Born to a poor family in Vallaki, Ernst was orphaned as a teenager as his parents died from disease. Overlooked by Saint Andral's Orphanage, he became a street urchin, and was forced to develop skills as a thief. As the town was so strongly under the thumb of Vargas Vallakovich, a single mistake when breaking the law meant death, so the boy learned to become incredibly stealthy and observant.
All thieves slip eventually, and Ernst's mistake happened when attempting to rob the Wachterhaus. Interested in Fiona Wachter's strange activities in her basement, he slipped past her guards and staff unseen, having planned meticulously beforehand. However, his planning could not anticipate Fiona's invisible Imp Majesto, who stung him and reported his unconscious body. Fiona was impressed by the young man, and rather than reported him, set him to her own employ.
Ernst worked for her as a spy for over ten years, and began to see Fiona as his own mother, having no other friends in the world. He was trusted to act as a representative for the Wachter family for under-the-table matters, though avoided ever being found by the Vallakovich family's eyes. Ernst's existence was unknown to even Fiona's own children, though her cult was aware of him.
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