「 Layton’s Memories, Age: 9 」

“Your next professor should arrive shortly milords,” Diane, a maid in her thirties declares politely after opening the large cedar door.

A beautiful room, filled with several divans and oak wood desks with their matching chairs, big windows hidden away by large orange curtains and a magnanimous carpet with warm tones, appeared in front of my eyes. On the other hand, there were several books spread around the room, without much proper organization and, in its center, a big desk for the professors to teach.

“Thank you, Diane,” I reply before giving her a kind smile.

“I can’t believe I have to put up with you now,” Julius glares coldly at me, as usual.

“I’m sorry brother…” I knew how much he disliked having classes with me since I struggled to understand what the professors said. I was just a hindrance that kept on slowing him down but, no matter how hard I studied, nothing seemed to change.

“Tsk, you don’t deserve to have the Verne’s name,” his words pierced my heart like a frozen knife, hurting me with every syllable.

‘I should’ve grown used to this but…’ my eyes look at the ceiling as I try to hold back my tears from falling.

“The big baby is going to cry?” Julius body moves away from the divan and heads towards me, walking quickly as if he was anxiously waiting to speak, “Grow up!”

His scream echoed in my ears and my body shivered in fear as I immediately placed the book in front of me, covering my face. I knew he was going to hit me just like he always did.

“You’re not even worth it…” after hearing his words, my hands lower the books slowly just to see the disappointed look on his face as his clenched right fist became softer.

“I’m…” I swallow my words and a shiver runs down my spine once I see my older brother’s disgusted eyes.

Julius Verne is my brother and is expected to be the successor of the family’s name. Even though he is two years older than me, he excels at every subject without any exception. He is so excellent in his tutoring that father is trying to allow his early entrance at the Royal Academy but, so far he hasn’t been successful.

I also have another brother, Cedric Verne, that is three years younger than me, being at the tender age of six but, much to everyone’s surprise, he is so smart that several other nobles have stated that he might be a genius.

They are both extremely confident and are beautifully looking, with mother’s golden hair and father’s brown eyes. On the other hand, I am the ugly duckling, having no great attributes and lacking in every field possible.

My hair is colored like the farmer’s carrots and curled like a pig’s tail while my eyes are a mixture between the filthy dirt and the ugly moss that covered stones and tree trunks. I also have a lot of spots on my skin, as if someone made ink out of a pumpkin and placed it on my face. To make matters even worse, my cheeks easily become the color of a tomato, making it unsightly for other people to see.

Having a body as weak as mine must be quite an accomplishment since I can’t run more than a couple of minutes before getting so tired it becomes hard to breath or even take another step. Contrary to my brother’s I have a frail constitution, being almost smaller than a table and thin enough to be blown away by a harsh breeze.

Due to my lack of achievements my father neglects me and sometimes even treats me as if I wasn’t his son. I can’t blame him since I understand how much of a failure I am.

“I am Charles Wagner, and I will be your professor starting from today,” a man in his later forties enters the room. His lips were hiding under a thick dark brown beard that already showed the signs of aging while his sapphire eyes were behind a thin layer of glass.

“Good afternoon mister Wagner,” my brother says promptly as he sits on his chair before removing several history books from the desk beside him.

“Julius, correct? Your father told me wonders about you,” the man opens an extremely large and detailed book, flipping the pages gently. Suddenly, his eyes glare at me from afar, “And you are Layton.”

“Y-Yes mister…” feeling the nerves crawl up my skin I begin to stutter.

‘Stop it! Stop!’ my mind kept on yelling inside. I knew I needed to be more confident, I knew I couldn’t behave like a weakling all the time but not even my own body obeyed my commands.

“Are you going to stand there all day?” Charles attitude changes as he coldly warns me to sit down.

Understanding his message, I quickly head towards my desk and take the correct books out of the messy bunch on the floor.

“According to the Marquess, you haven’t had the chance to learn the history of the kingdom so we will begin with the basics,” finally, he stops flipping the pages and focuses his attention on us, “What do you know about the creation of the Kingdom of Ashen?”

“It was built 1356 years ago by the royal family after going through a long period unruled,” my brother replies confidently with a proud smile on his lips.

“What about you Layton?” the professor asks while glancing over at me.

“I-…” I could feel my cheeks blushing as I both their gazes pressured me for an answer, “I know that there was a big war and then the kingdom was created…”

The answer was nowhere near being completed, heck, I would be happy if it was even correct. I always tried my best to blend in the shadows and most of the teachers gave me the silence treatment, ignoring my presence and focusing on my brother instead.

“You’re both wrong,” he coughs slightly before answering, “The risen of Ashen as a kingdom was due to a need: the citizens were beginning to starve since the climate had been dry for several years and the economy within the realm was collapsing.”

My brother glared at him angrily. He hated being told he was wrong when he knew he was right, it was a wound in his pride he couldn’t take. A critical flaw that no one had been able to solve thus far.

“The oldest documents of the kingdom date as old as 2000 years ago but we are currently in the year 1356,” Charles eyes focus on me, “Why is that Layton?”

“That’s easy! Before it became the Kingdom of Ashen, it was already an area filled with people,” it was clear as day that Julius had taken the professor’s previous comment as a personal offense.

“Lord Julius, I am your professor, not your servant. You will only speak when I ask you to,” Charles glares coldly at him after warning him to behave accordingly, “Now, answer me, Layton.”

“W-Well… That’s because…” I didn’t know the answer to this question since the most logical hypothesis had been refuted by my brother, “I don’t know professor…”

I avert my eyes as I felt his pressure on me growing.

“The members of Virden’s lineage have been ruling over Ashen for 1356 years, however, before them there were several different rulers from different families,” Charles proceeds, “Whenever a new lineage takes the throne, the date returns to zero and, most of the documents of the previous rulers are erased to prevent possible civil wars.”

Charles then proceeded to explain briefly what some of the ancient documents stated:

Ashen had been created 2000 years ago due to a harsh crisis that kept on affecting its citizens. It was at that time that a man, Jonathan Pierce, began winning the hearts of the people, little by little, until they crowned him king. That marked the start of the Pierce dynasty.

Around 1700 years ago, the Pierce’s lineage came to an end due to a military revolution. The unceasing attacks from the other countries were overwhelming and the citizens thought that the current king was not fit for their needs. The era of the Arion’s started.

It was only around 1356 years ago that, after a harsh climate change that affected Ashen’s terrain and agriculture, that the commoners revolted and placed a new king on the throne: the Virden’s.

“As you can see, our kingdom dates to thousands of years ago, being ruled by several different families through time,” the professor removes a small pocket watch from within his clothes, “We’ll stop our lesson here for today.”

Julius quickly closes his books and gets up before leaving the room abruptly. Charles lets out a sigh as if this was nothing but a burden.

Without wanting to bring attention to myself, I quietly head towards the door and take my leave.

“Young master, you shouldn’t wander around the mansion alone!” Diane appears carrying a medium-sized hay basket filled with fruit and some cookies.

“It’s alright…” I look around cautiously.

“Want to eat some delicious snacks? I got them from the chef himself,” she approaches and goes down to my level, whispering into my ear.

‘I love these…’ I could feel the saliva beginning to flow within my mouth as I watched the food inside the container. My stomach began to growl, and I quickly averted my eyes, it was simply embarrassing to allow my body to make those kinds of noises.

“Let’s go to the room!” she grabs my hand gently and we both head towards my chambers.

Diane was a beautiful maid that had been with me ever since I was born. Contrary to many of the servants, she cared for me and tried to help me to the best of her abilities.

In this enormous mansion, Diane was the only person that didn’t mock me or ignored me. Within my small body, she was my whole world.

“Layton, what do you think you are doing!?” Julius appears from another hall, right at its crossing, “Are you a child!?”

“B-Brother…” I stumble back and Diane immediately lets go of my hand.

“And what’s this? You know you can’t have them until you improve your grades!” he quickly walks towards the maid before grabbing the basket away from her hands and throwing all its contents into the floor. He then proceeds on placing his hands on his waist before a wide smile appeared on his lips.

‘I am lucky… He didn’t hit me…’ I grabbed onto my books tightly as my body shivered.

Julius might be my brother but, sometimes, he could be crueler than my father. He liked to pull my hair harshly and throw things at me, other times he would just make me trip on purpose or even mess with my meals.

“Are you not going to speak?” he grits his teeth at my silence, “You freak!”

His feet immediately hit my exposed abdomen, pushing me onto the floor. A ray of pain flows through my spine as my bottom half meets the hard wood. Tears begin to gather within my eyes as I kept on grabbing the books tightly.

I was scared.

He was scary.

It is painful.

“Milord please, he just recovered…!” Diane tries to intervene and prevent my brother’s rage outburst but that was something that couldn’t be settled without my father.

“Shut up!” he yells loudly before approaching her once again, “Kneel!”

Diane bites her bottom lip as she knew the fate that awaited her. Suddenly, Julius slaps her right cheek harshly and, within a couple of seconds, her pale skin became tainted with a bright red color.

“You should feel lucky… I won’t tell father, but next time don’t piss me off!” he laughs loudly before turning his heels and heading towards the library.

“Are you alright?” once he was out of sight, Diane quickly turns to me with a kind smile on her lips. I nod, “That’s great, let’s get you up.”

Her hand embraces my body as she holds me with all her strength, helping me to get back in my two feet.

“I’ll go grab more of these, there’s no way you can eat them now…!” she goes down once again and begins to store all the delicacies in the hay basket.

“It’s alright, I’ll eat them,” I give her a smile making her eyes widen in surprise.

“But young master…!” even if I knew this was something unusual and that noblemen shouldn’t do, I still found, within myself, the desire to, “I understand…”

We then head to my room, and Diane begins telling me stories about her hometown, a place filled with laugher and joy.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 Layton’s Memories, Age: 10 」

“What do you think about the current wine market Julius?” James Verne, my father, questions while cutting a large piece of pork steak from his plate.

“I think that it might be a good idea to buy some small establishments… I heard the harvest this season was though, and the price of wine will increase, it will definitely make a profit,” my brother swiftly replies, “Are you thinking of investing father?”

“I heard some rumors and thought this situation might be beneficial for the family…” he grins largely.

Everyone at this table knew that the majority of the time, these so called “rumors” were nothing more than a scheme the Marquess was preparing in order to expand his business, legally or not.

“That is a high-risk father,” my younger brother, Cedric, interrupted, “A lot of commoners work at the vines and if the product decreases so will their revenue, it is a two-sided sword.”

“Well, that is true but if we purchase shops in the capital that problem can easily be averted,” Julius answers right before drinking a bit of his water and turning his attention onto me, “Layton, I’m sure you also have an opinion on this matter.”

“I-I don…” as I was about to speak my father interrupts me.

“Even your seven-year-old brother was able to answer,” a cold smile is displayed on his lips as I feel a shiver run down my spine.

‘Not again…’ this torture was nothing more but pure entertainment for them. There was absolutely no way I could answer this question since I was nothing more than a stupid kid.

“I-I think w-we should invest with c-care…” I stutter as the pressure begins to rise. Everything became silent as they glared at me, and the only sounds heard was my mother’s tableware touching her plate.

Her eyes were lifeless, as if she was nothing more than a doll, eating, resting, and breathing. My father’s constant betrayals with lovers and his hunger for new mistresses was unsatiable and so, my mother stopped wishing for something she knew she could never have, no matter how much she prayed.

“You’re so dumb…” Julius begins laughing loudly as tears fell from his face from the overwhelming emotions. On the other hand, Cedric was trying to contain his laughter and only chuckled slightly.

“Quiet!” my father suddenly speaks as his presence and domination is asserted once again, “You’ve been having classes for a year and a half now, yet you still seem ignorant to matters of great importance.”

“I-I’m sorry father…” my body gets startled once I hear his clenched fist beat strongly on the table, creating a loud sound that echoed through the extremely expensive looking dinner hall.

“How did something so useless came out of my blood!?” he then shifts his attention to my mom, “I’m sure this filthy wench had someone else and now I have to be the one to take care of other man’s leftovers!”

The tension at the table grows but, even then, my mother looks unbothered. She continues to eat her meal calmly, as if father wasn’t talking to her, as if she was lost in her own world, in her own reality far away from all this sickening situation.

“Answer me woman!” his voice becomes louder and, noticing my mother’s lack of response, he gets up and slaps her harshly.

‘Mother…’ I couldn’t help but to gasp once I saw the drops of blood falling from my mother’s cheek. Father had hit her with all his rings and now, her precious pale face was tainted with her own fluids.

“F-Father…” Cedric decided to speak but was completely ignored.

Eliza, my mother, slowly turned her head forward and straightened her body but, even then, ignored my father and his disgusting remarks. Her beautiful blonde curly hair was short, not passing through her shoulders and her lifeless blue eyes were focused on the food in front of her.

As she was about to pick her tableware again my father grabbed her plate and threw it to the floor, shattering it into little pieces and spoiling the food.

“You shall not eat until you give me a reply!” his dark brown eyes were furious making me feel blessed for not being the recipient of his anger.

Unexpectedly, my mother got up and faced him right before bowing down and leaving the table.

“That slut!” he punches the table strongly and, after some minutes, he regains his senses, “I’ve lost my appetite.”

Quickly, he exits the room, releasing it from his presence even if his pressure remained.