"WHO DARES?!"

A thunderous shout rocked the Vritara mansion before the sun even peeked across the horizon. Gabriel hadn’t even gotten up to wake up Alice yet it was that early. Two days ago, he had taken something from Leonardo, and just last night, he finally returned from wherever he had been.

"…You checked on it quite quickly, didn’t you?"

He groggily stood up from his bed, the sounds of bustling activity quickly spreading throughout the mansion. He splashed some lukewarm water from the basin that stood next to his bed onto his face so that he would wake up a bit faster. He then slipped into his uniform, fastening the buckles that held the jacket together one by one. It was slow and methodical, even the way he fastened the buttons on his sleeves was slow and careful.

Today was Thursday. Per his agreement with Alice, this would be the one day of the week he got a day off. And thus, this was the day he would start getting to work on the outside. But really, to think that he stuck with this slow and methodical rhythm even now. It seemed like not even death could break the thing known as habits. He looked at his own reflection after he finished getting dressed, sweeping back his hair.

"Alright, let’s go get beaten."

Leonardo was a… reasonable man. He generally didn’t resort to violence against others, especially using his own hands, and it was even rarer for him to use it against commoners, he was a true-blue noble after all. But everything had an exception, and most people lost a fair bit of their morals and principles when they became enraged.

"Mwhuuu… What’s going on?"

Alice rubbed her eyes, already in the process of sitting up when Gabriel entered her room. She was surprised by the loud sound that rocked her awake, but otherwise she didn’t think much of it. Seeing that she wasn’t afraid, it would seem that this was the first time that Leonardo had something stolen from him. In the show, he would always blame Alice first, storming at her in an unreasonable fury.

Gabriel was the one who incited this fury, plucking away one of the three items that Leonardo held dearest. In such a state, Leonardo would inevitably come here to retrieve it, fists and magic swinging as he would try to physically beat the item out of her.

Gabriel had chosen to help Alice become happy in this life, to help her avoid the fated future that the show had set up for her. As such, even if he wasn’t the one who incited this fury, he would still be here to prevent her from getting beaten.

"It seems to be your brother, Leonardo. And judging by the sounds, I’d say they’re coming here."

He helped Alice get out of bed as he spoke and found the change of clothes he’d prepared before he put her to bed. He helped her slip out of her nightgown and into the dress, a relatively simple yellow summer dress.

Truthfully, it probably wasn’t proper for a boy to help a girl change like this. But she didn’t have any maids at the moment so there was no one else to do it but him. Besides, they were both technically children, with one of them being an orphaned servant. Some noble families wouldn’t even consider him a human at that point, he simply didn’t have the value to fit that description.

"Now then, please stay behind me, my Lady. And no matter what happens, don’t use your magic. You must reveal it in a safe and controlled situation, a place where you are in charge, otherwise they can take advantage of it and you. So please, wait patiently."

He spoke calmly as he helped her get dressed, giving her simple attire the same methodical care he gave his own. And then he turned his back and stood in front of her, one hand resting on the scabbard that hung at his side.

Alice was unparallelled in talent, Gabriel truly believed that. If she’d just learned about her magic a bit earlier, if she’d just grown but a bit more loved, at that point there would be nothing in this world that would be able to stop her. The Dead Lands, the World Fissures, perhaps even the gods themselves would end up being no problem.

She’d receive love in this live, she’d receive teaching early on, discover her own talent early on. But a prerequisite to reaching the realm he knew she could was time to grow, the chance to life as she pleased and explore her own strengths. And to ensure that, she had to reveal her cards at suitable times.

If she displayed new magic right here and now then there would be nothing they could do to stop the Vritara family from locking her up. The Magic Tower might buy her to dissect her and there would be nothing they could do, or she could be sent to the eastern family and fight the Dead Lands before she became strong enough. In the end, they would be unable to stop a single thing.

"So please, my Lady, wait. Wait and grow strong, then you can do what you want."

He heard a small gulp from behind him after he spoke. Did she understand what he was implying, or was she just infected by his air? If it was the Alice of the show he would bet on the first, but right now he couldn’t be sure.

The sounds got louder. Hurried and nervous shouts. Fuming roars and rushed breaths. Stomping and creaking of wood. And finally, the door being flung open.

"YOU! It was you right, you filthy little envious thing?!"

Golden eyes blazing with fire and long dark blue hair that flung about wildly. Leonardo’s features were twisted by his anger, a distorted expression forming wrinkles that connected into a tapestry of violence. He didn’t even seem to see Gabriel at first, his fiery gaze locking onto the little girl that peeked out from behind him.

"Uvaish Vash!"

A plant rose from beneath Leonardo’s feet, a vine breaking through the floor and flinging itself at Alice. Leonardo ordered nature to whip, and the nearest plant bent down to obey him. Alice flinched as the vine, a few beans already growing on it, whipped towards her. But Gabriel was there, and he had been ready.

The hand on the scabbard moved and the sword was drawn. The weapon was heavy, and too long for his small body, it was something Lawrence had given as a gift for the man he would become in the future, not the man he was now. But a sword was still a weapon, and Gabriel had never been someone who didn’t figure out how to use a weapon.

A simple upwards slash relying on the motion of drawing the sword. The whip came down while the blade went up so they inevitable met, a sensation akin to cutting through rushing water hitting Gabriel. The vine was harder than a normal plant, reinforced by mana, but it was still cut.

And then, the sword that rose came back down again and cut away a bit more of the vine. It was simple, it was unadorned, it didn’t hold a shred of elegance or grace. It was exactly what Lawrence was trying to teach Gabriel, a sword for killing.

"You lowly slave, step aside!"

Leonardo finally looked at Gabriel, his gaze practically swallowing him whole. More vines rose from the floorboards as he stood there, wriggling like snakes as they got ready to strike. But Gabriel simply stood his ground.

"You, Third Young Master, were the one who spoke to me about the importance of loyalty. I am the knight, and she is my Lady. So here I must stand."

Leonardo’s entire face twitched when Gabriel spoke, the vines around him shrinking back for a second. The breath that fell from his lips was heavy, his chest heaving. His eyes darted about, constantly shifting between the steadfast little kid and the fearful young girl hiding behind him.

"Good…Good…Good. So can I take that as you saying that you won’t do anything as long I don’t go for her? Even if I go for you instead?"

Leonardo was a bit clever when he had to be so he understood the intent behind Gabriel’s words. Knight. They moved to protect their master, they moved to protect their master’s will. And they never moved for themselves no matter how bad things got.

"Correct."

Gabriel returned the sword to the scabbard, his hand still resting on the hilt as he looked straight at Leonardo. The two locked eyes, Leonardo’s expression twisting momentarily before he turned his gaze back onto Alice.

"You got lucky. There’ll never be a second person in the world who’ll care about you, there’s no way the world would be so unfair as to give something like you more than that. So just watch, I’ll beat him until you return what is mine."

Leonardo sneered like an animal. Loyalty and care, it seemed like even a lowly thing like her would be blessed with something like that by the world, even if it was only once in her entire life.

"Uvaish Vash."

The vines moved. The face. The stomach. The right arm. The left leg. The left arm. The right leg. The back. The neck. The face again. The stomach. The left arm. The face again. The neck. The face. The face. The face. The face. The stomach. The face. The face.

Leonardo did not deign to use his own hands on a servant and kept whipping him with the vines. At times they left cuts, at times the just left bruises, and at times they cut open the bruises due to repeated strikes. Strike after strike landed on Gabriel, the uniform he had taken such great care to put on quickly getting torn and bloody.

And all the while, Leonardo wasn’t even looking at him. His gaze was locked onto the trembling little girl hiding behind her knight. He wanted her to beg. He wanted her to return what was his, crying as she begged him to stop.

Come on, you were a dirty thing, born of broken trust and betrayed love. Come on, show your true self.

But she never showed it. No, she never even looked at Leonardo. She was trembling and looked as if she was about to cry, but she never even spared him a glance. She could only look at the kid standing in front of her, his blood occasionally splattering her. He faltered at times and stumbled at others, but he never fell, nor did he step away from his spot.

Stay behind me.

Wait and grow strong.

Words were powerful, far more powerful than most would give them credit for. The right word at the right time could become a blessing, a gift that would elevate someone to a whole new realm. And in the same vein, words could become shackles that forever chained someone.

And right now, what Gabriel had told her echoed within her. Each word flickering like a firefly, from the first time he held her hand until his most recent words. They burrowed into her from every corner, each drop of blood that splattered on her face digging them in deeper.

Now, they would forever be a part of her, but only time would tell if they were to be a blessing or a curse.

Knock Knock.

As Leonardo was in the midst of delivering the beating, someone gave the entranceway a few gentle knocks. Leonardo had burst through the door like a raging bull so it was already wide open, but the person who knocked still remained outside.

It was a servant, an old man with a slightly bent back. There was nary a spot on his face that didn’t have wrinkles, his faded grey hair swept back in a neat manner. He had a thick and droopy moustache, his somewhat dim brown eyes half closed.

"Good morning, gentlemen, little lady. Young Master Leonardo, Young Lady Alice, My Fair Lady has called the both of you to her office."

Leonardo twitched for a second and then trembled for another two, the vines he was using to beat Gabriel withering. The Fair Lady, the person Gabriel had been waiting for.

"You should go, My Lady. Don’t worry about me, the wounds are superficial and will be healed in no time. So just go. But don’t forget that today is thursday, so I will likely not be here when you return."

Gabriel turned and spoke to Alice, who clutched his clothes so tightly that it felt like she would tear them off. Her eyes were bloodshot and a bit red, but from start to finish, she hadn’t allowed herself to cry, especially now that Gabriel was looking at her.

Crimson met violet as she looked at his eyes, staring at them even harder than Leonardo had looked at him earlier. She tugged at the covers to her bed while looking at him and used the large blanket to wipe the blood off of his face, swallowing back her tears when she was done.

"Okay… Okay. But you have to be here again by tomorrow morning at the latest, understood?"

"As you wish, my Lady."