Bab 54: Special Session
Austria, October 23rd 1796
2:50 PM
Lukas was standing in front of the mirror of his room as he got ready to leave. He was going to have a special training session with Johan.
After getting ready, Lukas nodded his head in approval as he stared at himself in the mirror.
After that, he turned to his bed, where there was a big backpack that seemed completely stuffed.
Lukas carefully started carrying the backpack.
After that, he headed to the desk of his room, and quickly took a book from there.
After taking everything he needed, Lukas casually walked out of his room as he carried both the backpack and the book.
Lukas walked through the hallways of the mansion as he came across Olivia, who was smiling.
"Hello, Lukas. I made a little snack for you," Olivia said as she gave Lukas a lunchbox.
"Thank you," Lukas said as he smiled. 'Just hope this fits in the other pocket of the backpack,' he thought.
"You are welcome," Olivia replied. "You had told me that you are going for a walk with your pupil, so I thought you might get hungry," she said.
'I'm bringing money, though,' Lukas thought. "Thank you for worrying. Oh, it's not just a walk by the way, my pupil will learn with that," he said.
Olivia chuckled, clearly not believing Lukas. "Fine, fine, Lukas. You would better go, it's almost time for him to arrive," she said.
Lukas nodded his head. "You are right," he replied.
Lukas then left the mansion and headed towards a bench in the garden. There, he placed the backpack on it and managed to fit his lunch box in another pocket of the backpack.
After that, Lukas sat on the bench and started reading the book he had brought, which was about arts, as he waited for Johan to arrive.
Lukas had asked Johan to come all by himself, since they were going for a walk and more people would just hold them back.
Soon, Lukas could see and hear Johan's carriage getting closer, so he quickly kept his book in his backpack and walked to the place where the carriage used to stop.
Soon, the carriage arrived and Johan left it by himself. Even though Lukas told everyone, including Johan that this was a special class Lukas had prepared for him, it actually was just for them to relax, the real class had occurred the previous day.
The two boys greeted each other with a smile. They had gotten pretty closed recently.
"So, shall we?" Johan asked.
Johan had become much more confident since he had started training with Lukas. Since the blonde boy's trainings were even more demanding than the ones in the academy, Johan had started getting stronger than his peers.
Of course, Johan didn't stop being 100% shy, that was one of the big features of his personality, and Lukas actually didn't mind that Johan was a bit shy, as long as he kept training properly.
Lukas smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, let's go," he replied.
So, Johan and Lukas got in the carriage and the horses started walking.
"Where are we going?" Johan asked.
"To the city. I need to do a few things," Lukas said.
"...Does that huge backpack you are bringing have anything to do with that?" Johan asked.
Lukas nodded his head. "Yep," he quickly replied as he nodded his head.
"...I don't go to the city very often," Johan said.
"Neither do I. Only when I need to do a few things that can only be done there," Lukas replied.
"Such as...?" Johan asked.
"Gaining money," Lukas replied.
"...Lukas, are you aware of your social status?" Johan asked.
Lukas nodded his head. "You are probably right, but it doesn't that we can't go through financial struggles. The Von Neumann house did go through financial struggles for a long time recently, and it only stopped completely when I started selling my paintings and gave part of the money to the head of the house. Of course, I kept a lot of money for myself, too," he said.
Johan was impressed with what Lukas had just told him. "Really? The powerful Von Neumann house was struggling financially?" he asked.
"We are still humans, you know?" Lukas said.
"What was the reason why you were going through financial struggles?" Johan asked.
"I really wish I knew it, Johan," Lukas replied.
Johan just raised his brow. "...You... don't?"
Lukas, meanwhile, ignored Johan's question and took his book out of his backpack and started reading it.
"You... read a lot," Johan observed.
"I guess I got this habit from my mother," Lukas said.
"...Oh," Johan awkwardly answered.
Johan knew what had happened to Frida Von Neumann, actually, it was known all over Austria, so he just decided not to touch the subject anymore.
"...Lukas, what is this training that you are going to give me?" Johan asked.
Lukas placed down his book as he looked at Johan. "Hm? Oh, that's right! I lied to you and to everyone, this is not any training method, it's just for us to relax a bit," he replied.
Johan just widened his eyes at Lukas. "W-What?! You tricked me!" he said.
Lukas just rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you are gonna that this will be good for you. Even though I am not a very social person either, we still have to hang out every once in a while," he said.
Johan just sighed as he started staring at the ceiling of the carriage. "What are we gonna do there?" he asked.
"...Lots of things. But first, I need to sell my paintings," Lukas said.
Johan raised his brow. "Why do you need to do that? Don't you have enough money?" he asked.
"It's an agreement I have made," Lukas said.
"Believe it, I already have a preposterous amount of money, I could even build a shit, go to America and build a new life there by myself," he said.
Johan sighed. 'He likes exaggerating,' he thought.
"Cheer up, Johan. You'll feel much better after this. Besides, I'm not that bad of a company, that's why you are always glued to me in the academy" Lukas said.
"Okay, I got it, already!" Johan said as he gritted his teeth.
Soon, the carriage arrived to its destiny and both Lukas and Johan casually left the carriage.
"Where are you supposed to sell the paintings?" Johan asked as he turned to Lukas.
"In a museum nearby. Come with me," Lukas replied with a smile.
The both of them started walking towards the museum. A lot of people whispered as the both of them passed by.
Lukas was already known in the city, but Johan was not, so they were wondering if that boy was Lukas's friend.
Finally, they stood in front of the museum. As Lukas kept walking, Johan stopped.
Lukas raised his brow as he turned to Johan. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Johan looked down. "Huh... Well, I don't have anything to do here, so I thought I could be waiting outside?" he said.
Lukas rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Johan, first of all, my eyes are up here," the blonde boy said.
Johan then widened his eyes and looked at Lukas.
"Second, you are my pupil, so you are going anywhere I want you to," Lukas said. "Anywhere! Even if I ask you to come to stay beside me while I take a piss, do I make myself clear?" he asked.
'Please, don't,' Johan thought.
Johan closed as his eyes as he took a deep breath.
After that, he looked at Lukas with a smile on his face. "Yes, you do. Thank you, Lukas," the blue-eyed boy replied.
Lukas smiled. "No problem. Hurry," he said as he turned to enter the museum.
Johan nodded his head and hurried to reach Lukas. When Johan entered the museum, he was impressed with what he saw in there.
Since he didn't have a good understanding of arts, the paintings didn't call his attention very much, however, the beauty and the size of the museum almost made his jaw drop.
Lukas walked to a secretary nearby. "Excuse me, I would like to meet Mr. Fischer, please," he said.
The secretary smiled. "Mr. Lukas, it has been a while. Do not worry, I will call Mr. Fischer right away," she said.
Lukas smiled. "Thank you very much," he said.
Lukas then walked back to stay beside Johan.
Johan looked at Lukas. "You are very popular here, huh?" he said.
"It's hard not to when you are an eight-year-old child who casually interacts with the owner of the facility," Lukas said.
"Is the owner of this facility your friend?" Johan asked.
Lukas shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think I would consider us friends, we are more like business partners," he replied.
Johan nodded his head in understanding and stood there as he waited for the owner to arrive.
Soon, Robert, the owner of the museum, and the man he had met still as a toddler, had arrived.
"Good afternoon, Robert," Lukas said as he approached Robert and stretched his arm to shake his hand.
Robert smirked and shook Lukas's hand. After that, he glanced at Johan. "Who's this boy? A friend of yours?" he asked.
Lukas nodded his head. "Yes. And he's also my pupil," he said with a smile.
Robert widened his eyes slightly z and then laughed. "You never cease to amaze me, Lukas," he said. "Well, let's go inside, so we can bargain with privacy."
Lukas nodded his head and the three of them headed to a big room in the museum where only Robert and those who he authorized were allowed to enter.
Robert then approached Johan. "I still don't know your name, little boy," he said.
Johan hesitated a bit, but then he spoke up. "My name is Johan Tonsburg, Sir. It's nice to meet you," he said before bowing respectfully.
Robert smiled. "You are polite," he said.
After that, Robert went to sit at his desk. "Tell me, Lukas. What do you have for me today?" he asked.
Lukas smiled and took three paintings out of his backpack. Even Johan, who didn't have any experience in arts, was surprised by their quality.
After that, Johan spent about half an hour of boredom as he watched the two of them bargaining. It was interesting at first, but it soon became boring for him.
Finally, the both of them shook each other's hands with a smile.
"It was good to make business with you," Lukas said.
Robert chuckled. "Likewise," he replied.
After everyone bid farewell, both Lukas and Johan left the room, which seemed to be Robert's office.
After that, they left the museum, however, Lukas noticed that Johan was looking awkwardly at him.
Lukas raised his brow and looked at Johan. "What is it?" he asked.
"What kind of agreement did you make with that guy?" Johan asked.
Lukas chuckled. "Oh, he said that I had to sell him at least three paintings of mine per month if I wanted to have any kind of business with him. Since I needed the money and it was also good for me to go for a walk every once in a while, I had no reason to refuse," he explained.
"Oh, but it must be very difficult for you to draw three paintings a month," Johan said.
Lukas shook his head. "Not really, I usually draw ten every month to be honest," he replied.
Johan's jaw almost dropped right there and then as soon as he heard Lukas's statement.
Lukas laughed at Johan's reaction. "Actually, at first, Robert proposed me to sell him only one painting every month, however, when I found out an interesting detail about his life, I decided to make it three," he said with a smile.
Johan raised his brow. '"An interesting detail about his life"?' he wondered.
At first, Lukas didn't like Robert at all because of the discussion he had had with his mother, however, he soon found out why he was blackmailing her like that.
Robert had a bedridden son. He loved paintings, but he couldn't go to any museum to see them himself, so Robert decided to buy all kinds of paintings to show them to his son.
That also led him to create a lot of businesses all over Austria, some that were even illegal, in order to fullfil his son's wish, which made him one of the richest men in Austria.
At first, Lukas even asked someone to go sell him the paintings for him, however, he soon mustered up some courage and decided to go there himself everytime he could.
'There's always another side of the story,' Lukas thought.
"Lukas," Johan called.
Lukas quickly looked at Johan and then showed an awkward smile. "Huh... sorry, I was zoning out," he said as he scratched the back of his head.
"I noticed. So, shall we go anywhere else?" Johan asked.
Lukas nodded his head with a smile. "Yes," he said. as he nodded his head.
Soon, the both of them visited a lot of places in the whole city. Both Lukas and Johan had a lot of fun, they had a great relationship.
Before, Lukas didn't have any fun at all everytime he visited Robert, however, he now was excited for the next visit.
-----
Austria, October 23rd 1796
4:57 PM
Lukas and Johan were walking side to side as they laughed simultaneously. They had had quite a pleasant day together.
"I told you that you would feel much better after this," Lukas said.
Johan sighed with a smile. "Fine, I admit it. I had fun," he said.
"Relaxing is also an important part of life, Johan. Don't do like some people who make sure who have training sessions every single day even though they are not feeling well," Lukas said.
Johan laughed. "Who does that?" he asked.
Lukas shrugged his shoulders. "Some idiots who are a bit everywhere in the world," he said as he smiled awkwardly.
Soon, Johan and Lukas's eyes widened, however, when Lukas turned, Johan wasn't there anymore.
Lukas frowned. 'What the...' he thought.
When Lukas turned again, he saw some logs falling from a carriage, that were about to hit a little boy, however, Johan jumped and caught the boy, saving him.
After rolling a few times on the ground with the boy, Johan looked at him, he seemed to be around four years old. Soon, the kid started crying as he clung to Johan.
Soon, Lukas approached the both of them, running. "Johan, are you okay?" he asked.
Johan smiled as he looked at Lukas. "Yes, I am," he said as he nodded his head.
Soon, a couple approached Johan and the kid as they ran. "Oh, Peter! Are you okay?!" the woman of the couple asked as she crouched down and picked the boy, who seemed to be her child.
On the other hand, the man, who seemed to be his father approached Johan and shook his hand strongly. "Oh, thank you so much! I can't think of a way to thank you properly!" the man said.
Johan looked a bit shocked at first, but then he smiled as he blushed and looked down at the ground. "N-No, there's no need to thank me," he said shyly.
Soon, the couple went away and Lukas and Johan were left alone.
Lukas looked curiously at Johan. "How could you be that fast?" he asked.
Johan looked at Lukas. "Oh, I always had this thing. Everytime someone is in danger my body starts moving by itself and I end up saving that person. I even have a scar on my chest from when I saved my brother from boiling oil," he explained.
Lukas was truly surprised by what he had just found out. He always thought that those actions didn't truly exist, but he apparently was wrong. 'H-How can a guy like this think so low of himself?' he wondered
Soon, the carriage arrived to Lukas's mansion.
After bidding farewell to Johan, the blonde boy entered the mansion and went to take a bath.
After that, Lukas went to the kitchen and saw Elias sitting at the table and Olivia standing nearby.
"Father? Olivia? What's wrong?" Lukas asked.
Elias then turned Lukas. "The war is over, Lukas. We were invited for a party in order to celebrate Austria's victory," he explained.
As soon as he heard that, Lukas widened his eyes. 'Th-This is what I wanted!'
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