Butler Kenji compressed the rag in his fists getting the excess cold water out before gently placing it upon Yuuma's forehead. His movements were precise and fluidly tranquil. Despite his previous aggression towards the young master, always playing with him, his actions now didn't show a playful butler.
Yuuma hadn't done any tricks since the day he woke up and gave a morning greeting. On that very day, Kenji's thoughts kept getting more and more complicated. By the end, he took note of all of Yuuma's changes and couldn't sit still.
Not only did Yuuma not exhibit his normal rich kid persona but he was abnormally clever. He stood up to his parents about their unlawful behavior, mumbled bad things behind their back about how terrible they are at raising kids, and if anything he's become somewhat kind.
He's so different now Kenji considered if his old self was a lie and he faked it. But Yuuma couldn't be that smart, he couldn't have faked who he was his whole seven years of life.
An imposter. Another theory Kenji has thought of but also leads to a brick wall. He used magic on the child to check but it showed no abnormalities. Plus even if it was an imposter Kenji much preferred this more obedient Yuuma.
Now every action little Yuuma takes is a new step, and Kenji can't predict where he'll go now. Of course, the change didn't go noticed by everyone in the mansion, even the gardener knows. But it was the knowledge of the first heir to the family no longer being able to use magic that set off a chain reaction. Yuuma was uninfected, so distant from that fact the Kenji couldn't neglect it any longer.
Yuuma was truly not the Yuuma from before and he shouldn't treat him as such. Even so, this new one is incredibly diplomatically lazy.
Kenji must tolerate.
With an aloof air, he continued his task of twitching out the rags until the other turned hot. Every time Kenji felt his forehead it was like a furnace and the little master was so weak he could barely keep his eyes open. After the small chat when he had woken up he fell asleep just as fast. The butler who sat on a stull, head flickered up as an abrupt heavy yawn blew hot breath from Yuumas fevered lungs. After the yawn, he pushed himself into the pillows as if to merge with it and fell asleep again.
"..."
Did he see that right?
The butler took his calloused wet pointer finger and hooked the edge of Yuuma's lip pulling the edge down and getting a full view of his teeth. Sharp fat fang teeth on his front and bottom canines. It looked to be recent as the gums above were red in agitation and when he poked them Yuuma flinched in his sleep indicating they were sensitive. Without much thought, Kenji poured some mana into them to get a cause for this unnatural beastly change.
Immediately Yuuma's eyes snapped open startling Kenji who still held his mouth wide open. A small hand gripped Kenji's wrist and he observed a glow of purple and animal pupils staring at him in a daring angry animalistic way.
"You are my butler right Kenji?"
"That's right young master," Kenji narrowed his eyes and let go of his mouth before the boy talked letting the boy hold his wrist in a tight grasp.
"Then you won't tattletale on me to my family or the Scarlet family?"
Silence ensued, the room was bathed in quietness, and every now and then you could hear a hot long breath from a sickly little boy.
"If that's what young master wishes," Kenji ripped his wrist from the child and began to switch out the cloths.
"I know you're lying, just don't make me angry butler Kenji." His words were laced with threat and only a minute later he had fallen asleep again. Kenji noticing him once again in sleep gently opened his eyelid to see normal human eyes. Whatever had happened before didn't show on the butler's face, in fact, his aura seemed abnormally lithe.
A knock on the door broke Kenji's cycle and swiftly got up to address the person. A young maid bowed in consideration as her shaky voice penetrated the air, "s-scarlet child wants y-y-young master!" Kenji gaped for a moment before gritting his teeth and leaving the room, telling the maid to continue to change Yuuma's rags.
"Why are you here? Where is Yuuma," a haughty dissatisfied voice questioned, peach eyes staring daggers at the butler in the waiting room.
"Yuuma has a fever," Kenji bowed with tight fists to his side.
"W-What? But I wanted to fight him!" Sadao croaked fiery red hair tied up in a small ponytail accompanying his battle clothes.
"It would be unfair right now and still unfair when he doesn't have a fever, he is younger than you. Not only that but you know of his condition even if he is your enemy I don't recommend doing anything physical. Don't tarnish your name with useless brawls." Butler Kenji continued to roast Sadao under a flame until the boy's face looked frosty and cold. His stare was no longer knives but murderous intent and the butler smartly stopped his bicker.
"Then I just want to see the face of my enemy," cold and distant the boy relaxed but Kenji got a foreboding feeling and with a sigh led the boy out of the room to the young master's.
"He looks awfully ill are you even taking care of him!?" Sadao scrutinized the unconscious boy.
"How long has he been sleeping? He's always sleepy when I see him."
"That's natural for Yuuma," Kenji exclaimed changing the cloth again.
"He's totally burning like the sun!"
"His breathing is a bit rough, can he breath?"
"Look at my finger, burnt from just touching his arm!"
"How long do people typically sleep why won't he wake up?
"Look his eyes are moving but they're still closed!"
"Dreaming? People dream when they have a fever?"
"Was his hair always this dark?"
"Whys he seemed to have gotten smaller-"
Without warning, a small fist made contact with a bigger child's face who leaned over the smaller boy's belly. Yuuma kept hearing an annoying fly in his dreamland and decided to kill it. When he hit it, it stopped its buzz and with a content long sigh went back to dreaming.
Sadao who got hit in the face so hard his jaw hurt and his nose bled: *surprised Pikachu face*