After studies followed a very strict schedule which he was expected to follow diligently. The first one of course being his studying which happened in the morning. It goes on for 3 hours and when the clock strikes 9:00, he heads on to his next task. That being called "etiquette practice".
After once again carefully navigating the premise, Jin and Kyle had begun this practice back in the boy's own room. It was easier that way.
That carries on for another 3 hours. The afternoon is when things begin to pick up though, with learning the different major families, trends, and even the field of studies which are possible.
Having all this happen at once was akin to trying to gather every last rain drop in the clouds. It was hard to keep up with most of the new information.
And this added stress combined with the deadline accumulated for over the last 7 days.
***
Him and Kyle sat across from each other. It almost looked like an interview. But...
SLAP!
"Ouch, what'd I do wrong this time?" Jin winced, the stinging pain reddening his skin.
"Your speech was wrong. When addressing someone of a higher status than yourself, you should refer to them as Lord or Lady," Kyle reprimanded, slapping the black stick repeatedly against the palm of his hand.
Strangely enough, Kyle was in charge of all of it.
"And for goodness sake, we need to do something about how you speak in general."
"It's just talking. Will pronouncing a name wrong get my head chopped off?"
"It's simple respect. Learn it. You don't want your reputation being tarnished. It'd be bad for you if you have anyone trying to actively expel you."
"Talk about petty," Jin scoffed.
"Some are... like that, yes."
Kyle couldn't deny that fact. A growing teenager who was brought up from a spoiled upbringing can be a nuisance, even to the most stoic of people.
"But regardless, your attitude needs to change if you wish to carry on living here."
"I don't want to live here though," Jin sparked back.
"You really don't get it, do you?" The enforcer clicked his tongue before slapping Jin's arm once again. "This is the problem with you. You're not sociable, approachable, nor respectful."
"That's because I don't respect you in the slightest, Kyle."
As anger bubbled up, so did the argument between the two.
"Lie then. Act. Anything! Weren't you a thief? I thought you're meant to be resourceful and cunning. But I don't even see a shred of that in you."
"Please, like you know how a thief operates. You don't need to be good at being stuck up to steal," Jin remarked. "Screw mannerisms, this is all pointless. There's no way we'll see eye-to-eye in this. I'll just stick to studying. I'd rather die than try making friends with a Vassari."
Standing up from the bed, Jin looked towards the door, seriously contemplating about just barging right out of the room.
Kyle gave out a frustrated sigh from his chest. Even for him, dealing with Jin was clearly an obstacle. Especially his personality.
"You're right. We'll probably never see eye-to-eye with one another," Kyle spoke out.
That was basically the last straw before Jin left the room and headed back to the library.
From there, Kyle sat in silence, blankly staring at the bed that Jin was on. As he brought his hands to his helmet, he carefully took it off with his short crimson hair spiking up.
Dragging his fingers down across his features, he could only relent, "How do I get through to a kid like that...?"
***
It had been a whole day since then. As expected, the silence was heavy.
Jin rubbed away the crust from his eyes as he actively tried staying awake. He should've been having his lessons with Kyle covering the other major cities surrounding Halcendre, but that argument stunted it.
As he slumped, his head being carried by his hands as he read through various scientific concepts, the conversation with Kyle lingered in his mind.
"Fuck, what do I do...?" he cursed to himself.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. His knuckles boldly turning white from his grip.
Did he lash out too hard? It wasn't like him to just do that in general. It could be the stress that's wearing him down. Otherwise, he would've went about the more differently.
Jin could see where Kyle was coming from with why his attitude was a problem. Hell, just earlier was a prime example as to why.
Precious time was being wasted. But, Jin couldn't help but feel his pride was getting in the way. Or that he was perhaps being too stubborn.
I can't focus like this, Jin thought. I'll... figure something out. I always do. Right, this isn't my fault.
The boy spent longer than intended studying. As he stared at the clock, he noticed that 4 hours had passed already.
Dead on the table, Jin felt as if he was back in the classroom. This was draining him out of his mind.
The material itself was already difficult, but when it came to trying to understand each component, he struggled keeping himself awake.
And he hasn't even gotten through the first ten books.
What made this difficult wasn't that he wasn't just reading. He needed to understand and remember the details of what was being shown.
That alone made this experience 10x harder than what it should be.
He had basically been living in this library for his first week here. Or well, mostly.
The only times he'd go out would be when he went along to a different lesson, eat, have a shower, or change his clothes. It's the only thing keeping his hygiene up at this point. The rest of that time was spent studying.
Even with all that effort, at this rate, completing this all in a month is impossible!
He felt a wave of fatigue hit him.
Ah, maybe a short nap would be okay... Staying well rested is the key to a healthy mind.
It was during this sleep, the door behind him would creak open.
***
Having been aware of the new guest living in the Vaen estate, Vaen Elise would find her natural curiosity growing on her to levels which she can't ignore.
Despite the fact they were living in the same place, she couldn't find herself crossing path with the boy once.
She initially thought it'd be easy given how notable his features were. Those striking emerald eyes with terrible bags underneath failed to leave her memory.
But she's almost tried everything. Pressuring the servants didn't work. She had question Kyle on his whereabouts, but to no avail. it's like everyone was trying to prevent any sort of contact.
She thought back to the last bit of her conversation with Kyle just a week ago.
"Lady Elise one more thing... I ask that you don't look into this matter."
"Hmm, why's that? Just you saying this will only make me more curious."
"It's not one you should get yourself invested in. And, I can already tell you and that boy won't get along well. So, don't bother."
Don't bother, huh?
It was suspicious. Very so.
Her father was always out. Not that she and him were close. It doesn't matter to her anyways. Or to him.
"This is so below me," she muttered. "Why am I caring so much about a kid living here if I never see him?"
As she passed Officer Kyle, her eyes narrowed. Officer Kyle. The man whom her father considers to be his most trustworthy right-hand man.
She didn't have much of a relationship with him. But they were close enough to be considered acquaintances. And being the daughter of the man he follows, he naturally listens to a lot of what she says.
Yet he refuses to let single droplet of the boys whereabouts.
Isn't this place where all the staff reside? she thought. I haven't been here in a while. The personal study would also be around here. I almost forgot about that.
Maybe she should go and drop by? She admits that it has been quite a while since she's used that library to study.
***
This was only meant to be a nostalgic trip through memory lane for Elise. She was just exploring Vaen library, looking through the history section when she came across an unusual sight.
Books were scattered across the floor. Some left painfully opened with their pages folding and creasing in bad angles.
Almost no one ever goes here, even the staff members as this is meant to be a personal study for the Vaen house members. It didn't need to be cleaned anyways as it was always kept in good condition. Until now at least.
Whoever was handling these clearly didn't know what they were doing.
But there was a pattern to those books laid so carelessly. They followed a path which Elise ended up following herself.
Though she didn't expect much, she wanted to see where it ended up leading her.
To her surprise, at the end of that messy path, was the boy she had been so curious about a week ago.
He was showered in books covering a large variety of topics. Science, literacy, mathematics, and even history. They were all academic standards which she studied too.
How strange. Was this boy living in her family estate so he can freely study in the library? Perhaps his family doesn't own one. It wouldn't be unusual if he was from a 2nd class family.
But why would her father allow this though? He had to have had a reason for it.
Elise treaded closer to the boy as she saw his form moving. She prepared herself for introductions but realized that his eyes were in fact closed.
He's asleep?
Oh, he must've studied so much that this happened. There was no other way of explaining it.
As she peered over his shoulder, Elise managed to get a good look at his face for the first time.
"Huh, he's drooling," she commented. "Gross."
"Mmmm..."
She heard him groan in response. The boy was now beginning to wake up for once. Half-lidded, his bright green eyes met gold.