Chapter 1 (The New Boy)

 Little Richard was running with his eyes closed. He tried his best not to look back. Running made him so tired that sweat fell like rain. But he could never stop running. Even though he had to gasp for air, he could not stop running as Richard knew it would be worse if he stopped.

 “Ahh,”

 No matter how hard he tried, a spike stopped his running. The pricky one pierced poor Richard’s foot, causing him to fall to the ground. Little Richard held his bleeding foot when the following one jumped toward him. The capturer has round eyes, sharp claws, and a goat-like face. The monstrous capturer pressed poor Richard with his body and scratched his arms with his sharp claws, giving him a painful injury. He licked Richard’s face like a mad dog with his long tongue.

  Helplessly, Richard cried out for help, but nobody could hear. He was struggling to escape. The goat-like one widened his mouth, trying to bite Richard’s throat. 

 But Richard realized something suddenly. His legs were movable while running or struggling. 

 “No, !!” “This is not real!!!” “This is a dream!!!” “It can’t hurt me!!” 

 Little Richard woke up from his bed in a cold sweat. His hand was aching, and he saw a damaged cut when he lifted his shirt’s arms. At the foot of his bed, a set of green eyes awaited. Richard pretended not to see them and covered his whole body in a blanket. He couldn't sleep afterward. 

The following day,

 “Master Richard, it’s time for breakfast,” The butler said while coming inside the room. A wheelchair was in his hand. Richard's eyes were narrow as he couldn’t sleep well last night. The butler carefully seated Richard in the wheelchair and took him to the bathroom. 

Little Richard’s legs were immovable after a sickness in his five years. He was a weak boy with a constant struggle with pneumonia and allergies. 

 The butler washed Richard’s face and changed his night clothes in the bathroom. When the butler saw the scratch, Richard lied it was the damage he got while playing. So, the butler treated it with medicine and took Richard to the dining hall afterward.

 At the table, Richard wore a pair of handkerchiefs around his neck, and servants started serving the breakfast dishes on clean plates. Richard hated dirtiness and was germaphobic. He preferred clean and shiny wear. His father, Mr. Andrew Gratville, sitting on the highest seat reading a newspaper, disliked his son’s condition. Upon seeing Richard’s wounded arm, he asked him what had happened. Richard answered the same answer as the butler, but his father wasn’t delighted. He blamed Richard for being reckless and said, “If you were not in the wheelchair, you would have played to your doom,” “You are a child of no good,” he added.

 Mr. Andrew Gratville was an upper class man in charge of the British East India Company (EIC) with the title “Count,” All of EIC’s mines in Bengal state were under his control. Mr. Gatville could not impress his weak son and always talked harshly to him. He considered that Richard would never become a successor of his inheritance in the future. 

 It had been a year for Max since he started having nightmares. Lastly, they had become more common and realistic—his injuries in the dreams were reflected in real life. And Max was scared of his death while dreaming. Even though the situation was critical for him, he told no one about it. He knew they wouldn’t believe him and thought he was mad. 

 While eating, the butler walked inside the hall with a boy on his side. Richard’s father stopped reading the newspaper and said,

 “So, the boy arrived. Is he serving today?”

 “Yes, Lord. I just brought him from the orphanage,”

 Mr. Gratville observed the new boy while reading a newspaper. And so was Richard. The boy had an Asian-like appearance and seemed to be bright.

 The age might be around 12. Richard was delighted to have a companion two years older than him. Maybe this Asian kid would befriend him. 

 “So, what’s your name?” Mr. Graville asked.

 “My name is Bak Joan, Lord, ” the boy replied quickly. His accent was clear. 

 “Alright, I will call you Buggy,” 

 Richard was ashamed of his father’s behavior. This kind of short-name-giving was only for slaves. But the Asian boy did not seem to mind it. He simply nodded. 

 After breakfast, Mr. Gratville went to his company office on a carriage. That morning, a private teacher named Mrs. Irene came to homeschool little Richard as usual. She taught him English, Maths, and Latin. 

 Irene was an old-school teacher who only knew things from textbooks and was unsuitable for curious Richard. Richard would like to ask the many questions on general knowledge (not relating to lessons) she could not answer. Irene had to avoid these questions by distracting the talk or scolding Richard for his curiosity, calling him rude. Because of this, Richard felt bored during her lessons and constantly looked here and there. But today, he noticed a surprising moment. 

 The new servant boy, Bak Joan, was standing quietly and listening to Mrs. Irene’s Latin lessons with great interest. Richard was surprised to know that someone still cared about Irene’s lecture.

 After the class, Richard had nothing more to do with no friends to talk to or chances to play. All he did was jump onto his bed and try to sleep. 

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