"Almost there…"

Alice’s voice was a barely audible whisper, so close that her hot breath almost hit Gabriel’s ear. There was plenty of space on the other bench in the carriage, but for the last two days she had been stuck next to him. A nightmare, a horrible one at that. Gabriel knew the feeling so he didn’t comment on it.

As for why her voice was so close, it was because she was currently leaning over him while looking out the window, seemingly ignoring the fact that there was another window right next to her. Parts of the Vritara estate’s main mansion could be seen from the windows, they would have to dismount in just a handful of minutes.

"Gabriel. My room, can you renovate it? The curtains, the bed, the carpet, change it all. Make it silver and violet, nice and vibrant colours."

Alice eventually leaned back in her seat with a heavy, almost stilted breath. She spoke his name softly, as if to confirm it, as if to chase away something. A nightmare was just a dream, a trick of the mind. But the mind was always what haunted people the most, the things that spawned from it clung to you far longer than anything else.

"As you wish. I’ll make it as if it was new."

There was no such thing as a pointless action when it came to chasing away what haunted you. If Alice said she wanted silver and violet then he would dig up every last scrap of cloth the Vritara estate had in those colours for her room. Alice simply smiled at his response, but there was a slight crease between her brows as she glanced out the window.

And in the end, they reached the front of the Vritara estate and the doors to the carriage were opened.

"Greetings, Miss Alice. Young Lady Marion, Young Master Francis, and the Esteemed Lord are awaiting you in the dining hall. If you would please follow me."

A butler awaited them in front of the mansion. Slicked back brown hair with a few streaks of grey, deep crows feet at the corners of his eyes, and slightly cloudy blue eyes. His back was slightly bent in a hunch, but his skin was smooth and well kept, nary a wrinkle to be seen.

This man, whose age was hard to discern at a glance, was Barret Hodgkin, the Head Butler of the Vritara estate. He joined the Vritara estate when the current duke, then a marquess, married the previous duchess. As a direct subordinate of the new duke, it naturally didn’t take him long to rise in the ranks, especially after the duchess passed away while giving birth to Alice.

"…Naturally. Please lead the way."

Alice brushed back her hair after drawing in and subsequently spitting out a deep breath. She corrected her posture as she stood up, discarding her slouchy air for the noble and regal one she tended to wear around other nobles. It was her suit of armour, her shield that blocked out the world. But right now, probably due to her nightmare, Gabriel could see cracks in it, evident by the fact that she let Barret see her slouching.

"Alice."

She almost jumped when Gabriel’s voice reached her as she stepped out of the carriage. Alice. She was the illegitimate child of the Vritara family so even the servants here called her by name, without the slightest hint of respect. But Gabriel had always been different, always calling her My Lady, especially when they were around others.

He was her knight so he was respecting her. He was treating her properly. He was putting a bit of distance between them.

When she glanced back, she met his eyes. He was looking straight at her. He always did, but she could tell that his eyes were different. She had looked at nothing but him for almost ten years so how could she not notice even the smallest changes. Her knight, the man she made, was looking straight at her with what she could only call a soft gaze.

"Everything will be ready by the time you’re back. I’ll see you later."

Unfair. Really. He was bad enough in the past, but ever since they encountered the claw he had only gotten more and more unfair with each passing day. She wanted to pounce him. She wanted to jump on him and push him down right there and now. But she had to restrain herself, she had to excersice control, so she could only smile at him.

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"I’ll come back quickly, Gabriel."

Really, what was even more unfair was the way he seemed to know just what to say. Right, he’d see her later, she’d go back to him later. A dream was just a dream, a nightmare was just a nightmare. No matter what she saw in them, it would always be Gabriel that she would see later.

"Barret, lead the way. Or are you planning on leaving me waiting out here standing after such a long journey?"

Her gaze returned to the butler, who was just standing there. The corners of her lips were turned up, a relaxed and confident glint in her eyes.

"Of course not, Miss Alice. Please."

Barret gave a fraction of a bow and then turned around with a small gesture, taking the lead as he guided Alice into the mansion. When the Head Butler left, the other servants that had been waiting in the wings started working.

"Servant Tuesday, Servant Teresa, we will take over the carriage so you have to dismount."

Two of the nearest maids approached the carriage that Gabriel was on. It was an official carriage belonging to the Vritara duchy, it was not something they would leave in the hands of people serving the illegitimate child. In public they had to show Alice a fair bit of respect due to her future noble title, but none of that applied within the borders of the Vritara estate.

Here, she would always be the illegitimate child. And Gabriel and Teresa would always be nothing more than her servants, the lowest in the hierarchy.

The two got off the carriage, Gabriel stepping out of the compartment while Teresa stepped down from the coachman’s seat. They didn’t even glance at the servants before they started to walk away, neither side thought of the other as someone worthy of their attention.

"You’ve got it all?"

The two spoke as they entered the mansion through one of the many side entrances used by the servants. Gabriel was looking down at the satchels Teresa had draped over her shoulders, three of them filled to the brim.

"We sadly used up all of the painkillers and bandages. But at least it left more room for souvenirs."

Painkillers and bandages, codename for poisons. Good, all of them had been properly disposed of. It wasn’t guaranteed to happen, but Gabriel wouldn’t be surprised if someone from the Vritara estate decided to go through their luggage to spy on them.

"Good. I don’t know what children like so I make no guarantees on whether or not they’ll like it."

Gabriel didn’t pry deeper, he trusted Teresa to do things properly, so he just changed the topic instead. Three satchels filled to the brim. Souvenirs wasn’t a codeword, the three satchels were in fact filled to the brim with souvenirs for Teresa’s three brothers. Alice had filled one, Teresa had filled one, and Gabriel had filled one on their behest. But what the heck was he supposed to buy for children? Comforting and pleasing Alice when they were kids was easy, he knew what she needed to become happy. But Teresa’s brothers?

"It’s fine, they’ll be dumbfounded just knowing that you’ve bought something for them."

Teresa chuckled lightly but cast a sideways glance at Gabriel. It was unusual for him to stop asking about things after receiving just one answer, especially when it was something that could be used as incriminating evidence against them. But that would turn out to only be the start of her surprises today.

"There’s a job. Alice made a promise to clean an estate. It’s a decently large estate, probably big enough to house about 50 or so people if you stuff them in tight. I’d do it myself, but my hands are a mess right now. Can I trust you?"

She almost stumbled over her steps as Gabriel spoke. A cleaning job? One that required the cleaning of about 50 people, some of which had decently high positions in society? And what’s more, it was a job they were taking on because Alice made a promise with someone. And he was asking her to do it?

She couldn’t help but look at him, meeting his eyes. He was looking at her, his violet eyes showing no signs of joking. Gabriel, the man who would usually just go no matter how bad his form was, was asking her to go because he was injured?

She kept looking at him, staring at him as she observed him. His body language, his gaze, his aura, she studied everything she could get a hold of. She didn’t know him as well as Alice did, but slowly and surely, she caught glimpses of it. Thus, the corners of her lips slowly rose.

Well would you look at that, their Lady had gotten through to him.

"Of course you can trust me. I’ll clean it so well that there won’t even be a speck of dust left, and I’ll even return without having gotten the slightest bit dirty."

———

Alice followed Barret through the mansion. Neither of them spoke a word and the carpet swallowed the sound of their footsteps so it was almost eerily quiet as they moved. There were almost no servants along their path, the duke had probably dismissed them because he didn’t want to be disturbed.

"They await you inside, Miss Alice. Please enjoy your meal."

Barret pushed open the pure white marble doors to the central dining hall and took a half step aside so that she could enter. Truthfully, this was Alice’s first time entering the central dining hall, which was the one reserved for the duke himself. But she wasn’t in the mood to observe the lavish decorations that had been so painstakingly preserved.

A large white and blue marble table stood at the centre of the room, rectangular in shape and long enough to house 13 people on each side. Currently there were only three people sitting at the table, one at the very end and two on both sides of said end-chair. The older sister, Marion De Vritara sat to the right, and the elder brother, Francis De Vritara sat to the left. And between them, at the head of the table, he sat. The Duke of Vritara.