Chapter Text
The bath was... Okay?
But there was something funny about the mirror. When Cale looked into the mirror, usually, he would see his handsome self. He did own a full-body mirror for no reason but to see how awesome he looks in obnoxiously expensive clothing. While he liked luxury, the obvious overdressing is definitely on purpose to further his trash persona.
Isn't he just the sweetest brother? Ruining his reputation for his step-family?
Maybe a part of him did do it for the family... but if someone were to ask him on a deeper level, he might... hmm.. He doesn't know really.
It's just one of the things that we do but we don't wanna dive deeper. Perhaps he fears to see what ugliness lies underneath.
Shaking his head from his thoughts, he walks out of the bathroom and with Ron's help, gets dressed. No noble dresses alone after all.
"Young master, the Count wishes to dine with you this morning as well. Will you come for breakfast or should I deliver it here instead?", Ron asks carefully. Seeing his young charge not completely flip from the question and actually contemplate an answer is definitely something he hasn't seen in years. At least, since the trash days began.
"Umm..."
'Huh... what's up with me? I should shout at him as usual for asking such a ridiculous question.'
"I'll eat here. Tell Father I'll eat with him some...some other time."
Ron's smile falters.
Cale spots the clock hanging in his room. It was something with the way the hands of the clock shook. The way the number 6 sways but somehow is completely still. It is a picture in the clock, it can't move, can it?
"Actually...I'll eat with him this afternoon... No, i mean at dinner."
Cale's body language grew strange in ways Ron could not describe. His young charge was still the same yet so vaguely different. He seemed confused with his own words but sure enough to not mumble his words.
How odd.
"Is there a specific reason for this family dinner?"
"No", Cale's answer was firm. He didn't know why he thought it was a good time. But he knows... something is happening.
"What's the date again?"
"It is the 28th day of the 3rd month in the 781st year of the Felix Calendar."
It's just another day for Cale.
It should be... Wait..Family dinner???
"Ron, I said a dinner with the Count. I never said I'm eating with them."
"My apologies, I shall relay the message as such and will deliver your breakfast soon."
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*Time: 28th day, 3rd month, 781st year, Felix Calendar*
*Location: Harris Village*
*Confirmed Death Cases: 68*
*Missing/Not Known Cases: 10*
Those words were written on a brown muddy paper. It was written by the only survivor of the Harris Village attack, Choi Han. Maybe that's why the writing was so bad, he did learn the language just some time ago when he finally escaped from the forest.
He digs the ground with a shovel he finds in one of the houses. Wind flutters in his cloak until it reveals his midnight-dark hair. The brown muddy paper is seen on top of his bag that contains a few herbs, previously picked by him... the cause of his absence during the incident.
*Harris Village was attack. Villagers not spared. Adults mostly fought and died, prove by fighting wounds on deceased bodies. Children and babies are killed, prove by deceased bodies found. Some residents are missing, random, some 3 adults, 7 children. Attack cause not known. Request aid in aftermath of attack and report of incident to find attackers.*
It was a relatively short letter... Choi Han knows the leader of this land is the Count. He was told but the villagers. He needs an audience with him... reporting to the government after an attack is a logical move. But for now, he will focus on burying the bodies of his new friends, family, and neighbors. They deserve at least this much
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Meanwhile, back in the Henituse territory, Cale had just been delivered his breakfast. Unlike the usual tantrum, he accepted his meal quite easily. Ron takes note of how his young charge seems too busy thinking about something to bother making a scene.
It is as if there is something bothering him...more than just supposedly delicious meals tasting like dirt for him, which is what meal times usually are.
Cale eats his meal whilst being distracted. 'Why do I feel as if I've forgotten something?'. He looks around as he munches his meal. His eyes land on a red rose in a vase on his bedside table.
Red roses...
Red...
Blood?...
Mother?...
Ink...?
Garden?
What's in the garden? He hasn't been in there since he was in single digits of age.
He looks out to the window. Seeing the bushes of white flowers coat the bushes. A memory of old surfaces in his mind. A memory that shows what his broth.. step-brother truly is.
The peasant... the resourceful commoner. His...somewhat brother.
Little Cale was just 9. Basen was even smaller. Both of them were in the garden. This was before the union of Basen's mother and Cale's father. At this time, Deruth simply said that this was a one-time visitation and asked his son to accompany the smaller brown-haired boy.
Basen was holding Cale's hands as Cale looked sorrowfully into the garden. Cale looked disappointed. His mind wandered... was it on purpose? Why did the gardeners get it wrong? Did they no longer respect him? He was a child but he wasn't dumb, he knew that something bigger than him was going on between their parents.
"The gardeners had planted white roses when I specifically asked for red."
"You can always paint the roses red"
"What an odd thing to say..."
The resourceful little peasant boy... On what earth can white roses painted red be red roses? At the end of the day, even after the paint, it's still a white rose.
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"Cale... wants to dine with me tonight? Just me?", asks Deruth Henituse.
"Yes, my lord. The young master specifically asked to dine with you and you alone tonight. He also said that there is no specific reason to do so."
"Tell him I gladly accept the invitation then"
Deruth wasn't sure what was up with Cale. He had heard from Hans, the head butler candidate, that his son was a little different this morning. The news was that he woke up earlier without a tantrum. He seemed calm but distracted. He didn't seem to be intoxicated neither did he ask for wine so he could be. Well, the change was sudden but it wasn't a bad change. Deruth finds no reason to scrutinize a welcome change, even if a tad strange.