STABLE BOY ; Trash of the Count's Family

11. CAPABLE WORKER

South began his day early. Waking up first, he washed up, and got prepared to clean the horse beds, open the stable vents, and change their food and water.

He was the only stable boy, so he had to do all of it himself. But it was such a nice day out that he got all of them done, with minute-long naps inbetween every other chore, and still had a lot of time to spare before breakfast.

"Good morning, Innkeeper-ahjussi," he called, when he noticed the innkeeper opening the doors to begin cleaning up last night's mess made from all the knights that drank. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Oh! What a helpful boy you are." he acknowledged. "Then, my back is bad, so would you help lift some of the chairs and tables that fell over?"

"Of course!"

-

"When did our stable boy become the village gopher?"

Cale is baffled. You can't leave that kid anywhere, he'll get scooped up by all the ahjumma around and come back with oranges.

Or bread, apparently.

"Young Master-nim, they gave me all this fruit bread," he had an armful of paper bags filled to the brim with fresh baked pastry. He looked very troubled. He looked like a squirrel that didn't know how to hoard things but had a collection now.

Maybe Cale should have asked South to come along when they were feeding the man-eating tree. He could collect a lot of bread without even trying.

This place is famous for its wine— which was made with fermented fruits. Of course they would use those dried fruits for something else as well, like bread baked daily.

"They're still warm," South added, like he was trying to convince Cale to try one.

"They gave it to you. Why are you asking me?"

South seemed confused, "but everything I'm given belongs to the count, who hired me."

"What nonsense is that?" Cale sighed. "Have Hans send some up to my room, and share the rest with the knights before they spoil," he said. "Save the rest for the trip as your own snack if you must."

"Okay, young master-nim."

Cale had to really think. What kind of life did this stable boy live, that he immediately passed what he was given to the master he served? He never asked for things, as if he thought he wasn't allowed to have anything his master didn't approve of.

"Why are you so stingy with your money?" he frowned. "You don't even use the medicine you buy. It's not that you don't have enough."

South seemed surprised he brought it up.

"But young master, my strength is a threat to the knights and to you. It is only meant to be used for the horses," he said, like it was obvious. "The medicine makes me less sluggish in the day. Would it not be a threat if I am too active all the time?"

What?

Cale suddenly understood.

South was too capable at his work, and people saw it as a threat. Maybe it came from the other servants, or the commoners around him, or maybe from whoever was his previous masters. But people always tried to tear down those who were better than them, because of jealousy.

And to survive as a commoner, South limited himself. He made himself clumsy and irritable so he wouldn't take away all the jobs and the credit. He worked while handicapped and risked dangerous situations because that was better than earning the annoyance of whoever was above him. He was the youngest, and that meant that he was not allowed to be more capable than the others.

Even now, Hillsman disliked Choi Han. Choi Han didn't care and that was fine, but South could not afford to have Hillsman hate him if he wanted to keep working in the county. Hillsman had too much authority among the servants, after all.

South was used to not having anything that wasn't given to him.

No wonder Deruth Henituse gave him a promotion the second there was an excuse to. It's so hard to make this stable boy to accept any reward at all.

"What a miserable fool you are," Cale sighed.

"Whuh?" there was that weird sound again, and South looked at him with more confusion than offense.

"I don't need useless stable boys," Cale told him. "And tonight, wait outside the window of my room. I have a job for you."

"...whuh??"