Luchia thinks for a second, and then she says:
-I don't know she must be sleeping; I'll go check for her in her room.
-Alright, I'll do the dishes until you're back
-As you say
Luchia leaves the kitchen and heads to Vallerie's bedroom. Kiro starts gathering the dishes, when he hears a knock on the door:
-It got to be Cyrian, he must have forgotten something:
Kiro heads to the door, and when he opens it he is surprised to see that it wasn't Cyrian, but a face he had never seen. It was an old man, not too tall, not too short, not too fat and not too skinny. He was wearing an old tunic under a dirty apron.
-Excuse me young man….
Then he notices Kiro's face, the face he had seen all around the walls of Menal, the reaper himself.
He started mumbling like his tongue was tied:
-The…. You…...The reaper….
Kiro grabbed his arm and forced the man inside not letting him escape. He pulled out his dagger and pointed it at the man's throat:
-Listen to me old man, until you have calmed down I won't let you go, so if you don't want to be added into my body count, tell me the reason you came here.
-My daughter… what have you done to her you fiend!
The man then pushes Kiro and raises his hands, as he was preparing himself to throw a punch.
-Where is my daughter, I swear if you have done anything to her you will regret it!
"He does realize I'm the one holding a dagger"
Suddenly, Luchia and Vallerie appear. Vallerie was still sleepy, but when she raised her head, she couldn't believe his eyes.
-Dad?!
-Vallerie!
Vallerie rushes into the old man's arms, as he wrapped them around her. He was hugging her tightly, not wanting to let her go.
-Dad
-My sweet sweet Vallerie.
-I missed you so much
-Me too darling, there hasn't been a single day I haven't been thinking about you.
They both let out tears of happiness, meanwhile Kiro stares confused.
The old man then gets Vallerie behind his back and says:
-Don't worry darling, I will rescue you!
The old man throws a punch at Kiro, which was unbelievably fast and accurate, that fast that Kiro couldn't dodge it. The punch lands straight at Kiro's cheek, stunning him for a second.
"How could a bastard like him throw a punch that hard?"
-Dad, Stop!
-Don't worry darling, he cannot hurt you no more!
-Dad, please stop!
The man suddenly stops, and then Vallerie continues:
-He isn't hurting me, please listen to him!
-What has this filth done to you my dear, making you say such words!
-Can you shut up and listen to your daughter for a second! - Screams Kiro
-Can we talk like sane people in the living room?
The man shakes his head, agreeing on Kiro's request. All of them head to the living room, as they grab a chair and sit.
-Luchia, could you prepare us some tea?
Luchia stands up and leaves the living room, heading to the kitchen. Kiro speaks once again.
-Now, can you tell me what do you want here?
The old man clears his throat, and then says:
-I'm Walgrouf Roe, Former knight of Hellar Kingdom and Vallerie's Father.
"This explains the punch I guess"
-Vallerie's debt to that swine Vesper is over, and I have come to take her away.
Vallerie has mixed emotions of her father's words. She missed her father, and her little brother too, but she loves to work around the mansion.
-Well, this explains it all.
-I'm disgusted by the fact that my daughter had to share the same roof with an animal like you, how could Vesper ever lent my daughter to this filthy criminal like this.
-Dad stop it, Kiro is a nice person!
"Did she just reveal my identity?"
-Then tell me reaper, what do you have anything to say?
"Well, there is no point on keeping my identity a secret anymore"
Kiro takes a deep breath and then continues:
-My name is Kiro Karasu, also known as the reaper, I'm the owner of this mansion and Vallerie has served me as a maid, to pay off the debt you own to Vesper.
-What have you made her do?
-Household chores, like cooking and cleaning, she has been a great help around here, that's pretty much it.
-So he didn't do anything bad to you?
-Of course not! He actually was nicer to me than Vesper; he even helped us out in the kitchen sometimes. I know that he might have done terrible things, but in my eyes, he and Luchia felt like family.
-Is that so?
The man stands up and bows in front of Kiro as a sign of an apology:
-I'm truly sorry for disrespecting you in that way!
-Don't worry about it, I get it most of the time. If you wouldn't mind, what was your debt to Vesper?
The old man clears his throat once again, and says:
-Back when I was a knight, I got injured while fighting several beast men. I wasn't in a position to make choices, as I had three children to take care, and I couldn't take care of them if I was six feet under the ground, so I took a loan to buy medicine to treat my wounds. The man I took the loan from was Vesper, and a short time after, he demanded his drezas back. I couldn't pay since I had nothing on me, so he came up with a proposition, he would take my youngest daughter, Vallerie to work as a maid in his house hold, so she could pay my debt. That's the choice I regret to this day, I accepted, I haven't seen my sweet Vallerie in years. I've been working ever since as a blacksmith to pay the debt I own. And today, I finally paid it.
"That must have been a big loan since it had taken years to pay it"
Kiro finally responds:
-Well would you mind to stay for lunch?
Walgrouf thinks about it and says:
-It would be impolite of me to reject .
Kiro then turns to Vallerie and says:
-So what do you say Vallerie? Care to help me in the kitchen , it's your last day here after all.
Then he gives a joyful smile to her
-I...I...Of course
-Great, follow me to the kitchen.
Then Luchia enters the living room with the tea.
-The tea is ready.
Kiro grabs the cup and starts jugging it until he finishes it.
-Serve the Tea and go back to the kitchen so you can help me prepare the food.