During dinner, I met the family.
The father, the mother, and the brother.
My father, Dominic Galford. Late fifties. He fit into his shirt quite well. I saw more white than yellow but he had great hair. Hopefully mine would also stay the same at that age.
My mother, Frina Galford, early forties. Fair skin, made too fair and flawless thanks to the excess makeup. I didn't know why but I couldn't find that fake smile on her face pleasant. Her white locks were braided into the twirliest of twirls, like those teenage mean girls with rich parents.
And my brother, Damian Galford, late twenties. He didn't seem as fit as Dominic but he didn't have his father's age lines and was rather handsome if I do say so myself. Will I look that that too? His wife was having a second child so she'd gone back home.
No one spoke during dinner.
The dinner itself was peaceful with various dishes I was familiar with. Mostly just meat and soup and bread.
They lacked condiments but made up with extra rosemary and parsley. Tasted about as well as it should have… barely palatable.
Went down easily though. Warmed my throat and stomach.
A sigh of relief escaped my mouth the moment I finished the soup. This is what peace looks like, huh? Though I suppose I could have used a bit more spice in it.
My meal was over but until the head of the household finished, I wasn't permitted to leave. So I sat tight.
"David, I heard you fell," Dominic said.
"I tripped," I said.
I had a minor bump on my head which stung when touched. It wasn't that bad though.
"Are you alright?" Damian said.
"I'm fine. Just a minor headache."
"What a relief," Frina said. Yet she showed no particular concern; her gaze was on her plate as her fork and knife moved about. She was never bothered by me or even interested in me in the least. Another reason I grew up to be a shit brat who was betrayed. Probably.
Or so I'd thought at first but perhaps…. Should I? Should I act-
"Good, it would have been a disgrace if a son of the Galford family had injured himself in such a silly manner," Dominic said. "I hear you again ventured to the servant's quarters today?"
Ah… wait, had I? Fuck you, David!
I thought a myriad of excuses and just when I was about to say them, I saw the maid I'd seen earlier. She was there, staring, as though expecting something of me. Do I really want to do this? I gulped and stared as sincerely as I could at Dominic. "I did, yes. It was the result of premature thinking and lack of foresight on my part. I apologize."
His brows rose up and he stared at me for a couple of seconds before finishing up his meal. Wine was brought to the table and poured to him first. Next, they poured some to Damian and finally to Frina. I needed some of that vintage kicker but I was not given any. Instead, they poured me grape juice which looked about the same just without any of the fizziness.
"I see. You may leave."
I gulped down my juice; the thoroughly sweet yet mildly tangy taste almost drove me nuts. Good juice.
With the juice finished, I walked up to him. How the hell am I supposed to phrase this? No, no, let's not overthink. Keep it simple. Yeah, simple.
I considered keeping up my original cold and spoiled attitude and slowly changing it but there were certain things that I wanted to change right away. One of them was how I treated family.
"What?" Father said.
"Good night, father," I said and then stared around. "Good night Damian, good night mother."
I left.
My family weren't necessarily interested in David and so he'd developed some form of hatred towards them. Which resulted in David treating them like the assholes they were if not worse. However, as he grew older, he understood it wasn't because they were shit people. Rather, the circumstances were dire and they did in fact have a lot of hope in David: He'd go to a prestigious academy, make a name for myself and make the family great again.
It was the sole reason, even though he was the third son, he was given the opportunity to study in one of the best schools in the country. At least that's the impression I got from David's vague memories.
Yet, David always cursed his family and treated them so… unfairly just because they were brusque and showed no interest in him. Though I suppose it was David's failure to truly realize what his family thought of him.
This time things will be different.
Once outside, I tried to recall where my room was but I was too sleepy to; I couldn't keep my eyes open. Damn this body.
Before I could fall down to the floor, one of the maids grabbed me and he carried me to my room. Being carried felt amazing.
I fell asleep before even reaching my bed.
The dreams… magical new world, new life….were pleasant. Yet some of the nightmares… some of that cold disgusted gaze bore down again… I woke up in sweats. Brilliant sunlight peered through the flowing curtains. Yup, another morning,
And yup, still in my tiny body.
Which meant there were some things I needed to do with my fresh mind before running into the shower.
I'm the third son but still have some claim on the land but I can't rely on that. I need an income source. I need to figure out how to live on my own so even if they throw me out, I'm not going to rot and die. But making a proper income source wasn't going to be easy. My memory wasn't very reliable right now. But there was a way to make it more reliable.
In other words… study and observe.
I had to educate myself in the matters of this world.
My immediate goal was to familiarize myself with the magic system, world economy, politics, with monsters that I was going to face in the academy, and the exam questions I still remembered.
He he, I couldn't beat people head-to-head but that sure didn't mean I couldn't cheat. It's not cheating if I just happen to study materials I would be tested on, right?
Ha ha ha!
As I continued laughing, some of the maids looked at me as though I'd gone mad. So, I stopped my laugh, cleared my throat and let them dress me up.
Well, here's to another day.