In Which Sev Is an Investment

October 21, 1183

With six sisters and only two brothers--one of whom had been married and out of the house for over half of Sev's life and the other of whom had never quite forgiven him for the death of their mother--Sev was used to being the one exiled from a given room whenever a need for semi-privacy arose. Today, it was Lea and Alina again. Lea had long been the preferred target of a local group of bullies, who for years had maintained that she was stupid and fat and ugly and never missed an opportunity to remind her, but they'd grown even more ruthless since her body had fallen prey to the awkward changes of early adolescence. Alina was the best of all of them in the house for comfort, but at this point, even she struggled when it came to Lea, and she certainly didn't need a hindering audience in the form of his useless self, so he'd left of his own accord before she could shoo him herself.

Not that Alina was the shooing type, at least not in comparison to Congren, but Sev knew when he wasn't wanted. It was knowing when he was wanted that didn't come so easily, which was why it came as a shock when his father looked over the back of the couch and smiled. "Oh, good. I was just about to call you down."

"Me?"

"Yes, you; I may be old, but I'm not blind yet." Chuckling to himself, Sev's father nodded toward the chair. Sev's mother's favorite chair, reportedly. They weren't banned from it, and indeed his step-siblings and half-siblings often sat there like it was any other piece of furniture, but Sev and his full siblings--plus his father and, when she'd lived, his stepmother--usually preferred not to intrude.

But since his father had given his blessing, Sev guessed it was fine. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes." His father smiled. "I wanted to tell you that I've paid your university fees."

"University?" Had he heard that right? The family had enough money to keep comfortable, but surely an expensive university education was out of the question. Even if it hadn't been, who was to say it wouldn't be a waste to send Severin over one of his sisters? As far as he could tell, his only intellectual advantage over any of them may have been age... "Are you serious?"

"I am. You'll be of an age to start in the new year, and while I can probably afford to send Alina as well on my current profits, I'll need to introduce a more effective business model if I want to send the others and still retire comfortably. So, I'm investing in you."

"Me." A lucky thing it was that Congren wasn't here to question their father's judgment. At the moment, Sev didn't need any help for that.

"Yes, you. The chancellor has informed me that the economics department will be offering classes in business and management. I want you to make these courses your focus--and then, when you graduate, I'll make you my business partner, and we'll apply your knowledge to the ranch.

"That is, unless there's something you'd rather focus on? You could always take the business courses as electives, if you'd prefer, but--"

"No, I can focus on the business." Hell, he'd been certain he wouldn't be going at all. If his father was willing to put him through university, and he couldn't think of anything he'd rather study anyway, then why shouldn't he help him out? "If I take an interest in something else, I could always take that as an elective, right?"

"You could, yes."

"And then when my sisters go, would they be free to take what they want?"

"I suppose they would." His father sighed. "I hope you don't find that too unfair."

Sev shook his head. "Well... if I don't take the business courses, then Lea and Thetis and Rahileine can't go at all, can they? That sounds even less fair."

"That's a very mature way of looking at it." His father stood, extending his right arm. Expecting a handshake, Sev took to his own feet and met his father's hand, only to be pulled in for a hug. "I know you'll make me proud."

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