I kissed Nassius on the cheek. Ah, I’m so happy! Patience didn’t stop me, so this was probably a normal part of their mornings.
“Does that mean we can play together?” Henry, my younger brother, asked. He had the same blond hair and blue eyes as I did; we both took after our mother. I need to make sure he doesn’t die young.
“Yes, let’s play,” I said, picking Henry up and kissing him on the cheek. This is bliss!
My happiness didn’t last for long. This is gross! I thought as I ate some bland soup with some minuscule vegetable bits floating around, along with some thinly sliced yet hard bread. Patience is so skinny! She does not need to be dieting. Also, I can’t believe this is the best breakfast we can afford for my brothers! Growing children need to eat! How horrible!
Patience’s ingrained elegance forced me to slowly sip my soup, but it didn’t have enough flavor to be savored. I had to find out whether Eva, our cook, was just unskilled, or if our family’s finances were so tight that this was the only kind of meal we could afford.
I finished my unsatisfying breakfast and wanted to stay in the slightly warmer dining room, but that didn’t seem possible. As soon as breakfast was over, my father retired to his study and my brothers were taken to their room. Not only was I alone, but George, the servant, began scraping out the logs that hadn’t burned from the fireplace. Staring at an unlit fireplace wasn’t going to make me any warmer.
According to Patience’s memories, the morning was time for studying. Of course, we didn’t have something as fancy as a tutor. Oh, Patience’s memory corrected me—she appeared to have had a tutor for a short while when she was younger. The Granger family had probably lived as nobles usually did before our father had lost his job. Following his dismissal, my mother had taught me my letters and numbers, and then... That’s right! I’m responsible for teaching my brothers!
I rushed over to my brothers’ room. Teaching my little brothers sounds fun! Their room was spacious and had a desk with three chairs in front of a fireplace. Yeah, they don’t need a room this big. A poor excuse of a fire was lit in the fireplace. This is too cold for them!
“I’d like you to continue where we left off, Nassius,” I instructed. “And can you write all the letters in the alphabet, Henry?” According to Patience’s memories, Nassius was quite gifted, and Henry had just begun his studies.
“I memorized them,” Henry said, his small hands earnestly writing out letters onto a slate board with chalk. So cute.
I wondered how Patience felt about studying. She seemed to like it quite a bit, and I had many memories of reading books. The Granger family seemed to enjoy learning, and though we were poor, our library was impressive. Our father was a bookworm, and these days all he did was read books or newspapers.
Are there any schools here? I began searching through Patience’s memories. It seemed there was a school here in the Kingdom of Lawrence—specifically, the Royal Academy located in the capital city, Romano. Apparently it was mandatory for nobles to attend from the ages of ten to sixteen.
“Wait, ten? Does that mean I’m to attend the academy?” I muttered to myself.
I didn’t mind studying, but dealing with other nobles sounded like a pain. I wasn’t even sure if I could interact with other nobles in the first place. I could rely on Patience’s memories for behavior, but my shabby clothes would probably make me stand out even if I could act the part of a noble.
Just as I’d promised him, I played with Henry after he practiced his writing and completed some simple math problems. We called it playing, but I was just reading to him. There’s no way I’m going outside when it’s this cold and a flurry’s coming down.
Lunch...just made me sad. It was the same soup and thinly sliced bread from breakfast, with one slice of ham so thin you could nearly see through it. You know, it isn’t easy to slice something this thinly. Maybe Eva is actually really skilled, I thought to myself in an attempt to escape from reality. Patience gave this ham to her brothers, right? Yeah, there’s no way I can keep doing that! I’m going to die at this rate.
“I’m still recovering, so you two should eat this,” I said. Gah, I can’t help it! They’re growing boys. Of course I want to feed them!
Lunch—such as it was—had gotten me pumped about improving this family’s living situation, but after eating I was called to my father’s study. I wonder what he wants. Looking through Patience’s memories, it was rare for her to be summoned like this. Did he find out that I’ve taken over this body? I had Patience’s memories, and her common sense and habits dictated my actions, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that she had died. Perhaps her father had noticed discrepancies in my behavior. What do I do if I’m kicked out? I grew nervous as I knocked on the door to my father’s study.
“Come in, Patience,” he responded.
The study had a calm atmosphere, and I could see why he would stay cooped up in here. It was like a hideaway—the perfect place to escape reality.
“Did you need something, father?” My words were automatically converted into Patience’s manner of speech, and my question came out more formally than I intended.
“Sit down. I think it’s time we have you evaluated at the church.”
Oh no. Did he figure out I’ve possessed this body? Am I going to be exorcised? My face must have paled with anxiety.
“There’s no need to be so nervous. Finding out your magic proficiency is a simple process. I think you’ll be able to use household magic. Julianne was good at it. And it’s best that we have you evaluated before you enroll in school.” My father smiled, which put me at ease.
Household magic? What’s that? Tell me, Patience!
“What is household magic?” I’d meant to search through Patience’s memories, but I’d ended up asking my question out loud.