Master Rigrit's abode was a landmark in the city of Istria. It was a two storied mansion built in Victorian style. People who passed by would take multiple glances to admire its beauty and elegance. The only other structure that could be said to surpass it in the city was Count Greyson's mansion. It was only natural as the count was the feudal lord of the city and the area around it.

A carriage escorted by two mounted men stopped by the mansion's gate. The coachman alighted and spoke to a guard stationed by the gate. The guard signaled for Ron to wait and went inside the mansion. After a few minutes, the guard returned following behind a man who looked to be in his mid forties. The man wore a white robe above his clean tunic. He had an ordinary face but gave off an atmosphere of a learned man. Accompanying him were 3 teenagers, a girl who looked about 12 and two boys one slightly older than 10 and the other around 15.

Vincent got off the carriage as he looked at the group coming to welcome them. He was now wearing a black tunic with golden flowers embroidered in the cuffs and collar. The 2 younger kids were staring at Vincent curiously while the oldest teenager smiled at him in a kind manner.

The man wearing white robe led Ron and Vincent into the mansion. They finally stopped once they reached the front parlor which was decorated with vases, beautiful paintings and statues. The middle aged man took his seat in the most luxurious chair while the two kids and a youth took their seat around him. The man motioned for Ron and Vincent to be seated opposite to him while signaling for a maid to bring refreshments.

Ron thanked the man and introduced him to Vincent, "He is master Rigrit. He advanced to become a 4th circle wizard 3 years ago at the age of 42. He is a very outstanding wizard, he will also be taking you as his student. Quick, introduce yourself."

Vincent bowed and introduced himself. "I am Vincent Ember. Greetings master."

Master Rigrit nodded and asked, "How old are you Vincent?"

"I will be 10 after 4 months."

"Hmm... that's good. You can learn about wizardry for now. Once you become 10, you can start exercising your mana. This young man is Nelson. He is my eldest student. He will look after your studies when I am absent or too busy. She is Rachel and this little one is Brian. He is the same age as you. He will turn 10 in 2 weeks. You guys should get along well since you will all be studying together."

A maid brought tea and some light snacks before leaving. Ron took out a letter and handed it to Rigrit.

"This is the letter the baron wrote for you. 80 gold coins have already been deposited in your account Master Rigrit. The same amount will be deposited each year as long as Vincent is in your care. Now that I have completed my task, I will be taking my leave."

Ron got up after finishing his tea and snacks. He spoke a few words with Vincent before handing him a pouch and leaving. Rigrit instructed his students to show their junior around the mansion. Nelson led Vincent and his two juniors through the house while explaining everything to the new kid. Vincent was awed by the sights inside the house. The corridors were wide and the walls were painted in vibrant colors. The thing that he loved the most about the mansion was the library. He had never seen so many books together in one place. Nelson told him that there were 60 books regarding wizardry and 700 more about other subjects.

The company arrived in Brian's room at last. This room now belonged to Vincent and the former occupant. It didn't have much. Two beds, a study table and 2 chairs took half of it's space. There was also a closet in a corner. Two large windows made up of glass full of bubbles adorned the room as sunlight passed through it painting the room in beautiful hues of blue.

All of Vincent's belongings had already been delivered to the room by the servants. Rachel started to dig around Vincent's stuffs while letting out 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' whenever she found anything interesting. She picked up a deck of playing cards and started playing with it.

"Let's play cards. Seems fun. I have never played it before. You know how to play right? Teach me. Teach me. Brian and Nelson, come sit. Let's play some cards."

Brian and Nelson slowly sat down. Brian was excited while Nelson sat down with his signature smile plastered to his face. Vincent sighed and joined them as well.

"So what do you want to play?" Vincent asked. Rachel looked at Nelson and Brian urging them to answer with her eyes.

"I've never played cards in my life. I don't know what to play either, don't look at me like that. Maybe Brian knows." Nelson answered in a resigned manner after looking at Rachel's exaggerated facial expressions and passed the hot potato to Brian.

Brian fidgeted after having Rachel's intense glare directed at him. He answered meekly with a red face, "I... I don't know how to play cards too. Vincent should know since he owns a deck. You decide Vincent. We will follow your lead."

Vincent took the cards from Rachel. He removed a queen card and shuffled the rest while explaining. "Let's play Old Maid then. It's a simple game. I removed a queen just now, so every other card can be matched with another of its kind except a single queen card. I will distribute the cards among everyone. You will take the cards that can be paired with another of its kind and throw it to the middle. Then we will each take turns drawing cards from the person to our left. All the cards will be paired and eventually thrown to the middle. The guy with no cards left in his hands will be safe. The last guy with the queen remaining in his hand is the loser. Most of the time, people make the loser pay for their drinks. Since we can't do anything like that, let's just decide a punishment for the loser."

Rachel raised her hands excitedly and shouted, "Let's make the loser act like a chicken."

Nelson and Brian nodded resignedly. Watching this made Vincent realize that Rachel pushed the two guys around a lot. Making them do things according to her wishes seemed like the norm. Vincent didn't really think he would lose to three newbies and agreed as well.

The newbies made some silly mistakes during their first couple tries. They had to start the game all over again much to Vincent's vexation. Everyone got familiar with the game quickly and everything proceeded smoothly. Nelson had a really good luck and he was the first one to get rid of all the cards. Vincent had a good poker face and managed to clear the game after Nelson.

Brian and Rachel had serious looks on their faces as they pondered on which cards they should pull from the other. Their gazes were so intense, in fact that if a stranger were to see them he might wonder if they were trying to see through the cards itself. They went back and forth trading cards. It was comical seeing them shuffling their cards after every exchange and trying to read each other's faces. They would laugh out loud if the opponent took the queen away from them and make bitter faces if they pulled it from the opponent.

In the end, Rachel got lucky and got rid of all her cards. Brian had to act like a chicken, everyone burst out laughing as they couldn't hold it in after looking at his hilarious appearance. Vincent too laughed the first time after his mother's death.

He cried letting out his built up emotions earlier in the day and was now laughing like this. It felt rejuvenating and refreshing.