Even after the chaotic morning, we went on to do our work as usual, and Master Eugene ate breakfast in his room. He turned to me when I entered.

"Good morning, Miss Shuyan."

Our greeting was almost a routine at that point. However, it wasn't a good morning at all. The skies were grey, and guessing from the humidity it might rain later. Heavily, too.

"Good morning, Master Eugene," I replied anyway.

"This morning was terrible, wasn't it?"

"I didn't get woken up until later, so I was fine," I said, "but it's a pity what happened to the windows, and also the fright they gave the children. Mister Silas and Master Tobias even had to go outside to talk to them."

"Ah, yes." He looked mournful. "I didn't get wakened up because I'm a deep sleeper, but everyone else was rushing about. The twins did well to keep everything under control. They've really grown." He smiled proudly, as though he had raised them up himself.

After I finished changing his sheets and he was back in bed, I mustered some courage to ask him the question.

"Master Eugene—can I ask you something completely unrelated?" He frowned, but nodded. "How did you really injure your legs?"

He looked surprised, but not as much as I thought. It even looked a bit like—like he was expecting it.

"I see," he simply said, voice calm and a small, helpless smile on his lips. "So you found out. You're a sharp one." I didn't know how to react to the compliment.

"Thank you?"

"Then Miss Shuyan, can I also ask you something in return?"

"Yes?"

"Did Tobias ask you to protect me, or something of that sort?"

I must've showed it on my face, because he did the little chuckle he always does again.

"I see. That Tobias—he's the same as always."

"What exactly is your relationship with Master Tobias?" I blurted out.

"Our relationship? Brothers, I suppose?"

"No, that's not it," I explained. Was he really that dense? "Master Tobias has a strange respect for you—he once said that if there was a fire he would rescue anything you wanted. He was also really worried for you last time that time you fell."

"Ah, you mean that."

"Yes." I clenched at my skirts. "And—and when I went to Mister Kupka to ask about how your legs got injured, he told me I could ask you—or Master Tobias."

Eugene looked at his lap.

"Hmm. Maybe you should have a talk with him, then."

Then another thought struck me.

"Do you know about our conversations?"

"Do you mean you and Tobias?" Blushing, I nodded. "No, I only guessed, because he tried the same thing with Rudy."

"What?"

He winked. "I turned him down, though. I have Matheus, and Tobias never relies on Rudy for anything. I think it makes him a bit sad. If you can, try to rely on him."

"Yes, I will try to." I was about to turn and leave when I remembered something again and whipped back to face him. "Um, the thing is, Master Tobias tells Mister Kupka about our conversations. Do you—" I bit my lips, suddenly too scared to ask.

"Do I...?" He cocked his head to one side innocently, like a puppy. I found it hard to refuse to finish my sentence, yet I definitely couldn't play it off now.

"Do you also tell Mister Kupka or Matheus about our conversations?"

I could feel my face flaming.

Then suddenly, he bursted out laughing, doubling over on his bed.

"Master Eugene? Why are you laughing?"

"That's what was troubling you?" He tried to sit up, but only managed to lean on one arm, tilting his head to one side and looking at me with an amused look. "You should've just asked. I don't. I promise I don't. Especially not your praises."

My face flared up again.

"I found it surprising when you talked to me out of your own free will, and I liked it. If you can, please continue to do so in the future. It makes me very happy."

"I see. I shall get going."

"Uh-huh. Have a nice day, Miss Shuyan."

I nodded.

"You too, Master Eugene."

I raced out of his room and then closed the door quietly behind me. But I couldn't leave yet. I slapped my face, trying to cool myself down. What was I, a child sharing secrets with her best friend or something? I've never been like that, even as a child. Was I getting dumber as I aged or something? I sighed.

Time to head down to my chores.

I had noticed, though, that as I was going down the stairs, I was once again humming, something I haven't done for the longest time.

***

That night, after dinner, Rudy suddenly waited for me.

"Good evening, Rudy," I said. "Is something the matter?"

"I have something to tell you," he said, looking at the girls, who were waiting for me to go upstairs. "I'll walk her upstairs when I'm done talking to her."

"Oh, sure," Clo said, raising an eyebrow like she always did when she was suspicious. Beth had been out of it the whole day, and hardly gave me a glance.

I turned to Rudy.

"What is it?"

"It's a bit inconvenient to talk about it here, would you mind grabbing a coat and going outside with me for a while?"

"That's fine by me. Wait here." I grabbed a coat I hung up at the servants's quarters—I kept my better one upstairs, and then went out the back door, where Rudy was waiting. 

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered me one. I shook my head, and he laughed.

"Oops, I forgot, you don't smoke, do you. You're a young girl, not an old man like me."

"Haha, young girls smoke too," I said. "My friend Clo does."

"Oh, yes. She's an interesting one, that girl." I laughed in agreement.

"I suppose. What did you call me out here for?"

"Master Tobias wants to talk to you today—and tomorrow Master Eugene wants you to go the room he keep his pets."

I was overwhelmed by the two new pieces of information, but mostly by the latter one.

"The room he keeps his pets?"

"It'll be under the pretense of taking care of his animals with him, but you will be discussing something related to 'work'."

"I see. So he has pets?"

"Yes," Rudy answered, "some rabbits and lizards. Fish too, if I remember correctly. Once he had a bird, but he doesn't anymore."

"Hmm." I rarely saw animals: we didn't have pets in the orphanage.

"Also, Master Tobias mentioned something about a chess game—are you perhaps good in chess?" Rudy asked with a smile. Tobias must've been referring to the game we played.

"No, I'm not," I immediately refuted. "I lost a game to him before, but he wants to play again. He keeps telling me I can still win, no matter how hopeless it looks."

"He's not wrong." Rudy inhaled his cigarette deeply and then breathed out a long stream of smoke. "Good luck on your game tonight."

"Thank you."

When night fell, I snuck out of our room to Tobias's room again.

He greeted me quietly at his door and then allowed me in. His face was as sullen as always, but I suspected he was tired, too, from the day's event, as he seemed a little less into the game.

"You came here to ask about Eugene's injury, didn't you?"

"Mister Kupka told me to ask you," I said. "Even though I don't know why."

"Why don't you take a guess?" As always, his voice was monotonous and lacked any clues.

"Did you hurt his legs by accident?" The sentence was almost a whisper, like a taboo phrase.

"And what if I said it wasn't by accident?"

I drew back, eyes snapping from the board and to his face. He stared at me with disinterest.

"Hypothetically," he added.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Although I wouldn't like it, but if you are atoning for it and trying to help Master Eugene now, I would understand your actions a little more."

"If you understand, that's good," he said, to my confusion. "The answer is I did not hurt him. In a way, I suppose you can say I did hurt him inadvertently. Do you remember how I told you that when Eugene came to live with us, me and the twins immediately followed him and abandoned Silas?"

"Yes, I remember that," I replied. Of course I did, it was so shocking I could never forget.

"Silas feared that Father would favor Eugene, the poor orphan, too, so he hatched a plan and got me to help. I was a weak and cowardly child back then. I had no twin, and as Eugene grew more popular, I felt us grow more distant. I also believed Silas loved me as a brother. How foolish of me." His eyes narrowed. I wanted to say something—comfort him, but it wasn't my place.

"So when he spoke to me, I went along with it." His fingers tightened around his rook. "I'll never regret anything more."

He ate one of the remaining pawns I had. It was getting close to my queen.

"It was a big stallion, his name was Mars. Silas told Eugene could ride it, but Father never allowed any of us to ride him because he was untamed. When Eugene asked me for affirmation I told him he could, and Eugene always believed me." Tobias's eyes were focused on the board. "So he rode him."

I felt my stomach churn.

"It seemed fine at first, but that evening, in the woods, Mars tossed him off his back and trampled over him. Mars was put down later. Eugene couldn't walk anymore. In just one day, and just one lie, we had ruined two lives—and the lives of many more to come."

Many more to come?

He ate my queen as I pondered over his words.

"I imagine you know the rest. Checkmate."

I looked at the board. His rook, knight, and bishop had blocked off all the possible routes my king could take. His king and queen didn't even budge.

I smiled.

"It was a good game, Master Tobias, and thank you for telling me the story."

"Do not thank me. Show your thanks by giving your loyalty to Eugene." His face, untouched and sullen as always, told me it was probably what he truly wanted. It was pitiful, in a sense.

"Yes. I shall head back now."

This time, Master Tobias didn't stand up to open the door for me. Sensing that he was in a mood too unbearable for words, I opened it myself, leaving him in his silent and sad room.