"I presume you found what you were searching for?"
Back in the grand hall of the main building of the House of Diaz, Luis sat facing the Romano twins. His eyes were glued onto them as he asked his question. Well, not them really. His eyes were locked onto only one person- Rosa.
Kahn looked on with a wry smile as he realised that Luis wasn't paying him any heed. He coughed lightly to grab the older man's attention and said.
"Yes we did. Thank you very much for your help, Young Master Luis. We greatly appreciate your generosity."
Luis nodded in acknowledgement of Kahn's words, still not turning his eyes away from Rosa. He was clearly expecting her to say something. Kahn lightly jabbed Rosa with his elbow, a clear signal informing her to convey her thanks. Luis did not care about him. All he cared about was whether Rosa enjoyed her stay. Kahn knew this all too well.
"We do appreciate the help Young Master Luis. Thank you." Rosa finally spoke up after being subtly jabbed by her brother for the third time. Fortunately, her reluctance to do so was hidden by her pleasant voice.
"It is my greatest pleasure to be of service to you." Luis smiled broadly, his demeanor as the Diaz family heir thrown out the window as his happiness was conveyed to all.
Kahn sighed lightly at this sight. The ever calm and steady Luis was only capable of behaving this way around his sister. Kahn wished that his sister also felt the same- wait. He finally thought back to why he felt his sister's words were strange during the library search earlier. When she spoke about the 'incident' sometime back, he felt resentment and anger in her voice. He hadn't been able to think clearly about it then since his thoughts were interrupted by Rosa herself. And for a while his mind had been occupied with the fresh new information he had been fed. Finally, in the comfort of this well ventilated and brilliantly lit hall, his sharp brain figured out what was so strange about Rosa's words.
He had sensed that her tone contained some resentment, and a bit of rage. But the reason why he felt baffled by this wasn't because of the emotions her voice conveyed- it was who they were directed at. Kahn was a brilliant teen. And most importantly, he loved his sister. With that love came the responsibility of knowing everything about her- even the things she may not have realised about herself. He knew her well enough to notice that the negative emotions she felt were not directed towards Luis, the man she supposedly disdained. It was directed towards the 'idiot' who started the conflict!
It seemed she was angry because what he did to Luis. The fact that he looked down on him. Her resentment came from the simple fact that she couldn't do anything to that person since he was stronger than her. His sister was dubbed 'The Meteor' because of her talent and destructiveness. But just like a meteor, she was fiery and rash. For someone as straightforward as herself, not being able to do something she wanted to do was very uncomfortable.
Rosa may not have realised what was going on in her heart, but Kahn did- his sister was in love. She may be a genius, but she had no idea of this emotion. Kahn was inexperienced as well, but he had the advantage of being the third person here. He could analyse and see what the other two could not. It was clear that her love for Luis was born during the banquet. As for what Luis had done to build up this emotion, he had no idea. Unfortunately, the incident had not only created love, but anger. She ended up deflecting and transferring this anger to Luis, thinking it was because she disdained his character. Kahn smiled in realization of this. Within this smile was mostly relief. He didn't like any of her other suitors, and approved only of Luis. Now the big issue was to let his sister realise what she felt.
They say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure that this would work with his sister. As a soldier, she was used to being away from those she loved. It was like being a regular at a boarding school. The first semester would be rough, with the boarder missing his loved ones. The subsequent semesters would not be the same, with some even forgetting about their families until they had to return. Kahn was confident this approach would not work. Besides, her feelings were currently weak. Putting distance between them may nullify her feelings entirely.
"Elder sister, didn't you say you wanted to use the washroom? Young Master Luis, would you be so kind as to extend your generosity to us once more?"
Many prestigious houses had several guest bathrooms. This wasn't only to accommodate huge numbers during social events. These washrooms were mainly made available to visitors.
Rosa was baffled by Kahn's words. She didn't know why her brother wanted to be alone with Luis, however, she was more than eager to leave. Her curiosity for their meeting was dampened by her eagerness to leave. She nodded her head in compliance to her brother's words.
"Of course", Luis replied. He beckoned one of the maidservants and handed her the task of being Rosa's escort. Though disappointed by Rosa's departure, he was also curious to know what was going on. Like him, Kahn was the first son of his father. Unlike him, he was the only son. But this did not change the fact that they were both heirs apparent. He reckoned that what they were going to discuss was very important. Perhaps, it might even be a collaboration between the two houses. Although he knew Kahn and Max were close, he was aware that in business, familiarity wasn't always a surety of partnership. He was right that the conversation was meant to bring the families together. He was wrong though- it wasn't business related. It had to do with his heart.
"Good. Now that she's gone, we can talk freely. What do you have to say?" Luis spoke freely, discarding all formality.
Kahn smiled. "Do you still have any wine?" he said. "Trust me, you would be very pleased by what I have to say."