Chapter 45: The Master Who Changed
His bedroom was the same as before he left; it seemed like the servants had dutifully done their job.
That day, Fei never left her master's side. She either played with him or watched as he played by himself.
The more time that Fei spent with him, the more she found that Carlos to have subtly changed, but she couldn't pinpoint what that change was.
"Master, how was your experience at camp?" Fei sat on the rug with her feet crossed.
Carlos, who was drawing something in his notebook, froze. His small hands trembled.
Ah... He was uncomfortable.
Fei silently cursed her mouth for asking that question. But what is done is already done. She could only wait for her master's reaction.
"F-Fei, why do you ask?"
He quickly looked around his room, but even upon finding that no one else except Fei was with him, he didn't relax the slightest.
That pained expression. Yes, that's it. The previous Master never showed such an expression. "I was curious."
Her master stared blankly at her before eventually answering with pursed lips, "I didn't like camp."
After getting the words out, his face relaxed, and he continued. "I hated it."
"I don't want to ever go there again. Never again. Never."
Carlos looked at Fei with his face brightening. "So I need to work hard to get my grades up. You'll help me, won't you, Fei?"
"I… Yes, I will always do my best to help you."
He smiled, but it wasn't the smile of a child. "Then that's good."
Carlos went back to drawing, not speaking to her bodyguard any longer.
Fei carefully scrutinized her master carefully. It wasn't about the expression after all. His entire person seemed to have changed. He used to love communicating with others and going outdoors, but today, she found that he didn't enjoy speaking anymore, nor did he smile that often.
In fact, the only time she felt that he was happy was when he first came back, during the incident with Carol.
This won't do, Fei thought. Master needs to be happy. Should I write another note?
But if he didn't become happy even though I told him to be happy the first time, then doing it a second time won't make him happy either. Fei thought up all kinds of ways to make her master happy, but none of them seemed feasible.
In stories she read, people became happy after finding love, power, wealth, achieving their goals, getting rid of regrets in life, going to heaven, or getting transported into a world full of magic.
For her master, everything she listed except getting rid of regrets and achieving goals were unrealistic.
Master was still too young for love; the average age of those people from the romance stories were around 16 – 25.
Master already had power and wealth.
Going to heaven means dying and Master is cannot die so early.
Getting transported to another world usually involves some sort of ritual or death, which is dangerous, and Master cannot be put into danger.
Hmm�� But Fei didn't want to ask about her master's aspirations or regrets either, because she was afraid that what she said would make him even sadder. Just look at what happened when her accursed mouth asked about his experience at camp…
I can ask Eyrie! Her eyes lit up. Yes, Eyrie should have an answer to my questions.
"Feiii, what are you thinking?" Carlos realized that his bodyguard was deep in thought and couldn't help but ask.
Fei was shaken out of her thoughts and blinked, processing the question asked. "I was thinking of how to make you happy."
Her master's eyes widened, and he laughed. "Happy? … What do you mean? I'm already very…"
He stopped laughing and could barely keep his mouth curved upwards. Facing Fei's awaiting stare, he finally broke down. "… Not happy."
"I'm not happy…" Tears rolled down his face as he silently wept.
All was silent except for Carlos' occasional hiccup.
Fei immediately swept her gaze across the room, and finding the object she was looking for, she quietly reached for it.
She handed her master a box of tissues.
He took one and blew his nose. "T-That place was scary. Scary. E-Every time I didn't do well on the assignments, I was punished. It was even worse than how it was with father..."
"They didn't care whether I was the Rochester heir. They mocked me, said that I would drag the Rochester name down." As he confessed, Carlos began to cry harder.
He sniffled before continuing his narrative.
"They told me th-that Dadd-Father approved of what they did, so it didn't matter if I told Father."
"Father would only tell me to stop being a crybaby."
As Fei listened, she unconsciously balled up her fists. She didn't understand what he was talking about, nor did she know what happened at the camp. But she knew one thing.
She needed to make her master feel better somehow. "Master… do you have any aspirations?"
"Aspirations?" Carlos furrowed his eyebrows.
"Goals."
The child went quiet. He was so surprised at the question that his tears stopped falling.
"I-I don't think I can say it." His voice was quiet.
"Everything you say must be right, master! It does not matter if other people will harm you! They would never dare do such a thing! I will protect you. Your father, Miss Carol, and Eyrie, they will all protect you!"
To Fei, there was nothing more precious than her master, and seeing him so afraid of the lash back a few words could bring broke her heart — if she had one in the first place.
"Ha..." Carlos smiled bitterly.
"… I… I… I want to be born as a person t-that is not the heir of the Rochester family," he finally whispered, after much hesitation.
As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Carlos immediately regretted saying them. Ah… If Father heard, he would... he would...
Carlos bit his lip.
But it was the truth. That wish wasn't just randomly thought up on the spot; he had been thinking this for a while now, before he even went to that accursed camp.
Being an heir means tons of pressure. From the second he could crawl; his father foresaw an incredible future that he would lead the Rochester family name to, all simply because he was able to crawl faster and earlier as a toddler.
He was put into all kinds of classes, ranging from playing the piano to diplomacy, at the age of 4!
By this time, he could speak Language A fluently and was deemed as a prodigy, the second in the Rochester family. However, because he was the heir, this was even more celebrated.
However, it soon became clear that Carlos was not as good at learning new things as everyone thought.
ANNOUNCEMENT: I WILL START UPLOADING 1 CHAPTER DAILY STARTING NEXT MONDAY!*
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
_VA_
_VA_ *Ah... hard days ahead...
So... who is the first prodigy? Aside from Carlos? There's only two other options!
What do you think about Carlos' 'prodigious' nature? Should he be deemed a prodigy? Why do you think he was so looked well upon?
Hope you enjoyed this mass release!
PS... man, I could totally relate to those 'sources of happiness' that Fei pointed out.
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