Joseph listened patiently to Master Mois' words, never willing to interrupt, even if he did not completely agree with the elder brother's assessment. Though it was meant as a compliment, he was rather disturbed by it, for he was already disillusioned by the fact that his belief in Alexi appeared so [i]blind[/i] to the outside observer. But he would not have even defended himself, if Master Mois had not directly requested an answer of him. He hated expressing disagreement with his masters, but he despised lying to them even more.

“You are correct in most of your assessment, Master Mois. Should he allow it, I would follow Master Alexi to the ends of the Earth, even if slavery ended this very moment. But that is not wholly because of my faith in him, I'll come to that in a moment. It is because this life, the near complete devastation of my freewill, is my punishment for the crimes of my youth. I tormented humans because of cruel and outdated beliefs, and so I will serve human masters until the day I die. That is the way of things.” Joseph began, looking towards the low light of the fireplace.

“But I served your father with very near the same fervency that I now serve Master Alexi, except for one thing. I will not harm another sentient being, no matter how much agony the 'soft'-breaking causes me, for I will not have others punished for my sins. The only exception is if not following the command would make things worse for the victim. When I spanked you and your brother as a child, it was because I knew that if I refused, your father would be much more painful than I was. I agreed to help Master Alexi torment that man, because what I was really doing was providing Leader Schumann some modicum of comfort. Even then, it hurt me so badly that I nearly -” Joseph quickly cut himself off, unwilling to continue that particular thought. After a moment, he simply began again, refusing to acknowledge the near confession.

“All of that being said, I do trust Master Alexi. I trust him in a way that I have trusted few other Vandros masters, because I have watched and served him for his entire life, and I know his heart to be in the right place. It is not as obvious, but I trust you in the same way, Master Mois. But even so, my faith is neither blind, nor absolute. I evaluate his orders under the same scrutiny that I evaluated those of any other master, and the vast majority of the time, I choose to follow them because I find them either harmless, or worthwhile. Unless it is a question of harming another, then my own opinion, my own will, my own life, doesn't matter. I must confess, I am taking liberties even allowing that as a consideration in my station, but that is how my mind works, and I cannot alter it, anymore than you or Master Alexi could alter your minds.” With that conclusion, Joseph bowed respectfully again, silently hoping that he had not spoken too much or too out of turn before the elder brother. He rarely mentioned the matter of his penance to any master, but these were troubling times.