Over a year and a half had passed, and Noth had turned 11. With the help of his angel he’d successfully come to an agreement with his cowardly monster of a father. Although he’d chosen to continue to live inside of his mother’s villa, Noth had made sure that his father would treat him once again as the heir to his family’s lineage. This of course came with the understanding that Earl Ruth Kieran would offer his full support to the boy. He’d need money, proper education, information, protection, and his father’s noble backing if he ever hoped to climb up to a high enough position to force his many enemies to take him seriously. On top of all of this he made two promises to the Earl, in exchange for all the help that Noth would need.

First: Noth had promised that he would grow the prestige of the family name, and never bring shame to it.

Second: Noth had promised that he would forgive his father of his sins, and set the man free of the burdens that had been destroying him, if in return he’d step down from his political and noble positions once Noth turned 16 and became an adult.

It took a good bit of talking before the Earl had been fully convinced that his son could even come close to possibly keeping these promises, but his own weariness combined with the support of the awe inspiring holy angel lowered his apprehension by a good deal. Besides, it wasn’t like Noth’s father didn’t hope for a better future for his son. Plus, if this was what he had to do to atone for what he’d done, then it was far too easy to pass up.

A select number of teachers were summoned and paid off to not discuss anything that had to do with Noth outside of the manor. Of course, it would only be a matter of time before the church would eventually learn that not only had the child not been killed, but that he was also being raised how he should be, instead of being locked up like before. It was a fact that they’d just have to accept and figure out how to work around for now. It would cause nothing but trouble if everything was noticed before Noth had grown up a bit more and was prepared to face his oppressors, however, so for now the name of the game was trying their best to not get caught too quickly.

Noth’s life was currently progressing along as planned almost too well, and the boy couldn’t help feeling a bit antsy because of it. Nothing had really gone smoothly since he turned 7, so why should things have suddenly decided to be any different now? There was just no way that the hardest trial he’d faced in the past year and a half could be tests and the distasteful looks from a chunk of the servants. And then, as if to manifest his niggling feelings at the back of his head and prove that he’d been right all along, something happened. A thorn showed up to pierce his side, to get stuck in his paw, to get in his eye.

A new monster had come to harass him, this time a snake-like one.

***

It would seem that monsters must all know each other, because the man, Jeck Felitt, was a childhood friend of Noth’s father. The two of them had met at a noble get-together when they were young, and the snake had managed to wind himself around the boy whose parents were of a higher status than his right away. The count’s son Jeck had realized quickly that he had everything to gain from making ‘friends’ that could be of use to him, and although the [Gift] he had been given was good, it wasn’t quite enough for the church to grant him with a noble title. If he wanted to keep leading the life of luxury he’d been accustomed to, he would need to make the correct allies wherever he could find them, and Ruth… Ruth was perfect. He could see all the insecurities and fears of failing that had been growing in the boy even from a young age, and he knew exactly how to use such things.

And so, the snake used his inherent nature to do what snakes do best: He whispered sly words in the child’s ear.

As time passed and the whispers grew louder and more abundant, Ruth Kieran grew more and more cowardly. Jeck knew exactly what buttons to press to prod the man, just what fears to prey upon to make him do or think whatever he needed. And with a man of such status in his pocket to use as he liked, what could he want from life but even more puppets to dance along to his tune? Using all of his natural snake-ish talents, he’d managed to crawl his way through to the elite, and although he still did not have a noble rank, no one dared to think of him as anything less. Sometimes even the church would come knocking at his door, seeking for the use of his forked tongue to apply pressure on some target or another. This time they’d offered a very good deal in exchange for having him press on the Earl from the Kieran family once again, or if that failed, to find a way to deal with the young child that had become an eyesore to them himself.

With this particular request, Jeck had found himself working on what he’d first thought would be an extremely easy job for much too long. It had been years now, and Ruth still hadn’t succumbed to the flood of pressure both Jeck and the other ‘friends’ he had in his corner had dished towards the Earl. He was sure that the little fool would fall for his words and kill the child as easily as the man had killed off his wife, and yet here the boy was, alive and kicking. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard, he was a master at these kinds of matters, and the fact that his plans had never faltered like this before made the snake very frustrated. Suddenly, however, like a gift from above, he was offered an unexpected path through the frustration that had plagued him.

Jeck overheard from his good ‘friend’ Ruth Kieran that he was looking for a teacher of the arts for his son, on one of his visits. What a breakthrough! Though he may not have been blessed enough to receive a noble title, he’d still been given a great boon by the powers above. His God-dess given [Gift] was to become a [Superior Painter], something that he’d put to good use in conjunction with his connections to make yet even more connections amongst the vain aristocracy. Who could possibly say that he wasn’t fit to do this job? Combined with the fact that he and the Earl had known each other for so long, there was no way he could possibly fail to get the role.

This wasn’t a full change in plan, as Jeck becoming a teacher meant that he had an excuse to be at the manor often, if not stay over, which would provide ample opportunities to further encourage the removal of Noth, as was his mission. But there was also the secondary option that the church had provided him with as well. He now had a much greater chance of getting into close enough range to take care of the boy himself, just as he’d been told to. A handful of schemes started to work themselves through Jeck’s mind as to how he’d handle Noth. The ones that replayed through his mind the most usually contained parts where the snake could belittle and discredit the boy, possibly even humiliate him in the eyes of everyone, which would furthermore humiliate Ruth Kieran as well. He enjoyed making people who were viewed as ‘greater’ feel ‘lesser’ far too much to not pick a plan that involved such things. Such methods may not have been enough to complete his task in the eyes of the church, but they were just as integral of a step to the man all the same. He’d miss out on this kind of fun if he just let some random assassin take care of it, so why not enjoy the fruits of his own labour?

His first meeting with the boy was rather plain and unwelcoming. Although he’d been given the teaching job already, Jeck had actually met the child for the first time as he’d been on his way to report to the Earl that he’d successfully moved in. The two bumped into each other by pure coincidence, but the snake knew how important first meetings were, and he wasn’t one to be caught off guard. He bowed with respect as was expected when one met with a noble, even if the boy hadn’t managed to become one, so that he could give Noth a sign that he meant goodwill.

“I’m so sorry, young master, I didn’t mean to get in your way. Do you recognize me? We only met once, while you were still just a baby, so probably not. I’m Jeck Felitt, your new teacher.”

Of course, the story about having met him before was a lie. Noth’s mother had been far too wary of the snake to actually ever let the man meet her child. This didn’t matter though, as Jeck needed to quickly set a precedent with the boy of age and superiority. Since age had been addressed, Jeck opened up his mouth to continue on to the superiority segment, but the look on the child’s face quickly made him shut it. There was a clear look of contempt radiating from the boy’s countenance. When the man’s visage changed to a more bewildered look, and he opened his mouth once more, he was suddenly interrupted before he could even finish his first word.

“It’s great meeting you painter, but I’m in a hurry here, and I’m neither kind enough nor sociable enough to keep humouring you with a conversation.”

The boy drawled the words out in a terribly bored and arrogant manner, not even bothering to say a single word of farewell before he left. It had been so long since anyone had dared to talk to Jeck in such a rude way, that he honestly didn’t know how to react to it for a few moments. His feelings were made all the more difficult to sift through because he’d also been surprised that Noth already knew what his [Gift] was without being told. He stood in place for a small while as his mind made up that yes, he should be furious about this incident, and continued his march to the Earl’s office. There was no way the snake wouldn’t give that brat’s father an earful about this. His opportunistic mind was even spitting out ways he could use this confrontation to his benefit.

After giving Ruth Kieran an earful on how the child was a disrespectful menace that the failure of a father should have raised better, as well as finding a way to slip in another suggestion that it would be ‘easy to get rid of this particular problem and start anew’, Jeck felt both a good bit better, and like he’d accomplished something today. Strangely enough he never did hear how the boy had known about his [Gift], since it didn’t seem that the Earl had even talked about him to his son yet. That, however, would have to be a mystery for another day, because the man was getting hungry. Although he kept his slender snake-like physique, he was actually quite a glutton; The type of man who could eat and eat and eat all he liked without a single ramification. He was going to need a small feast for him to fully wash away any lingering feelings the awful interaction had left inside him.

~~~

Oddly, no matter how long he looked around, Jeck somehow couldn’t find a single servant that wasn't already busy with something. Even finding the servants at all had seemed like quite the hard debacle in the first place. It almost felt like everyone had been avoiding him or something, and he’d just caught a few unlucky passersby. After enough searching and rejection, he decided to just give up and go to the kitchens himself; He was too hungry and frustrated to have to wait any longer. Luckily for him, he managed to find an unsuspecting woman in there to dump his demands for sustenance upon, and as she bowed and got directly to work on it, a smile spread across Jeck’s face. Yes, this cook would do nicely for his plans. She seemed just tight lipped and detached enough for him to get away with what he needed. He’d make sure to make good use of her services again in the future.

“Miss, could you please let me know your name? I want to put in a good word for you with the Earl.”

The woman didn’t bother to look his way again once she’d begun working on the food, almost making Jeck think that she’d completely tuned him out as she focused, but right before he decided to ask a second time, she muttered her reply in a dry and uncaring voice.

“M’name’s Elillith, lord.”

The snake’s smile grew more firm as he reconfirmed how reticent the woman was. She truly didn’t seem like she cared what he was talking about in the slightest. He was excited to make that lack of attention become the cook’s downfall. Sadly, however, he would have to be patient for a while longer, because if he was too hasty with his actions he’d lose the chance to take his emotional lumps of flesh from that hated boy, Noth Kieran. First, he’d firmly put the little worm in his place. Jeck could be as patient as he’d need to be, if it meant he’d get to witness that kid breaking.