Chapter 29: Awakened Manahar
The afternoon drags on, filled with Cain's dull but necessary lessons. He works with Howard, going over the fundamentals of controlling an Awakened body refining his movements, adjusting to his enhanced reflexes the same shit he did with me. I, on the other hand, get stuck with a different kind of torment. Cain decides to test me on math and other basic subjects, making sure I'm "keeping up with my studies so that I don't look like a bumbling buffoon." Blonde hair prick.
I grumble my way through it, answering most of the questions with ease because despite what this freak may think, I do pay attention to that hag's lessons, if not just for the fear of my knuckles becoming nothing but bone to her ruler, though Cain still takes the time to correct me where I slip up.
By the time the lessons are over its dinner time, I'm half convinced my brain is melting. I wander back to my room, intent on getting some rest, but a few hours later, Cain is at my door again, his usual smirk in place.
"Come on," he says. "It's time for you to meet one of my bosses; he's finally arrived to heal Howard."
"What does that have to do with me" I sneer rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
'He wants to meet you so get dressed"
I follow him through the now dimly lit corridors, my boots making once again no noise on the carpeted floors. The castle has settled into its evening routine, servants moving quietly in the background, a few sconces staying lit, flickering along the walls. When we finally reach a side hall leading to one of the lesser chambers, Cain pushes the door open without hesitation.
Inside stands a man I don't recognize, but the moment my gaze lands on him, I assume this is who Cain was talking about. Awakened Patel Manahar.
He's not what I expected. An older man, probably in his late thirties. He's a little shorter than Cain, only around 5'8, with a slim build that makes him seem almost unassuming. His skin is wheatish in tone, his curly black hair slightly tousled, and his deep brown eyes... They hold something that makes me pause. Pain. Deep, quiet pain, etched into them like old scars as if he carries the weight of multiple tragedies.