"So where does your loyalty lie?" Yuki wondered, eyeing Melius. She'd asked him to sit on the stool in front of the vanity table to interrogate him, standing above him with a hand on her hip. He continued to stare dispassionately at her, seemingly unbothered by her intense stare.
Mateo had come back from the beginning of his knight training and was currently sprawled across her floor. She wasn't entirely sure he wasn't dead.
"With you and my lord, of course," he replied, his tone monotonous.
"But you are my valet," she mused. "Doesn't that mean your loyalty should lie in me and me alone?"
"The duke is the one who employs me and he hired me to work under you. Therefore, my loyalty lies within both you and my lord."
"Is there any way for me to convince you? That you should give yourself just to me?"
"You cannot. My loyalty will always be placed with my lord."
"I should have figured," Yuki sighed, looking past him to see her reflection in the vanity mirror. She blinked, seeing that her short hair was wind torn, curled to the side. She took a step back, putting her foot on the stool to slide Melius out of her way, leaning in front of the mirror. She sprung a strand of pale hair in front of her face, noticing how dirty it was.
"Do you want any assistance getting ready for dinner tonight?" Melius cleared his throat, now standing by her side.
"Dinner?" She repeated, wondering what he meant.
"...Dinner?" Mateo asked hopefully, his voice muffled from his face being pressed into the carpet.
"Yes, dinner," Melius nodded. "It was written in the contract. You are to attend dinner with the duke every night, and tonight is no exception."
Yuki looked back at her reflection. The fact that she fell down a cliff running from those guards was readily apparent in her appearance.
"Is there a dress code?"
"Nothing currently enforced."
"Lucky for you," Mateo scoffed. The act of talking seemed to hurt him more than anything she would have done to him. She watched him wheeze.
"Valet, I'm ready for the tour now," she decided, brushing herself off. Melius bowed, walking past her, waiting at the doorway with a hand held out to her. His hair was dark, but, unlike her apprentice, was tinted blue–in a way that made it look like a late evening sky just before the sun fully set.
"What about your… friend? Will he be joining us?"
"Who? Teo? He'll be fine by himself."
There was a snore as Mateo rolled over, clearly asleep.
"See? Fine. Now come on, let's go."
"Very well then."
Yuki followed after him, pausing after a second. Melius stared at her strangely as she pressed her heels against the end of the hallway, putting one foot in front of the other until she reached the end. Looking up, she nodded to herself. The hallways here were a footstep wider than the ones in the De l'Étoile manor, making her grin. Already, this was an upgrade for her apprentice.
"Do you have any favorite places?" Yuki wondered, catching up to Melius's side. He side-eyed her before returning his gaze straight ahead. To his silence, she continued. "You know, any place that you like to go? Someplace pretty or special in any way?"
"I go where I'm told to go and expected to be."
"Nowhere at all? Wait… do you even have a room? The duke gives you a place to sleep, right?"
"Of course I have a room."
"Can I see it?"
"It wasn't a planned part of the tour. Is there any reason you want to see it?"
"Curiosity," she figured.
"Very well, then," he sighed. "Come this way."
He led her down enough different hallways for her to shrug and decide she wasn't going to bother memorizing the way, following blindly after him just a step behind. She tried some for conversation, but it seemed as though he didn't want to talk to her. Instead, she just hummed under her breath.
"...What is that you're singing?" He eventually piped up. He didn't look back at her as he asked, but she could hear it in his tone that he was curious.
"Hm? Oh. I'm not really sure. I think it's some sort of lullaby."
"It is a lullaby," he agreed.
"Do you know it?" She wondered.
"Yes," he nodded, but nothing more.
Alright, she was bored.
"Sooooo," she began, hopping a step forward so she was now by his side, "how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
"You're quite tall for your age. I would have guessed you were older."
Silence.
"I mean that nicely, of course."
Silence.
"You remind me of a delphinium flower in that way, actually. It's a pretty flower. Tall like you, and, some of them, blue as your hair."
Even more silence.
"And, well, you know, you're pretty, too."
At this point, he was actively ignoring her.
"It's a summer plant. At least, I figure so. That's around the only time I've seen them blooming or grown in balcony gardens. I think they mean something, but I've never really been good with flower meanings."
"They're a protective plant symbolizing dignity, the blue ones, at the least."
"Oh? Are you interested in flower meanings?"
"I just like to garden," he answered. "I worked long enough with flowers to pick up the meanings of some of them. Mostly the ones I like, anyway."
"What are the flowers that you like?"
"I like growing azalea flowers."
"Is there any reason?"
"I like that they're difficult to grow."
"So you like the challenge?"
"I suppose you could put it that way, yes. Ah, it seems we're here."
"Mm, yes, this door is a clear reflection of you."
It was a basic door with no decoration.
"...I'm only kidding," she felt the need to explain.
Silence.
"Are you going to let me in?"
"Of course."
He opened the door, holding his hand out for her to enter. She stepped inside, curiously looking around. It was about how she expected, plain but orderly. The only thing that surprised her was the flowers spilling out of the windowsill, a stream of pale pinks, reds and whites. She walked over, hearing Melius's footsteps follow just behind her.
"What sort of flowers are these?"
"Orchids."
"Wow, I didn't know they could be red."
"It's a ruby orchid."
"They look like the duke's eyes."
"...Yes. That is why I grew them."
He seemed shy to admit that, making her want to tease him. She relented for just this once, though. He didn't seem like someone who liked to share anything about himself, so she guessed this was personal to him and not something he admitted readily.
"Are they hard to grow?"
"Quite."
"How about you walk me through the process then."
"Are you sure? Not many people are interested in hearing me describe how to grow flowers. My tone with the subject matter seems to bore them."
"Well," she delicately touched one of the petals, "I can admit that it's not something I'm greatly interested in. However, it's clear that you care about it. And as you're my valet, I'm interested in knowing more about you and the things you care about. Plus, it's clear you're very talented at it. If you're willing to talk about it, then I would love to listen."
Melius looked up, staring at Yuki. The golden sunlight glimmered on her pale face, making her eyes iridescent. She was leaning against the windowsill, staring down as she poked at the flowers, watching them bob up and down. Even if she didn't say anything, there were dark bruises under her eyes showing that she hadn't slept in at least a couple of days. Still, he watched her eyes flicker up to his, nothing but earnest curiosity in them.
"Very well. The first thing of note is that orchids don't grow in soil like most other flowers, they actually grow on objects like trees and rocks."
He was surprised that she lasted a couple of hours, even after he'd led her over to his bed, sitting on the side. She fell lower and lower until eventually she fell back, curled on her side asleep. He could admit that she did seem remarkably like a cat when she slept, even if it was a dirty one. He silently threw his covers over her, staring out at the window as he stood up.
He blinked, startled. He'd been trying to get her to sleep the entire time, but he supposed he'd gotten himself lost in his own explanations. He scratched at his cheek, a little embarrassed. He hadn't meant to get carried away, but she did happen to be a really good listener.
He made his way to the dining room, shaking off his embarrassment. Duke Engel was sitting at the head of the table, leaned back in a chair. The mud on the table showed he had his feet kicked up before someone–most likely the maid currently giving him the stink eye–made him sit up properly.
"Ah, Melius," he greeted without lowering the paper. "I was wondering when you'd finally show up. Where's the little brat? Or even her friend?"
"You should really refer to her more pleasantly," he scolded.
"She's got a big enough head as it is." There was a pause before he lowered the paper, squinting suspiciously down the hallway. "She didn't run away already, did she?"
"She's at an age where she needs lots of sleep and food to properly grow."
"...so she fell asleep?"
"Indeed, my lord."
Melius thought he'd seen the duke give a little half-smile at that, but figured he'd just imagined that. The duke rarely smiled.
"It was probably all that sugar she drank in the tea. It figures she crashed. When she wakes, send her to my office, there's something important I need to discuss with her."
The duke lifted his newspaper back up, kicking his feet onto the table.
The maid threw her duster at him.