Tom.
He was a servant like Evan, though a few years older, having arrived at the manor a couple of years ago.
Unlike Evan, he wasn't a slave, but in today's world the difference wasn't that big. If you weren't an awakened, or someone with status or money, the most you could hope for were humble jobs like this.
Tom was one of those people.
He had never awakened, and one thing leading to another, he'd ended up scrubbing the floors of Langhton Family Manor.
Evan didn't know much about his story, nor did he really care. He had always tried to mind his own business.
Unfortunately, Tom didn't share the same mentality.
Being older and rather sturdy, he had quickly started taking certain liberties with the other servants. He couldn't do anything against those stronger than him or against the masters of the manor, but with the weaker ones the situation was different.
A stolen meal.
A burst of anger taken out on someone.
A few threats.
Over time he had started going even further, especially with the younger maids. Nothing that had ever been openly proven, but enough for everyone to understand it was better to stay away from him.
Normally, behavior like that would have been enough to get him dragged before the masters of the manor.
But the Langhton family was almost always absent, and Percival was the only one who truly dealt with the servants.
And Percival had never had any problems with that sort of thing.
Quite the opposite.
Tom had even managed to get on his good side. If there was one thing he was genuinely talented at, beyond tormenting those weaker than him, it was sucking up to those stronger.
And in that department, he had to admit, the guy was practically a professional.
Thanks to that, he'd become a sort of minor lackey for Percival, and as long as he didn't push things too far, nobody dared say a word.
Which made him a problem for Evan.
Percival loved tormenting his slaves, and Tom seemed to do his best to help with that.
Maybe he did it to please him.
Maybe he was just a sadistic bastard.
Evan didn't know.
What he did know was that every time he ran into him, something bad tended to happen.
And now it looked like one of those moments.
Tom noticed his presence, and for a moment the two looked at each other in silence.
A slow smile spread across the older boy's face.
Then he looked away and raised his voice.
"Hey!"
Loud enough to immediately draw the attention of the other servants nearby.
Tom pointed at the fragments of the vase on the floor.
"Look what you did. Tch, seems like you never learn — I've told you to be careful more than once, but you just don't listen, and now look at this mess," he said, with the expression of a saint who had done everything in his power to set someone on the right path, only for that person not to appreciate it.
Hearing those words, Evan understood it was already too late to walk away from this.
"I just got here. How could I have broken it, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
The older boy scoffed, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous excuse in the world.
"Of course it was you. This corridor is your zone. I saw it with my own eyes, are you saying I made it up?" he said, the challenge in his eyes unmistakable.
It wasn't the first time he'd pulled something like this.
A few servants stopped to watch. Nobody said anything, They all knew what was happening, and because of that they also knew there was no point in saying anything.
Some had tried in the past, and all they'd gotten for it was a spot on Tom's list.
"Tch, poor guy, first the young master, now Tom. If I were him, I'd have given up a long time ago," one of them murmured to the person beside them.
"Really, it's too pitiful for a guy like him. But what can you do? Though honestly, it's partly his own fault, if he'd just played nice with Tom from the start, maybe he'd have saved himself all this grief," said another, as if Evan had brought it on himself.
Even though they were murmuring, their voices still reached Evan's ears, as well as those of the other servants who soon started similar conversations.
"Yeah, it's his fault. For a slave, he sure knows how to get on people's nerves."
"Tch, like mother like son, she was the same way, and who knows what became of her. It was only a matter of time before the son ended up in the same situation."
"Shh, don't say that here. Don't you know that whole business is forbidden to talk about? If word gets around, we're all finished."
Needless to say, the servants' low whispers were all caught by Evan thanks to his awakened senses, far sharper than those of ordinary people.
He had to admit, as hard as he always tried to keep a certain control over himself, especially in situations like this where losing his temper would only make things worse for him, after hearing that last part, keeping his emotions in check was a struggle.
'What a bunch of trash,' he thought. But it seemed those words had bled into reality somehow, because in the next moment the servants' quiet chatter died out, and even Tom's expression of sadistic satisfaction froze for a second.
Everyone in that corridor felt it at once, an invisible pressure descending on them out of nowhere. Their bodies trembled instinctively, as if warning them of sudden danger.
Nobody knew what it was or where it was coming from. None of that mattered. Their minds went blank, and a single thought gripped them all:
'Are we about to die?'
Evan, who just a second earlier had been angered by their words, didn't notice the faint dark-violet glimmer that flashed briefly in his eyes, nor the invisible pressure that had leaked from his body.
It was only when he saw the condition of the others that he realized something was wrong, and soon understood that he had inadvertently released a trace of killing intent.
He immediately pulled it back.
Even though he now possessed some power, more than enough to deal with everyone present, he didn't dare act.
Not yet.
He was only an early-stage F-Rank, far from strong enough to withstand the effects of the slave mark. And more importantly, the manor was not without awakened individuals far stronger than him. If they found out, things would not end well for him. So for now, he had to keep a low profile and endure.
But it seemed he'd been a little too late with that, because the sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, and then a voice followed.
"What's going on here?"
At the sound of that voice, everyone present, Tom included, who had barely had time to catch his breath, turned toward the corridor corner behind Tom. An elderly man appeared, slightly above average height, dressed in a refined suit.
It was Martin, an E-Rank awakened and Percival's personal butler.
It was obvious he had sensed that something was wrong and had hurried over.
'Tch… the trouble never seems to end'
'I really hope he didn't notice me, or things will become troublesome from here on out,' Evan thought, doing his best to suppress the mana within his body.
All it would take was one small trace slipping through for him to be found out.
And with his current strength, he was nowhere near ready to face an opponent like that.