Cornelia walked into the office, while yawning loudly. She had opened the door with her eyes half-closed, and she nearly jumped back in fright when she noticed figure sitting on the office chair. She had already crossed the threshold before she recollected herself. She stepped back into the office awkwardly. "Good morning, master." She bowed, as she greeted. "Were you reading horror stories last night or something?" Dennis asked, as he looked up. "How embarrassing for you to notice." Cornelia said, as she scratched her head. "I am not used to you coming to the office this early, that is all." She explained herself. "Well, I had to rise early so that I could take this before anyone else did." He said, as he opened the drawer, and brought out a letter. "I wasn't expecting her to reply that fast, I will admit." Dennis said, as he placed the letter into the pocket of his waistcoat. "Hmm, it seems like I underestimated the love they have for each other." He pondered, while tilting his head to the side. "Good work yesterday, Belladonna." Dennis said, causing the latter to blush a little. "Master, you don't have to.." Cornelia began. "It amazes me that you were able to fulfill the task at hand without any mishap." Dennis stated. Cornelia's face changed from red, to white, and back to red again. The first one was when she blushed earlier, while the second was out of infuriation. This did not go unnoticed by Dennis though, and he smirked lightly. "Sorry, were you saying something earlier?" He inquired, as he immediately turned his expression of mockery Into one of wonder. "I was saying that there was no need to use my alias, my lord." Cornelia said, although she was lightly grinding her teeth as she said so. "If you so insist." Dennis said, as he stood up. "Do remember that the office needs to be cleaned." He said, as he walked out off the office. "I will give you ten minutes." Cornelia heard from behind the door. "Ten minutes!" Cornelia screamed internally. "What, does he think I am some sort of god? He does not even give me a raise, for goodness sake!" She grumbled angrily. Her eyes first drifted to the pile of documents from the night before, to the freshly made cobwebs on the ceiling, and she could hear sound of munching around the cabinet area. She already felt like she had aged a million years In that one moment.
Dennis on the other hand, perfectly unaware of the number of times that Cornelia had cursed at him in her heart, gently approached a huge picture frame. No one could tell whose portrait it was, because a velvet cloth was covering it. Dennis removed the heavy cloth briskly, spreading dust to the surrounding environs, due to the lack of proper maintenance. Although the portrait was(extremely) dusty, one could still see clearly the outline of the painting. A lady was sitting in an elegantly craftedchair, with blue cushions and silver framework. Her smile was perfectly natural, it was neither too big nor small, and her emerald green eyes seemed to have the stars shining in them. Her hands were placed naturally on top of her lap, one hand on top of the other. Her brown silky waist length hair which ended in curls, gave even greater elegance to the portrait. "It has been a while mother." Dennis stated, as he placed his hand on the portrait, irregardless of how dusty it was. "You know, your dear husband had the audacity to cheat on you despite all that you had done for him. It was like that in the past as well, but this time I am going to take action for you." As he continued to talk, a crooked smile played out on his face, making his blue eyes seem eerie. "I just wish that you were still alive, so you could witness this as well."
"Wow, this sword is amazing." Beatrice said, as she grabbed the hilt of a well crafted sword. As she held it adjacent, the sword gleamed, reflecting the rays of the sword. "Be careful now, you wouldn't want to hurt yourself, my lady." Katrina who sat beside her, said worriedly. "Just because I didn't learn fencing, doesn't mean that I can't hold a sword, you know." Beatrice said, as she eyed Katrina. "Katrina Is only worried about your well being. Take it easy on her." Sylvester commented, resting his back against a tree bark, with Gozek and Xavier by his side. They were currently at the courtyard, enjoying the summer breeze. "You are really talented, Xavier. This is the most beautiful sword I have ever seen." She stated. "Thank you for the compliment, my lady." Xavier said, with his head bowed. "I will admit, that your craftsmanship skills are unparalleled. It was worth the three days it spent in the fire." Gozek praised. "The blade is firm and strong, and it is also light and handy to hold as well." He added, while giving Xavier a pat on the back. "I am flattered, Sir Gozek." Xavier simply stated. "It is all in a day's job as well, I still get my bread from this, and much more than before as well." He added. Well, the truth did reflect on him- he looked healthier, plumper and more refined, nothing like the scrawny man Beatrice saw a week ago. Sylvester gently took the sword from Beatrice. "Please take this away." He said, handing the sword over to Gozek. "Before she hurts herself." "Now it feels like you are mocking me." Beatrice stated, giving Sylvester an infuriated smile. "Don't worry, my lady, if you are ever interested in learning the ways of the sword, just come to me." Gozek said, as he beat his chest proudly. "I was Lady Diane's secret tutor, afterall, although she never completed the lessons." He added. "You will have to complete your training with me first, Gozek." Sylvester said. "And, Lady Beatrice has more pressing matters to focus her attention on, for the now." He said, as he gave her a side glance. Beatrice understood perfectly alright what he met. "Anyway, My lord, we have to get back to the training ground now." Gozek said. "Alright then, you both can leave." Sylvester said, with a curt nod. "There is still a lot of work to be done, afterall." Gozek and Xavier bowed. "We will leave your presence, then." Gozek stated. "My goodness, this sun is so hot." Beatrice complained, as she used her hand to shield the sun. "It is summer, what do you expect?" Sylvester inquired, as he seated himself beside her. "Oh, dear, It seems like I left my handkerchief in my room. Katrina, could you kindly fetch it for me?" Beatrice asked. "And an umbrella as well, if you may." Sylvester added. "No problem, then. I will be back soon." Katrina said, as she left their midst.
In an exquisite and large room, beheld George Lewis, sitting on his bed, while reading a book. He adjusted the glasses on his nose, and flipped over to the next page, when he got interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" He impatiently called out, knowing fully well that it couldn't be any of the three children. "It's Jione, my lord." A lady replied. "Is there any problem?" George asked, not even bothering himself to open the door. "The thing is.. Lady Sariane is here, my lord." The maid said, her tone more desperate. "And you let her in? Why didn't she say so before coming?" George said, springing up to his feet in an instant as though he got stuck by a thunderbolt. "She did say that she wrote a letter, but.." "But what?" George who had opened the door at this point, impatiently asked. "I received no such thing." The maid said, a bit tearful. "You Incompetent.." George began, but he reserved the rest of his comment, as he dashed down the hallways, a bit swift for the man his age, the maid trailing behind him. "Are the children aware?" He asked. "Not yet- Lady Beatrice and Lord Sylvester are nowhere to be seen, while Master Dennnis has not come out of his office since the morning." Jione explained. George exhaled out of relief when he heard that. There was still plenty of time to get Sariane to leave the house, and as for the other servants, they neither heard nor saw anything. But they was something at the hallway that made him to pause unexpectedly, and it was a pair of eyes. Those eyes that had always haunted him In his memory. He stared at the portrait incredulously. Not only was the velvet clothing no longer concealing it, but it looked as new as though it was just painted the day before. In addition to that, someone obviously wiped it clean. "Who.." George began, pointing a trembling finger at the portrait. "Who is responsible for this?" He asked. "I am not quite sure, my lord." Jione replied, as perplexed as her master was. "Forget it." George decided to ignore it for now, and continued to scurry down the hallways. He had more pressing issues to attend to, afterall.
"Ahh!" Cornelia screamed loudly, as she stood a good distance away from the rodent. The rat, medium sized, seemingly ignored her existence, munching on the crumbs that were close to the desk. "Shoo, shoo!" She said, as she approached it. The mouse did not even budge. "I said Shoo!" She said, as she smacked the broom on the ground fiercely. The rodent, sufficiently spooked scampered around the office, while Cornelia chased after it hotly. In her haste, she knocked over the files she arranged earlier, and her heart bled when she noticed it. When she got to the door however, the door opened, and the rat clumsily scampered out, while Dennis walked in, holding a sword "So we have rats, now, I see." He stated cooly, ignoring Cornelia's disheveled state of being. "This is why you should clean the office in time, afterall, it was your snacks that attracted it." He added. "You are smiling, did something good happen?" Cornelia asked. "Am I? Maybe it's because I am in a good mood today." Dennis said. 'And what are you doing with that, my lord?" Cornelia asked again, as her eyes drifted to the sword hanging on his waist. "You will find out soon enough, afterall, Our crucial chess piece has arrived- you can tag along if you are interested." Dennis said, as he left the office. Cornelia's eyes shone brightly. "Wait for me, Master!" She cried out, as she hurriedly dropped the broom.
"Sariane, enough." George, who had arrived downstairs a brief moment ago, stated, obviously displeased. "But you wrote me the letter last night, it was your handwriting!" Sariane hollered out loud, not even bothering to reduce her voice. "And I told you I did no such thing-both the letter and the carraige, It doesn't make any sense!" George exclaimed, visibly frustrated. "So please leave now before someone.." "Why should she leave?" Dennis called out, from the top of the stairs. Both George and Sariane looked up to him. "She is our esteemed guest, afterall, we can't let her leave without entertaining her." Dennis said, a smirk across his face.
"I finally found it." Katrina said, holding a bright red handkerchief. She had nearly turned the room upside down, because of this little thing. She nearly lost it when she saw a tinge of red puckering out of Beatrice's pillow, in the most unexpected places "Now I can finally... huh? What Is that noise?" She muttered, as she left Beatrice's room, while gazing from the top of the stairs. A woman with dirty blonde hair was kneeling, while holding George's chest from behind, who was also kneeling. "Dennis, have you finally lost it?" George asked as he looked up at his son, although the fear was eminent in his eyes. Dennis laughed, a chilling kind of laugh that shook Katrina to her core. "If that is what it seems like, then yes, I have lost it, completely lost it." Dennis said. A maid was also crouched close to George, shaking with fear. The other servants tried to approach Dennis. "Young Master, please." One of them began, but Dennis's voice reverberated, loud and sharp. "If anyone wants their head to roll, then dare to approach me." After that, no soul dared to breathe, irregardless of moving a step forward. "This Is bad." Katrina said to herself, as she noiselessy dashed down the stairs, and exited through the back door.
"My lady!" Katrina called out, when she came to a close proximity of where Sylvester and Beatrice sat. She stood in front of them, panting. "Goodness, Katrina, why are you so out of breathe?" Beatrice asked, obviously worried. "My lord... Old patriach.. Sword.." Katrina began incoherently. Beatrice frowned her brows, but Sylvester got an inkling. "Goodness knows what havoc he has wreaked now." He murmured. "Beatrice go to your room, and don't come out, okay?" He asked. But before Beatrice could reply, both Katrina and he dashed out of sight.
Dennis sat down elegantly in the chair, with Cornelia standing beside him, like an elegant maid. "I see that you recognized her." Dennis spoke to Sariane, who opened her eyes in shock at the sight of Cornelia. "Now, why do you look so glum, you should be glad. You will both die together, afterall." Dennis said, with a smile. "Dennis!" Sylvester's voice rang out. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked, as he walked up to his older brother, after gazing at the scene, Katrina puffing at his side. "Your brother has gone crazy, Sylvester!" Geoge cried out desperately. "He has.." "I don't remember giving you permission to speak, father." Dennis said. Sylvester on the other hand, looked at the woman by his father's side. "So this is his mistress, huh." He muttered,.as his blue eyes dimmed.