Prologue Part 21
The sun rose, signaling the start of a very special day. It was the 16th of July, also known as…
"Happy birthday, Lord Matteo!"
Matteo woke up with a smile on his face. And why wouldn't he, the day did mark an entire decade of his existence. Sylvia placed a cup of juice and a slice of cake near his mattress. "Go brush your teeth and have breakfast, then you can eat your cake, okay." Matteo protested.
"Oh come on! It's my birthday! Can't I just have cake for breakfast, please?" Matteo gave her the puppy eyes. Sylvia tried to keep herself stern, but ultimately failed to suppress her smile. "Fine. But you still have to brush your teeth".
"Yes!" Matteo hopped off the mattress and ran to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and eating his cake, he went to the house library to spend his day reading and waiting for Sylvia to finish her chores. Thomas wasn't around as he was dealing with his own urgent business, so he didn't have any training to worry about.
The day went by peacefully and uneventfully for Matteo, and with the sun setting, turning the world darker and darker with each passing moment, Sylvia finally walked into the library. "Alright Lord Matteo, I've finished my work". Matteo closed his book and walked over to her side.
"So, it's a bit late now, but we can still do something together. Whatever you want". Sylvia suggested. But Matteo already knew exactly what he wanted to do, "How about we go and look at the stars." Sylvia was taken aback by his response, expecting a more unreasonable request. "Is that all?"
"Mhm!" Matteo nodded. The two went out into the garden and laid on the grass. The sun had almost finished setting, and the sky was a sparkling dark blue, with bits of orange mixed in there as well.
"You know, I always find you doing this during the evenings. Why do you like looking at the stars so much?" Sylvia asked softly. "I don't know", Matteo replied after a small pause, "But whenever I look at the stars I get a very nice feeling. I can't explain it to you, but I feel like I'm connected to the stars somehow… like they're a second home. Looking at them makes me very happy, even when I'm very sad."
Sylvia was impressed by the depth of his explanation. "Wow… I see". Then she asked, "Are you sad now?" Matteo paused again then replied, "No. I'm very happy now."
"Do you ever get sad?" Matteo kept a smile on his face and answered, "Yes, I do get sad. I get sad when I have to go to training. I get sad everytime when I remember mama. I get sad a lot, Sylvia. Many many times."
Calm silence filled the garden after that. The evening breeze flew softly across the air. "So… you're going to be starting school soon", Sylvia changed the subject. "Are you excited?"
"No…" Matteo answered flatly. "Why not?" Sylvia asked back. "Because I'll be going to school with the big kids." He replied softly. Sylvia expected such an answer. "Well, don't worry, my Lord. Knowing you, I'm sure you will fit in nicely with the other kids, even if you're the youngest one there".
Matteo still wasn't convinced, "Everybody says that. Father, Auntie Roselle, and now you. But… I'm very small, and the people there are all going to be very big. Some of them even look like grownups. What will they think when they see me? Would any of them even want to be friends with a child like me? What if they bully me instead? Everybody says it will be fine because I'm special...but I'm not. I'm scared".
Sylvia's heart shattered at his statement. "It's okay to be scared, my Lord. I would be scared too. But I know that you will meet some wonderful people at that school, even if it's only one. And you will also become even smarter than you are now. All you have to do is just believe in yourself and get through the first day. I promise you that after that, everything will be fine and you won't feel scared anymore."
Matteo's smile returned as he faced her, "Thank you, Sylvia."
"It's a pleasure, my Lord".
Matteo turned back to the stars and asked, "Hey, Sylvia?"
"Yes?"
"Can you please call me by my name".
"Hm?" Sylvia was genuinely puzzled. "But I do call by your name, Lord Matteo… do I not?" Matteo shook his head. "No, not Lord Matteo," he explained, "Just Matteo".
"O-oh no my Lord!" Sylvia stammered, "I'm just a servant, it would be disrespectful of me to address you so casually." Matteo pouted. "But you aren't just a servant. You're like my second mama". Sylvia forgot how to breathe. "N-no… I'm not. I'm just your caretaker. Your mother is Lady Isabella, and there's no one who can replace her".
"I know" Matteo responded calmly. "But still… you take care of me every day. You feed me and you let me sleep in your room. You always play with me, even when you're busy, and even when I was a baby, you did all of that stuff then too. You also bathed me, changed my diapers, and helped mama take care of me."
Sylvia turned her head away as her vision became blurry. "I'm just doing my job Lord… Matteo".
"Well, sure but… I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. You care about me… a lot. You and mama are the only ones who look at me like that, so I know." Matteo said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sylvia remained quiet as her lips curled into a smile. "Yes, I do. I care about you a lot… Matteo". Her voice cracked at that last part, and before she knew it, both her cheeks were wet.
"Sylvia?" Matteo called out.
"Yes?"
"Are you crying?"
"...No." She replied, embarrassed.
Matteo and Sylvia spent the rest of the night doing all sorts of activities, including baking, food fighting, and playing pranks on the other servants.
A few weeks after that, it was time for Matteo's first day of school.
***
He got up bright and early, changed into his black and gold school uniform and was sent off by Sylvia at the door. He was transported along with Thomas in the family carriage in a one hour trip to the world famous MacRion High School.
Once he arrived at the academy gates, he was greeted by the school principal and student council president, who then gave him a short tour of the school. The school was a tall, dark building that gave off a very scholarly air, which made sense seeing as its founder was one of the greatest minds in world history. But it also gave a nerve racking feeling to Matteo, as the school building looked like something he would see in one of his nightmares.
After the tour he was led to his classroom. A large brown room, currently full of people who were at least twice his size. All eyes were on him as everybody questioned why such a tiny little boy was in their classroom. Things got worse when the teacher announced him as their new classmate. Shouts, gasps, murmurs, and all types of comments echoed across the entire room, but they were all kind of similar,
"This boy looks like he is six years old, do you really expect us to believe he will be our classmate? I'm sure he can barely even count!" Matteo felt so small in that moment, literally and figuratively.
He was instructed to sit down after the introductions, but as he did, he could feel the stares and discomfort from all parts of the room, especially from the girl he was made to sit next to. It was then that Matteo knew for a fact, I am not going to be fine!