"Who is it?"
Kaine asked as he glanced at the door.
"It’s me, Young Master."
Kaine recognised the voice immediately.
It was Renn.
That made him frown.
Renn was no longer assigned to him.
Then why was he here?
"Come in."
Kaine ordered him to come inside.
The door opened and Renn stepped inside. The moment he entered, his eyes moved towards the three women inside the room.
That made him pause for a moment, the women tensed up when they noticed his gaze, then,
"My Ladies."
Renn lowered his head respectfully.
Serathiel blinked at that, Lysara’s eyes moved towards him, even Nerys looked up but none of them said anything.
Renn didn’t mind, he instead turned towards Kaine.
"Young Master."
He greeted again.
"You are no longer assigned to me."
"I know."
Renn nodded.
"Then why are you here?"
Kaine asked directly.
Renn remained silent for a second, then,
"There are a few things I believe you should know, Young Master."
"Things?"
"Yes."
Renn nodded again.
"Things concerning your clothes, your room, where everything is kept and a few other matters. Also..."
Renn then hesitated for a moment.
"There is one more thing."
He spoke as he brought out a small bundle of wrapping cloth.
Kaine stared at the wrapping cloth, then at Renn.
Renn looked slightly uncomfortable now.
"I heard about what happened. If you have not received treatment yet...
I would at least like to cover the wounds."
Kaine looked at the wrapping cloth in Renn’s hand, then at him. Renn misunderstood his gaze and tried to explain himself.
"I could not afford medicine but this much...
This much I could afford."
"You didn’t need to buy that. Now that you have, you should keep that in case you need it. My wounds are not as grave as they look."
Kaine spoke in his usual tone and he wasn’t lying. His back hurt, yes, but it was nothing compared to what he had been through.
Not to mention once he gathered enough Recovery Points, the System would heal the wounds anyway.
There was no reason for Renn to spend his money on something like this.
Renn, however, still did not move, his fingers tightened around the wrapping cloth, then, after a few seconds of silence...
"Please...
Please allow me to do this."
Renn insisted.
That made Kaine pause.
Renn almost never went against his words.
"Why?"
Kaine asked as he looked at him.
Renn lowered his eyes, forming proper words in his head, then,
"Do you remember when my wife became ill?"
He asked.
Kaine narrowed his eyes.
His wife...
He searched through his memories, then, he remembered.
"A few years ago."
"Yes."
Renn nodded.
Kaine remembered because Renn asked the Valcrest Family for an advance on several months of his wages to treat her, but they refused. Kaine heard about it and gave him the money instead.
That was all.
"What does that have to do with this?"
Kaine couldn’t understand.
For a moment, Renn only stared at him, then, he lowered his gaze.
"You probably do not know what happened after that, the physician told me that if my wife had gone another few days without treatment, she would have died."
Those words silenced the room.
The three women stared at Renn in silence.
Then, Renn showed a small, grateful smile.
"My wife is alive because of the money you gave me.
She is alive because of you."
Those words made the three women look at Kaine. Kaine felt Nerys’s fingers tighten around him.
"You needed the money, I didn’t.
It wasn’t a big deal."
Kaine spoke directly and once again, he wasn’t lying.
He never particularly cared about money, at least, not while the family invested in him.
His words, however, made Renn let out a small breath.
"I know."
He smiled again.
"That is exactly what you said back then."
Kaine didn’t remember the conversation. Renn, however, was very different.
"To you... it may have simply been money you did not need."
He spoke as he looked down at the bandages in his hands.
"But to me...
It was my wife."
The women were now listening to their conversation even more attentively.
"I know you did not do it because you expected anything from me, this is why this matters to me."
Renn spoke as he looked at the bandages again.
"I cannot buy you proper medicine, nor can I change what the family decided but...
Please, Young Master, let me do this much."
He requested again as he bowed his head, this time, much deeper than ever before.
Kaine stared at him for several seconds, he could see how important it was to him, so he...
"Alright."
Renn immediately raised his head.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
There was an excitement in his voice that Kaine didn’t remember seeing before. It made him smile a little, then, he shook his head and turned around.
When Renn saw his back, he froze for a moment.
This was... not serious...?
Renn stared at the wounds in utter disbelief, unable to believe how a family could be so cruel to their young.
Then, he released his clenched fists.
There was nothing he could do about it, so he did what was possible for someone like him, grabbed a chair and moved towards Kaine.
"Please sit down."
He requested.
Kaine sat on the chair.
Renn placed the bundle on the nearby table and carefully opened it. Serathiel continued watching, so did Lysara. Nerys still didn’t let go of Kaine’s hand and Renn...
He began wrapping the cloth around Kaine’s body as carefully as possible, making sure the cloth covered the wounds without tightening too much.
After the first few turns around his back, Renn spoke again.
"Your clothes were normally collected every third morning."
Kaine glanced over his shoulder.
"Every third morning?"
"Yes."
Renn nodded as he continued wrapping the bandage.
"Unless you trained heavily, then I sent them earlier."
Kaine nodded.
His clothes simply disappeared when they were dirty and returned clean later, so he never gave it proper thought in this life.
"The laundry room is behind the western servants’ quarters."
Renn continued speaking.
"If you wash anything yourself, there are drying lines in the rear courtyard.
Remember not to use the first two."
"Why?"
"They belong to the kitchen staff."
"Alright."
Kaine nodded.
Renn passed the bandage around his waist again.
"Your sheets are stored in the linen room, it is on the first floor, near the rear staircase."
"I see."
"Your sheets were changed twice a week, three times if you trained before sleeping. Your room was cleaned every morning after you left for training."
"...I see."
Kaine nodded.
Again, he never gave it any thought, his room was always clean and orderly, Renn made sure of that.
And now...
He needed to do it himself.
While Kaine thought about it, Renn continued speaking while wrapping the cloth.
"Fresh towels are stored beside the washroom. There are extra candles and lamp oil in the lower cabinet near your desk. And the bucket beneath your washstand needs to be emptied every morning."
Kaine nodded.
Renn told him a few more things while he continued wrapping the cloth, then finally, he tied the final end securely, making sure it wasn’t tight enough to hurt but not loose either.
"Done."
Kaine nodded, he moved his shoulders a little, it still hurt, but the good thing was that the cloth would prevent his shirt from rubbing against and sticking to his wounds like it had before.
"Thank you."
Kaine spoke.
The words made Renn freeze for half a second. Then, he smiled.
"You’re welcome, Young Master."
He gathered the unused bandage and placed it on the table.
"This should be enough for several changes."
Kaine nodded.
Renn looked around the room once more, at the bed, desk, clothes folded nearby. The room he had cleaned every single day for years, then, he looked at the three women and bowed again.
"My Ladies."
This time, Serathiel gave him a small nod. Lysara did the same, Nerys stared at him for a moment, then, she too, awkwardly lowered her head.
Renn smiled at that, he then turned towards Kaine, for a moment, neither of them spoke, then, Renn took one step back and bowed his head once again.
"Thank you for everything, Young Master.
Take care of yourself."
"You too."
Kaine nodded.
"I will."
Renn nodded, then, after a small pause, he turned around, walked towards the door, then, he looked at Kaine, possibly for the last time, then...
He walked out and closed the door behind him.