"Do you have a death wish?! If you're going to be depressed and suicidal, can't you do it in another place? You know, a place where there wouldn't be any bystanders that might possibly get traumatized??"
Ainsley stood beside the machine created for capturing scraps as he crossed his arms in disappointment at the person who he had assumed as a suicidal lost cause. Thinking about it now, his conscience hurt him as he immediately apologized soon after.
"I'm sorry. That was a joke. You know, haha, dark humor..? Anyways, pleasedontkillyourselfitisntworthittrustme."
And you might be wondering, why is Ainsley here? And what happened to him after the party last night?
***
Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'It's only been a few minutes since he left. Unless he took a hidden passageway, then there'd be no way for him to reach the ground floor yet.'
Ainsley dashed out of the rooftop and darted down the staircase as he nearly tripped on some occasions.
He ran as if his life depended on it. Well, it actually depended on Lumiere Welle's life instead, since this was Ainsley's chance to ruin his 'untarnished' and 'noble' reputation once and for all.
Though Ainsley was unaware of Lumiere's past and the secret behind his mother's death, he was well aware of the current crimes he had committed; meanwhile, everyone else was fooled by his acting skills.
How did he know about the basement? And how in the world did the basement key, which was supposed to be kept safe and sound in Lumiere's bedroom chamber, fall into the hands of a person specifically known as Ainsley Oseth?
Just as he was nearing the ground floor, Ainsley reached into his outer vest and pulled out a transceiver. He positioned it closely to his mouth as he whispered a code for whoever or whatever was listening on the other side.
Ainsley: "Codename: LordXZ01. R.B#34, I command you to scan the area and check the status surrounding the staff room."
He used his natural voice to activate the voice recognition built-in for the robot to identify him; he also spat out his codename for precautionary measures just in case there was someone out there who could easily imitate his voice. Ainsley had ordered the robot over the transceiver to scan the area before he reached the bottom floor. He didn't want to 'accidentally' meet Lumiere, who was trying to ruin his plans as he waited for a response.
The transceiver spoke as the robot on the other side chimed in to tell Ainsley about their results.
[Scanning complete. Current status: 0 lifeforms found. Devoid of hindrances and obstacles. Finalization-]
Ka-chhhhhh...
The transceiver abruptly broke into static noise right before the robot could convey the conclusion it had created after gaining the results.
Ainsley felt an uneasy feeling seeping inside of him as his stomach slightly churned in distress. Since it was all up to him now, the only thing left for him to do was enter the so-called staff room that secretly contained the entrance to the basement, as Lumiere used it as a cover-up for visitors to not be suspicious.
Arriving at the first and ground floor, Ainsley's gaze was faintly nervous as he carefully inspected the place for any anomalies. Seeing as how there were none so far, he immediately approached the room that had the title 'Staff Only' engraved on its surface.
Step step step-
Footsteps could be heard coming from Ainsley's left direction as they grew closer, and the split second Ainsley when turned his head to see who it was, the person's leg immediately kicked his waist, causing him to topple to the right side.
Ainsley: "Ack!-"
Lumiere: "You're quite the handful..."
Lumiere was panting as he spoke. One of his hands held a metal bat as he clenched on to it tightly. Judging from that alone, Ainsley was able to deduce that he was the one who had damaged the robot, thus severing the connection between them.
Ainsley grabbed whatever was beside him as he used it as a weapon to fend for himself. However, by doing so this only made Lumiere stare at him questionably and he spoke.
Lumiere: "That's an odd choice for a weapon considering I have a metal bat with me."
Ainsley's curiosity prompted him to land his gaze at what he was holding, and he wore a blank face. Apparently the tools beside him were cleaning materials, and the one he had blindly chosen among them was a...
Ainsley: "If you find it so unfair, then why don't you drop that bat you're holding..?"
Lumiere: "Are you seriously threatening me with a duster-"
Woosh
Ainsley swung the fluffy duster forward as he aimed for Lumiere's face. Lumiere reacted quickly as he stepped back, only to narrowly avoid it.
Woosh swoosh swing-
Ainsley's arm flailed around as he swung with all his might in an attempt to hit Lumiere. The moment Lumiere was almost cornered by him Lumiere's common sense suddenly returned to him as he thought to himself.
Lumiere's inner thoughts: 'Wait a damn minute... He has a duster and I have a metal bat, for crying out loud...'
Swoosh
Dung!
Lumiere swung the bat like a professional baseball player, thus perfectly landing a strike on Ainsley's body. Ainsley was roughly knocked back as he crashed into what seemed like a glass case. Not only was this glass case inconveniently positioned behind him, it also contained a ceramic vase inside and got smashed together with the case that protected it.
A few shards were able to scratch and partially wound Ainsley's face and body as he groaned in pain. His face was lying sideways on the floor, but due to him being abruptly knocked back he had forgotten to close his mouth, and a mouthful of dust had entered his mouth by accident.
... Dust?
This 'dust' was rather... strange. Its texture did not fit the ceramic vase's structure since that was the only possible candidate to produce dust after breaking. What's more is that this peculiar dust was ashen, white, and a moderate pile of it was scattered throughout the floor and even stuck to Ainsley's clothes.
Ainsley was slightly surprised as he spoke, with his now dusty tongue sticking out.
Ainsley: "A-th-eth..?"
(Translation: Ashes..?)
His pronunciation was hindered due to his tongue sticking out of place. But Lumiere was able to understand him either way as he nonchalantly replied.
Lumiere: "Ah... That is my deceased mother."
PPTTTHHHHHH-
Ainsley felt irked by the fact that he had accidentally gotten the ashes of a dead person onto his bare tongue. He frantically kept spitting out the remaining dust, even though he was supposed to be paying attention to his wounds and not...
Well, no one should blame him. After all, how would you react once you discover that your tongue has been contaminated by the ashes of a person who was no longer alive?
Lumiere shared the same thoughts as him as he empathized with Ainsley.
Lumiere: "Of course my mother would taste disgusting. It balances perfectly with her horrible personality."
Pleh-
Ainsley: "WHO WOULDN'T BE DISGUSTED AFTER KNOWING YOU JUST HAD THE ASHES OF A DEAD PERSON STUCK TO YOUR TONGUE!!!"
Pthew-
Ainsley even went so far as to wipe his tongue dry to ensure that not a spec of ash would remain on his tongue. Though the trauma caused from it would forever be engraved in his memory.
A decent amount of guests had already reached the ground floor as they followed the guide robot which assisted them with their evacuation.
Once they were met with the scene of Ainsley, who maintained a couple of injuries here and there, and Lumiere, who was standing in front of him, they began to exchange whispers with one another.
"Isn't that the son of the Oseth Family..?"
"Oh my... It seems that something terrible happened to him."
"Goodness. Look at the blood leaking from his arms and legs."
"Why is the Grand Duke just standing there..?"
These whispers could be heard by both Ainsley and Lumiere as they hurriedly tried covering up the fight they recently had.
Lumiere hid the metal bat underneath his coat as he bent down to Ainsley's level and forced a fake yet worried smile.
Lumiere: "Sir Oseth? I came here as fast as I could once I heard the sound of glass shattering. I did not expect to see you wounded this badly."
Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'This bastard...'
Ainsley glared intensely at Lumiere, who gave him the signal to play along. Although Ainsley despised this man with a burning passion, he had to consider his actions carefully since people were now watching them.
If he told the truth and revealed that Lumiere was the one who injured him, he might gain favor depending on Lumiere's response. Then again, Lumiere could also go on record to claim that Ainsley was the one who started it thus sparking debate between the two sides.
Ainsley decided to be rational as he realized that his wounds probably wouldn't heal themselves.
Ainsley's inner thoughts: '... F*cking hell.'
Ainsley: "I'm alright, really. Just a few scratches that is all."
Lumiere: "Is that so..? Still, I would like to insist on treating you-"
All of a sudden, Ainsley flicked his hand as he pretended to be interested in what the watch on his wrist displayed.
Ainsley: "Oh, would you look at that! It seems that it's past my bedtime. I shall take my leave as I am currently feeling very exhausted now."
Everyone's inner thoughts: 'Isn't it seven in the evening...'
The bystanders were dumbfounded by the fact that an adult such as Ainsley still had the conscience to schedule an early bedtime for himself. Perhaps this man genuinely treasured his sleep.
Ainsley propped his legs up to stand as he casually walked away from the messy scene. Though his legs were a bit unstable due to his minor injuries.
Lumiere switched his body to face the direction where Ainsley had gone to, but he was already too late since Ainsley was surprisingly swift on his feet as he was nowhere to be found.
Lumiere's inner thoughts: 'He purposely rejected my offer.'
Lumiere's teeth gnashed together and his jaw could be seen faintly stiffening.
Ainsley truly was a smart person. If he had accepted Lumiere's offer to get treatment, then he would've taken the initiative to reclaim the basement key while Ainsley was distracted with getting his wounds healed.
Lumiere inwardly sighed and he calmly spoke to the guests who had yet to evacuate the tower.
***
Due to the current time being set during the evening, it was difficult to find a cab driver that was determined enough to transport Ainsley to his address. His family's household was located in a complex and distant area, so naturally most drivers would rather avoid the trouble in order to get there despite Ainsley offering them a reasonable price to balance it out.
Ainsley dragged his feet all the way from the Grand Duke's tower up until he had finally arrived at his residence.
Standing in front of the doorstep, Ainsley scrounged through his pocket and he held out a key. This was the spare key his parents entrusted him with whenever he had to leave the house for business-related matters.
The moment he had stepped inside and closed the door behind him, a woman's indifferent voice chimed out of the blue.
"Do you know what time it is? Is the watch you wear everyday becoming so useless to the point that you only wear it for decorative purposes?"
Hearing his overbearing mother's unpleasant voice immediately worsened his mood as he wore an exhausted expression.
She noticed that her son wasn't showing any intentions of replying to her question, thus prompting her to switch the light on in the dim room. In doing so, Lindsay was able to visibly see the wounds on his body and the blood dripping out of his partially torn clothes.
Lindsay: "Why has your condition gotten to this state..?"
Ainsley: "I'd appreciate it very much if you let me tend to my injuries first rather than interrogating me the second I return."
He ignored his mother's intense gaze as he strode his way upstairs. Lindsay's reaction to this was rather harsh as she yelled at him from below.
Lindsay: "How disrespectful, do you realize what you've done?! Your filthy blood has stained the floor boards!! Cleaning them as soon as you've finished bandaging yourself!!"
SLAM!!!
Ainsley became emotional once he was scolded by his own mother. Your one and only son has been injured and yet you still have the audacity to tell him to take responsibility for 'staining' the floor? Both his parents definitely did not care about his wellbeing. This statement bore no falsehood in them because that was how they would normally treat him no matter what predicament he was in.
Of course, because his parents never paid attention to him, they would obviously not treat his wounds or injuries either. Growing up, Ainsley was forced to learn the basics when it came to first-aid or medical treatment by himself.
He made sure to remove any left over shards that might still be stuck onto his open wounds. Applying medicine soon after, he also neatly wrapped bandages around the spots where he was severely injured the most.
He fell face forward onto his bed as he reached to the space in-between his pillow and his mattress. He had hidden a special device in that space and he grabbed it as he took it out.
{A.R.B.Y#01
Reports made today: Null.
Condition: Fully operating. All functions are intact.
Input your command here: ____________}
Ainsley's tense muscles gradually began to relax as he stared at the device's black and green screen. It was as if the world became sadistic towards him as his device immediately went haywire.
{A.R.B.Y#01
R3p0rt2 m4de to₩ay: @^!'"<@₩×
C0ndit1on: !>$€☆*&
1nu00o0oo00ooo000: ●■○○•◇□}
Ainsley groaned as he placed the now-broken device on the drawer beside his bed and he closed his eyes shut as he forced himself to sleep.
***
Riiiinng~
Ainsley's eyelids trembled as he was woken up by the sound of his alarm clock blasting at full volume. He aimlessly waved his hand, thus knocking the alarm clock off of his drawer, causing it to stop.
As he rubbed his eyes, he bent his upper body to reach the clock that fell onto the floor. His vision was blurry so he couldn't see properly through the hazy background. Eventually it was restored and he checked the time.
Ainsley: "ELEVEN FORTY NINE?!?"
He shortly forgot how to speak in his mind as he jumped out of bed and swiftly changed to a fresh set of clothes.
Ainsley locked his bedroom door and he opened the window as he recklessly hopped out of his room and clumsily landed outside.
Ainsley ran as fast as he could as he dashed through several sidewalks and passed through countless alleyways.
The reason why he was so worked up by oversleeping that day was because it was garbage disposal day. Whenever the garbage from the mall piled up to the point where one could build a house out of it, they would dump their trash in a certain spot.
Now why was Ainsley so enthusiastic about this? Obviously it was because the trash also included scraps.
He was talented enough to create machines and devices out of these scraps that were declared unusable and worthless. It was his hobby to collect scraps in order for him to create more machines.
Ainsley used a secret passage way as he entered a sewer canal. This canal led to an edge where one could witness the pieces of garbage fall from above as mall janitors disposed of them.
A weird looking machine twice the height of Ainsley was positioned near the edge as it faced the broad sky. Ainsley built this machine on the very same place it stood, meaning to say that this machine had never once left this area. The purpose of the machine was to catch the scraps that fell and reel them in for Ainsley to receive.
Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'Thankfully I made it in time...'
At exactly 12: 30 p.m the garbage would be disposed. There were days when the disposal schedule got delayed, but Ainsley was the patient type, so this sort of thing didn't bother him one bit.
The anticipation he felt was agonizing after waiting for what seemed like an eternity.
Then he noticed that something had finally come down.
Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'That's a weird looking pile of garbage...'
No, it wasn't a something but instead a someone...
Huh?
Ainsley's inner thoughts: 'What's a person doing here??'
Ainsley's hand instinctively pulled on the lever connected to the machine made for capturing trash, and a net was thrown out as it surrounded the person's body. He pulled the lever once more and the machine's gears cranked as it raised the person's body up.
Ainsley: "Do you have a death wish?! If you're going to be depressed and suicidal, can't you do it in another place? You know, a place where there wouldn't be any bystanders that might possibly get traumatized??"
Ainsley crossed his arms as he gazed down at the person he had presumably saved. Seeing as how the person only stared at him wide-eyed, Ainsley became frantic as he apologized for his rude behavior.
Ainsley: "I'm sorry. That was a joke. You know, haha, dark humor..? Anyways, pleasedontkillyourselfitisntworthittrustme."