Hermes lifted his head and smiled slightly at the young woman come to say hi. "Hello," he said, doing his best to be charming from his position on the floor to keep her at as much ease as possible. He could feel the trepidation rolling off of her and wondered what that was all about. Were the slaves in this household really all so worried that he'd come to replace them?
"My apologies, I've been rather busy lately um..." He picked up his book with an off hand sort of gesture to indicate to his shame that he was as old as he was and just now learning to read. "Being educated." He'd found in his life before that it was way easier to admit his faults and be accepted by people when it was obvious that he was way more than just an athletic body and a pretty face.