Chapter 26

  “I would like to say a few things, Master Hektor. I have you at a disadvantage and I would like to put your mind at ease, if only a little.

  “I have been your silent guardian many times over the years. And in my duty, I have come to know a little about you.

  “I see an intelligent and thoughtful youngling before me, mature beyond his years. One with a kind heart and a quiet strength.

  “More pertaining to us now, is that you are a skeptic who does not trust easily and keeps others at arm’s length.

  “As your protector, it is crucial for me to overcome this divide. Yet, I understand it would be best if I do not impose upon you and let nature take its course.

  “I am willing to be patient and wait on you, Young Master. Take all the time you need. Weeks, months even, I won’t mind. Our bond needn’t be rushed. You have enough on your plate at the moment, and I do not want to be another weight added to your burden.

  “There isn’t a hurry to get personal and became close knit allies and confidantes. No need to force it. Trust will come in due time. For a start, we can do a lot just by being respect and courteous towards each other.

  “There will be some growing pains. While unfortunate, it is unavoidable.

  “What I can promise you is that I will be discreet in my duty and keep out your way as much as I can. Without compromising your safety, that is. I will try my best not intrude or overstep any boundaries.

  “All that I ask of you, Master Hektor, is patience. For a start, learn to anticipate my presence and tolerate me being in the same room. I promise that your work will not be disrupted by my involvement.

  “I will be the silent observer in your periphery until you feel ready to depend upon me.”

  It had nearly been a month ago that Hektor had found out about his countship. Looking back on it, he could barely believe how so much could change in so short a time. Almost everything that he had taken for granted had been altered beyond his expectations.

  Everything around him had undergone a reshuffling. Swapped and rearranged to fit differently. Most of all Hektor himself. He had changed the most. The current him was barely recognizable to who he was just a month ago.

  It was not only that he had grown and matured. Rather it was that he felt different. Like someone had replaced parts of him with slightly different ones.

  He saw differently. Did differently. Thought differently.

  Those differences, however small, kept adding up. To the point that Hektor felt like he was eroding little by little and then remolded into someone else.

  The incongruity of it all, of his past and present, made Hektor feel morbidly like a stranger in his thoughts.

  Disoriented and confused, Hektor didn’t know who he was turning into. And while he very much wanted to be stronger and braver, there was this ingrained reluctance of turning into a completely different person.

  With each passing day, with every minute change, it felt like a part of him was disappearing. Like the old Hektor was being overwritten.

  Thadeus had noticed the boy’s distress and confronted him about it. Coaxing Hektor to open up, Thaddeus had gone on to explain how doubt and change were a very common thing in young people coming to adulthood. That what Hektor was undergoing was nothing untoward. Quite the opposite in fact. It was entirely expected and even healthy for a boy his age.

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  Thadeus’ sagacious intervention had eased Hektor’s worries significantly.

  Meanwhile, Hektor’s education had proceeding splendidly. His classes now extended well into the afternoon, with most of his tutors collaborating to provide a more extensive yet concentrated study plan. The lessons veering off rudimentary general topics and becoming more centric towards Roheim.

  The most recent change, however, had been Marolyn Lloyds. She had started attending Hektor’s lessons regularly and she was far from a silent observer. More than anything, she was an adversary who constantly interjected and challenged Hektor on all answers and opinions.

  Initially, Hektor had been greatly discouraged by Marolyn’s constant barrage of censure and disapproval, but he soon understood that Marolyn was being intentionally difficult. She was playing the role of a naysayer and it was Hektor’s task to persuade her or work around her. The argumentative element added a new dimension to his lessons, turning many classes into shouting matches that were politely called debates by his tutors. Coincidentally, it was mostly his tutors and Marolyn who did all the shouting and it was left to Hektor to broker peace. Hektor wasn’t entirely sure if it was by deliberate design or that the people around him loved arguing a little too much.

  As much as Hektor was picking up on the wisdom of his tutors, at the same time he was learning to work alongside others. The later of which remained one of Hektor’s more critical shortcomings.

  All the same, Hektor didn’t know what to make of Marolyn Lloyds. He acknowledged that Miss Lloyd was a very capable and learned individual. But at the same time, he felt she was a little condescending towards him.

  Hektor acknowledged the fact that he was very much the inexperienced novice and Marolyn could very well be in the right in her seniority. After all, Marolyn had never been outright hostile and belligerent with Hektor. She had never disrespected or demeaned him.

  And who was Hektor to argue that he wasn’t a child in front of Marolyn when he very much was a teenager and she was nearly twice his age?

  One thing that did give him pause, was that Hektor suspected Marolyn of being ambitious. Nothing malicious, mind. It was just that Hektor was very much content to not unsettle the prevailing administration in Roheim under the reign of Mayor Williams. He was content to take things slow and not make any rash decisions early on and overrule the Mayor.

  Marolyn, on first impressions, was a doer. An overachiever. Within a week she had presented more than a dozen policies and ideas as to elevate Roheim’s station. From increasing the population, to making it a tourist attraction, to opening factories, she had a plethora of grand ideas that would raise the strategic value of Roheim as a territory of Ithica.

  Hektor could admit a few of them had merit, but he was adamant not to commit to any proposal. He didn’t outright reject Miss Lloyds, but it became clear quite early that there was a difference of opinion between the future count and his adviser.

  Hektor pushed that problem along for future Hektor to worry about.

  Meanwhile, Mister Eric Gideon, Hektor’s protector, was content to take a very hands-off approach with his charge. With Hektor not leaving the castle, Gideon was only concerned with keeping a watchful eye.

  Hektor would have cared more about it, but he just couldn’t be bothered to add a problem that wasn’t actually an issue to begin with.

  Rather, he was silently grateful of Gideon staying true to his word and letting Hektor prioritize more urgent matters. Besides shadowing him throughout the day and occasionally sitting in on his lessons, Gideon was very much the silent observer who steered clear of causing any disruptions.

  The man was the ultimate professional.

  Another development was that Sabina had started introducing Hektor to a select few members of nobility. She even hosted a few small dinners alongside Hektor. The guests were primarily lords and ladies close to Sabina’s camp and sympathetic to Hektor’s plight. They didn’t go beyond performing pleasantries and making small talk with the future count, offering him encouragements and advice to his future ennobling.

  They were the simplest get togethers, but they helped Hektor brush up on his etiquette and to improve on his reclusive nature and socialize.

  Small steps.

  What wasn’t a small step, was moving out of the cottage.

  After two weeks, the time had come for Hektor to move into the castle proper. He didn’t want to, but he could see that everyone was silently urging him on, like he had an urgent unmet expectation. Hektor held on for as long as he could, but eventually he did give in to the peer pressure.

  The first two nights, he barely slept. What was most surprising to Hektor was that seemed to be the extent of his distress. He did get a little anxious and afraid in the dead of night, but it was almost negligible to the panic attacks he had faced in the past.

  The third day, Hektor did manage to fall asleep during the morning. But when he had missed his morning exercise with Captain Ferdinand, Sabina had nearly torn the walls down to Hektor’s room to find him sound asleep.

  Delia had been the only one to see Sabina weep as she looked to her son. She wept in relief for he was safe. And she wept for joy that her son had found some small peace in her home where she had failed him once before.