Victor

  Victor strolled across the brick path of a well-kept garden, eating large handfuls of peanuts. After a few turns, he found Kyle by the statue of an old man holding a cane: Mathias Austin, the founder of the Austin family. The young master sat alone on a nearby bench, his back to the statue and leaning forward, reflecting with one hand on his chin as he gazed at the orange sunset in the sky. His slender figure seemed more fragile than ever. The maids had told Victor that Kyle had been acting depressed lately, but none of them knew why.

  “Sir,” Victor called him.

  Kyle turned and began to rise, seeing Victor approaching.

  “No, please, sir,” Victor said, rushing to him. “You don’t need to stand.”

  Kyle sat again on the bench. He welcomed Victor with a smile as warm as his orange eyes. The light breeze in the garden had ruffled his blond hair. With a hand, he flattened the little lock that had become loose. He was a small, skinny, and soft man, though somewhat athletic. He was seventeen years old, just like Helena. He was the youngest of three siblings; both sisters were older than he was. As the only male, he was destined to be the house’s heir. He was of a timid and insecure nature, yet owned a lot of friends, friends Victor didn’t like, but never shared his opinion. He was an indoor type of person, preferring to stay at home and study in his office rather than join his friends' escapades on the weekends, though at times his friends managed to overpower his will. There was a training hall inside the mansion. There, Kyle received lessons in fencing from Mr James, the captain of the house guards. Victor often saw them practising in the afternoons. He found the duels boring, too much civility and rules, so different from the savagery he had learned from his aunt and grandfather since he began to hold a sword. Rules are futile when the aim is to kill someone. What matters is the total annihilation of the opponent. This creed was what he had mastered from his family’s training and teachings.

  “Victor, how are you? Need me for something?” Kyle asked. He wore drab-looking clothes: grey and black, much different from the usual bright and warm colours he often wore. Victor wondered if it was the right moment to give him Helena’s letter.

  “Well… I have something to give you, sir.”

  “Please, Victor, I have told you many times not to call me sir, and…” He gestured at the bench. “Please, sit with me.”

  Victor shook his head. “I'm sorry… Kyle, but I decline. I can accept not calling you sir, but only when we are alone. You are my master’s son, and I ought to show you respect. So forgive me.”

  Kyle sighed. “Come on, Victor, aren't we friends. Helena is not that coldhearted with me.”

  “It’s not that. I’m just being aware of my colleagues and Mr James' opinion, as well as your parents. I was hired to guard this house, and I shall do my job properly,” Victor said proudly.

  “I understand. You are working, and I must respect that.” Kyle frowned, looking at Victor’s face. But look at you. Have you just shaved?”

  “Yes, but how can you tell?”

  “You didn’t see me, but I saw you walking around the house earlier. You had a very different look back then.

  “I know…” Victor blushed. “The head maid. She shaved me. She told me it was improper to show my appearance in front of the house’s guests or the family.”

  “You ought to thank her then, for you are now more handsome than ever. It must feel wonderful to be that popular. I envy you,” he said with a chuckle.

  “No, I’m not,” Victor said with a shake of his head.

  “Yes, you are. The maids treat you better than they treat the other employees. Wouldn't you agree that your plate always has more food on it than everyone else's?”

  Victor shrugged. “I eat a lot. That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “You’re right, but someone of trust relayed to me that they always bring the plate to your table with a big smile and a kiss, isn’t that right?”

  “I noticed too, but I imagined they were just being friendly with me,” he said, faking innocence. He never imagined that Kyle was aware of his flirting with the maids. It was nothing serious. Only harmless fun and games. He treated them with the same kindness they had shown him. And he only did it to get more food on his plate. He learned this vital lesson from Natalia; that was how she got better service from Agnes when they both worked for the Blue Feather mercenary company years ago. And there was also the family maxim:

  ‘Always be kind to whoever makes your food.’

  Victor coughed. “I brought you something,” he said, and took out the bag of peanuts.

  “What is that?”

  “Sorry, this is mine. I mean this.” He gave him Helena’s letter.

  “Is that letter for me?” Kyle asked.

  Victor nodded. “My sister asked me to give this to you. It's a formal invitation to our house. She wrote it, and my grandpa signed. Sorry if we did something wrong. We don't know what the protocol for this is since we have never done this before.”

  Kyle opened the letter and began to read it. He laughed when he finished. “It doesn't have a date, that means I can choose one, correct?”

  Victor shrugged. “I think she didn't write one because she wasn't sure when you would be free.”

  “I understand…” Kyle glanced at the statue of his ancestor. “How about on Pact Day?”

  “Pact Day? Don’t you need to spend the day with your family?”

  “We repeat the same schedule as in previous years. Nothing has changed since I was eight. I have it all memorised. But not this time. I want this year to be different…” Kyle looked at the mansion and, for a brief moment, his face darkened, but he quickly hid it with a chuckle as he turned back to Victor. “I think that fleeing from the city would do me well.”

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  “Then I need to write to my family and tell them that you accepted, and also to warn them that you’ll be coming on Pact Day.”

  “I hope I am not taking advantage of your hospitality.”

  Victor shook his head. “You’re not. It's only a short visit.”

  Kyle frowned. “How short do you have in mind?”

  “A couple of hours, maybe.”

  Kyle stared at him in disbelief for a moment. “Will you leave me out in the cold?”

  Now it was Victor's turn to frown. “I don’t understand.”

  “I wish to enjoy the festivities at the village with your family. Helena has told me they can last late into the night. Therefore, I think I will need to ask for a room at your home. Lest you don't want me there, of course?”

  Stay… We didn't think of that. Will grandpa accept? Victor thought, scratching his chin.

  “Don't tell me that you plan to have me return home in the middle of the night?” Kyle said mockingly

  “… It's not that dangerous.”

  Kyle laughed. “By the gods, your sister warned me that you would say that. Look. It’s here in the letter.” He gave the letter to Victor. “She indeed knows you.”

  Victor read it and smiled. The letter warned Kyle that Victor may try to get him back home on the same day. “She really does… I think it should be fine. We have a lot of free rooms at the house.”

  “So that settles then. I will stay at your home for the weekend.”

  Victor shrugged. It was subtle, but he noticed that something was bothering Kyle. Helena would have asked him what was wrong, but not him. It was not his problem. “I need to go—”

  “Please, stay with me for a while,” Kyle said. His eyes begged him.

  Victor sighed and stayed with him. He took out his bag of peanuts and began to eat them, slowly, trying to make them last. He didn't want to talk, and the peanuts were his excuse to be quiet. In the background, he saw the mansion servants starting to light, one by one, the oil lamps around the garden. It was a monotonous and time-consuming labour, for they also had to keep an eye on the lamps during the course of the night. Little observations like this one were what made him appreciate and miss all the work Michael and Esther did at home with their magic. They made living in Whitehill a joy.

  “What are you thinking, Victor? You are smiling.”

  “In my family.”

  “Helena has told me a lot about them. I can't wait to finally meet them.”

  “You do?”

  “Of course. I want to know if what Helena has told me is true. I sometimes find it ludicrous.”

  “Like what?”

  “That you train and spar for hours, at least three times a week, and that everyone is required to participate, even the little ones.”

  “True.” Victor nodded.

  “And that your aunt and grandpa like to hunt beasts in the forests you family owns, like wolves, bears, braskars, and cherals. Helena said that she saw her aunt once hunting a silda, but the beast eluded her. Those things are monsters, Victor.”

  “She loves hunting. Grandpa killed one, by the way. He didn’t want to, but the beast left him no choice.”

  “I know… She said that your cousin, Michael, has the whole area mapped. I know Rodwood Forest is enormous, but to think he managed to explore it completely. Is this true?”

  “That’s a secret. She shouldn't have told you this,” Victor said, angrily.

  “Sorry… But, is it true?”

  “Yes.”

  “I always thought she was making fun of me, but I guess she wasn't… What is your cousin like? Is it true what Helena says about him?”

  “Michael?”

  “Yes, him. She says he is troublesome. That he is always meddling in her affairs, and he never leaves her alone.”

  Victor shrugged. “Sometimes, he does.”

  “He’s the oldest after Helena, right? Why haven’t you brought him here with you?”

  “He said he wasn’t interested.”

  Kyle frowned, and stared at Victor for a while. “Are you sure he said that?”

  Victor found his attitude confusing. “He did,” he said.

  “I understand.” Kyle remained silent, looking at the statue as he played with his fingers.

  The women at the mansion said that Kyle was the city's most wanted bachelor. At first, Victor thought it was the staff paying false compliments to their master, but Helena told him that they were right; Kyle was famous among the city's ladies as a handsome young man and the heir to a wealthy family. Victor, however, had trouble believing his sister and the maids. What did women see in pathetic men like him? Kyle and his friends wore fancy, colourful clothes, and washed themselves with perfume. Their hands were soft and small, their bodies thin and weak, and their skin pale and delicate; they had been sheltered against the sun and labour by their wealth and parents, making them weak. And yet, they posed themselves with high airs in front of their acquaintances and the service, boasting the pathetic skills they own with the sword or martial arts. They might be rich and belong to prestigious families, but that was not enough for Victor, for a Hunter. A man should be strong and hard-working, reliable and capable. He must stand tall like a tree, in whose shade his family can always find rest, just as his grandfather is for him. He saw none of that in Kyle.

  “Has Michael ever come to the city?” Kyle asked after a while.

  “… He comes often.”

  “To watch your family store, I presume.”

  “No, he has never shown any interest in my mother’s business. He usually comes for an errand. My grandpa doesn’t like to leave the house much, so he sends him whenever he can.”

  "So he comes often... I didn't know that..." Kyle's voice trailed off until it was silent.

  “Why are you so interested in him?”

  “What? No, no. I’m just making conversation. That’s all,” Kyle said. He looked strangely nervous.

  “Whatever Helena said about him, don’t worry. He won’t hurt you. You will be our guest.”

  Kyle turned ashen. ‘He...? Has he ever hurt anyone?’

  “Michael? No, he has never hurt anyone. Why’d you ask?”

  “Nothing. I’m just asking.”

  Victor stared at him. Something seemed strange, curious about Kyle. He had shown interest in Victor’s family before, though they were always mindless questions with no real purpose. But now he realised that Kyle had a goal in mind. Perhaps it was because of his visit to Whitehill that he wanted to know more about the Hunter family. Yet the questions were only about Michael. He was hiding something. But fortunately for the young master, Victor had no interest in knowing. It was not his problem. He munched another handful of peanuts and turned around. “I need to leave. It’s going to be late,” he said.

  “Going home?”

  “Aye, I finished my shift. I want to catch a carriage before it gets dark. See you tomorrow, Kyle. Don’t forget to write a response. Helena’s waiting on it.”

  “See you, Victor. I will try to write my response as soon as possible."

  “Sure,” Victor said as he left. Halfway, he recalled that the invitation was for Kyle and his sister, Edith. It was her, whom Helena specifically wanted the family to meet. The two had become close friends and always went out together around the city. Victor ate another handful of peanuts as he deliberated whether he should go back to remind Kyle to tell his sister.

  Kyle must know that the invitation is also for Edith, right? I don’t need to remind him. The letter must mention it. Victor thought. He winced when the bag became empty, but then remembered the head maid had given him another one. He opened it and dug another handful of peanuts. Nah, it’s getting late. I'd better go home. Kyle should know what to do.