Walking down the corridor with an air of regality was a face that nobody had seen in aeons. Well, it was technically less than a week but it felt like he had been away from them forever.
"Is it just me or does the young master look different?" Anice whispered to her nearby companion once the young master in question was sufficiently far away. They were in charge of cleaning for the day and Anice was talkative enough to involve even gloomy strangers like the guy next to her.
Her fellow cleaning mate didn't respond but his mood seemed to darken looking at the young master. Did he bear a grudge or something? That was strange since Azil was a model human being. Many of them were wary of him but not because he was mean or explosive but out of worry. Nobody wanted to burden him so nobody made the first move which led to an atmosphere of complete stillness whenever he was around.
The young master's face seemed brighter and he was engaging more with others but mainly Curil for some reason. Anice speculated that something had happened in the week the young master had been away from them because Curil and him seldom interacted before.
The encounter should have been a good thing but whenever the two of them had one of their discussions or whatever it was that they were doing- Curil looked like his soul had left his body and gone to the afterlife.
The only person who didn't seem aware of this dramatic mood shift was Jia who continued to merrily wander around the house. She would frequently check-up on Azil as well. Anice noticed it though the subject herself didn't but Azil always looked vaguely agonized whenever Jia was talking to him. It was mild and hard to detect but it was definitely there. Anice would know since she used to be rather close with Azil as a child.
"He really is an idiot, isn't he?" The guy next to her spoke for the first time since they started cleaning the floors and she couldn't help but feel surprised. She was tempted to ignore the content of his sentence in favour of continuing their conversation but her fierce admiration of Azil forced her to confront him.
"What? Sure, the young master can be air-headed at times but I don't think it's right to dismiss him as an idiot."
The man scoffed. "You say that because you only know what he's like on the outside. Nobody is a totally good person."
Anice frowned and put down the cloth she had been using. "Of course but there are people who are undoubtedly good and the young master is one of them. Saying 'no one can be good' sounds like an excuse people make so that they don't feel guilty that they're bad."
The stranger's face darkened further but he said nothing. He wore a constant scowl as he worked in the garden and she couldn't help but wonder why he was so pent-up.
When the afternoon rolled around, Anice suddenly felt sympathy for him. It was a sudden burst of kinship when she remembered how kind Azil had been to her when she lost her parents despite her indifference to him. Perhaps, it was finally her chance to repay the favour. She decided as such to go check up on the guy assuming that he was probably in the outer corridor at the time when she ran into what felt like criminal activities.
What she stumbled upon was the sight of a minister talking to the guy from before and giving him something resembling a pouch. Anice knew most of the ministers so although she didn't know his name, she did know that he was in the same block as Curil and that they both served the lord's brother more than the lord.
The minister said a few more words discreetly and then left. What were they doing? Was it bribery? No minister would just talk to a servant out of volition. They usually didn't even look at servants.
Her cleaning companion from before sat down on the grass and she debated going up to him. She had gone there in such a rush but the timing was bad. At last she awkwardly walked up to him. "Aren't you tired?"
His hands were empty. He had put away whatever he had been given before she could get a glimpse of it.
"What does it matter to you?" He replied, still scowling.
"It doesn't." She sat down a slight distance away from him and neither spoke. They sat for much longer than either of them should have because the sky darkened considerably.
"Why do you hate the young master?" She finally asked, unable to stand the quietude.
"I told you why."
"Is that really all?"
There was another interlude. "Yes...that's all."
Anice was sure that he was hiding something from her.
"How much do you have left to do?"
"One more area." He grumbled.
"I'll help you then." She stood up and brushed some dust off her clothes as he stared at her skeptically. "Why would you help?"
"I just feel like it."
Something told her that both their intentions would eventually come out into the open someday but until then, she wanted to try and figure out what was going on.
***
Rahey was worried. He had been living well for the most part and had even convinced his father at some ceremony a few days prior to let him stay there. His father seemed shocked but hadn't been able to outright reject him so his place was secured for the time being.
What bothered him was the stir among the ministers. Curil, the bastard, wouldn't tell him anything more than what was forced out of him through tactics so Rahey had to guess why everyone was unnecessarily riled up. The tension was surely further amplified by the absence of his so-called uncle.
Rahey was certain that he was just a pitiful soul caught in the cross-fire but that wasn't enough information. People's emotions were a tricky thing to handle and if they were all going to use him to settle their feelings then he would be troubled everyday.
If only he had someone he could use as a spy...