As if the dominoes were falling one by one, another person suddenly appeared to interrupt the awkward moment where Victoria had suddenly appeared and disappeared. Lars sighed in relief when he discovered it was a man approaching this time.
It was a thin, bespectacled man with a medium-length haircut parted in a 7-3 fashion, and he was looking at the ordeal in confusion. His face showed astonishment in seeing a single person other than Lars in his office, let alone two.
"Oh, Leonard's here? Good morning," Vanessa greeted.
Lars was grateful for Vanessa's frequent use of other's names when greeting them. It saved him from awkward moments, since not every name appeared in his mind when he saw them.
If only she could announce their profiles, positions, and business as well… Lars lampooned. Unfortunately, he would have to rack his own brain when it came to figuring those out.
Leonard chimed, "Vanessa, it's unexpected to meet you here. Am I interrupting something?"
"No, I was going to take my leave soon anyway. You can have Lars if you need him," Vanessa smiled as she parted ways with Lars.
Lars once again made way, allowing Leonard to come inside his office. He opted not to speak for the time being so that this new visitor would provide the context.
Hopefully, Leonard was a talkative person.
"I'm glad," Leonard suddenly said without explanation.
Lars could only remain silent, his lack of response urging the other person to say more.
Leonard looked at his blank expression and sighed, "Don't act clueless with me. The way things were going, it looked like you were on the precipice of a divorce!
"But you've finally come to your senses. As your assistant, I'm happy to see you dedicated to your work; but to the point of neglecting your family? It would actually be beneficial in the long term that you take some time off—then you won't make everything collapse after exerting yourself too much.
"You've at least had a good talk with Vanessa it seems. She's had a better look today than she's had in a month, so you're doing something right."
Well, he seems talkative enough… Lars nodded as if he understood and sympathised with Leonard's words. He now had a general idea of who this was to him—an assistant!
"Although, there's one thing I'm still worried about," Leonard stated.
Lars responded, "What is it?"
Leonard furrowed his brows.
"Don't 'what is it?' me. There's only one thing, isn't there? Are you sure you've properly cut Victoria off? I saw her leaving your office."
You told others about it…? Lars was baffled, his expression becoming complicated. His other self had actually confessed it to others on top of writing about it!
He tried his best not to outwardly show his puzzlement. It also confirmed that, yes, the maid girl who showed up mere moments ago was the subject of the affair. Victoria was the one who he had to be wary around.
"Yes, I've accepted my mistake…" Lars admitted, despite him not being personally involved. "I'm not having anything to do with her anymore. As for how and when to tell Vanessa, that needs to be figured out."
If telling Vanessa about it was what he wanted to do, for the sake of his personal interests as an outsider, he at least wanted to avoid creating a commotion so soon. It was best to keep the peace until he secured a way back.
Leonard massaged his temples, clearly facing his own sources of stress, "Hmm, alright—I'll believe you. But…"
He paused and eyed Lars suspiciously, "Normally, men who go through this sort of rough patch come out looking worse for wear. They'll look older than they are—if anything. How the hell have you gotten younger, Lars?"
"Does it look that way?" Without a reasonable explanation, Lars could only feign ignorance.
Leonard obviously didn't buy it, but neither did he push for a realistic answer. He seemed to know what matters should and shouldn't be pushed. He instead moved onto the next topic.
"About your work… Normally, I'd put us on business talks, but I think we need to make an exception. You should take a week away—that's what I'm proposing."
"Are you sure?" This was massively beneficial for Lars, but he couldn't be sure that it was okay to do. Immediately agreeing wasn't normal for him to do in this situation. At least, some hesitance should be shown.
Leonard nodded, "I'll handle it for now. We won't make progress, but there won't be any regression. Niel is back with us too—which helps a lot."
"Right. I'll do that, then."
Lars agreed to have a week before returning to his business. He continued his conversation with Leonard for a bit longer, reminiscing about a past he was unfamiliar with. It wasn't long before he was soon left alone again.
When everything was over, Lars didn't immediately rush to leave the office. It wasn't as if he could do much by staying, but there was something that was helpful to do. His attention shifted to his desk, focusing on the documents strewn across it.
He decided it was best to familiarise himself with the details a little. That way he could better discuss them, avoiding suspicion around his true identity. As such, the next hour was spent simply reading them and digesting information.
Soon, another knock came from the other side of the door. Lars looked at the door incredulously.
It's only been an hour, who is it this time? He stood up and walked over to the door. However, before he could reach for its handle, it opened and someone hurried in without allowing an opportunity to be refused.
Lars exclaimed in astonishment, "What the…! What are you doing, Victoria?"
"Lars…" Victoria called softly. He immediately noticed how she had called him by his name, instead of using the title, 'master', like the other servants did.
With an anxious, guilty expression that somehow retained innocence, she immediately started apologising, "I'm sorry, I had to talk to you. I was afraid you would never let me see you again, so I…"
She interrupted herself and hurriedly lowered her head, "I've been terribly rude! My apologies, Lars!"
Lars wasn't sure what to say in this situation. He kept calm, trying to diffuse it, "It's alright—I'm not offended. But please, keep using the same title other servants refer to me by."
Truthfully, he wasn't comfortable being called master either, but it was the most appropriate thing for the context. Only certain individuals seemed to have permission to speak to him on a first-name basis.
A disheartened look struck Victoria, as if overcome by grief. Her eyes looked despondent at being told such a thing.
She then closed the distance between the two of them. With desperation in her eyes, she asked, "Are you really going to abandon me?"
Lars realised that this was her last attempt at appealing towards him. He wasn't completely unmoved by his feelings of pity, but there was nothing else—it was simply pity. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't the same 'Lars' as who had been here before.
"We're done. I won't betray Vanessa anymore," Lars said conclusively.
Victoria didn't hide her disappointment. She said nothing else, turning around and leaving.
Lars felt that he should make his way out of the office too. It had to be cursed, summoning one person after another! He soon expected to see another woman make her entrance and bring up a new love affair if he didn't leave now.
Lars frowned. As he learned more about his other self, he was increasingly beginning to believe that their similarities weren't that extensive.
I wouldn't cheat… That's not something I would ever do. Oh, right, there's differences here—like my age. Maybe this is also different…
The rest of the morning and some part of the afternoon were spent making good on his promises. He allocated time towards Damien's training, continuing to teach basic martial arts, while Charles was satisfied with simply being around his father for some time. Idle conversation with Vanessa was also a priority of his that he didn't ignore.
It felt as if he was suddenly asked to live with strangers. Except these strangers were incredibly endearing, enjoying every second of his company. There really hadn't been anything previously in his life that he could compare it to.
However, he made it a point to remind himself often: do not get attached. His true identity was a stranger. At best, he could liken himself to that of a distant relative who was there to be relied upon. If they needed him, then he was more enthusiastic to help compared to those he didn't care for, but he was not a father or a husband—he was just a stand-in.
Lars had taken to one of the many bathrooms to relieve himself. Taking a guess, there were probably restrooms he had yet to discover, but he had found the closest locations for each segment of the mansion.
While washing up at the sink, the bathroom door opened and someone walked in. Lars briefly glanced over to see who it was and found a male servant walking in. He didn't pay much attention to the servant, not thinking much of it, but before turning away, the servant's expression was clearly seen.
Lars looked back at him for a second time, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"
The male servant had a strange look on his face. It was excessively grave, his brows furrowed and forehead creased. He wasn't speaking and a handkerchief covered his left arm and hand, which was held on tightly by his right hand. A short glance back was afforded to Lars but nothing more.
Lars turned away from the sink, shaking off the excess water.
"Did something happen to your hand?" He asked, gesturing for him to remove the handkerchief.
In another situation, he might not have requested for the servant to remove it. A bleeding wound should have constant pressure applied to it, after all. However, there was none of the crimson red that would easily soak through a stainless white handkerchief like this one. The wound couldn't be severe—if he was wounded, that is.
The male servant wasn't speaking even after two questions were asked. His face, despite being grave and dark, didn't appear to be curling up in pain. His posture was fine too as he walked towards the sink. Lars was becoming increasingly suspicious, so he moved himself away from the sink and gestured with his hand that it was free to use.
The servant's body turned towards the sink and his hand started to move, pulling away the handkerchief. That was when he kicked off the ground and dashed towards Lars. He threw the handkerchief behind him, revealing his hand to be perfectly fine and holding onto a large steak knife.
Lars reacted quickly to seeing the weapon. His instincts kicked in instantly, lifting his leg and thrusting forward with all his weight. It landed square onto the servant's chest but only served to push him back and stagger him briefly.
In the next second, he was charging forward again with even greater determination to carve Lars' body up with the steak knife. In this situation, unfortunately, Lars was in a very disadvantageous spot. He was backed up against the bathroom's wall with no options to retreat; meanwhile, reaching the exit to escape required him to get around his attacker!
The knife swung forward while Lars raised his arms in defence. He wanted to avoid fatal injuries, but knife fights are always messy. Avoiding stab wounds entirely wasn't possible for him when he was locked into the fight. His best bet turned into intimidation, trying to control the pace of the fight and inflicting more damage before his opponent could.
Lars stepped forward with his guard up and swung for the servant's head. He felt the skin tear in his other arm, the edge of the knife piercing flesh. But his punch connected with the unprotected head of the servant—his actions momentarily freezing from the shock of being hit.
Not stopping there, Lars continued with a relentless flurry of powerful punches to the head. He mixed in blows to the ribs using his knees whenever he could, but his attacker was surprisingly aggressive too. His arms were both cut numerous times and he felt a few stabs reaching his sides and legs.
When they entered into an incredibly short distance from one another, the exchanging of blows instead became an intense grappling match. Lars grabbed onto the servant and pinned him against the wall. His hand held onto the wrist holding the knife, trying to wrestle it out of the servant's hand and prevent himself from getting stabbed in the back.
The servant was inexperienced in combat and had no chance of winning in a grappling match against Lars. In addition to the previous blows that reduced his capacity to think or act, making his vision blurry and head spin, the consecutive hits to the ribs from powerful knee strikes made him unable to resist further.
The servant collapsed to the ground with the steak knife taken away. Lars took a moment to breathe, adrenaline surging through his body. He hadn't expected an ordinary servant to last so long—normally, a civilian would've fallen after the first few punches to the head!
He was covered in wounds now. Medical treatment was necessary, but most of them were superficial so he didn't require immediate attention. Therefore, seeing as the servant was still barely conscious, Lars decided to ask him a couple questions. He mainly wanted to know: what was the reason behind this sudden attack?