The Bad Offspring

Algos had decided not to pay too much attention to this maid.

All the maids were considered as the property of the nobles, they weren't slaves, but employees. However, what "belongs" to the nobility must remain to the nobility, it's something that can't be altered, so the Lucky preferred not to say anything when Annie had put her hand on his t.h.i.g.h ; she had decided to take her hand off herself shortly afterward.

The reason for this action was still unknown at the moment and for Algos, no one would do this kind of thing to a stranger even if that same person is aroused or anything else, if this just for that, this girl must be retarded. This kind of behavior could bring her very bad things, like punishment or a termination of employment. This had bothered the young man all along the way... he had not been able to detect a shred of emotion through Annie's face, so he couldn't get any information about the nature of her action.

Luckily, Samuel had not seen what had happened, but Catherine, the second maid, raised an eyebrow after looking at the two people in front of her. Of course, he couldn't come to a conclusion, but he knew that this girl wasn't as stupid as she might seem... as if it was a tune that she was giving herself.

The cart ride was longer than expected, they had to dodge a big street fight between elves and a few dwarves. This kind of skirmish had the talent to make Algos laugh, it was typical of their races, a grudge shared because of past quarrels. This was the type of person we saw the most in the town, the elves were certainly predominant, but a few dwarves, men, women and Halfling also lived in the city, which often led to disagreements.

Generally, it was the elves who had the last word and then mankind. The half-men didn't have a way to make their voices heard because of their minorities, probably the reason Annie was working as a domestic.

Samuel's house was large, too much large, it was more of a palace than a simple residence. It was on the edge of the city, between the field side and bourgeois side, which left space for a huge "garden" in which many people were busy looking after the flower beds, fruit trees, bonsai trees, or greenhouses in which many fruits and vegetables were grown. It was disproportionately large, the complete opposite of the Obinski's house. Instead of doing something simple, the main building was decorated with flowers all over, the walls had recently been painted over and dr.a.p.es were falling in some places with the family coat-of-arms sewn on it.

The valet who had led the group here opened the large door of the building, showing on the other side several maids who were taking their breaks during their work around a coffee; they stood up and bowed in reverence before greeting Algos with a smile that seemed almost natural.

"It's a completely different world from mine, huh..." sighed Algos ironically as he addressed to Samuel.

"You survived without all this, didn't you?" he replied with a provocative smile. "So... my father is at home, we'll try to see if we can get an appointment with an Astronomer..."

"Don't worry, you're helping me enough already by doing this." Algos paused after climbing the stairs that led to the first floor. "Do you really think your father will help? I heard he was a very pragmatic person... and..."

"No matter how pragmatic he may be, if asked nicely by his son, he will listen." Samuel said as he walked down the hallway leading to his father's office, followed by both maid, Annie and Catherine. "Then it's up to him, of course, but I don't see why he would refuse."

Samuel didn't even bother knocking on the large glossy door of the room where his father worked. On the other side of the door frame was a man with grey hair sitting behind a large desk, his glasses only accentuated his intellectual air even more. He looked up at his son who was walking towards him and stopped writing, putting his pen in the inkwell; he took off his glasses before rubbing his eyes.

Contrary to what Algos thought, this man's office had nothing noble, it was all that was most basic, the only disturbing thing was the number of papers placed one on top of the other on his desk or even directly on the ground. Administrative papers for the most part, but there were also letters, plans, and drawings of everything and nothing. It was a real mess. Besides, the room smelled like dust and old paper like a poorly maintained library; the carpeting itself released small clouds of dust after Algos had walked on it.

The two bookcases embedded in the walls on either side of the desk were full of books and the huge window behind the scriban had created a draught that violently slammed the door that Samuel had just opened and made flying hundreds of pages of paperwork through the air.

"Hi, Dad! I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Oh, no, no, of course not. I'm just going to have to sort through hundreds of pages on the Waranh affair again." he replied, looking his son straight in the eye. "Your mother would have thrown you out by the window right behind me for that, you know."

"Well... um... Let's say I was much too happy to come and say hello." Samuel replied with a tense smile.

"Is that honest?"

"Yes."

"No, it's not." said his father holding his head with his hand. "More importantly, what were you coming for?" he asked his son in a calmer voice. "Ah! Catherine, Annie! Please don't touch the papers, don't put anything away. It's an organized mess, I can find my way around." He continued, raising his voice.

"I wanted to ask you for a little help, it's for a... friend." adds Samuel by turning around to the Lucky.

"You? A friend? Another person than Amy in my son's life? That's the first time. Great! Go ahead, young man, and tell me what brings you here." he said, mocking his son while he looked at Algos.

The young man walked towards Mr. Koridge's office trying to ignore everything he had just seen. His thoughts were crossed by a single sentence: "What the f.u.c.k is this?". He had never seen his father after all, so maybe that's why this father/son relationship seemed so strange to him. Annie hadn't let go of Algo's eyes during that time, which had disturbed the boy, especially since, unlike Catherine, she hadn't said a word since he had met her, so it made her even more creepy.

The two men introduced themselves before sitting on a small couch just as dusty as the rest of the room; Samuel joined them hoping to help Algos while the two maids had gone to get something to drink.

"So... you wish to find an Astronomer who can teach you, huh..." began Mr. Koridge while putting his hand on his chin. "I have contacts, yes, but not many people take apprentices in this trade..." he paused and looked at his thread. "You wanted to give your buddy a little help, didn't you? The thing is, since the school year is about to start... hum... two weeks from now?"

"3 weeks." corrected his son.

"As it starts in 3 weeks, there will be even fewer people who will want to take you for an apprenticeship, it's a too short time, but I think of someone who owes a big favor..."

"Mr. Oleiw?" Samuel asked, raising his eyebrows. "The old Elf from the research center? The one who manages sometimes makes interventions at the Academy?"

"Yes, we are talking about the same guy." Smiled his father as he turned towards Algos. "I had helped him shortly after his company went bankrupt since then he owes me a little something. However, if you want to be his apprentice you will have to register at the Academy, he only takes people registered in this establishment."

The Elios Academy was a "higher" school in which the next elites were trained, despite this fact, everyone could have access to it thanks to a scholarship or just with money.

At the beginning of each school year and throughout the year until the holidays, the city became a student city where races from all walks of life came to attend classes and train to become the best, changing the population from 60% elf to a mixed population for many months. The Academy was known for other reasons, such as its competitions, which generally took place once a term and which had seen the emergence of great knights, magicians or even alchemists.

Of course, the academy had many other learning complexes, such as the fashion course in which Felicia had already enrolled or a music course. The Elios Academy, the largest higher school on the continent to date, even the capital city had not yet managed to do better.

"Precisely, it could bring you back into a social environment while returning to a normal life while learning magic, alchemy, fencing, etc. That's the advantage of the Academy, you can have an all-in-one, also, the schedules are made in such a way as to give the students time off."

"Free time? When you put it that way, it doesn't sound so bad..."

"Yes, some free time you'll have to fill with a part-time job." Replied Mr. Koridge with a friendly smile.

"Okay..." sighed Algos, amused. "I see where you're going with this, what part-time job do you offer me?"

"Butler. We've been looking for one for a month now, but since we're looking for a very specific profile and we don't have a very good reputation among the people, so... no one is volunteering." Explained Samuel's father as he put his glasses back on his nose. "The work is simple... you will have to help Catherine and Annie with their work. They are also butlers, chief servants if you prefer. All our maids are specialists in one field, but what we need is a handyman. You would, of course, be paid, which could allow you to pay your Academy fees."

"Help Catherine and Annie? So, cleaning, cooking and all that shit?"

"Yes, all that... shit." He replied, stumbling upon the word of Algos. "It would also be for... um... how can I say this... you gonna have to take care of the maids..."

"Why would you want that, if it's not intrusive?" asked Algos.

"Well... one of our maids is... hanged herself over a month ago, she was our butler, our handywoman and she left a note where she talked about her loneliness and her past... Since then, the girls seem... more amorphous than before, I and my wife are afraid that others will do the same. You know, most of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds and she expected to feel alive coming here, but... neither I nor my son can take care of them, we already have someone we love and as I know from my son that... you have no one in your life... "

Their discussion continued a little further and Catherine and Annie came back with a few drinks of alcohol. For Algos this case was already settled. He had listened to his cousin and here he was, he was going to have to thank her again. His mother was probably going to be surprised, she wanted her son to have a calm and quiet life, he was now going to lead a hectic life. Even though he should pay attention to the maids, some of them didn't seem to need attention, as he could see, some of them were in groups and drinking coffee together, but that shouldn't be the case for all of them...

Algos signed the papers by reading all the paperwork to see if there were not some things being tampered with, but everything was within the rules.

Samuel had introduced Algos to the entire complex of the mansion, both inside and outside, the kitchens, living rooms, gardens, etc., which was where he went to work while helping a family of a rich alchemist. But what bothered him the most was to go to the Elios Academy, even though Mr. Koridge said he would take care of the paperwork for him.

On the first day of school, students must take tests to see that it is their basic levels in math, fencing, and magic so that they can be directed towards the right options and create diversified classes so that they do not create castes where the best are together and the worst are together. Algos had no idea whether the education and learning provided by his mother and home teachers were of good quality or not.

In any case, now everything was done, all he had to do was follow what he was told to do. He was supposed to start work in two weeks and the appointment with Mr. Oleiw was scheduled in a week, which gave Algos time to pick up his totem from Elizabeth and who knows, maybe she'll want to do more than just talk.