On such an important day, what could Cale do to calm his nerves and succeed? He figured the first step was to have a hearty breakfast. While he felt like the only thing he’d done since arriving in this world was eat, he opted to enjoy the meal before things got busy.
“Mm… Ahem! I heard you fell asleep in the study last night,” Deruth said.
“I suppose I did,” Cale replied half-heartedly, focused on his breakfast. It was probably rude of him to not so much as glance at his father, but that was fine by Cale. He was the infamous lout.
He finished eating before the others and immediately stood up. His chair screeched, prompting everyone’s gazes to snap over to him.
“I’ll be heading out first,” Cale said in another violation of proper etiquette. But he needed to leave ASAP; he had a lot to do.
Deruth looked back and forth between Cale and his empty plates, then smiled. “Sure. Go ahead.” The count seemed to favor his son no matter what.
“Thank you.”
Before Cale could go, Deruth called out, “You don’t need any allowance today?”
“I do, actually.”
When his father said he’d send some money along with Hans, Cale bit back a smile. This really is a rich family. He turned and walked off without even thanking Deruth. The lout briefly made eye contact with Bassen, but he just continued to the door.
When Cale noticed Ron following him through the mansion, he shooed the servant away. “I’m going out. Don’t look for me.”
“Don’t look for me.” That was Cale’s code to let Ron know he was leaving the count’s estate, which was on the outskirts of Weston, to drink in the city. Whenever he said that, Ron smiled benevolently and told Cale to have a safe trip.
For some reason, Ron asked a rare question this morning. “You won’t be going to the study?”
Cale frowned. “I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about.”
“I understand, young master. I’ll be waiting for you.”
The wrinkles in Cale’s brow deepened. “No, I’d rather you didn’t.”
He crooked his finger to beckon over a servant standing at the main entrance, then walked out with him. The servant thought Cale still seemed angry, so he said nothing as he trailed behind the lout.
After exiting the residence, Cale could see the garden and the distant estate gate. He sighed, then braved a backward glance. He caught a glimpse of Ron’s wooden expression through the closing door.
Glad I shook him off.
While he was relieved that Ron hadn’t followed him, he still feared the old man’s terse look. Ron was an assassin, after all. Pushing open the gates, Cale decided he’d handle the old fellow with kid gloves next time.
Not one to walk when luxury transport was available, he took a carriage into the city.