so how are you doing things like normal people do? I mean, you didn't even get any assistance and did everything by yourself."
"Well, it's hard to explain. In the absence of my eyesight, my other senses are making up for my daily activities. And it's not like just by being blind, you can't see anything. Everything is just so blurred that you can't see any shapes. It's like you are staring into the clouds all the time."
"....."
I fall silent. Even though it's hard to explain, he still gave his best to make me somehow understand, and now because of that, I may have made the atmosphere awkward.
"I'm really sorry for asking such things. I will take any punishment you give me." I said, bowing my head even though I know he can't see me. Still, I feel like I have to do it.
"It's nothing. That's just how it is. You don't need to bow, you did not do anything wrong."
It startled me. He knew that I bowed my head? How? He is blind, isn't he?
"You must be surprised, huh? I can imagine you bowing your head. you remember when I told you about my other senses making up for the absence of my eyesight, right? While talking, the sound sent an image to my head of what you are doing. It's like a single sound could give me a momentary sight. It's just in my head, though."
The more we talk, the more I slowly get to understand more about Mister Jakob and how awesome it must have been to have something like that. I'm not saying that being blind is good, having eyesight is still the best but having your other senses aid you in seeing things without using your eyes is also cool!
We ended up talking for a while and before we knew it, the sun had already set and we got back into the mansion knowing that the well will be packed.
I tried asking if he wanted any more assistance, but he told me to take a rest instead so I ended up coming back to a room shared by four people. I lay on my bed and thought about what happened today.
"It's refreshing. I feel like I've talked to a friend I haven't met in a long time. Mister Jakob is awesome. I even forgot about the fact that he is a noble."