Over twenty years ago, the father of the two brothers—Noah Pat—rescued Jon, who was on the verge of death outside the estate. After Jon's injuries healed, he learned that Jon had no home, so the noble Noah, moved by compassion, took him in and offered him a generous job—fruit farmer.
The reason Jon was injured and collapsed outside the estate, as well as his origins, remain a mystery to this day. He has never spoken of them. He often claimed that he came from another planet, but he never explained where this "planet" was.
Jon was a skilled and eloquent man, with abilities in planting and construction. When they were young, both brothers loved to visit Jon and listen to his fascinating stories. In these tales, there were towering buildings reaching the clouds, iron machines flying in the sky, and even gardens built on the moon.
When they were children, Leon was captivated by these stories, and he longed to visit the world Jon spoke of, believing that when he grew up, he could see the countries from Jon's stories. But as time passed, Leon gradually grew wiser and realized that Jon's stories were nothing more than fabrications. The collapse of his childhood dreams was something Leon couldn't accept, and from then on, he regarded Jon with disdain and anger.
Leon was furious at how much Angell believed in Jon, even going so far as to treat him as a mentor. No matter how hard he tried to convince Angell otherwise, Angell only smiled and neither rejected nor contradicted him.
Angell's attitude toward people and things was very similar to Jon's. He appeared calm and gentle but was unwavering and impervious to persuasion.
...
Leon picked up the parchment on Angell's desk, his eyes immediately narrowing as he scanned the densely written text.
"Why not use the common script of the continent? Why use that old man's writing to record things?" Leon muttered. But then, as if a sudden thought crossed his mind, he smirked mischievously and looked at Angell. "Dear little brother, aren't you going to explain this to me? Could it be that you're recording... some teenage troubles? You can talk to me about it, I'm sure I can help you, hmm?"
Angell sighed helplessly and pointed to one corner of the page. "This is Chinese characters. My mentor taught me this. It's the common writing from his homeland. The content here is the meaning of several physical constants that my mentor has calculated."
He then pointed to a few symbols that resembled tadpoles. "These are Arabic numerals. They're similar to the measurement units we use in the Golden Finch Empire, but this system is more convenient and intuitive. These numbers correspond to the physical constants above. Many things can be recorded using this system."
Angell's long explanation went right over Leon's head, but he didn't mind. He simply thought that Jon's ability to fool people had only gotten better, and his sweet, naive little brother was even more brainwashed.
Leon, who had once felt some sympathy and concern for Jon's deteriorating health, now felt none of it.
Waving his hand, Leon stopped Angell from speaking further and pulled out an exquisitely packaged envelope from his armor.
"Alright, alright, stop talking. I don't understand and I don't want to hear it. Here, take this. This is the lord's invitation. I'm inheriting Father's title, and we need both the lord and Marquis Merlin to notarize it. We'll leave in half a month. Haven't you always wanted to hear Master Meijieff's solo concert? Once we get to Waterford and finish the official matters, I'll take you to the Ocean Theater and you can listen to it as much as you want!"
Angell took the invitation, his expression lighting up with excitement. He had long heard of a famous imperial musician in Waterford, who was renowned for both composing and reciting lyrics. However, he had never had the chance to meet him. Now, thanks to his brother inheriting his title, he would be fortunate enough to listen—how could he not be happy?
Seeing Angell trying hard to suppress his excitement and pretend to remain calm, Leon couldn't help but ruffle his brother's golden hair.
As expected, Angell glared at him furiously.
"I told you not to touch my hair! It's a man's dignity, I won't compromise!"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Leon suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, not stopping until quite some time later. "You just turned fourteen, you're not even in the man category yet—just a boy who hasn't fully grown!"
The two brothers wrestled around. Angell, still in his growth period, couldn't compete with Leon, who was already tall and strong like a wild tiger. Eventually, Angell could only glare at Leon resentfully and bury himself in writing the assignment Jon had given him.
Leon, having no other choice with his temperamental younger brother, could only scratch his nose and leave.
About half an hour later, Angell finally finished sifting through the sea of numbers and returned to his room.
The sight of the empty room told him that Leon must have left long ago. Checking the time, it was nearly lunchtime. He opened the door and, sure enough, saw the stone table in the yard where two lunch boxes had been placed. Mana, the head maid, was taking dishes from the boxes one by one.
Seeing that it was the usual vegetable soup with bread and fruit, Angell couldn't help but feel a bit down.
He missed the meals his mentor used to cook. Even something as simple as fried rice seemed to hold some magical power, making him unable to stop eating.
Ever since his mentor's health had deteriorated, Angell hadn't tasted such delicious food again.
Last time, Angell had asked Jon to teach him cooking, but the result was a disaster, almost unbearable to look at.
Sigh... With his mentor's limbs almost atrophied, it seemed impossible that he would ever taste Jon's cooking again.
Mana took the soup upstairs to feed the sick Jon, while Angell sank into a somber mood.
After finishing lunch, Angell returned to his room and happened to see Mana coming down from the second floor.
"Mana, has the mentor woken up?"
"Young Master, Mr. Jon has already woken up." Mana shook the clean porcelain plates in her basket. "His appetite is much better today. He finished the entire soup."
"That's good. I'll go check on the mentor."
Watching Angell rush upstairs eagerly, Mana couldn't help but smile indulgently. The Pat estate was now ruled by the two young masters. The eldest was cold and aloof, while the second was gentle and calm. But little did anyone know, the two of them were still just boys who hadn't fully grown. They acted tough and strong on the outside, but inside they both carried tenderness; it was only with their closest servants that they let down their guard and showed the liveliness expected at their age.
"Mentor!"
As soon as Angell pushed open the attic door, he saw an elderly man half-reclining on a chair on the balcony. Behind him stood a mute servant in a respectful posture.
The old man's complexion was waxy and his skin withered, looking completely different from the locals, with an exotic appearance. His eyes were a bit cloudy, but his black pupils were still visible.
This man was, since the death of his father, the most respected elder in Angell's life—his mentor, Jon.