His father had a heavy hand in today's political environment and became one of the most powerful people in the kingdom through his own efforts. There was never a day Edward didn't admire his father for it, but while Kyron's professional life was brilliant and full of praise, his home-life...
Edward lifted his hand to cover his eyes, blocking out the sunlight streaming through his windows. It also served as a barrier from the pile of paperwork on his desk.
The only reason Edward could think of as to why his father would go along with this inane idea was that it gave him a reason to avoid his youngest even further. Nevermind that Thomas was not at the age to live apart from his parents... even if he was already doing that while being in the same living space as them. Regardless, if his father could manage several governing departments on top of managing his own estates and fortune, why couldn't he handle taking responsibility for his wife and children?
Maybe this thought was too unreasonable because Edward was well aware of how little time his father had for himself, much less for other people, but still...
The Rosetta heir nearly jumped when his desk shook, accompanied with a large thump that landed heavily on the wooden surface. Seeing another pile of paperwork suddenly appear in front of his face, Edward made a very childish and unwilling expression.
Seemingly ignorant of his mood, his butler, Amir Al-Amin, stood in front of the desk with a perfunctory smile as if he hadn't doomed his employer another few hours of work.
"...What is this?" Edward asked reluctantly after a few seconds of grim silence, because other than what was already on his desk, there shouldn't be any more work that needed to be taken care of until the next day.
Mr. Al-Amin's smile seemed to grow more beatific as the words, "Work transfer requests," flowed from his lips as if he was spewing poetry instead of reciting a head-splitting spell to end the rest of his free time for today. Edward had the urge to uncharacteristically face-plant onto the surface of his custom-ordered desk.
Considering the staff's fondness towards his younger brother, it brought Edward no surprise that a good chunk of them wanted to follow his brother to Wisteria Estate. He had already made arrangements for Ms. Baker to stay by Thomas' side since he couldn't imagine that she would be content being anywhere else, but the rest had to be considered carefully. After all, Wisteria was a much smaller property and didn't need as many people to manage compared to Rosetta Estate. On the other hand, his youngest sibling needed a fair share of people to look out for him or else the eldest would worry whether the other would starve just out of laziness.
In truth, despite its size, Rosetta Estate didn't need many servants either. Most of the rooms were unused and they didn't invite many people into their homes. And even if they did, they weren't allowed to freely explore the estate grounds. Their mother enjoyed being catered by many people but the rest of them found it needlessly complicated. For some reason, Katherine had some strict requirements for the maids by her side and only a few of them were approved by her. His father often handled sensitive documents so the fewer people by his side the better. Only Sir Volkov and his father's personal butler since he was a child, Mr. Beck, would ever be allowed to serve his father. Edward was in the same position as well and could only allow a couple of trusted attendants to manage his needs. So the rest were hired for house chores and to tend to the gardens.
Not to mention, the West Wing would be completely empty once his brother was relocated and they would only need to assign a few maidservants to occasionally dust the rooms. Everywhere else might need several more servants than that but the Rosetta's were rarely home other than for food and sleep, so there was not much for them to clean in the first place.
Either way, it's a delicate balance he had to juggle with. Especially since Wisteria Estate was originally his mother's property, therefore she had more power over the situation than he would have liked.
Frankly, as long as they had enough time to hire and train more attendants, it was not a problem if they let all of those people follow the little one to the other side of the city, but the entire decision was too sudden. Edward couldn't have too many of their staff transferred all at once without filling in the gaps of their absence, and then there was the problem with the budget.
'In order to educate Thomas on responsibility,' so his mother had explained to him when he first had to listen to her ridiculous idea, she decided to give it a spending budget. Which meant that if Thomas ever decided that he wanted to make changes to the property or hire more workers, he had to consider whether it was within his limits to do so. Of course, Edward definitely knew it was just an excuse to make things more difficult for the youngest, but it didn't change the fact that anyone working in Wisteria Estate would have their salaries cut significantly and the more people that went, the less they were paid.
Many of their employees relied on their paychecks to feed themselves and their families so that narrowed down the choices that Edward could pick from the list. Notwithstanding, he would have to see if there were people that were willing to be paid less in order to follow his brother.
"Please put them aside for now. I need to consider what would be an acceptable living wage and then calculate how many servants could be transferred to Wisteria without risking the supply budget."
"Yes, Young Master," the Zafarian replied with an even tone, his expression unchanging as he took the large pile of paper without even disturbing its balance. But as he moved them away, he grabbed a couple of documents on top before presenting them to the younger man. "Excuse, Young Master, but the Lord requests that you would see to these forms first before finalizing anything."
At the mention of his father, Edward raised an eyebrow before taking the papers from the butler's hand. By just taking a glance, he could tell they were transfer documents for Henry Volkov, which caused him to blink a few times in surprise. While Sir Volkov had reached his seventies, he was still considered middle-age to most magicians. He aged like fine wine and was still one of the most revered battle magicians in the military. Though his father started to lessen the butler's workload in order to prepare him for retirement, there were no plans to cut him off completely from the estate matters.
Edward thoroughly scanned the papers more than a few times and realized a discrepancy within the information provided.
Though Sir Volkov would be transferred to Wisteria, probably as a foreman for his father, he would be under a separate payroll by using the Duke's personal accounts. In the first place, Henry Volkov was never under the family's paycheck and had always been paid personally by his father, emphasizing his importance within the estate. Therefore, even if they moved him to Wisteria Estate, it won't affect his income and he would be out of his mother's realm of influence.
The eldest son of the Rosetta's was the type to grasp an opportunity when it was presented to him and this unexpected loophole presented him considerations he hadn't thought of before. In order to maximize the benefits Thomas could receive, taking a few servants under his wing wouldn't go amiss. At the very least, paying Ms. Baker for her time and care would only be better in the long run. It was not likely that she ever abandoned their youngest but there was no need to make her suffer while doing so. There were also a few others he could think on top of his head that he could support for the time being until his mother had finally lowered her guard; Mr. Hernandez, Ms. Antonia, Mr. Sven, Ms. Herring, and many others were the first to shove their transfer papers onto his desk and he was inclined to validate their requests. Along with them...
Edward considered whether to send a couple of his own people to Wisteria as well. While he had great confidence in the staff's (especially Ms. Baker's) abilities to take care of Thomas, they tended to... spoil the youngest. No, to be accurate, after the incident, they treated him like a terminal patient who only had a month to live. Everything he did, whether it was just yawning or lifting his hand, was looked upon with caution and apprehension, and everything he asked for, whether it was a cup of water or an extra pillow, was regarded as a holy mission from the Goddess herself. If their attitudes before could be considered indulgence, then what could he call their extremely attentive behavior now?
"...How is Thomas doing with his treatment?" Edward asked after a couple of minutes; it was probably best not to linger over the servants' mental state for too long, especially when he sympathized with their worries over the little one all too well.
Since Mr. Al-Amin was the only one out of the three of them who had recently seen Thomas, the dark-skinned butler answered promptly with his abyss-like eyes lowered in a servitude manner. "Young Master Thomas is doing his exercises diligently with the help of Ms. Baker. So far, the young master is on the road to recovery."
Thomas' fever broke over a week ago, but being bedridden for a long time left him very weak and unsteady. Dr. Ainsley suggested starting some simple exercises to get him back on his feet, though his brother never had a lot of strength to begin with. Especially since everyone seemed to be inclined to carry him wherever he went...
Regardless, even though it was a relief to see the little one's health improving, no one was sure how Thomas was able to become better after weeks of no change. Dr. Ainsley's last visit was filled with bafflement and astonishment. After examining his brother from the top of his head to his toes five times more than necessary, she had no choice but to agree that his fever had disappeared and that everything else seemed to be running smoothly as well. They put the youngest on observation for the past week, the maids and butler taking special care to make sure that the child wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest, but so far, a relapse didn't occur.
Every other day, Dr. Ainsley would make a visit to the estate with a deranged look on her face that usually spelt trouble for the concerning party. Edward was pretty sure she took more blood than was needed for her tests and some other samples that should probably not be mentioned in polite company. In the end, she didn't seem to be finding anything worth noting and had been glaring at his brother (his younger brother's body, to be more specific) as if it had offended her.
Otherwise, she had warned them early on that while the symptoms had disappeared, that didn't mean the core problems were gone. It was quite possible that something had triggered an adverse reaction within Thomas' body. Or maybe it was an affliction passed down by blood, most likely from the child's maternal family, but there was no way for them to find out since the youngest's birth mother was of unknown origins and currently inaccessible.
Edward hummed, tapping a finger on top of Henry Volkov's transfer documents. "His fever hasn't made another appearance?"
"No, young master. None has been reported."
Looking over at the dark-skinned butler, taking in the Zafarian's sharp features, a thoughtful idea emerged from the back of his mind. He turned his eyes towards the paperwork in front of him, leaning back as his head unconsciously tilted out of contemplation. "How would Mr. Al-Amin feel about doing a long-term assignment for me?"
Out of all of his personal attendants, Amir Al-Amin was the only one familiar and close enough with his younger brother's habits and personality. Though he had corrected Mr. Hughes' behavior towards the youngest Rosetta, his attitude towards Thomas was rather indifferent and reluctant. Everyone else had some interactions with him as well, but they were rather brief and distant.
Amir paused half a second at the mention of the 'assignment', straightening the stack of paperwork left off the side before making a perfect 45 degree bow with an elegant hand on his chest. "This servant would be honored by any task the Young Master would give him."
"I see." Edward ice-cold eyes return his gaze back to the Zafarian, a flash of satisfaction and relief passing his normally dead expression. Thomas was fond of Mr. Al-Amin, for whatever reason, and while the butler's attentiveness was one the reason why he had chosen him as his liaison for Wisteria Estate, his uncanny skill to get his stubborn younger brother to listen to reason was the deciding factor.
Thomas was normally very obedient and docile-- unless it gets in the way of his lazy schedule. While not a difficult child to take care of, he was unexpectedly a difficult patient.
His sickness left his appetite to suffer, so it was like a battle to make the child take in even a mouthful of food. Thomas was also the type that never complained about pain or suffering so they could never pinpoint when to comfort him. It took a lot of coaxing to have his brother perform a simple exercise for physical therapy and then, during the time he should actually be resting, he would get out of his bed and walk around the manor to give the rest of them a heart attack!
The only ones who didn't have to suffer through these trials were Ms. Baker and Mr. Al-Amin. While Edward understood why Ms. Baker was an exception to Thomas' childish behavior, he wasn't aware that his brother and his butler were close enough to the same extent as the youngest's personal maid. Considering how unempathetic the Zafarian was with the little one's bedridden state, beyond accompanying him in his visits, the eldest son didn't think they were particularly affectionate or friendly. He thought Mr. Al-Amin only treated his younger brother with the same professional indifference that he had treated everyone else with.
Maybe Thomas was the only one under the impression that their relationship was the good-natured kind, but if meant that his younger brother would stop stalling his recovery, then Edward didn't mind using this impression to his advantage.
"As you are aware, Thomas is moving to a new residence under my mother's instructions. I would like for you to follow my brother to Wisteria Estate and keep an eye on his situation. Report any unusual activities that might come your way," because he couldn't expect his mother to leave grudges behind even after she exiled said grudge to the other side of the city, "and I also expect a report every other week of the estate's ongoings."
Mr. Al-Amin didn't seem to find the assignment disappointing or surprising and uttered in a low voice, "As you command, young master."
The acceptance was quick and easy, and Edward would normally find it dubious, but the Zafarian wasn't the type of butler that liked to stay close to their master's side and serve them in an overt manner.
When the eldest son first hired Amir Al-Amin as his personal attendant, he made sure the young man was well aware he intended to use him for matters that needed to be done in the dark. Mr. Al-Amin was suspiciously familiar with how things worked in the underground. Obviously, the Zafarian had his own goals in mind when he came out of nowhere and allowed himself to be hired as a manservant for a noble family, but his intentions had yet to be hostile towards their family. Edward wasn't naive to think that wouldn't change in the future but for now, they would just continue to use each other until an impasse had been reached.
Mr. Al-Amin's face was partly hidden by the fringes of his hair, making it impossible for Edward to read his thoughts or attitude, but that was fine. Neither of them were simple characters and the Rosetta Heir was not interested in what lay deep within the Zafarian's consciousness. At least, not now.
"Go pack your belongings. I'll take care of the proceeding paperwork." Just as Edward was about to dismiss the other, a harsh bell tolled from the clock in his office, signaling the start of the new passing hour. Automatically looking up at the timepiece, Edward saw it was the beginning of the fifteenth hour of the day. He suddenly recalled that since they were having difficulties in feeding his brother, Dr. Ainsley suggested small but frequent meals so that he would get the nutrients he needed and it should be time for Thomas to have one of those meals.
Taking a brief glance at the beautiful weather outside of his room and then at the heap of documents propagating on his desk. Usually, he would run through these piles without a break in between, but maybe due to both Thomas' and Xander's influence, a moment of reprieve suddenly seemed appealing to the teenager.
"...Before that, please make a visit to the kitchens and tell the chef to make a second portion of Thomas' meal. Also tell the servants delivering the meals to move them to the pavilion closest to the lavenders. Some sun would do good for Thomas' health."
"Of course, young master," was the Zafarian perfunctory response as the young heir then made a dismissive gesture towards the butler. As Edward had his head turned away from the other man, the warm sunlight reflecting his normally chilly eyes, he didn't see the subtle perking corners of Amir's lips, full of satisfaction.
...--------...
Author's Note:
One more chapter until the end of this book/arc!!
So typically, the average length of a light novel would be around 50,000 words. That's like... five chapters, for me. And chapter 9 is half of that... So this novel is already around 180,000 words, and it's probably safe to call this Book 1. Or Volume 1.
After the last chapter, I'm going to take a 'break', which doesn't mean an actual break. Me and Editor-chan are pretty much going to do a big editing sweep and review the previous chapters to polish the story. That means any translational errors with other languages (Arabic, Italian, Spanish, etc.) mentioned by native speakers will be fixed accordingly. So if you see any grammatical errors (English or otherwise), please post a comment!
You'll probably see some changes in wording and maybe some changes in texts in order to make everything more streamline, but overall, nothing plot-wise should change.
Also, I have a couple of extras that I will post after the last chapter. I promise you that I won't laze on the first chapter of the second book, but these extras have been in the works for a long time so just bear with it.
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net