"Lars..."
He opened his eyes in shock, taking a sharp breath as if he had been deprived of oxygen to the point of suffocation. He clutched the sheets of his luxurious bed tightly, trembling with fear.
After two seconds, he forced himself to regain his composure, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Then he closed his eyes; his mind was still in utter chaos. Gradually, his breathing returned to its regular rhythm, the pain in his chest subsided and his heartbeat stabilised.
Another nightmare? ...
Laurentius Stormrheim Askelund was the youngest grandson of Grand Duke Woulter Stormrheim, Lord of Askelund, and the only one of the male grandchildren still alive.
However, his life had been marked by utter chaos ever since an unknown illness began tormenting him at the age of ten. Over the years, he had gradually lost his sense of smell and taste. Despite their best efforts, his family were unable to identify the illness, let alone cure it.
To everything else in this house...
"Young master, this is Neza. I'm coming in."
A girl's voice broke the silence in his room.
As his personal maid, she did not need permission to enter his room at certain times, such as when he was out, asleep or unwell.
She entered without asking, but was surprised to find him awake, which was unusual. He did not bother to look at her, or perhaps he did not even notice her. Nevertheless, she bowed and apologised.
"I apologise, young master. I thought you were still asleep."
He did not answer her. She was, in fact, quite familiar with her young master's strange behaviour.
His manner with everyone consisted of three expressions: ignoring, anger and giving orders. He was not the best young master to serve, but he was not the worst either.
Despite his behaviour resembling that of a barbarian rather than a prince of a grand duke and his anger being akin to that of a rabid wild dog, he was tolerable, considering this was a military household where even the servants and maids were trained.
However, even a professional team like them had to be careful around this young master if they did not want to become targets of his anger, whether justified or not.
Seeing that he did not answer her, she ignored it and moved on to the second item on her schedule, since her young master was already awake.
"Would the young master like to do his morning training today, or should I prepare the bath?"
He did not answer, looking calmly at his hand.
''...''
In fact, he did not even notice her. when she entered his room, distracting him for a moment and disrupting his train of thought. However, something else caught his attention.
He frowned as he looked at his palm. Although he had begun to experience a strange sensation in his limbs a week ago, he had only become aware of it during his sword training thanks to the sensitivity required for sword techniques. He had ignored it until now, believing it was due to overexertion.
But even without carrying a sword or practising sword techniques, he could feel his hands going numb, as though he had slept on them all night. Not to mention the strange sensation spreading all over his body, as though he were touching something without actually touching anything.
It was time to take a break from training. In fact, no matter how intense his training became these days, he felt that his skills were regressing rather than progressing.
His trainer told him that he was holding his sword with more force than usual, which was making his movements stiff and affecting his balance and the smoothness of his sword movements.
He did not understand this, and the situation worsened over time. His trainer repeatedly advised him to take a break, but he did not listen. Perhaps due to accumulated stress, his body was tense. Even if he did not admit it, his body seemed to be doing so.
At least, that's what his trainer said.
"Young master?"
He raised his head and looked around, confused. Only then did he notice the maid with her short black hair and olive eyes standing quietly and respectfully nearby, looking at him cautiously.
"What is it?"
"I asked what the young master would like to start the day with. It's only five o'clock at the moment, and breakfast will be ready at eight."
"Prepare the bathroom first."
"Yes, young master." She bowed and left with dignity.
While he waited for her, he quietly got up from the bed and stood in front of the balcony door, calmly looking at the sky.
It looked like it was going to rain...
She returned after ten minutes.
"The bathroom is ready, young master."
He nodded and headed to the bathroom next to his room. The bathtub had been filled with warm, herb-scented water.
With the maids' help, he took off his nightclothes, got into the tub and let them bathe him. None of them dared to act inappropriately or unprofessionally.
Working in an old, stubborn household like the Stormrheim' is indeed difficult and requires tremendous professionalism and strict adherence to the rules. Moreover, one mistake could result in them being reprimanded or even executed by this spoiled young master, depending on his whims.
However, if we are to judge him fairly, he is still better for the servants than the knights, although it seems unreasonable. As long as they don't make any mistakes, they will be safe from his wrath, unlike the knights who may become his targets for venting his anger for no reason.
Therefore, as long as they are professional and committed to the system, the servants are safe. This is why all the servants behaved around the young master like a well-oiled machine, making no mistakes.