~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
The masquerading forlorn
Consoled the seeker of redemption
As the seeker pondered about true elation.
The wind faced the rabbit.
Its quiet breeze passed by momentarily.
The wind wondered about his destination.
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
It was now some hours past midday when the three of them arrived back at Grisia's manor. The first one to greet them was none other than the gatekeeper, Fredrick, who had been on standby since early in the morning.
"Lord Grisia, Sir Kairo, and... Lady Aisia," he peered at her expecting that she had once again made trouble for his lord. But needing to greet his lord, he changed his demeanor into a more joyful one, "Welcome back! Oh, Sir Kairo, I have thought of some great ideas in regards to helping Lady Aisia graduate from her kleptomaniac tendencies—"
"It's alright, Mr. Fredrick," Kairo interrupted. "I don't think such measures will be necessary anymore," Fredrick's eyes followed Kairo's gaze, turning towards a pouting Aisia.
"I'm... I'm sorry for having you put up with me for so long, Freddy."
"N-No way—!" Fredrick was naturally taken aback by this sudden development.
"I promise I won't ever steal again just because I want to."
It was unusually specific, but this change of heart that Fredrick had been wishing for, for a long time had finally been realized.
He couldn't help but smile with teary eyes. "Welcome home, Aisia."
He then suddenly went to Kairo, grabbed him by the shoulders, and kept shaking him until his brains were scrambled. "It's all because of you, you are the chosen one!"
"I— didn't— do— anything— Mister— Fred— rick—!" Kairo tried to clarify as his head wobbled to and fro. Fredrick let go of him momentarily before hugging him tightly. "I really didn't do much. It was Aisia's own effort and Grisia's guidance that you should give praise to."
Aisia chuckled softly at the two sillies.
When the three neared the door to the mansion, several maids were waiting for their return right outside by the yard. The maids bowed in their presence, save for Esmeralda who seemed to have expected them. She greeted them by the door.
"Welcome home," Esmeralda smiled with her eyes shut like usual. "We have a feast prepared for this wondrous occasion."
"Which occasion?" Kairo asked. "Someone's birthday?"
"No, silly," Esmeralda giggled. "Lady Aisia's turning over a new leaf, it is quite an occasion that merits a celebration, no?"
Kairo was surprised to learn that Esmeralda knew what had transpired today when they've only stepped foot in the residence recently. Maybe the saying that rumors travel faster than the wind was true after all?
"How did you know?"
Esmeralda merely winked charmingly at the boy.
No, he heard Grisia mention Esmeralda as if she was the one who told him about Aisia's activities.
Once they were guided to the dining hall, they were obliged to sit alongside the maids who were already seated at the table. At the knowledge that their masters and their guest had arrived, they all stood up in respect.
Later on, the dishes were served and Tiraga shouted, "Alright, dig in, ya rascals!" and soon, the dining hall became a rowdy place as per usual.
In the middle of his indulgence over Tiraga's exquisite dishes, Kairo observed the main figure of the feast. Aisia wasn't eating as energetically as he saw her previously. He wondered if she was still distressed about having to confront her crimes all at once. It only happened recently, he thought that she must still be shaken up.
Or maybe it was because of that creepy geezer that assaulted her with his eyes. The thought of it made his face slightly red and soured his mood. But if he was this affected by that, he couldn't imagine how it was for her.
"I'll have to continue to console her afterwards, or maybe give her some time alone..." since he was unsure if he would become suffocating, he planned to ask her if she would like his company, even without having to exchange words, or if she would like her privacy for the time being.
Their lunch ended, and it was as satisfying as ever. Kairo burped and caressed his tummy, reflexively saying, "Excuse me," and letting out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Aisia blurted out, "I want to go to the library with Kairo."
A maid's spoon dropped onto the floor with a metallic clank and the chattering halted. A long silence overcame the entire hall which was ordinarily loud and rambunctious.
A stomping can be heard from outside the dining hall. It was rapidly getting louder as it grew closer until Fredrick burst in yelling, "WHAT? Aisia wants to read?!"
"How the hell did ya get here so fast?" Tiraga growled, resting her hands on her hips. "Weren't ya supposed ta be keeping the gate, gate boy?"
"I sensed a great disturbance in the air," he comically shed tears over the news.
"Well, GET BACK TA YOUR POST!"
"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted and ran back outside.
"Damn. It's supposed ta be your job ta whip your servants into shape, Grisia," she huffed, but it fell onto deaf ears as she soon saw Grisia stunned, holding an empty fork, the food that was supposed to be on it had already fallen onto the plate.
Grisia spoke, "I am truly grateful to have continued living up to this point," he said with a satisfied smile, as if ready to peacefully ascend to the heavens any time now.
In that instance, the maids rushed over to Aisia to inspect her.
"Do you have a fever?" one maid asked, putting the back of her hand on Aisia's forehead and on her own to compare their temperature.
"Are you sick? Did Miss Cook finally resort to poison or hallucinogens simply to be free of Lord Grisia?" another maid theorized, to which Tiraga replied with her signature "Hah?!"
"This isn't like a slow-acting poison right?"
"Heavens, maybe a curse or a spell? Oh, poor lady Aisia!"
"We dark elves have a high affinity for magic, specifically healing magic. I've already checked. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Lady Aisia. Maybe this is something beyond my capabilities and perception..." Agata's face bent with utter helplessness.
The maids fawned over Aisia, save for Esmeralda, who remained dining in her seat, a worried smile on her face. Feeling smothered, Aisia waved her hands around herself to create some distance between her and the overwhelming worrying of the maids.
"Why, you...!" in the opening she created, she quickly ate all of her food, stood up, and told Kairo to follow her to the library.
Kairo gorged on his food as much as he could and left his bowl on the table. He waved goodbye with his mouth full, swallowing it all in one gluttonous gulp, and bidding his farewell to the people who remained in the dining hall, as well as his utmost gratitude for the food to Tiraga. Afterwards, he went to catch up to Aisia.
"Oh dear, we must have offended Lady Aisia."
"We might've overreacted, ladies. I hope this doesn't stifle Lady Aisia's newfound interest in books."
"Fredrick might go ballistic if she goes back to shoplifting at the city all because we teased her too much."
"Do not worry," Esmeralda uttered confidently. "I think she'll be alright," she stretched her body and leaned back on the chair.
Esmeralda was normally seen as a proper and elegant maid. Contrary to her youthful appearance, she was one of the people who had been serving Grisia the longest. Said to be Grisia's eyes, ears, and right hand, she dealt in espionage and maintaining the order in the manor. She was one of the very few people who was allowed to and could casually call Tiraga by her name.
She wasn't only respected due to her skills and seniority. Many of the maids confided in her and she always gave helpful and easy-to-understand advice. As dignified as the air around her was, she was unpretentious and amiable.
She engages in casual chatter during their shifts, which was not at all prohibited by Grisia. This fostered an environment where the servants could freely banter, even with their master. In any other aristocratic or noble household, it would be considered an outrageous culture.
In any case, Esmeralda was a role model befitting the position of head maid of Grisia's manor, but she is still as approachable as any maid who resides in it.
Knowing that it was Esmeralda who said such a thing, the maids were at ease. If anybody else had said it, they would have been undoubtedly met with disbelief.
Grisia took a quick glance at Esmeralda, who felt her master's glimpse but acted as if she didn't. At that moment, Grisia was examined.
The two of them were thinking about a matter that the other maids weren't privy to, although Esmeralda couldn't get a read on Grisia's thoughts and wondered if he knew hers instead. She then wondered about the extraordinary stranger whom Grisia apparently already knew about and met with. It was quite peculiar how a lone child held such a dangerous power.
She didn't know when they'd met, which goes to show that as confident as she was on her espionage skills, her master was still leagues above her and could disappear from her watch at any moment if she was not in complete focus.
The library was lit by the cold, noon light that spilled from the windows. It was enough light to abstain from having to use a lantern to be able to read properly. Kairo and Aisia were at their seats, continuing the book that they weren't able to finish yesterday.
The quiet moments were only interrupted by Aisia asking about what certain words meant and Kairo answering her queries. Kairo had read this exact book back from his home village, so instead of reading, he spent his time silently observing Aisia in his peripheral vision, gauging her inner thoughts. But it seemed that she sincerely merely wanted to read with him, so he let go of his worries and simply enjoyed his time with her.
"And what is lenient?"
"It is when a person is lax, or not as strict. Could also be interpreted as being irresponsible or incompetent."
"I see!... what is audacious?"
"Similar to the word bold. But it can also be interpreted as someone who's brazen or presumptuous."
"Presump-shoes?"
"Pre-sump-tu-ous."
"Got it. So, there are a lot of words for the same meaning, but those words can also have other meanings or opposite meanings?"
"Yes. You're really smart Aisia."
"I'm not! I have to ask because I'm dull..."
"No, you are not," Kairo flicked her forehead.
"Ow!" she exclaimed in pain even though she didn't really get hurt, then retaliated with a swift punch to the arm.
Kairo smiled, happy that she was not as gloomy anymore.
He rubbed his arm to ease the dismissable ache from her punch and continued, "It took me a while to even notice that words and meanings are in a spectrum. You're already started noticing them when you've only begun to read, and at a younger age compared to me."
She giggled at how Kairo looked at it. "That's right, I am great, aren't I?"
"Now you're being presumptuous."
"You using that word is presump-shoes!"
"That... is actually not wrong."
Grisia opened the door to the library and heard children's laughter when he came in. He took one of the numerous books from the expansive bookshelves and was about to log in when he saw Kairo's writing. He saw that he logged in properly. Grisia was impressed by how a kid like Kairo did what must be done even if he was told that he didn't have to.
The day went by quickly as the two had fun interacting while reading their book. Soon, it was time to eat dinner. Even though they didn't finish their book, they progressed way faster compared to the previous time, they were now more than halfway done.
After they ate a scrumptious dinner prepared by Tiraga, they bid each other good night and slept early, ready for their training and bakery job starting tomorrow.
As Kairo's eyes became heavier and heavier each time he blinked, he thought to himself, "Things have been going pretty well. My revenge is still far from my grasp though, but I'm taking the steps necessary to reach it. I will... reach..." he yawned. "my peace..."
Meanwhile, in the dark of the night, under the pale blue moonlight, Grisia walked into the thickets of the woods across his mansion. On hand were leftovers from dinner. He didn't walk too far, but it still took him a few minutes to reach his destination. He didn't intend to be stealthy, but he still made minimal noise as his footsteps were trained to be swift and soundless.
"I've brought leftovers," Grisia said, handing out the container filled with delicious, homecooked food that was still somewhat warm.
"Thanks. You never need to, but you always do," a voice that came from a young girl spoke, unsurprised by her visitor.
"Quit spouting nonsense. I only started coming here since yesterday."
The hooded girl with blonde locks sat in front of the campfire. Behind her was a tent meant to fit only a single person. Grisia brought the tent for her use a couple of nights ago. This was what surprised Esmeralda when she talked about it with Grisia in front of the two children.
It was essentially already winter, he thought that lending a child some basic necessities was the least he could do, even if she was possibly an enemy.
He didn't know much about this girl who was stalking Kairo, but she truly didn't seem to wish any harm upon him, so he personally interacted with the peculiar stranger in case she divulged any more information that wasn't her cryptic ramblings.
"You're not an adult stuck inside a child's body or afflicted with some sort of unfortunate physical malady, right?" asked Grisia.
"Maybe," she said, munching on the food Grisia brought. "Oh yeah, that's the good stuff."
"You're not a child, but at the same time, you are."
"You could say that."
"And you know「 Ki 」."
"Yes."
"Chakra?"
"Don't have it. Don't need it."
"Hmm," indeed, with only「 Ki 」at her disposal, a strong physical body, chakra, or magic would be unnecessary to fend off most dangers, even for someone with such a dainty body.
"But I do know that your chakra mark is on top of your head," she revealed.
"Is that so?"
"But that doesn't really matter as well, right?"
Grisia then thought that perhaps she truly knew the value of「 Ki 」if she also thought that chakra, even of the highest caliber, would have some challenge when facing someone proficient enough in「 Ki 」.
"You make it sound like chakra is useless as long as you know 「 Ki 」, I beg to differ."
"I just meant, why live your entire life trying to achieve a power that's harder and longer to get better at, when it's quicker and easier to be stronger with「 Ki 」?"
"I see," Grisia replied. "But it's only easier with the right circumstance."
"That is true."
There was a considerable silence between the two. For a while, the only things audible at that time were the crickets and the young girl's eating noises.
Finally, Grisia broke the silence by announcing to the girl, "I'm going to introduce「 Ki 」to Kairo soon. Our training starts tomorrow," he gave away a huge piece of information because he wanted to see her reaction. It was a sacrifice worth making as it might give him a glimpse into her thoughts depending on how she reacted.
Unfortunately, she didn't even bat an eye. She kept on eating like normal and replied with a casual, "Alright."
Seeing that even that didn't make her budge and with nothing else left to discuss, Grisia got up and decided to take his leave.
But before he left, he thought of one final question to ask the young girl, "I never really got to know your name. Before I leave, do you care enough to reveal it?"
After giving it some thought, the girl smiled with a hint of grief that was easy to miss if not observant. The clouds parted causing the moon to shine brightly on her face. She had a youthful, average face, save for the dark creases under her bright, green eyes.
She replied with only a single word to Grisia's question,
"Remi."