Chapter 25 - 25: He’s our Erik, after all
"It was at that moment that he earned the nickname 'Green Eyes', and rumors of his intelligence reached an old apothecary who hired him as an assistant in exchange for some food and a place to sleep. During that time, young Erik learned to make various medicines by watching the old woman and began selling them at the bazaar for some money.
However, some ruffians, under the old woman's orders, beat him up and took all his savings, which he had intended to use to pay a teacher to learn to read and write," Eleonora narrated with a complicated expression that conveyed a mix of sadness, melancholy, anger, and murderous intent.
"I'm going to have a lot of fun with those guinea pigs," Sigrún commented with a sadistic smile on her face, understanding Eleonora's previous orders.
"Yes, I'll leave the old woman to you, but I'll handle that lowlife scum personally."
"Leave me at least a couple, or I won't be able to release this anger."
"Then leave me a bit of the old woman."
"Deal."
Eleonora and Sigrún shook hands, smiling wickedly, almost like demons casually deciding the fate of miserable humans. Then they quickly reverted to their elegant and refined demeanor, and Eleonora continued speaking.
"Well, continuing on, after being beaten... Erik managed to survive thanks to the medical knowledge he had learned from the apothecary. But because he was threatened by the ruffians to never 'try to steal the business' again, Erik didn't return to the old apothecary. Instead, he moved to the other side of town and started working as an assistant to the old blacksmith.
Unlike the apothecary bitch, the old blacksmith paid him a decent salary and provided him with a place to sleep, allowing Erik to have a better life. But just a year later, the old man was summoned by a local noble to work.
Due to the high cost of traveling to the noble's territory, the old blacksmith decided to go alone, so Erik had to find another job. That's when he started working at the docks as a cleaner, as the pay was significantly better.