After Rip, Chase, and Blake left the garden's glass viewing room, they reported to Butler Srca.
Butler Srca assigned them their duties and responsibilities from now on.
When it got Blake, he assigned, "Blake, from today on, you will officially be in charge of Sir Levi's bedroom and quarters as well as serving him exclusively. Make sure to serve him well with not a hint of neglect!"
Blake nodded calmly, carrying a persistent air of gloom and indifference that made Butler Srca doubt if the other will really serve Levi up to the standards.
Butler Srca sighed. Well, there's nothing else he can do, Levi personally came to him and requested for this arrangement, so Butler Srca had to go with it, especially since his master also seemed fond of the idea after hearing his report.
Thus, in this way, Blake was assigned to serve Levi.
Butler Srca, "You can go check out your new living quarters now." Then Butler Srca informed them of their room numbers in the staff dormitory that was built next to the Everett Mansion.
As the three were about to head out and put down their stuff in their new rooms, Butler Srca suddenly called out and got their attention. However, his words were only directed towards Blake.
"Wait a moment, Blake. I need to speak to you," Butler Srca said and gestured for Blake to come back.
Blake walked back to Butler Srca.
Looking behind Blake and seeing that Rip and Chase were still here, probably with the intention to wait for Blake, Butler Srca thought that that would be inconvenient for his further actions. So he dismissed them firmly.
"You two, go ahead. Leave first, Blake will catch up with you soon." His tone left no room for them to question or object.
Rip and Chase looked at each other.
Then peeking at Butler Srca's face, Rip saw that his dad looked completely serious with no room for refutation, so he quickly nodded and pulled a startled Chase to leave.
"H-hold on! You're knocking me off balance!" Chase said with his mouth, but his body quickly adjusted, regaining its balance in one second, and was pulled along by Rip.
Thud.
Suddenly, without sound, something slipped out from Rip's pants pocket and drifted to the floor.
Ignorant of its disappearance, Rip and Chase walked away from the area with their bags and luggage.
Pulling Blake aside, Butler Srca raised his lips into his trademark impeccable smile and inquired into Blake's recent situation.
As could be guessed, Butler Srca was once again acting as the middleman for Ian and Levi.
Previously, in a bet revolving around the three friends, Ian had bet on a series of events that would happen to them. In summary, he bet that they would become friends and then break off their friendship. While Levi bet the opposite of Ian, that they would stay friends after forming their friendship.
Coincidentally, Butler Srca was not the only one caring about the bet at this moment.
Inside of the tea room Angus had specially customized for his little brother to relax and enjoy leisure in, Ian and Levi were sitting across from each other at a rectangular table that gave off a cultured vibe, enjoying the aroma of the new tea the White family had recently delivered to the Everett family.
With the presence of the high-quality tea and the expensive, antique tea sets, as well as being inside this elegant and cultured space, an aura of refinement seemed to spill out from the two people who both belonged to a noble, underworld royal family. That said, one of them now belonged to an extinct, ex-underworld family.
It was just the two of them alone in the room. All maids and servants were dismissed to give them privacy.
While leisuring and elegantly savoring the fragrance in their mouth and nose, they were also discussing the bet.
More specifically, the time limit of the bet.
Gently placing his teacup down on the mahogany table overlaid with white cloth, Levi suggested, "Why don't we set the bet to end at the end of summer vacation? Just in time to celebrate their friendship with your birthday and the start of your new high school journey."
Ian nodded in agreement to the suggested time limit to the bet, however…
Ian looked at Levi's slyly smiling face, as if the other was already sure of his win.
Ian scoffed. This mocking and condescending expression on his face did not make him look as though he looked down on the person who received it. Instead, a sense of elegance and regality washed over the other, generating a wave of awe towards the purple haired teenager who had a habitual polite and gentle smile on his face.
That deceptive mask coupled with his naturally good-looking, innocent face hid the unimaginable inner darkness within his soul.
Catching anyone in its scope unaware at the decisive moment it strikes.
"I wouldn't be so sure of your win if I were you," Ian commented, his expression unchanged, gentle as always.
Levi raised his eyebrow as he flapped his fan, "Oh? What makes you say so?"
Suddenly, an arch full of mystery and evil rose onto Ian's face, his eyes shone with an extraordinary glow. His low, mesmerizing voice uttered only two words, yet it seemed to contain the mysteries of the universe.
"You'll see…"
*****
"How are you getting along with Rip and Chase?"
"..."
"Ha ha! They must be a handful, aren't they? They can hardly sit around, always restless with an urge to do something. Must be hard for someone like you who prefers stillness and quiet."
"…"
Butler Srca took a pause in the middle of his questioning, taking the time to observe Blake.
He stared at the young man before him who didn't speak a word. His presence seemed to negate his mind's detection. Even when he's right in front of him, sometimes Butler Srca would feel as though he had disappeared from right before his eyes.
Only with his extreme conscious effort could he see the other again.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, I know you must be looking forward to seeing your new living quarters. I do not mean to hold you up any longer—please just answer one last question.
"—Are you glad to be Rip and Chase's friend?"
This question came out not only because of his master's orders but also from Butler Srca's, or rather, Sling's sincere desire to know.
Seeing how much Rip liked this gloomy lad, out of fatherly love, Sling also wanted to know if this Blake person was at least a decent one, unlike what his atmosphere says about him.
"…"
But like before, Blake kept silent. He has yet to answer any of Butler Srca's questions.
Butler Srca sighed with a notch of genuine disappointment. He's afraid he'll have to report this mission as a failure to his soon unhappy master.
Just as Butler Srca was about to send Blake off.
Blake unexpectedly spoke, surprising Butler Srca to a stop.
"…no…"
Butler Srca, puzzled, "No?"
"…I'm not particularly glad." Blake paused in his words, his voice cold and pleasant to the ears. "I don't feel anything."
Blake answering surprised Butler Srca, but what he answered shocked Butler Srca to the core.
Two simultaneous thoughts ran parallel in his mind.
One praising his master to the sky.
'My liege is so insightful! He was able to see through Blake instantly! His prediction is so accurate that he managed to predict that their friendship would fall into a crisis!'
On the other hand, the other worried like the true father he was.
'Oh no! This isn't good. What will my son do?! Thankfully he isn't here to hear this, or else it'd spell the instant destruction of their friendship!'
Quiet Blake looked at the smiling Butler Srca whose soul seems to have left him.
Looking down to the ground, not sure if it's an illusion, but the gloomy aura around him seemed to thicken.
He didn't feel anything about gaining any friends. Nor has he ever felt anything losing any friends.
To him, none of that matters.
In life, people come and go.
Unconsciously, his mind flashed back to that night when the red, hot flames swallowed up the starlit night, cinders and ashes flew everywhere and covered him in layers as he stood unmoving with a pair of clean eyes that dimmed and became muddy.
Not knowing when, Blake had become numb to it all. Even when he wants to care, he finds himself indifferent, apathy stemmed from his soul.
Rip—the sky-blue headed and blue-eyed young child with an energetic and cheerful personality.
Chase—the orange and yellow-haired and red-eyed young man with a bright and sunny appearance and easygoing personality.
They were both noisy and lively. They brighten up the atmosphere and people's hearts no matter where they go.
And they wanted to be his friend. They didn't ask anyone else but him.
Blake didn't understand what they saw in him. But at the same time, he didn't care either.
They weren't the first friends Blake had had. Before them, surprising to say, there were actually quite a few who asked Blake to be friends.
But without exception, they all left eventually. Long or short their relation was didn't matter, they all abandoned him in the end.
Some said they couldn't stand his lack of response and his silent behavior.
Some said they thought they could warm up his gloomy life but they couldn't.
Some said they thought they were friends but Blake was the one who didn't think or act like one.
Some said…
There were many reasons why they abandoned their friendship with Blake. All of which they blamed on Blake.
However, not even one of their departures caused a ripple in Blake's cold, numb heart. To Blake, there was no difference between them being in his life or not.
His numb heart refused to accept anyone, at times… not even himself. Fortified under countless seals and talismans, safeguarded by locks and chains, no one could enter and touch his deepest core.
Waiting in place like King Arthur's Excalibur for the destined person.