"I recommend you stay in your rooms tonight," called Asha.
Tim wanted to explore the manor, though. "Why is that?" he asked.
Asha just grimaced. "There are things in those house better left unseen and unheard. Good night." Asha retreated into her room.
Daniel was smirking in the hallway.
"Don't tell me you're going to suggest what I think you are," snarled Amelia.
"We're going to investigate the Phantomhive Manor," said Daniel.
Tim smiled. "I'm in."
"No, no, no. I want to go straight to bed and sleep," said Amelia.
Tim made puppy eyes. "Come on, Amelia. Please? You just need to follow us and be there. We're not asking you to move the place for us."
Amelia growled, but nodded. "Fine. If this goes past one in the morning, I will rip a strand of your hair out for every second that passes."
Blyke grinned. "Finally, something we can do freely, without people breathing down our necks. I was starting to think suicide was the better choice compared to witnessing more of Asha's family problems."
Tim resisted the urge to pump his fist into the air in celebration. "Should we start in the basement?" he asked.
"Why not? That's probably the best chance we have of finding something interesting," agreed Ethelyn.
"Whoa, since when have you ever been interested in anything, Miss Emotionless?" asked Rosaria.
"I'm the Scion of Light. I need to know these things," said Ethelyn, a slightly mischievous smile on her face as she said her usual excuse.
Tim smiled. "Let's go, then."
Out of all of them, Tim was the one who was the least hostile. To be honest, he would love to give up his position as a Jack of Luminine in exchange for living a free and fun life. 'But,' he thought happily, skipping down the halls, 'I kind of like this chaotic, exciting life.'
"God, I just realized how many stairs there are here," grumbled Daniel. "Who needs over ten floors for a family of four?"
"This is how the nobility are," sighed Blyke. "Large houses, many slaves and servants, and, in a nobleman's home, many women."
"Do you have experience with that?" asked Rosaria. "Should we tell Asha to give up before she falls too far?"
Blyke laughed. "As if my ego would let me breath the same air with anything but the best."
"Even now, she is still the best," agreed Tim. He drifted off, mind elsewhere. "You know, I really hate the Artemesian aristocracy," he said quietly.
Ethelyn and Blyke sucked in sudden breaths.
"I hate it. How many people are miserable because of the hierarchy and aristocracy? The low-tiers, the commoners…"
"Speaking of that is illegal, Tim," said Daniel quietly.
"I know," Tim sighed. "I just wish… everyone can be happier than they are. I'm not asking for a perfect world, because I know that will never happen. I just want… families to be able to live together, happily, without some of the horrible things that happen in this world. I want people to be able to get along without worry of betrayal, social status, or strength." Tim glanced up, noticing everyone was looking at him strangely. He smiled slightly, a bit sad, and a bit wry. "Sorry. I kind of shot off my mouth just there. It's just, I want people to be able to live a life different from my own."
"But you're a God-tier. How could they live a better life than that?" asked Rosaria.
Tim's smile turned completely sad as he looked back down the hall. "My big brother was killed when I was younger. By the nobleman who ruled the town. Killed just because the man could. Can you kind of understand why I'm not a fan of the aristocracy and hierarchy now?"
The cadre all looked away from each other. They all had pasts they didn't want to discuss, but to believe that the most joyous one of the all even had a tragedy… made them all rethink about the laws of Artemesa.
"You know, I wouldn't have a problem if it was just a title and power," said Tim, turning to them all and smiling. "I love Artemesa. Artemesa is my home. But a home should be happy. I don't want any repeats of what happened to me and my family. Like I said: I don't want a perfect world. I just want people to be a little bit happier than they are."
"That's a good wish," said Blyke, smiling gently. "We both lost family. Your wish is for everyone to be happy. Mine is that no children ever have to grow up without their parents."
"The powerful bear burdens others can't see, but that is no excuse to use that power to make others just as miserable as them," agreed Daniel. "I see now that not everyone carries their scars in places people can see. And, as much as I don't want to, I believe with my being that Asha, and all of her strangeness, stems from the same kind of darkness we all carry within ourselves."
"I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say," said Amelia, smiling.
"Everyone has these pasts, but nobody needs to speak of them, at least not yet. Let the scab mature into a faint scar, so when you try to pick at it, it doesn't start to bleed," said Ethelyn.
"That was a scary way of saying it," Tim laughed. He was happy the atmosphere around them had lightened, less tense and begrudging. "Let's proceed, shall we?"
Blyke nodded.
Daniel smiled. "Another adventure for the Cadre of Artemesa."
Tim grinned. "I like the sound of that."
"So do we," agreed the others.
∽