Tuesday, May 31st

(Y/n) stepped out of the bus, repeat checking the hour for the hundredth time since she left her school. The girl was extra attentive to arrive back at her workplace, minimising the chances of getting scolded by the older worker on the premises.

She was consequently mentally exhausted due to the consistent explanations she was forced to give her friends over the events of the previous day. The girl had managed to quench their curiosity with the added expense of frustration that drained her energy. Frowning throughout the whole walk from the bus stop to the house, the girl stopped for only a single moment to take a very deep breath, hold it, and exhale with a small sigh.

As she approached the gate she was immediately greeted by a scowling face that seemed just as enthused over the girl's company as she was over his. The pair watched each other from a distance, seeming to wait for the other to speak first in order to break the thick wall of heavy air that surrounded them.

Nori eventually grunted out in annoyance before beaconing for her to approach him. Complying with the command, the girl walked towards the awaiting man as she simply waited for his instruction, hoping the day would pass as quickly as possible. Nori waved his hands at her, gesturing for her to hand him an item. After staring at his motions with puzzlement, she figured out what the likeliest necessity could be and handed him her schedule.

(Y/n) felt the interaction to be twisted in awkwardness. They hadn't even spoken a word to one another since they connected sights and neither of them seemed interested in conversing with the other's company. For the longest time, the girl thought that their whole day would only consist of sign language and distasteful grunts and hums before the man finally sounded his voice. "Your duties for the day are simple, I doubt you'll need me at your every beck and call so I'll simply show you the basics for each task and trust that you have half the brain to repeat." (Y/n) gave him an irked stare, annoyed at his degrading and derogatory attitude towards her with the disrespectful undertone.

The man turned his back to her and began walking towards the building, expecting the female to follow in his tracks. (Y/n) reluctantly pursued the worker, hoping to give him as little incentive to scold her as possible.

As they ascended the stairs and followed in the track towards their next destination, Nori continued nagging the female in a stern tone, "I'll give you one hour to finish this task. You're only organising the library so this should be sufficient enough for your brain. Unless you don't know the alphabet, there's no excuse for you to slack off." Through the whole journey, the female had to press down her temper before it would rise to a boiling point as she blocked out his demeaning undertones and comments.

As they neared the library, the man proceeded to enter without regarding the female with the politeness of holding the door for her. (Y/n) watched as he pointed out all the books, novels, writing tools and encyclopedias stacked on tables, chairs and the floor before explaining their order on top of the empty shelves. After the man was finished, he roughly pushed a heavy book into the girl's body before glaring down at her with doubtful eyes.

"One hour. If you are not done by then I'll personally take down each and every book there is in here and make you dust the entire room and assort them back to their rightful places. Understood?" The girl looked around at the dozens of shelves she was threatened with before looking back at the man.

"Yes Sir." She answered, clearing the way for the man to pass her before he could shove her to the side. As she was left on her own, the female grunted as she looked around the chunks of papers, books and equipment to sigh to herself.

(Y/n) wondered around the room, searching for a section that would count as her starting point. Sliding her gaze through each small pile, she figured her best decision would be to assort the columns of unused writing papers and put them back in the cabinets for later use.

The female took one stack of disoriented papers. She lifted them up to smooth the edges down in order to create a neat pile to put away. Gliding her fingertips across the rims of the sheets she let out a small yelp as she felt a sharp sting lining the length of her index finger, forcing her to retract and inspect the surprising sensation. As she looked towards her digit, a trail of blood oozed out from the faint laceration that ringed around her joint. The girl blinked a few times at the unexpected occurrence before looked back to the pile of papers. The female gently assessed the border that had caused the incision to find a thin, metallic strip that subtly protruded from between the papers. Cautiously taking it out, the girl found it to be a small blade that was tucked between the papers for the purpose of making it inconspicuous to the negligent eye.

The girl worryingly sucked on her bleeding finger, pondering over how the blade would have ended with the sheets in the first place. 'Was this put here on purpose...?' (Y/n) shook her head to dismiss the thought, laughing at herself as though the consideration was far too ridiculous to even be optioned. 'No, no. I'm just being paranoid, it was probably an accident of some sort.' She smiled at the excuse of the unlikely coincidence, failing to permanently shake off the uneasy feeling that she tried to hide with the absolving thoughts.

(Y/n) fell into one of the chairs with an exhausted huff. She had managed to stop the bleeding from the cut with little effort, simply allowing it to cease on its own with only a slight burning pain left as proof of the incision. The female checked around the room to make sure she had not left any detail that would act as her downfall if her superior were to evaluate her work.

The door swung open, slamming into a nearby shelf with spiteful force as the man in question stormed inside before halting at the heart of the room. (Y/n) stared at his behaviour as he gazed around, watching over every particle of space that made up the surroundings. After a long while, he finally switched his glare back to the female who was silently scrutinising from the sidelines.

Nori impatiently gestured for her to approach him. As she did so, he proceeded to walk away, inferring for her to follow. (Y/n) walked beside the man in as he refused her any eye contact or even regard on the journey. The girl could not figure on what the male's issue with her was. She couldn't help but feel the conflict between them to be more personal than necessary. (Y/n) had always strived to withhold healthy relationships with everyone she became aquatinted with and couldn't help but be deeply bothered by the man's unexplainable rancour towards her.

On the way to their next task, she found the heavily induced silence to act as a crutch for her interaction. "So, what do you usually do after work?"

"What's it to you?" His bitter and iron tone contrasted immensely with the female's polite and curious vocals. She immediately figured out any personal inquiries would hold too much rejection so a more sophisticated approach would be suited to their situation.

"Are there more people working in the house besides you, Chef and Zak?" The male seemed reluctant in complying with her pestering attempts at small talk, however, felt inclined in answering a business question.

"We also have a maid who is mostly in charge of Master Seok and Master Akai. She's currently off sick but you'll eventually meet if you plan to keep your excruciating presence here for long enough." The girl couldn't figure if she was satisfied with the general reply or annoyed at the snark comment he managed to push in at the end. Before she could make up her mind they stopped in front of a door that directed her to her next task. The female managed to recognise the inhibitor of the room due to the melancholic gargoyle statue situated a few feet away, and was soon confirmed to be correct as the boy was urged out of his quarters by a few knock of the door. "Master Padraig, (Y/n) is here to clean your room, Sir."

The man politely informed, making the boy pull a confused expression at the unrecognisable identity he spoke of. "Who?"

"(Y/n) (L/n)." Despite the reveal of her full name, Padraig continued blankly staring at the man. Nori proceeded to point to the female who stood to the side where she annoyingly watched as the teenager finally gathered recognition.

"Oh, this one." He finally exclaimed, turning back to his butler for a further explanation over their visit.

'He didn't even remember my name...I shouldn't be as irritated as I am considering we only talked a few times but I feel like he forgot me for a more egotistical reason than that...' After the violet-eyed boy reluctantly granted permission to his butler, Nori indicated for the girl to go into the room along with Padraig.

As the female prepared to step inside she was harshly pulled back by a vice grip as a lowered voice whispered his warning into her ear, "If you mess this up somehow, there will be consequences." He pushed her inside the room before slamming the door shut behind her. The girl narrowed her eyes at the act before looking back into the room.

The male inside had already proceeded to ignore her presence by continuing to distract himself with a mould on a table. The worker proceeded inside where she realised she didn't have her supplies, bringing an immediate inconvenience to the situation. "I'll go get the supplies to clean up, OK? I'll be back in a minute-"

"If you intend to leave now then don't bother coming back. I maintain my room at an immaculate state so I don't need your useless assistance." (Y/n) hadn't the words to retort at his remark -finding it to be fairly correct as she spotted no emergent cleaning for his quarters-, she watched as the male concentrated on moulding and shaping the malleable substance in front of him. The girl was unsure whether to proceed with retrieving her equipment or maintain her position inside the room. "Which means you can leave." The boy's final remark sat as a command for her to obey.

(Y/n), however, uncertainly stayed put as she felt obliged by her duties, only to be glared at when the male turned towards her direction to discover her lingering presence. He motioned for her to shoo away and the girl reluctantly walked back towards the door. Opening the entrance she proceeded to exit the room, taking a moment to stop and consider completely dropping the idea of sorting his quarters out. After a long consideration, the girl took up the responsibility of her duties, leaving to bring back the cleaning supplies she needed.

Once she was on her way back, the female contemplated what would be the best subject to use for progressing with the male. As she began approaching the boy's room once more, she heard a subtle creak from behind her, like hinges rotating against each other to open up a compartment.

(Y/n) looked around to see an orange eye peeking out to regard the girl's presence. Once the male realised he had been spotted, he froze on the spot as his knees began lightly quivering. "Giovanni...?" The boy in question darted his sights to the ground, seeming to build up a certain amount of courage within him before reluctantly looking back up into the female's confused optics.

He seemed to struggle with twisting his tongue to annunciate his response. "B-Boungiorno..." After his low voice reached the girl, she began pondering over the translation of his language.

Concluding the reply to be a most likely greeting, she smiled towards him with an encouraging beam, "Hello." She called back, startling the boy at her actual regard before swiftly bolted back inside his room, shutting the door with a loud bang. This left the girl to stare at his action, wondering if the result was to be interpreted as good or bad.

She hesitantly turned back around to continue with her duty. Standing in front of the door of the sculptor with a wondering expression. She considered several conversation starters in her head, working in some sort of ego-boosting remark to maintain the boy's interest. The girl was determined to simply form some sort of mutual respect with the male, regardless of how lowly he thinks of her. Reaching out to turn the handle for the room, she was halted as the pivoting motion kept jamming, unable to rotate the object.

After a few seconds of tough nudging and pulling, she concluded the door to have been locked from the inside. (Y/n) knocked on the structure to attract the attention of the male within. "Uhm, Padraig. The door is locked, is there a problem-?"

"I told you that you won't be entering this room if you leave. Now go away, I have work to do." The girl stared at the wooden frame of the door, as though her bewildered glare would reach the boy's vicinity.

"Well, I have a job to do as well. And I need to come in and clean, please unlock the door." As she called out, she was denied a response from within, leaving her to scowl at the closed entrance. She repeatedly shouted at the door, regarding the male to plead some sort of compromise. Only to remain ignored as though she were calling out into an empty room.

She ended up leaning her body against the door in the end, taking a breath from her consistent demanding. The girl was slightly undignified by the boy's behaviour, and had to contemplate what course of action would present the best outcome. Looking around herself, she managed to pick up on a certain motion that would receive the reaction she needed.

"Oh my God! What happened to Gilbert-?!"

"My precious masterpiece!" Padraig flew out of his room to take refuge beside his creation, frantically inspecting it for any deformities like it was a helpless child. After a few moments of persistent analysing, his eyes narrowed into a scowl as he looked back at the girl who sounded the false alarm. Standing up from his grounded position, he approached the girl who was giving him an equally annoyed grimace. "How dare you mock and falsely startle me?! Do you know who I am you pathetic, common, ignorant-!"

(Y/n) proceeded to walk inside the now opened door, knowing her frustration would tip if she were to continue listening to his complaints. Allowing her presence to reenter the quarters, she was immediately followed in by a sulking male as he attempted to convince her otherwise.

"Listen here you ignorant broad?! I don't have any need for your useless-" As his voice progressively raised to shouting levels, he was immediately stunned into silence as a sponge bounced off of his face. The boy seemed confounded at the action, disbelieving that anyone would try and tarnish his flawless featured with a cleaning item. He stared down at the yellow, foam object before directing his astonished glare towards the girl who was trying to ignore his company with failing effort. "Did you just hit me with a filthy sponge?!" His indignant screech made (Y/n) wince slightly, wondering if her spontaneous action was to result in a productive outcome.

"Would you like me to clean your wardrobe or the bedroom first?" She simply questioned, avoiding the male's dishonoured inquiry altogether.

"The only filth in this room is you! So if you could kindly 'clean' yourself out of my chambers this instant!" He snapped at her, strutting over with the intent to roughly escort her out. The girl tried to avert her attention back to her equipment, taking a bucket of clean water to demonstrate her intent on remaining to complete her duties; giving up on the initial idea of conversing with the sculptor as she could no longer withstand another sound from his whining voice.

Before she could move to place the contents to another area, her hand was grabbed as she began to feel a tugging motion urging her to move away. Padraig had taken the girl's arm and began to drive her towards the door. (Y/n) scowled at him as she pulled against his hold, refusing to grant him the satisfaction. "What are you doing?! Let me perform my job." Her demanding tone struck unwell with the haughty boy who responded with denying actions.

"I told you, this room is clean as it is." The two were in a battle of tugging, fighting for dominance over the other's strength as they denied the other with the compliance they requested. "I said get-" Padraig nearly shouted in surprise as he felt a wave of cold water wash over his body, hearing the girl gasp once the liquid had begun to trickle from his strands of hair, and down his face. The boy looked up to see the female's features staring at him with a visage of realisation and slight regret as she understood what she had done.

(Y/n) quickly dropped the now emptied bucket on the ground before attempting to brush over the situation with a shaken smile. "Ok...maybe that was a little uncalled for. I just want to say I truly..." Her words slowly dissolved at her tongue, shrivelling at the sight of the male's astounded features morphing into ones of seething fury and disgust. "...I-I'm really sorry, I just snapped and it was in my hands and I-"

The female had to hold in an inadvertent yelp as a white powder was poured over hear head, sieving through her hair until it covered the entire circumference of her scalp. She blinked a few times as she looked up towards the box of washing powder that was emptied over her. Sliding her gaze towards the individual who had performed the vengeful act, she saw a spitefully smirking boy who satisfyingly looked at her dusted state. The girl disbelieving gawked at the boy before swiftly grabbing a soap bar and flinging it at the male's face. Padraig's aggravated features quickly returned as he grabbed a bottle of detergent and began to aim the runny liquid at the girl's clothing in retaliation.

(Y/n) soon responded to his attacks with a spray bottle as she continued putting him off balance by spurting him in the face with the watered soap solution. Soon enough both their products began decreasing in ammunition, as they turned towards the next viable object of assault in their vicinity; clay.

The boy began chucking chunks of the malleable material at her, she did the same with other soft items. The pair began exchanging blows, hits and misses with either side, leaving stains and dirt to be added to their already dishevelled appearance. As items hit walls, windows and furniture, the air filled with their angry and driven growls as flying objects and items darted across the room.

A soft knock emerged from the door, remaining unnoticed by the two battling teenagers. The frame creaked as a hesitant head peeped in through the gap to search for answers. "Padraig, is everything alright? I heard strange-..." Giovanni remained stiffened at the sight of the team of rivals exchanging blows and disdain while concentrating on the feud. The brunet stared wide-eyed at the clear fight as he finally located the source of the disturbing noises. "...I'll just ask at a better time." He slowly retracted from the doorway, closing the entrance upon departure.

Padraig heard the small click of the door, alerting his attention towards the frame with confusion. Before he had a chance to concentrate back on the argument at hand, he found himself tackled by his opponent. The two expressed the same move of grabbing onto each other's hair, pulling with the intent of bringing the other to their knees crying for mercy. However, neither showed signs of yielding, evolving to exchanging more critical blows.

As the girl kicked the boy in the stomach and the male hit her directly in the throat, the two were knocked off of each other to distance the proximity between them. The two teenagers panted for the loss of air, grabbing onto oxygen in order to fill their lungs. (Y/n) held onto her neck, rubbing the spot that had been unlucky enough to receive the strike while the male performed the same action with his torso.

As the two glared at each other with exhausted demeanours, refusing to break eye contact with one another as they sent their most irked expressions. (Y/n)'s features snapped into laughter as her hollering amusement filled the stifling air. Padraig seemed startled at the sudden outburst, contemplating whether the female was within her right mind. The girl continued giggling and chuckling as she finally grasped the gravity of the situation, pointing towards the boy in an urging manner. "The prince turned into a peasant!" She chocked and tittered, giving the male time to look at his appearance for the first time since their war.

His long, dark hair had loosened out of its tied position, falling in whichever direction it had been flung in, his clothes filthied and soaked in cleaning solutions, clay, dirt and other tainting stains that had stuck on his attire. He narrowed his eyes at his opponent, remaining far from amused over the situation. "Well, you don't look much like a fair maiden yourself." He retorted, allowing the girl to look at her own chaotic appearance that resembled her opposer's before shrugging with humorous disregard.

"Good. We match, hahaha." As she continued chuckling, confusing the boy further.

"Stop laughing. This isn't funny!"

"Yes, it is! We ruffed each other up like a bunch of 6 year olds, hahaha." The girl could barely hold in her amusement as the boy watched as her laughs began to ease.

"Don't label my fighting to the level of a child!" He indignantly directed, getting the girl to lift and slump her shoulders once more. (Y/n) looked around herself to inspect the environment before a smirk appeared on her face.

"Looks like now there is a need for me to clean up." She commented, directing the boy's attention to the number of scattered items and ammunition, as well as filthied mess that their brawl had caused. The boy grumbled at the realisation, looking over as he noticed the extended hand directed towards him. "Truce?" Her request resulted in the male staring at her before turning away in stubborn refusal. (Y/n) sighed before scoffing at his obdurate act. "Alright, I'll start cleaning now."

Padraig begrudgingly watched as the female began gathering the broken pieces of objects and unusable clay into a bag, assorting the more salvageable items to the side. He suspiciously trailed her forms as she moved around the room, wary of a sudden attack that would follow his low guard.

(Y/n) began cleaning the dirt off of the tables, chairs and a variety of furniture. As she scanned around to assess the state of the room, her eyes fell on a certain device that spiked her interest. "Wow, you have a telescope?" She neared the cylindrical structure, leaning closer to inspect it as the boy quickly appeared beside her to smirk at the open opportunity.

"Of course! It's a state of the art model. I only choose the best of equipment to use! Nothing less for someone of my caliber." He boastfully sounded, earning a dismissive glance from the girl as she looked around the spacing to notice a few pictures lined up on a table beside the telescope. She inspected through the images to see brilliant resolutions of the solar system with each spec of light exposed to the proper viewing of the eye. "Astronomy is a hobby of mine, I am the worthiest to gaze upon their eternal power from such a vantage point. After all, a God needs to be around creations that display his power." (Y/n) wasn't quite sure whether his bravado displayed in a subtle way as she pondered if he had actually compared himself to a deity. "If only I could get away from this worthless ground filled with hindering people and claim my space amongst the stars...that would truly be fitting for someone like me."

As he shamelessly declared his worth, the girl had to suppress rolling her eyes at the claim before distancing herself from the object, avoiding any sort of reasoning for the boy to boast. She proceeded with her previous work as she began clearing the room from its disastrous state. 'At least he seems happy...' She attempted to console herself, distancing the blabbering voice of the boy who continued his conceited speech.

(Y/n) inspected her surroundings as she left the last of the black bags in a trash pile near the door. Padraig had managed to preoccupy himself with carving out details on a stone slab, occasionally muttering words of self-encouragement that double edged to poke fun at the lesser class. The boy gazed away from his work to notice his quarters gained a new freshness as the distracting mess had been completely sorted.

"Is this to your liking Prince?" She questioned the boy in a sarcastic tone which invoked a dismissive shrug from him. As a silence fell on the room, leaving the two individuals to concentrate on their own businesses, the door was shoved open as another man stomped into the quarters.

The male instantly darted his sights around the room, looking for any anomaly that would grant him the privilege of scolding the girl. However, Nori was quickly stunted by the sight of the boy's appearance once he laid eyes on the pair of younger individuals. "Master Padraig! What happened to you?" He exclaimed, eyeing the boy's condition that had been temporarily ruined through his previous fight.

Padraig glared towards the female who sheepishly avoided eye contact with the premonition over her inevitable punishment if she were to be discovered. "I got distracted and there was a slight disaster with one of my moulds. Nothing serious." (Y/n) was washed over with a wave of relief as she glanced towards the boy with a grateful gaze. Nori seemed unsure of the excuse but questioned no further on the topic, averting his focus on the girl with a stern stare.

"Miss (L/n) come outside now. I'll show you your next task." The man demanded, exiting the area without the slightest patience for the female.

(Y/n) began tracing the butler's path before turning back to regulars her rescuer. "Thank you." She gratefully nodded her head in his direction while the boy simply shrugged her gratitude off.

"Don't let it get to your head just because you're too much of an idiot to understand. It's absolutely shameful to explain how someone like you managed to impede my precious time and hinder my composure. Especially when you did this to my elegant appearance..." He muttered begrudgingly, making the girl point her eyes upwards in a surrendering display as she gave in on the idea of creating mutual standards between them.

(Y/n) heard the man outside yell out for her in an annoyed tone, unhinging a few of her nerves as she felt pressured. As the girl prepared to leave the room, she heard the boy clear his throat, grabbing her attention for a split second.

"If you ever are curious, I can teach you more about the universe and constellations. The stars are beautiful things, maybe you can learn a thing or two from them." The girl slowly figured the constant affronting undertone was a force of habit for the boy, taking note that there would be a slight speck of insult under each regard. She pushed down her personal dignity as she nodded at his offer.

"Will do. Enjoy your day." She left the boy on his lonesome to reenter the corridors where her superior was impatiently waiting for her with crossed arms. Nori hastily beaconed for the teenager to follow him, immediately beginning to walk away without waiting for her.

She followed in his lead as the pair began straying away from the destination towards the next assigned task. The girl periodically looked back with scepticism as she kept switching her unsure gaze from the straying path to the man. Nori noticed her unsure sights as he gave out a sigh that displayed his frustration. "I need to get the keys for the study. It's best you come and see where they are in case I'm not here to give them...don't know why, it's not like you'll stay here for long anyway." He murmured under his breath, however, showed no signs in trying to hide his words as the girl picked up on each comment.

(Y/n) breathed out and remained silent as she simply followed his brisk steps until they ended up in front of a door. As the man opened the new room, the girl proceeded behind him, taking a moment to assess the simple but cosy environment that was hidden within. As Nori began searching, he commanded for the female to remain out of his way as he swiftly switched from desk to desk, drawer to drawer in search of the hidden objects. "What is this?" The female questioned, looking around the small area that held simple furniture that could act as assistance to a working individual; with desks, chairs, cupboards and shelves lined with folders as binders.

The man grunted, roughly closing a drawer as he was forced to regard the female. "This is my office. If you ever enter here, it had better be for any keys you're looking for. If not, stay out." He warned, glancing a challenging look towards the female before proceeding with his scouting.

The girl sounded out a huff before turning away from the busy man to look amongst her environment. 'A butler has an office...? That's a first...' She glossed her eyes over each item and sophisticated object, sensing the noxious silence engulf them as only the opening and closing of cupboards can be heard, with the occasional irritated grunt from her superior.

The monotony behind the dull environment brought about a dulling sense of boredom that began tugging at the girl's patience. She tested a glance, looking towards the distracted male before creeping away to inspect a small table that sat off to the corner.

She scanned around for any source of entertainment, finding nothing of interest amongst the insignificant letters, envelopes and cup of pens. As she amused herself with a few mundane pieces of writing equipment she directed her thirsty interest towards shelves that decorated the further corner of the room. Looking back to assure herself she was not being observed, she brought her attention to the wooden display where she noticed a number of pictures framed to stand together.

She recognised her colleague's younger image in them as the young man in the photo to be a much more jubilant counterpart to the current spiteful male. The girl was left slightly stricken by the distinct difference in each picture's smile, right before she held her sights on a smirk that radiated a contagious happiness that was filled with hope and nurture as the familiar man happily clinging onto an equally gleeful woman with golden long hair and insightful cherry eyes, as they both looked towards the camera for the final product.

(Y/n) couldn't help but have the corners of her own lips tug apart at the cheerful pair, watching as the younger version of her superior leaned down to hug the sitting girl. The (h/c) haired female would have simply given a quick smirk and left the portrait in its rightful place, had her eyes not caught onto the structure the young woman was sitting on. The girl brought the picture closer to her to see the confirming handles that protruded from the back of the chair that were all too familiar to the young worker.

"Don't touch that!" A loud voice boomed behind her, briskly snatching the picture with disgusted intents. The girl jumped back to see the pure hatred carved into the man's face as he sent his grimace towards the disgraceful girl. "Who gave you the right to touch my personal belongings?! Don't you dare lay a finger on anything here!" His steel vocals and thorny tone brought about shamed shivers to scrunch the girl into her body. (Y/n) watched as his features slowly dissolved into a solemn gaze as he looked down towards the frame in his gentle grip. "Emilia..." He lightly lowered his stare towards the framed photograph with a distant look, as his lips whispered out the breath of her name as though it were a delicate piece of a lost fragment.

(Y/n) carefully evaluated his mannerisms, seeing his entire body dissolve into a shelled state, where he created an invisible bubble of solitude to gaze at the image. The girl blinked a few times to gather her ideas before a sympathetic gaze lined her features. The man had turned his back on her, not granting her the convenience of seeing his face, but by his expanding body she could tell he was taking deep breaths to compose himself. "...I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. Is she someone special-?"

"It's none of your business you stupid child! Haven't I made myself clear when I'm talking to you in simple sentences! How much further are you going to raise my blood pressure?! Now shut up when you don't understand a thing." He snapped at her, scowling back at the female before turning away to gaze at the photo, out of sight from the girl. (Y/n) watched the man with calculative optics, following his paranoid track of thought.

"My sister is paraplegic as well..." As her words escaped her lips, the male found himself stiffening. He looked down at the beaming woman in the photograph, resting atop of a wheelchair as she graced the camera with a strong smile. (Y/n) could see the crack in his defences as she took the opportunity to link, giving him an understanding smile. "I know how it feels to have the urge to protect a fragile loved one. It gives us a purpose when we can't find one." Nori allowed his distant sights to shift towards the girl who was holding her head down in a respectful display. "I honestly didn't mean any offence or was trying to judge you or your personal life in any way. I apologise for my curiosity and hope you didn't feel disrespected by my behaviour." As she looked back up, the man held an unreadable stare, withholding any display on his features that would reveal his inner conflict.

After a short while, he sat himself down on a chair where he distractedly looked around the room, half-heartedly attempting to resume his previous search. "I take no offence. You did nothing wrong with simply looking." (Y/n) sighed out her relief, feeling the weight of her actions being lifted. She noticed the man still held a dreary focus on the picture, as a hint of nostalgia danced in his eyes. The female could feel the emptiness that haunted the room once she realised her superior considered himself alone in his office of the past.

"Is she someone precious to you?" The girl repeated her interrupted inquiry, approaching the remote male to lean down and join him in his trip down his memories. Nori seemed slightly taken aback by the question, unexpecting of the continuation over the subject.

Looking down towards the woman in his arms, he felt lumps of uneasiness spreading through his body. "She was...very dear to me. Someone I cherished deeply..." The failing stillness in his tone began surfacing, as his vocals gave out a slight shake at each syllable.

"She's very beautiful." The girl commented, admiring the unique purity of the female behind the glass frame. Nori let out a small sigh before placing the photo on his desk.

"'Was'. She passed away a long time ago." Once he averted his cloudy orbs from the pained image, he felt his composure returning once more, reminding himself of the initial purpose behind his tasks. The girl lowered her gaze, feeling a small, invisible pressure at her heart from the discovery.

"I'm sorry. My condolences." (Y/n) cautiously spoke as the man attempted to console himself by averting his mind towards the number of drawers at his desk as he began pushing objects around in search for the item in question. Nori exhaled with tightly shut lips as he could only shrug at her response.

"It's nothing you should concern yourself with. Everyone dies eventually..." However, regardless of his attempt at dismissing the subject, he continued glancing towards the picture with an unnerved stare, as though the woman's garnet optics continued looking back at him like a haunting illusion. Narrowing his eyes, he continued clumsily searching through the mess in his desk with hazy attention.

"How did she like being carried?" The man was dragged back into reality by the female's voice. He graced her with a quizzical look as the girl gave him an easing enquiry. Questioning her on her own query in a slightly confused manner, the girl huffed before casually speaking up once more. "My sister's favourite way of carrying her is piggyback style and gets really excited when I put her on my shoulders. Did you carry her in the same way?" (Y/n) indicated towards the cheerful girl with a speculative smile as the man hesitated into entering memories of his past that had previously remained untouched.

"Yes, I did. She was always telling me about how tall I was and wanted to see the world from my height." As a gentle voice flowed through his mind at the memory of her words, the tense muscles on his face soon relaxed with the recollection. (Y/n) grinned lightly as she hummed in thoughtfulness for a few seconds.

"Did she have a favourite way to be carried? My sister absolutely loves when someone carries her bridal style." As the girl let out a small giggle, the man promptly scoffed with amusement.

"Emilia hated it when she was carried like that. She said she felt like a baby when she was carried in my arms." The girl could see the first hint of genuine satisfaction in the male's stretched lips; his inclination of happiness not supported by cynical spite nor passive-aggressive satisfaction. Nori reminiscently watched the photo without the sickening feeling that would always hollow out his heart as he allowed himself to smile back at the female behind the frame.

(Y/n) sighed loudly with a humorous edge to her gesture. "Really? My sister always said it made her feel like a princess." As she commented the man turned his pleased expression towards her, regarding the girl with a sincere look in his rejuvenated eyes.

"I agree. That's why I did it anyway and ignored her complaining. She would try and blow my head up with her grumbling but it was always worth seeing her fluster, haha." The (h/c) haired female's smile widened as she could tell the physical visibility over the man's more relaxed demeanour. Standing straight up, she scanned around the room to note the working environment.

Much of his surroundings held nothing to connect him to any years prior. Except for the pictures that rested on the single shelf at the far corner of the room, she could tell the man held no intentions in indulging in idle nostalgia. As the female began entering a thoughtful state of mind, she was brought back into awareness as she heard jingling beside her ear.

Looking towards the sound, she found keys dancing in front of her vision as the man retracted them back for display. "Finally found them. I should really sort my belongings out one of these days." He commented, rising from his chair as he beaconed for the female to follow in his patient steps.

As the pair came to the entrance, the female found herself to have the door held for her as the man cordially awaited for her to exit. "Oh, thank you." She gratefully spoke, quickly exiting through so as to diminish the amount of time she made the older worker wait for her.

As the two walked, the male stood by her side through the journey, emanating a more serene aura that contrasted from the baneful air that would otherwise encourage her to keep her distance. Seeing a window of opportunities, the girl allowed her voice to finally echo amongst the pleasant silence. "So, going back to my previous question. What can a person usually do around here for fun?"

Nori glanced at her with a blank stare before furrowing his brows in disappointment. "Apologies, but there honestly isn't anything to humour yourself with if the job is not amusing enough." (Y/n) pouted at the disheartening information as she could feel her body tiering from the mere thought of performing nothing but work for the next few days.

"Nothing at all...?" She gave a last attempt to squeeze out as much information as possible while the man responded with a disavowed head shake. The girl released an evidently downcast sigh, catching the man's attention. Nori hazily looked up in a contemplating display before an idea came to his mind.

The female found herself getting pulled towards one of the many balconies arranged outside the corridors. Nori took the girl out in the sunny environment where he pointed towards the front entrance of the building for the confused female to focus on. "Do you see Master Padraig's statue?"

(Y/n) followed his inclination, nodding once she noticed the sculpture not too far from their stand point. "Yeah, what about it...?" She looked back to see the man picking up a small rock from one of the flower pots, approaching the young worker once he decided on a worthy enough stone.

Nori gave her an expectant smile as a response to her befuddled state before juggling the rock in his hand. "Watch this." As he commanded, he chucked the pebble beyond the balcony, to come in contact with the statue and bounce off to the ground. (Y/n) was swiftly tugged away from the open surroundings back into the house.

She looked towards the man with a lost gaze before the amused looking male pointed out a certain room on the other side of the building for her to watch in expectancy for. Not even a second had passed before Padraig shoved his window open, nearly breaking the frame as he glared around his creation. "Who touched my statue?!" The paranoid boy darted his head around in a desperate attempt to catch the assailant over his treasure. "Lilito, I swear if it's you again I'll cover you in cement while you sleep!"

Nori had his mouth covered to suppress any audible laughs while he gestured for the girl to hush as she herself laboured in holding in her amusement. "How does he even know? Haha..." She quietly spoke, attempting to settle her chuckles down.

"Honestly, I've wondered that for years. I try not to question it since I feel it's a power beyond comprehension." Nori proceeded to walk off with a dismissive smirk while the girl quickly followed in pursuit.

She waited for the man outside the storage room, to gather the suitable supplies for her. As he emerged with the needed tools, he indicated towards a door across from her.

"This is the study you're meant to work on for today. All you need is to simply clean the shelves and windows. It's quite self-explanatory." He handed the girl the bucket of cleaning supplies before unlocking the room for her entrance. (Y/n) nodded eagerly as she prepared to enter before she was stopped by the man's notice. "Oh and...I would like to apologise, today I was supposed to actually consult you and compromise on how you would balance your school work with this job. Admittedly, I simply wanted to get today over and done with, without concerning myself with your problems." As he explained, the girl could see him attempting to plan out the subject in question in his head. "I'm afraid that there won't be time to do that today since it's closely approaching to evening. But I give you my word that tomorrow I'll give you some lenience over your schedule. How does that sound?" Questioning with an assuring tone, he received a positive response from the female at his offer.

He nodded at her agreement before proceeding to prepare for his leave. (Y/n) was about to hop inside the room with a new found confidence before a concern entered her mind. "Wait? When will you come up and check on me? When am I expected to finish this?" However, the man saw no point in turning back as he gave her a casual shrug.

"Don't worry about it. Simply finish at your own time and go home." He glanced towards her with a knowing smile playing on his lips. "We don't want to keep your sister waiting."

(Y/n) sighed out her relief as she waited for the man to completely disappear before jumping up in excitement. With her worries slowly disseminating, she plopped the bucket of equipment down on the ground where she looked around her fairly clean environment.

'Maybe it's going to be a pretty smooth day after all.' Once she brought in a small, plastic tub of water, she took one of the sponges to dip it inside the liquid, intending to work on cleaning the windows first. 'I might be able to get home in time to cook dinner...hmm, maybe something that's quick to prepare will-' (Y/n) let out a pained scream as she felt a prickling injury siring at the palm of her hand.

The girl dropped the sponge from the agonising sting, reflexively cradling her hand to soothe the horrific sensation coursing through. As the girl looked at her skin to find the source, she stood paralysed to see several dots of blood scattered around her palm, as each small puncture began gathering tiny globules of a crimson substance. (Y/n) blinked a few times at the sprinkles of the red droplets before turning her attention to the ruby stained sponge.

Taking the soft item in her hand with careful precision, she inspected the outer look of the object before gulping. Pushing slowly and steadily down on the spongy material, she was shocked to find small, sharp points of metallic piques poking through, exposing the hazard that had been placed inside. 'Needles...? This...I guess I can't excuse this as an accident, can I...?' She let go of the dangerous item, allowing it to plop down to the floor with more accumulated blood, as the girl lowered her gaze towards the tub of scarlet tinted water.

(Y/n) walked down the corridor, feeling herself clench every muscle in her body as her bones stiffened with each passing second. She had not realised that she was slowly picking up her pacing with each passing moment, feeling as though an invisible figure was chasing after her.

'What was that all about...? Why would someone put such small needles in a sponge out of all things...was it intended for me?' She tried her hardest to dismiss the possibility as she felt paranoia creeping up on her subconscious like a sly predator. Coming to the stairs, she inspected the hour on her phone, intending to soothe her wrecking nerves with the promise of a safer haven for her to enjoy the rest of the setting day. 'Should I tell someone about this...? Hmm, I feel like there's only one person that's forward enough to do this, but...'

Her uncertain mind clouded her thoughts. She approached the stairs where she forced herself to enter reality in order to descend the long flight. Placing her foot forward in preparation to take the first step, she heard a panicked voice interrupt her action. "(Y/n), don't!"

"Huh-?" As she rotated her head around to regard the voice that called it for her, she felt her foot rapidly slip, unable to find the correct grip as no friction was created between her shoe and the first stair. (Y/n) gulped down a lump of air as she felt her body launch forward. She could see her entire world spin onward as her form stiffened, unable to react in any other way beside to brace herself for the impact. Her wide eyes watched as time seemed to agonisingly elongate her flight as she was teasingly given a slow plunge, staring in shocks as the stairs bellow passed her as she was left with a single way to go.

A loud crack was heard as the girl landed, echoing in the empty space that surrounded her. (Y/n) kept her eyes tightly shut, afraid she was still airborne and experiencing the plunge. However, a few seconds passed of complete stiltedness which bewildered he girl into slowly parting her lids. As she opened her vision, she noticed her body wasn't the one that had landed on the hard, marble floor. Instead, her entire form was held tightly on top of a soft surface, noticing arms wound around her head with intent to protect the more vital parts of the body.

Once the female felt the subtle rising and exhaling of the chest she had been protected in, she shot up to look at the individual that had saved her from any damage. "Eban! Eban, are you ok?!" She unsurely gave the unresponsive male's shoulders a gentle shake, stirring the boy into responding to the urging action.

Eban laboured in opening his heavy lids, allowing his hazy vision to gaze up at the girl who had been mere seconds away from breaking her body. As he sighed out his aching pains, the male shakily brought his torso up to a sitting position where he could already feel the fractured structure inside his bruised body. He gave a relieving smile once he concluded the girl's health to be immaculate, while (Y/n) aided him in place as she could see the strength it took to keep himself up right.

She looked towards the stairs, assessing the large fall from the very top before her eyes caught sight of a dense liquid trailing down to the last step. Furrowing her brow at the substance, she realised it was the cause of her dire slip. 'Is that oil?' She stared at the hazardous area before turning her attention back on her saviour, hearing him grunt in retaliation towards his pain. "Oh my God, Eban you're bleeding!" She pointed out, watching as a trace of the red substance trailed down his cheek to his chin, originating from his head.

The male brought a heavy hand up to his hair, hissing as he felt the area that had impacted with the ground before retracting to see blood staining his hand. He scoffed at the injury, as though it were an amusing sight to witness before looking towards the female with a mollifying smile. "Well, I am getting a bid of a migraine, haha..." He let out a small chuckle to calm the disturbed girl before using his unstained hand to soothingly stroke her cheek in a relieved manner. "I'm so glad you're not hurt..." (Y/n) could barely comprehend his priorities before she heard frantic footsteps tapping at the top of the stairs.

"Eban! Big brother, are you ok?!" Gennai ran down the steps, skipping a few at a time, all the while avoiding the area that had caused the accident in the first place. As the boy fell to his knees to inspect his sibling with an agonised look, he proceeded the smack the girl's supporting hands away in disgust. "Don't touch him!" He snapped at her, reflecting her form in a sharp, daggered glare as he looked at her with tainted malice. "It's your fault...if you never came here big brother wouldn't..." His spiteful whispers crawled into the girl's perception as she felt each intended comment to be purely hateful and malicious, as the younger brother clung onto his sibling in a protective hold. "It's your fault...it's because of you that he got hurt...it's all because of you-"

"Gennai, that's enough..." Eban's breathless voice seeped through to the younger male, as he felt his body slowly fatiguing while his vision began blurring with a loss of proper rationality and blood. Gennai's lip trembled as he watched on at his brother's agony. He placed his head against the injured boy's shoulder where he held himself from speaking another sentence against the girl.

"Master Eban, what happened?!" (Y/n) turned towards the urgent voice to see the her superior running towards the group, kneeling down to inspect the state of the bleeding boy. "What happened here? Was there an accident?" The butler switched his gaze between the teenagers as an attempt of clueing in on the cause.

The dark haired boy whispered, shaking as he clung onto his brother in a display of security. "It's her fault...it's all her fault..."

"Gennai, will you shut up already?!" Eban suddenly yelled, using the last remaining bit of his energy to scold his sibling. Gennai flinched as he lowered his face into silence, shaking a bit from the venomous tone that was used on him.

The girl felt in a trance, unable to fully process the situation in her mind before she was forced to hastily piece together her thoughts once she felt a hand gently placing on her shoulder. "(Y/n), it's ok, I'll take over from here. I'll ring up the hospital, you just go home and take a rest, ok?" Nori regarded the girl in a calm tone, officially dismissing her for the rest of the evening.

The female looked towards the injured boy to watch as the consistent droplets of blood refused to stop as the crimson substance continued pouring out of he wound. "B-but...at least let me stay until the ambulance arrives!" She insisted, causing a small smile to appear on the wounded boy's lips.

However, the man soberly shook his head. "It isn't something you should concern yourself with, just got home and take some time to calm down." The girl attempted to debate back before a low whisper loomed over her head as a threatening plead.

"Just leave..." Gennai silently commented, nearly getting scolded by the blond once more before Eban gave up on any speech as he felt a shot of pain pierce his brain the moment he opened his mouth.

The bleeding male disappointedly gazed at the conflicted girl before he gave her an assuring smirk that depleted his strength further. "Don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" His promising tone caused further grievance in the female, as she hesitated with standing up on her weak legs, feeling guilt obstruct her breathing.

"P-please hang in there." She begged him as she swiftly turned away to run out of the door. The girl stopped near the statue where she began panting for air in order to calm her aching heart.

Nori proceeded to take his phone out and dial the emergency number while the two siblings stood on the floor, supporting one another. Gennai clenched up his fingers into fists before sprinting after the female that had exited just a few seconds prior. "Gennai, stop! Don't-"

"Master Eban please don't move! You'll make it worse-Hello? Yes, there's been an emergency..." The older man held the boy firmly to restrict any exhausting movement as he then regarded the answer on the other end of the phone.

(Y/n) felt her lungs relaxing to give her a proper breath of air as she gulped in a few more calming inhales before straightening her posture once again. "Hey!" Before she had a chance of even thinking about leaving and consulting herself on the events, she spun around to see the golden eyed boy sending a feral and loathing look her way, holding back from actually approaching her full on out of calculative restraint. "What you did to him...I'll never forgive you." His words seeped through his teeth as his voice deepened into unrecognisable vocals that seemed to belong to a completely different persona. "I'll make you pay...I'll take away everything that is precious to you and make you regret this. I'll make sure not you or your mother step in here ever again..." With his final pledge, he swiftly retreated back inside, firmly slamming the entrance to leave the stunned girl to concoct her own ideas behind his threat.

(Y/n) quietly stared at the doorway, unsure of her reaction to the vow. She looked up at the setting sun to let her mind unnervingly wonder, as a gust of cold wind swept her thoughts away.