16 Young Master

As the oldest servant of the Proulx Manor, Alphonse had seen many things happen during his time.

He saw the current Lord's ascension. He was there when the previous lord passed away, as did the previous madam. He was present during the marriage of the present lord and madam and saw the birth of the young master.

In his sight, he watched the young master grow from an infant to a child.

He saw it all, heard it all, felt it all.

The young master's first words, it was him who heard it first. The young master's first steps, it was him who saw it first. The young master's first toys, it was him gave it first.

So to him, the young master was not just a young master. He was like his own grandson.

But lately, the child who he thought he knew every detail about, was becoming more and more obscure to him.

Every time he looked at him, he didn't see a child anymore.

What he saw was a monster.

A monster hiding under a child's skin, ready to show its fangs and claws at any given moment.

"Alphonse? What are you staring at?" Casimir asked the old servant who seemed to have frozen and was just staring into nothingness.

"Ah... I was just thinking of some matters, young master. No need to worry." Alphonse replied apologetically.

Fortunately, this monster means no harm... For now.

...

Being the lord if the Proulx family which belonged to the nobility of the French wizardry world, Alexander Proulx had a lot of responsibilities weighing on his shoulders.

He had to make the appropriate decisions in order to make sure his family and lineage continues on. But, sometimes, his decisions would not meet the approval of most people.

Despite that, he still held onto them.

Why?

Because he was Lord Proulx. The man who controls one of the world's fastest information networks in the world of wizardry. And he would keep it that way until his death.

Unfortunately, it was this steadfast determination of his that drove people away; afraid that he would find out all of their secrets.

Even his own wife left, leaving him and his son inside the lonesome manor.

But now, even his son seemed to become more and more unfamiliar to him.

Was he really doomed to be alone forever?

As the lord, he was glad that his heir was beginning to discover more about the world in his own way and was improving himself accordingly but, as a father, he was sad that his son was growing up too fast.

Soon, it would be time for him to venture out on his own and learn more things.

At that time, he would really be alone.

But, such is the life of the lord.

...

Aside from Alphonse, the person who saw the young master the most was probably Edgar, the head caretaker of the Proulx stables.

When he had been ordered by Alphonse to keep watch of the young master when he was to enter the stable's premises, he had been against it at first; thinking that he would just become a babysitter for a spoiled brat.

Being discriminated against by the nobles ever since he was a child for being a muggle-born, he had no positive thoughts about their kind.

But, upon their first meeting, his assumptions were crushed.

The feral beast that all of them were having trouble with was tamed directly by the young master.

Right then, the ability he was most confident in had been destroyed in front of his very eyes, causing him to rethink his entire existence.

Fortunately, he recovered quick and began to warm up to the child; teaching him the proper way to feed, groom, and care for his new partner.

Now, his impression of the young master was of a diligent child who has the mind of an adult and the heart of a dragon.

...

Casimir walked out of the stables in his thick, winter coat, being followed by Noir who was smelling the air tentatively.

On this mid-december day, Casimir had woken up to snowflakes falling from the sky gently. For a while, he just stood in front of the windows to admire the beautiful scene outside.

He then thought, since Noir was originally from Africa, he had never seen snow before so, he decided to let him out of the stables to enjoy the scenery with him.

"Come on, Noir! It's not that bad! I promise!" Casimir encouraged him.

Cautiously, Noir stepped on the snow and was surprised by the coldness, looking at Casimir as if blaming him.

An eight foot tall beast was actually so scared of snow! Casimir laughed to himself at the thought.

"Come on, you big baby! It's really not that bad!" Casimir laughed and walked on the snow. "See? Nothing bad is gonna happen."

After much reassurance and encouragement, Noir finally stepped into the snowy world.

Suddenly, a single snowflake fell on Noir's nose, causing him to stare at the intruding object cross-eyed then, he sneezed.

Casimir finally couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

Noir stared at him and, if a Skaduwee could scowl, it probably would have already done that.

In the end, the two of them just sat under a peach tree that had long grown bald and enjoyed the sight of snowflakes falling gently from the sky.