Family quarrel

Austria, February 10th 1789

4:57 PM

'I hate being a baby!' Lukas thought as he laid on a sofa with his face buried in it. The feeling of boredom was obvious on his face.

'Why?! I wish I could be more dependent!' Lukas let out a loud sigh of annoyance. Since nobody was around, it wouldn't be heard. 'Well, everything I can do is waiting. I'll eventually grow up.'

Lukas started punching the sofa lightly. "But it's not just that! Being a baby is stupidly painful!" Lukas raised his head and revealed his cheeks with a strong blush.

He had started teething recently and it wasn't a pleasant experience at all. 'Well, at least I know where this pain comes from.' Lukas was pretty sure that this pain meant that he was starting to teethe.

It was even a relief because he was dying to eat food that the adults did, it seemed so tasty to him, much better than his mother's milk. 'Sorry, mom, but it doesn't taste so good... welp, at least I guess, I have never eaten anything but milk, so I don't have any taste criteria.'

Lukas sat up and sighed. 'Still, I guess this will end up by being good. I'll develop some pain resistance, even if it's just a bit.'

As Lukas chewed on a wooden part of the couch in order to relieve his teething pain, he saw Karl passing by in the alleys. Lukas tilted his head as he watched his uncle going through the alleys. He hadn't seen him for 3 days. 'He's a freak, but he intrigues me. Ok, forget about drawing and stuff like that, I know what I'm gonna do today!'

Even though Lukas felt kinda cold and some chills for some reason, apparently because of the teething, he quickly went down the couch and crawled towards Karl.

'It would probably be better for me to toddle after him, but although it's slower, crawling doesn't take so much energy from me and I guess it may be a bit stealthier. I don't think you would feel comfortable to find out you're being chased by a baby, specially me.'

Although Lukas crawled pretty fast, he started losing Karl of sight pretty quickly, he was an adult after all. 'Hey, uncle Karl! Slow down a bit, please! Gotta catch some breath!'

When Karl turned at a corner of the alley, Lukas started crawling a bit faster in order to catch up to him. 'Wait, wait, wait, wait!'.

When Lukas turned at the same corner as Karl did, he bumped into his legs. Karl looked at Lukas with his creepy eyes and lowered his body to look into the baby's. "What are you doing, child?"

'My diaper feels strange all of a sudden!' Lukas's expression turned into trepidation as his forehead sweated and he felt his chest heavy. 'How can this guy exerce so much pressure over me?!'

"Why were you following me?" Karl inquired as he looked into Lukas's eyes. Soon, Karl's expression turned into a smirk. "You know, Lukas? I like you. You are a bold one, aren't you? Hopefully, you'll be better than your incompetent and useless father!"

That was something that Lukas had noticed before. Karl apparently hated Elias a lot, he always called him incompetent and other things like that. 'That's intriguing. Only mom kinda of likes dad, and still, it's not love or anything like that, I would say it is... pity?'

Lukas sighed internally. 'Why would mom like him, anyway?! Dad doesn't treat her well at all!'

Karl then raised back his body and sighed.

"Anyway, don't follow me anymore," he turned around and walked away.

Lukas took a deep sigh in relief. 'Isn't this guy a bit too paranoic? Who would think a baby is following you right off the bat? Anyway, kudos to him.'

As Karl walked away, a female servant approached him and started talking to him. "Mr. Hügel, what would y..." she was soon interrupted by angered Karl. "Shut up! Don't bother me! Just do your pity work! Can't you even do it?!"

Lukas frowned. 'Hey! What's wrong with this guy?! Stop right there!' Lukas hurriedly crawled towards Karl 'What am I thinking? What am I even supposed to do?!'

When Lukas was about to get there, Frida appeared there. "Mr Karl, who do you think you're talking to?" Frida inquired with a calm yet rigid expression.

When Karl heard that, he gritted his teeth. "I don't know what Mrs. Frida's problem is. If she hadn't bothered me, I hadn't yelled at her like that."

'Why did you even yell anyway, dude?' Lukas thought with a doubtful face.

Frida sighed. "I don't know why I even bother talking with you, Mr. Karl. You are an unreasonable and unpleasant man, and nothing can justify that, so, don't even try it." Lukas frowned at that statement.

'"Nothing can justify that"? Does she mean anything along the lines with it?! I guess so, huh...'

Karl's face turned even angrier and he gritted his teeth even more. "Who do you think you are to insult me like that?! Should I remember you who the most unreasonable person here is?!"

Frida frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have nothing to do with that." Frida pointed at the servant with tears in her eyes. "You made that woman cry for absolutely no reason! Just because it was not an appropriate moment? She has nothing to do with that!"

'Why isn't that even an appropriate moment?!'

Karl raised his hand in order to slap Frida, he had had enough of her nonsense. As Karl was about to reach her face, he was stopped by a familiar voice. "KARL!" Karl quickly glanced at where voice was coming from.

Elias was standing in front of Lukas. He had an annoyed expression on his face. "Stop that! It's not worth it! Those people will never understand!"

Lukas looked up at Lukas with a curious face.

'Yeah, father, that was a very cool entrance, but what "people"?' Despite not looking like it, Lukas was very shocked to see that his uncle had almost hit his own mother-in-law in front of her own child. Now Lukas was even more scared of Karl.

When Frida looked at Lukas, she also saw her son sitting there watching the whole situation. As soon as Frida saw her son there, she gasped with her hands in front of her mouth. "Lukas!" She hurried to reach him, when she did, she picked him up right away. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry you had to see it!"

Frida's cheeks started to blush and her eyes started to fill with tears. Lukas felt a strange feeling as he watched his mother crying. 'Mom? What's happening?'

Karl gritted his teeth as he watched that scene. "Stop playing the good person! Your son will know what kind of person you are when he's old enough to understand."

"Be quiet! Who's the bad person here?! Nothing that you went through can justify what you've been doing!" Frida glanced at Elias. "Elias has never done anything like that."

Elias glared at Frida with anger. "Don't you think you can say that with that much authority, Frida! I may have not done something like that yet! But everything that the Von Neumann house has done would make anything that I can do look silly!"

Karl smirked. "Hehe, truth hurts doesn't it, Mrs. Von Neumann?! The Von Neumann is full of filthy and vil people! So don..."

"ENOUGH, KARL!" Elias yelled at his brother before gritting his teeth. "Don't be like them! Now come with me! There are more important things that we have to do now!"

Karl gritted his teeth, but he obeyed his brother's request. "Fine."

Lukas raised his brow as he watched that. "Didn't Karl hate dad? Why does he obey him so faithfully?"

As both nobles left the mansion, Frida cried desolate. Lukas watched his mother with pitiful eyes. 'She's pretending she is okay. But there's something that's killing her inside. I can see that. Everytime she's distracted, she shows a sad expression.'

As that all happened, Olivia arrived there. "Sarah? Why are you crying?" Olivia inquired the young servant. Sarah limited herself to point at Frida crying.

As soon as Olivia saw that, her face turned into concern. "Mrs. Von Neumann!" Olivia hurried to get there. "What is wrong, Mrs. Von Neumann? Is everything alright?"

Frida tried to stop her crying. "N-No! I-It's not alright! I am a disaster, Olivia! I can't even take care of my own son properly!"

Olivia showed a sad expression. "That's not true, Mrs. Von Neumann! Come on, come here. I will make you a tea, okay?"

-----

Austria, February 10th 1789

5:14 PM

Frida was sitting on an armchair holding Lukas as she drank tea. Even though her eyes were still all red, she was considerably calm already. Olivia was sitting on another armchair across her.

Olivia sighed. "I see." Her blood was boiling, she hated everyone from the Hügel house. Olivia took a sip of tea before giving her opinion. "It's not your fault, Mrs. Von Neumann. You didn't know young master was there. You were just defending Sarah, please, don't torture yourself for something like that."

'That's what she said, mom! It didn't even bother me, actually, it even was kinda entertaining! Uncle Karl is an asshole! Felt good to watch him being scolded like that.'

Frida looked down sadly. "I know, but... I have seen my parents arguing so much! I don't want Lukas to go through that again! I know how bad it is for a child!"

"Mrs. Von Neumann, young master isn't even aware of things yet!"

'That's what you think.'

"Please, it may have been a mistake! But it wasn't your intention! As long as it doesn't happen anymore, you don't have anything to worry about, Mrs. Von Neumann! Young master is a well-behaved child and I'm sure he'll be an amazing and righteous adult!"

Lukas raised his brow with a slight smirk. 'Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that.'

"I think you are right, Olivia. I am overthinking things."

'Congrats, mom! You found the holy grail!' even though Lukas was acting sarcastic, he was happy that his mother had realized, however, he knew that, deep inside, his mother still felt bad.