Riven's brief resurrection piqued the wisps' interest toward the boy. They were not leaving this mortal's side until they get to the end of their questions. Who was this boy? What about him triggered Riven's immortal body to come to life? Was he sent by the immortal emperor to test them?
They had several questions, all left to be answered.
After a day of observing the boy. They realized he was no more than an ordinary mortal--just someone who had to live in sadness. After waking up from his torture the day before, the boy awoke alone on an attic room that seemed lesser than that of a servants. He got up from his bed and began eating the soup on the small table by the window. It had gone stale but the boy didn't mind.
"He's a lunatic." Lucius chimed from above. "Who eats spoiled soup right after surviving a coma?"
They had been watching the boy silently from the corner of that small room, and the boy seem to have not taken notice. Perhaps he still had the blues from his coma, or he simply didn't care about his surroundings at all.
They began observing the boy's entire day. In the morning, Aiden went into the stables to feed the horses. A stout, mean-looking sleaze began yelling at him the moment he stepped inside the stables. The sleaze began throwing buckets, rating about why Aiden arrived late. He was not about to have his lunch unless he feeds all the horses and cleans their stables. The boy didn't reply. He simply stared as the sleaze threw buckets with a straight face. Obviously, he was only acting mad so he gets none of the job.
Fortunately, the boy seemed already accustomed to this work. Even with his limp body and, adding that he had just woken from a coma, the boy was nimble. He worked his way to the stables, and finished feeding all the horses in a short time. Even more impressive was the fact that the horses were very well-behaved when he was cleaning their stables.
"That's impressive," Caelum said.
The three of them were hovering by the poles of the stables, moping down at Aiden. "He's petting those horses with a straight face." he said. "But he's doing a great job. They follow him."
"Are you sure they're not just scared of him?" Lucius asked. "Look at that face. Why is he so... stoic?"
"He reminds you someone, doesn't he?" Riven said with a smirk.
Shivers immediately went up their wispy forms. Caelum began looking around as if a ghost had passed through him. "Come on now. Don't say that. There's no way..."
When Aiden finished his chore at the stables, the sleazy man simply threw his meal, a loaf of bread, at his face. Thankfully, his hands were fast enough to catch it else it had fallen right at a bucket full of dung.
After working at the stables, Aiden made his way into the bath house. The wisps' thought he was simply there to wash up, but they were wrong. Before he could bathe himself, he had to fetch several buckets of water, go up several flights of stares, and fill up a bathtub inside a huge room. They had no idea who that room belonged to. Aiden finished his duty before the owner even arrived.
Dinner was an easier work. Aiden simply had to enter the kitchen and eat the scraps of food left over by the servants. Most of them snickered while watching him scoop through an almost empty pot of porridge. Some even made some remarks about how he should eat the rotten meat that had been thrown away. Thankfully, he understood none of their remarks. The boy maintained a straight face amid the rowdy crowd. Though, the wisps guaranteed he'd react just the same even if he understood their profanities.
The boy was a stone wall against his haters.
When he finally returned to his quarters, Aiden quietly began putting away his things before climbing into bed. He reached for the lamp, ready to blow it out—
But Lucius spoke.
"Who's that old butler to you?"
Aiden froze, his lips inches from the flame. Then, slowly, he turned his gaze toward Lucius. His face was unreadable, his eyes dull. He hadn't been surprised. He had always known the wisps were there.
He just didn't care. The last time he cared, he passed out from exhaustion.
"The old man in black?" Aiden said. "I don't know much about him. He takes me out for chores every fifteenth of the fourth month. Buys me sweet bread. That's all I remember."
Lucius was silent for a moment. "I see..." he finally murmured.
"He's dying, isn't he?" Aiden said, flatly. "It's a miracle if he makes it past tonight."
The wisps searched for words. But there were deeper questions about this boy's identity. To question how he knew of the butler's mortality was insignificant.
Aiden blew out the lamp before the wisps could decide to disturb him further.
Darkness.
He slipped beneath the covers without another thought. The room fell still—heavy with silence.
Then, distant wailing seeped through the stone walls. At first, it was faint. But footsteps began to echo in the halls, rising in urgency. The house stirred like a body roused from sleep.
The head butler had died, or so the cries screamed.
Grief flowed through the mansion like a cold wind—hushed voices, sobs, doors creaking open and shut.
But in Aiden's room, nothing stirred.
The boy's eyes remained closed. He didn't flinch. Not at the cries. Not at someone's death. Even if bombs started dropping off the skies, he would completely remain unmoved as if nothing mattered.
For the first time since their descent, the wisps felt something unfamiliar. Not reverence. Not curiosity.
Unease.
Who exactly was this boy?
As he lay still, breathing slow and even, Aiden remained unfazed despite the commotion. He had been in this situation before. People come, people go.
What was there to mourn?
He could feel the wisps watching him, even with his eyes shut. But neither their stares nor the sorrow outside disturbed his sleep.
Tomorrow was another day of work. And so, he slept.