Yes, it was another issue with the Nobles that seeing the fresh blood oozing from the Needy's wound, they could not resist their animalistic hunger for tearing apart their prey. But it was a problem with only those who had started practicing hunting on a regular basis with intervals of every 4 to 5 days. Thus, Jason became extremely restless, the air around him thickened with each heavy breath. His sportsman passion began to decline all of a sudden, his legs losing strength as if he was no longer focused on playing… His gaze gave a gleam of something dangerous…
"Let's continue from here, tomorrow, I'm tired.." he finally excused to Keith and his team after assembling all of them with his gesture because some of them were still playing while others were bandaging their injured friend, as drops of sweat poured out on his forehead, his body temperature rising, his hands shivering, his gait seemed to be outrageously untamed as he walked slowly towards the ground's borders, leaving all of them in questioning worry clearly evident on their faces.
Keith definitely wanted to follow his brother, because he had felt something off about him at that particular moment, but his friends insisted him to continue playing until the match was completed. It is how this match ended with Keith's team winning, which was for the first time that Keith's team won against Jason's team.
After a few hours…
Janes family was having dinner, grilled chicken with red lentils cooked with white boiled rice. News was being delivered on LED screen placed in front of their dining table, about how efficiently the Machia family had established their law system and courts over the past few years to provide general justice to all the royal families of the world, also those of the Needies. All the conflicts and issues were brought to Machia's courts for their final solution, because this family had the most ancient history, their ancestors were respected as holy figures in the world, because of their wise decisions at some famous critical times of the history and some great inventions that facilitated those old times.
There was a sudden loud jerk at the door of the main family hall along with shrieks of pure grief and dismay glooming the whole peaceful atmosphere there. "Sir! No! My son! He was brutally murdered this evening!" cried the father of a boy who got injured during a soccer match, as he kept on entering the hall like there was no boundary, but there was… Invisible yet invincible. Since the father belonged to the Mansion's entrusted class, it was not allowed for any Noble to pour out his hunting related frustration on him and his family. However, if something like that would be accidentally committed by some Noble's child, then their most expected reaction was merely to cover their child's mistake as if nothing wrong happened.
"Calm down Mr. Drake, I'll meet you after dinner" said Micheal in a plain tone, not looking at him, as he gestured to the guards standing nearby to get him out of there.
Witnessing all this, Keith's mind clicked on how Jason reacted to that boy's wound during the match but he was not sure whether it really had to do something with this brutal murder of the same boy or it was just some coincidental connection his suspicions mind was making.
Even after the guards had made that man get out of the main family hall, his continuous cursing to Micheal Janes due to uncontrolled emotions could still be heard from inside.
"They have eaten my son alive just for their pleasure! They tore him into pieces! They have no amount of mercy in them!" His voice raised enough to be heard by Keith's ears to make him sense something extremely disturbed about his family, with whom he had been having a nice and delicious dinner, peacefully for years.
That night, as Keith lay in the stillness of his room, his thoughts churned restlessly, refusing to let him sleep. The events of the day, the subtle and not-so-subtle cruelties he had witnessed within his family, swirled in his mind, forming a tangled knot of confusion and unease. He had always felt like an outsider among them—like he didn't belong to the same world.
He had been taught, from the earliest age, to hate the Needies, to see them as beneath him. But something in him had never quite agreed. How could he? When he remembered the times his brother had pinched a maid's fingers with a fork for making a minor mistake, or when his mother had slashed a child across the cheek for not obeying immediately, or when his father had handed out cruel, humiliating punishments to the workers who had displeased him… how could he have learned to despise others when he could feel their suffering as though it were his own?
Why was he different? Why couldn't he stand to hear anyone cry or scream in pain? Why did his heart break at the sight of someone being hurt, whether it was physical, emotional, or both? His family was foreign to him, their cruelty so natural to them, but so alien to the core of who he was.
His eyes were closed, but his mind remained wide awake, restless, a storm of questions and thoughts whirling in his head. He had known for a long time that he was different, but tonight, he felt the weight of that difference more keenly than ever. And yet, despite the growing chasm between him and his family, Keith had never doubted his beliefs. He knew he was right—he knew the world he lived in was wrong. It wasn't him who needed to change. It was them.
To feel empathy for others wasn't something to be ashamed of. It was the natural, human response to the pain of others. To care, to understand, to want to ease that suffering—it wasn't weakness, as his family had taught him. It was strength. But to inflict pain, to cause harm, to belittle and degrade others for any reason—it wasn't justified, not ever. No reason, no excuse could make it right.
Keith's thoughts turned to the world outside the walls of his home. It was so easy, so painfully easy, for the world to celebrate what was wrong. To turn cruelty into entertainment, to normalize violence, to laugh at the suffering of those who had no power. But what troubled him even more was how the right—the simple, unshakable truth of kindness, of compassion, of fairness—had become so unrecognizable to the world. It wasn't even celebrated. It wasn't even acknowledged. People didn't just fail to see it—they couldn't even begin to understand it. How had things become so distorted?
The weight of it pressed on him, and though his body lay still in the dark, his mind raced on, unwilling to rest. But Keith knew, deep down, that no matter how twisted the world had become, no matter how isolated he felt, he would not bend. His beliefs were the truth. And one day, perhaps, the world would understand.
During this deep self-conversation, there was a knock at his door. He knew that it was his Mom because of the way she was used to knocking and that he was good with analyzing patterns, behaviours and activities.
"Yes mom!" said him, in a slightly high volume so that his Mom would hear his voice with ease.
"Why are you awake till now?" asked her in a concerned tone, as she opened the door and started walking close to his bed.
"I just couldn't sleep…" said him, as he sat up after pushing aside his blanket, prepared to be open to his mother.
"Why? Is it something upsetting you?" asked her, as she gently and slowly patted his head.
"Mom… I don't like how you, Dad and brother behave with our workers… They serve us… We should not hurt them…" continued Keith, as his eyes slid and his curves of lips lost their stability, like he was holding so much inside and was just about to cry like a baby…
"O dear.. We just punish them a little so that they would not repeat their mistakes. It's necessary to polish them or else it would be impracticable to keep discipline" explained Mom, as she kept patting Keith's head.
"Why don't we get the same polishing as them? Me, Jason and Watson? Why are we free from all such cruel punishments? Don't we make mistakes?" asked Keith in a serious curiosity, his eyebrows raised.
"That's because you are all the Princes. How can the boss and employees be treated equally? That's the world's system. That's how it is, for ages. That's how God has created this world. Some are made rich and others are made poor, some influential and others vulnerable, some Nobles while others the Needies.. That's God's choice.. Instead of complaining about the suffering which is not even yours, you should rather pay thankfulness to God by fully enjoying your status as the prince of some royal family.." said Mom in a casual tone, as she then stood up slowly and started roaming about the room.
"Hmm…" he seemed to understand all that his Mom went on explaining, but he still questioned silently to himself about whether it was truly God's choice or it was all man-made due to man's discriminated approach towards other men of his own kind.
"Don't overthink, you have a long life ahead to solve all the puzzles so don't try to sort out everything during these pleasant hours of peaceful night" said her, as she softly kissed his forehead, "Goodnight, My son, Have a lovely sleep" whispered her, before she started walking towards the door to leave.
It was not the first time when Keith expressed his feelings of unease about the world's unjust system to his mother, expecting her to understand him. However, his mother was herself worried about Keith's different views from theirs, sometimes only for a short duration of time. She often discussed her concerns with her husband Micheal, but this matter primarily faded among the bundles of other matters related to the mansion's daily progress. Thus, mother and father both subconsciously continued without paying required heed to their kid's uneasiness, which was taking the form of something inexplicably dangerous, without a little flicker of their awareness.
The next morning….
At 8 AM, when all five members of the Janes family were usually found to be on the dining table for breakfast, they realized that Keith was late.
"Why is he late today?" asked Micheal with his eyebrows raised to Dina, who was responsible for keeping a keen eye on his routine and all his activities.
Dina ordered the maid sitting on the nearby small dining table to check for him, as she moved a streak of hair to the back of her ear, unintentionally to cover her shaking confidence due to her shortcoming, as to avoid eye contact with Micheal. After a short time, the maid returned with disappointment as she informed them that Keith was still sleeping.
"How dare he still be sleeping?! Has he forgotten our rules and regulations?! It is not permissible for any Janes member to be asleep at this hour of the day!" said Micheal, his voice thundered to convey a clear disturbance he felt in his established discipline.
"I went to his room last night, he was overthinking, his thoughts knotted his mind to such an extent that he just couldn't sleep…" explained Dina in a politely dim voice.
"This is not a justified excuse… You know Dina" said Micheal, looking at her with piercing eyes, making her be simply ashamed of her failure to meet certain standards.
"That's not an excuse. That's an issue we need to pay attention to…" said her, looking straight into his eyes now to finally blame him for being such a negligent father.
"So you mean to say that it is justified to break the mansion's discipline just because you're tangled in some random thoughts that you can't sort out at the moment?" asked Micheal, his voice irritated due to her continuous argument.
"No.. that's not what I mean… He is not tangled in some random thoughts, he is in absolute suffering due to our inhumane treatment towards our workers which does not merely bother him like someone normal, but presses his soft heart like a heavy burden placed on it" she tried to explain further, but interfered by Jason's indifferent opinion about Keith.
"Mom, you are just being overly worried. He just trusts people easily and immensely. It's simply his great admiration for people that makes him depressed whenever they get missing.. He can't understand that it is not good to make such close connections with the Needies" stated Jason with confidence, as he believed that he had understood him more than anyone else.
"Where is the label named "Needy" placed on them?" asked Keith, as he entered the hall with his fists closed due to anger mixed with feelings of helplessness. He had listened to their whole conversation and his blunt question out of a sudden had clearly shown it to them.
Since everyone knew about Keith's exceptionally soft nature, none of them dared to explain to him about the genetic relationship of predator and prey due to Jerene and Fermen that was the foundation of the world's division into two major categories of the Nobles and the Needies. These realities were not exposed to any kid until the age of 13 years, though some kids would start experiencing hunting instincts as young as only 7 years, not entirely knowing what it is and why they sometimes feel like beating some strangers to death.
Although because of the built-in genetic link between the predator and the prey, all nobles' families widely believed that it was entirely justified for them to be cruel and barbaric towards the Needies, even considering it as their act of worshiping and giving thankfulness to the God for creating them the superiors, still it was a matter of debate because not following one's hunting instincts and sadistic hunger had no physical harm to their bodies, except for some withdrawal symptoms temporarily making them feel restless. If the Nobles would resist their sadistic desires based on their any concept or some firm belief up to the period of three months, they could completely end this cruel relationship of Jerene and Fermen dependence from their bodies, until activated again by their own will by tasting their own fresh blood. But why would any Noble resist his barbaric desires when the prey is presented to him like food on the tray by the people he blindly relies on– His own family?
"O dear! You're awake. What would you like to have for breakfast?" asked Mom in a politely soft tone as she gestured to him to come and sit on the chair next to her, making Watson the youngest, already sitting with her to move on to the next one.
"Nothing! I want nothing from you people! You are all the same! You fucking monsters!" yelled him, as he flipped some plates placed on the table, breaking them into tiny sharp pieces after they fell on the floor.
It was the first time when Keith's composure forgot its boundaries. Perhaps, this time he truly craved attention because he was losing something precious to him.. Something he never wanted to live without.. Something he believed was his but now it too was fading away.. Maybe it was his identity, his compassionate nature, the warmth of his existence.. Everything seemed to be taken away gradually by unexplained restlessness, unheard echoes of pain and unshakable beliefs of right and wrong.
"What has happened to you?! Why are you creating a mess?" asked Dad in a rude yet worried tone, because he knew that it was not his child's true self, being exposed here. It was not expected from him, someone so pleasant and composed.
"I'm tired of feeling this pain… I'm tired of being unaware of what's going on… I'm done bearing all of this inside! " said Keith with his eyes becoming sharp and his face rigidly fixed in front of their questioning gaze, giving all of them a gleam of something deeply upset.
"What pain are you talking about?" asked Dad, now in a slightly polite tone, finally indicating a little ray of curiosity to build some understanding between them.
Listening to similarly blank questions for years to that one asked by his Dad, Keith felt hopelessly pissed off, left simply with no more words, like he never came there. Not only had he lost words at that time, but he had unchained all hopes from his family about ever getting understood. As he walked through the corridor, chills of wind from the big window sized open ventilators spaced at regular distance all along the outer wall of the mansion's corridor, touched him, taking along with them his little yet innocent desire to live pleasantly among his family. He felt like he was unknotting ties with his family with every step he was moving forward towards his room. As soon as he entered his room and hurriedly shut its door, he burst into tears he had been holding inside all along his unstable walk, his cries were loud enough to be heard outside his room by Watson, who was only 4 years and had been following him because of his silent admiration for his elder brother, though hearing his painful cries from outside his room's door only made him realize that the situation was too odd for him to handle, so he left simply feeling a bit grieved about what was happening.
In the same evening…
The Mansion of Janes was alive with grandeur as a royal party unfolded within its walls. Invited to the event were the renowned Flakes, Whales, and Wiltons families, with whom the Janes had long-standing business and economic ties. These gatherings, more than just a display of wealth and status, served as the rare opportunity for the noble children to mingle and form friendships, for they were not sent to schools, and socializing within their kind was limited to such occasions.
The hall, a beacon of luxury, gleamed under the warm glow of a giant glass lantern, casting a golden hue over the marble floors. Long curtains draped the windows, and comfy sofas lined the edges, offering a perfect view of the stage where musical and dance performances were set to unfold.
Though this event was slightly different from the Saturday night parties, where nobles solely sought to select new prey to bring into their circle of cruelty, it held equal significance. Both types of parties furthered the mansion's influence, with the Saturday gatherings paving the way for the admittance of the Entrusted class, who, in their own way, aided the Nobles in their ongoing ambitions.
But all these glamorous gatherings had no sense for Keith as he had no good views about the Nobles, with whom he had a chance of befriending in these occasions. Besides, he was afraid of making any new attachments, because any person with whom he would get closer would end up gone missing or suspended from the Mansion, without any logical reason and he would always be told to be patient and to have faith in his parents for doing everything perfectly right for him. He just did not know that this unfortunate trend of people going missing around him was solely for the Needies, not for the Nobles with whom he could be friends without any worry and being the Needies was the real reason behind their sudden disappearance from his life.
There was a knock at Keith's room to which he pretended like he was asleep but he was not. After three to four knocks, Jason came in without any affirmative reply.
"I know you are not asleep. You are just depressed about something you yourself don't understand" said Jason in a confident tone as he pulled aside the blanket from his face.
Keith was in no mood to face him so he covered his face with a blanket again, without saying a word.
"There is a royal party today and many Nobles are excited to meet you, so you just have to get ready quickly because some guests have already arrived," said Jason as he pulled aside his blanket again, now to the extent of throwing it away.
"Why would they be excited to meet me?" asked Keith, looking at his face with the required amount of curiosity, as he now sat up.
"Because I told them that my little brother Keith is truly amazing in his mental abilities. He does not need any calculator to solve any mathematical question, he does not need scales and parameters to find any accurate measurement.. Now they're all eagerly waiting to meet you" said Jason, with a teasy smile.
"I'm not at all interested in showing off my mental skills to anyone. Just leave me alone" Keith stayed reluctant, until Watson, slightly blonde, curly haired, grey eyed boy came there with a decently worn blue suit along with shiny black classical shoes.
"Hey bro! I'm all ready! Let's make new friends today!" smiled Watson with fascinating excitement.
Seeing his both brothers all ready for a royal party, especially Watson for whom Keith had a special place in his heart, he eventually stood up, stretched his arms with a gentle smile looking at Watson and went to the bathroom to get ready.