[Day 5]

Today my stepfather left the house for the usual meetings, however he did not come back until late at night.

He claimed that he was caught up in a large debate... something about a feud among nobles regarding the production of food and the allocation of labor. Apparently there are two feuding factions in the court, and he was caught up by representatives of each one trying to be swayed over to their respective side.

He claimed that he wishes to stay neutral in such a feud, and that as the Indeterminant he has no say in political matters.

I don't believe him a bit. What man would take the place of a politician like my father and then claim that he has no say as a result of his position? It would be the opposite! Rather, whichever side he chose would gain the advantage, and perhaps even a complete victory solely due to his title of the Indeterminant supporting them.

However, this was not what troubles me the most.

He smelled of perfume when he arrived home, but mother didn't question it at all.

I tried to bring it up, and when I did...

"Mother! This man smells of perfume! It is likely that he has been in lower places of society, frolicking about with the women! What say you?!"

He then proceeded to smell himself, and in an instant, I couldn't believe it.

Was my nose playing tricks on me?

The smell was gone.

Gone.

As if it had never existed.

Am I becoming delusional and seeing things? Is my hatred for my stepfather this great?

No. That man is evil. Surely he used some sort of strange trick in order to deceive my senses. Perhaps the perfume on him makes the nose go dull after a while.

Regardless of what mother thinks. Regardless of what the king and the nobles think. Regardless of what the common folk think. Regardless of what everyone thinks, even if the entire world believes that he is a representative of humanity... a beacon of justice... I know better than all of them.

He is evil.

He is a disgrace to my family name, a murderer and a liar. A drunkard and a playboy. A peasant and a lowlife.

I will catch him red handed one of these days, and he will not be able to escape punishment. For now however, I should first try to understand these tricks he keeps playing. If I can uncover the logic behind him, then his case will fall apart and there will be nobody left to trust him.

[Day 6]

That bastard claimed that he wouldn't be returning home for a few days because he was going off on a business trip.

Something about searching for a hero or something.

What a facade. I cannot believe such a man is the hope of our country. I already know that he is likely just going out to play with more women... and the fact that my mother doesn't see anything but good will and high status in him is absurd.

I can only hope that if he ever finds this hero that they will be able to see the light and recognize what a monster this man is.

If they aren't able to do at least that, then they are no hero in my book.

However...

I am now free of this man's tyranny for a time.

It is now time for me to improve my relationship with my mother and try to get her to come around to my way of thinking.

How will I ever become a fine noble lord of this great house if I allow it to fall into ruins? My first step will be to maintain our image and eventually rid us of association with that man.

He is no father of mine.

He is nothing more than a parasite who feeds off of our success, and goes around acting like some sort of savior of the people. He hasn't even been able to summon a single hero yet, and for one reason or another the people all seem to be infatuated with him! It's beyond ludicrous.

Nobody else has seen his dark side, but I have.

Maybe I am the only one. Does that mean it is my duty to stop him?

Father, I wish you were here. What would you do in this situation?

[Day 7]

I have been studying all day. There is only a little more than a week until I have to take an exam on a plethora of subjects. When I was studying this morning, without my stepfather bothering me or my mother nagging at me to get along with him, I realized that I have much more important things to worry about than these petty squabbles. Before my father died and that man took over, I had spent every single day preparing myself for this, and as a result of his infiltration my concentration has been disturbed each day and my progress has been negligible.

If I do badly on these exams- especially relative to the other noble sons, it will show that our family has weakened significantly.

It is commonly known that that man has taken over the household, however I cannot allow this change in lifestyle to ruin our reputation and prestige.

I am aiming for the top.

If I manage to take the number one spot on the examination, then I will surely be able to prove that I am worthy of the title of noble, and the heir to the Harxeau family line. However, this is highly unlikely, as there will be many perfect scores in all likelyhood. Therefore, I need to at the very least obtain a perfect score to rank among the elite.

I am doing this for your sake mother. I hope that I will be able to open your eyes.

[Day 13]

I have spent every hour of every day studying all sorts of subjects.

History, mathematics, literature, politics, economics, music, humanities, the arts.

No matter how much I study, I cannot shake the fact that I do not feel prepared enough.

There is simply too much content. There is too much knowledge for me to remember it all.

Why does it seem like the archive of human knowledge is an endless abyss?

No matter how much I learn, I have not even made a dent in the overall scheme of things.

I need to learn everything.

I need to understand everything.

If I am able to do this, then surely I will be able to understand the odd occurrences surrounding my stepfather. Perhaps I can uncover whatever cheap tricks he has used to deceive my mother, and drive him out of this household.

However, will it be enough?

After an entire week of studying nonstop, I do not feel even a bit closer to understanding that man. Who is he? What does he really want? Is he really no more than a simple commoner who happens to be able to awaken the heroes, and are his objectives as simple as flirting with as many women as he can find, or does he have a deeper motive?

Perhaps I should study more literature. If I can gain a better understanding of psychology and human personality and desire, then I may be able to see things from his view, and put a thorn in his side.

[Day 15]

That man returned home tonight.

I don't know where he has been or what he has been doing, however...

He brought home with him a peasant.

A filthy kid, covered in soot and wearing rags.

The nerve....

What's worse is what he told me and my mother when he brought this stray dog home.

"This is the hero of the Ruthobold kingdom. From this moment on, he will be adopted into our family, and educated as a noble. Eric, say hello to your new brother. He will surely achieve more than you ever will, and he is already 15- the age of adulthood- so I am assigning him to take the place as my heir in this noble family. When his duty as a hero is completed, he will inherit this home, the lands under the control of this noble house, and the responsibility of leading these people. I will take care to ensure that he becomes an heir fit for this prestigious line."

I never knew that it was possible to be so angry, however I managed to keep my composure, bite my lip and greet this scum with a handshake.

"Ah. I see. Welcome."

The boy seemed happy to meet me and gladly shook my hand with an innocent smile.

Disgusting. Get your filthy hands off me, you slime.

"I've never had a brother before! I look forward to living here with you!"

"I see."

Oscar flashed me an arrogant grin.

He was mocking me.

"The hero of the country, you said!?! My! How wonderful! Come here, my new son!"

My mother ran up to the swine and gave him a hug.

"I can't believe it! How lovely! Ever since you came here, darling, only good things have happened for our family! With the hero as our foster son, no other nobles will dare to look down on us!"

She smiled as she hugged the boy who didn't seem to know what to do. A tear came down from her face, and my stepfather put his hand on my mother's shoulder.

"Don't you worry about a thing, sweetie. I will take care of all your problems."