"Let's get some food."
After a bit of serious thinking, he concluded that he should start with filling his empty stomach. This emptiness in him would surely make him unable to think properly.
He casually walked to the door that connected him to the corridor but stopped at the last moment.
"Maybe I should take a bath first."
Ian knew that he didn't have a shower for almost a week, and he stank. He stank of alcohol, but even the strong smell of alcohol couldn't hide the filthy smell that emitted from his body, not to mention he felt extremely dirty.
"Let's take a bath."
He changed the direction and instead walked to the bathroom that was connected to this room. Ian didn't call for anyone knowing that it wouldn't matter anyway.
Being one of the only marquis of the empire it can come off as a surprise that he knows how to run a bath by himself. Not only could Ian run the bath in a familiar manner even changing his clothes that were tasks that the maids should have done were done by him in a professional manner even shaming some of the full-fledged maids.
But Ian didn't care that he needed to do his servants job, he thought it was easier that way. Although that doesn't mean he is planning to do their job for the rest of his life.
After tying his long hair in a ponytail Ian walked to the eating room, and as excepted there was no dinner to be seen. If you looked closely you can see how badly this mansion was being maintained. The table where you should eat was covered by a layer of dust, clearly showing how the servants were doing their job.
Ian took a deep breath in and released his breath after a while. When he finally calmed down again he walked to the kitchen where he should never take a step in as the master of the Agathiaron house, but he didn't have any choice now.
He decided to act generous for a moment if they make delicious food, but his thought of being a nice person completely went out of the window the moment he opened the door. The place named the kitchen was now just a deserted place. It felt like a sin to cook here because of how filthy it was. Ian would bet all his money that rats were running wild in the kitchen.
"Where are the fucking cooks!", if he could he doesn't want to be angry. He felt that anger is a useless emotion. Anger always leads to an unwise decision that you will regret, but there is one thing he can't forgive in this world. Not giving him food when he wants to!
Actually, he can be an easy person to be around. Ian may not be to most friendly and sociable person in the world, but at least he would make you feel like you matter, that you are a person, but he hates an empty stomach. An empty stomach makes him extremely grumpy.
"I'll fucking kill them all."
Ian went on a hunt. A hunt for his cooks who were not doing their jobs.
But before he found someone who could aid him in his search he met someone that made his already bad mood even worse.
"Ian, my friend, I finally found you! I couldn't find you where you always were."
The one who made Ian's mood sank even deeper was no one other than Trevor Russel. Trevor had light brown eyes and short red hair. The Russel family is known for that they are a family of red-haired members, and their family rank is viscount.
If you compare their ranks it's obviously that Ian has a higher rank, but Trevor didn't seem to care and treated him as an equal. It even looked like he treated him as someone lower than him as if Trevor looked down on Ian.
But the new Ian doesn't like to be looked down on. He even cursed his past self that acted weakly in front of that thing.
Using their height difference, he looked down on him while unleashing all his pent-up anger from not being able to eat.
"Why where you looking for me?"
Trevor, who was on the receiving end, shivered when his eyes met Ian's eyes. Feeling the shift of momentum change to the one he always thought as prey was anything but nice for him. Only with Ian can he, Trevor, be called a predator, but now with his changing attitude who the prey and predator would be isn't known yet.
"Why were you looking for me?", Ian asked for the second time in the same calm but frightening tone.
"I- "; Trevor whose words didn't come out as he wanted could only look Ian's face that towered before him.
"Yes?"
"I- ", the more he couldn't express what he wanted to say the more his anger built deep inside him. How could he, Trevor Russel, fear a dumb person as Ian who only has his title to back up.
The fear in him dissipated and he sneered at Ian while talking in his annoying but arrogant voice: "I came here because I didn't receive my monthly money."
"Money?"
"Yes, my money", Trevor replied as a matter of fact while rubbing his fingers to back up his words.
"Haha…", Ian chuckled lightly.
"Are you talking about your wages?", Ian asked in a playful manner.
"Yes, exactly!", Trevor answered without noticing Ian's mood.
"The wages of the butler of the house Agathiaron should be quite lot but do tell me what you did to deserve that money.", he asked in a way as if he genuinely didn't understand anything, but his eyes beg to differ.
"You- ", finally realizing that something seemed amiss he couldn't help but let his feelings that he barely suppressed flood out: "Don't forget that it was you that promised me that money! It was you that fired your former butler! And you know I'm busy with other things, how do you expect from me to do the butler duties above that all?!"
There were some truths what he told, but above that all how could Ian let a dog bark to its owner. How could Ian once again overlook to being looked down by the same person twice.
***
"Remember Ian, you are an Agathiaron. Nobody not even the house of Panalhrik, the royalty who rules these lands, deserves to disrespect us because we are special, and you too deserve that respect. Remember that my dear child, Ian"
***
These were the words his mother, the former marquise Agathiaron always told him. She was and still is the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the one Ian respected the most.
So, how could he as a filial child not listen to his mother's words. He is an Agathiaron who nobody but selected few, who he respects, dares to disrespect him, but now because he was weak he let something happen he shouldn't. It was time to show that the Agathiarons are still alive.
"You, how dare you talk down to your master", Ian didn't scream, didn't shout, but the authority in his voice was clearly heard. It was a voice that demanded submission.
"You! What master?! Aren't we friends!", Trevor replied arrogantly but meeker than before, but Trevor wasn't planning to back down. He glared at Ian's eyes to show that he wasn't intimidated at the slightest, but instead his arrogance dissipated the moment he looked at him. The amber eyes that he always scorned were now giving him a warning that his body couldn't reject.
Seeing his reaction Ian could help but snort. This man was all bark but no bite. He glanced at him for the last time before turning away and leaving some last words: "Because we were 'friends' I'll overlook every misdeed you did against me, so you better leave, and never ever should you meddle again with my business if you still want to live that is."