I supposed that in a sense, this could be considered ironic. As I surround myself in fine silks and eat off porcelain plates, I couldn't help but wonder on why they would waste a perfectly good five-star meal on a child such as myself. Glancing both ways, I wrapped a dinner roll in the fine napkin and tugged it on my lap for later; there was no sense in wasting the meal.
'If only they could see me now,' I scoffed as I glanced up at the crystal chandelier and wondered just how much money that alone costed. After tallying up the amount of a teardrop shaped crystal, I quickly dropped the attempt.
"Young master, does the meal not satisfy you?" A male spoke up, bowing at the waist despite how degrading it must have felt.
"Everything is fine." A smile easily jumped to my lips in order to show childish enthusiasm, uncomfortably tugging at my young skin. My face was still not used to this. "It's actually better than I can hope for, though it's a bit much for someone like me."
The meaning behind my words must have confused the man as he instantly countered me, uncomfortably shifting in his spot.
"Nothing is too good for you, young master. The De Grantaine household gave me the honor to serve you. It is the peak of a chef's career to be serving this fine household name."
'Laying it on a bit thick there.' Nevertheless, I shook my head in good faith. I understood where the man was coming from, one word from me and I could potentially ruin his whole career or boost it. He was saving his own skin and I can respect that.
"It's fine. Honestly, you're probably wasting your talent by being cooped up here." Soft smile here, childish tilt of the head there. "Opening a restaurant would be more up your alley."
"You flatter me, young master."
Hook
"Did mother eat yet? I can bring the tray there myself if she hasn't."
Line
His eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed. I could vaguely see that he was angling toward the kitchen doors, perhaps to go talk to the kitchen staff.
And Sinker
"No, I was just about to send a maid to deliver her tray in minute. We can take care of it, so you should stay and eat while your food is hot."
Humming, I weighed the alternatives before ultimately bowing down to his suggestion. Discretely watching his change in attitude, I looked up at him through my lashes.
"Okay. I want to eat dessert with Mama, though, so just tell me when and I can take them to her myself."
"Of course, Master Rene. Enjoy your meal."
My eyes latched onto the man's gait as he pushed his way across the outrageously large dining hall. Licking my lower lip of some stray soup, I contemplated if his good mood would be noticed and if he would spread his favorable opinion about me to the wait staff.
'Of course he will, the adults already are falling head over heels for me.' My teeth tore into a slice of bread as I hunched in my chair.
"Huh, I'm already rich and I'm still trying to con people." I stuck my tongue out as I raised an eyebrow at myself. Honestly, the culture shock would've gotten to me by now if I wasn't so used to weaseling my way into the homes of rich men and women.
'Or maybe it has,' the thought had me pausing, unnecessarily leaving my dipped bread in the soup for too long. It's been about a year and I still had no idea what to do with myself. I spent a majority of my life toeing the thin line of morality so that I could schmooze my way through life, but ironically dying was what accomplished it; who knew dying would lead to riches? But now money obviously wasn't an issue and I'd never have to worry about basic education, so basically my whole life was already planned out for me before it even really began. At first it was reassuring, but that idea gets terribly old really fast.
Maybe it was just an innate reaction, but charming the people of the De Grantaine household become a sort of pastime for me in my months slinking around as a child. My theory of beautiful people having an easier time getting what they want had better results than I expected as the workers around the house obviously fell for my little kid charm. Caring, sweet, and quiet was the type of kid everyone fell for, but it only made me laugh when they searched for their missing wallet which they swore was in their back pocket.
No one ever suspects the quiet child.
Eventually, it turned into a mini fiasco when they mysteriously found their wallets back in place with more money than it had before. Some of the wait staff actually swore that there was a ghost in the west corridor and subsequently refused to step foot in there after nightfall.
But I digress, my childish antics can only hold my attention for so long. An adult stuck in the body of a beautiful rich boy was an interesting idea, but the novelty of being a zombie conman in a mini-adult wears off when you're forced into jammies by seven and lights off at eight.
'Maybe I'll just monopolize a corner of the market in the future. Force the competitors out with low prices then become the only option left for consumers.' I mused to myself before breaking out at my thoughts to flash wide eyes at a fresh-faced maid as she slipped me a small tart with a finger held in front of her lips conspiratorially. Childish hands instantly copied the movement, leaving the maid to giggle cheerfully before disappearing once more, no doubt taking care of the multitude of tasks that never seems to diminish. My eyes lingered at the corner she turned before I huffed in amusement and picked up a silver fork to brutally destroy the edible artwork, and callously shove it into my mouth.
As always, the food was delicious.
'Well,' my thoughts slowed as my eyes turned out the window, 'maybe I'll keep the charades up for a little while longer.'
Anne-Sophie wasn't a very interesting woman, I'll admit. While she was undeniably kindhearted and beautiful, she was abhorrently naïve. No doubt her blue blood roots disconnected her from reality as she continued to hold out hope for her prince charming to forever stay at the castle.
Of course, I met the man a couple of time, but he never struck me as someone I would care about. If I had to describe him in a couple words, then they'd be "inactive" and "weak". Their quiet conversations during his visits about some controlling matriarch and excuses quickly lead me to connect how he was hoping for it to all work out, continuing to squirm under his mother's heels.
It's pathetic.
And I couldn't help but think that as the man bent down in front of me and flashed me a dazzling smile, turning the charm up to max capacity. I didn't bother to tell him that a brief meeting ever few months was enough to make me feel familial love for the man. Blandly, I smiled at, probably appearing unsure as he slipped a gold bracelet around my wrist, making sure to linger his hold on my hand before stepping away.
"Happy Birthday, Rene!" Anne-Sophie took her place next to Yuzuru and slipped her arms into his. "I'm sorry I missed your actual birth date, but I couldn't leave Japan sooner and I felt like I needed to give you my present in person."
"It's fine." The lie slipped out easily. Or was it not a lie? I didn't really care either way. "Grandmother probably needed you for something, so I don't mind. Besides, my birthday comes every year."
Their shoulders nervously rolled and the corners of their mouths became a little more stressed at the mention of the matriarch, but I paid it no mind as I charged on.
"But thank you for the gift, father. It must have taken you a while to find what you wanted."
"Think nothing of it, my dear son," I won't, "nothing's too good for you."
"Dear, why don't we sit down for a birthday dinner?" Anne-Sophie quietly cut in, herding us into a poor attempt at an intimate family setting. Unfortunately for her, the table was a bit too wide for us to be comfortably sitting close to each other. I doubt the both of them noticed, though, probably used to distance to notice how awkward it was.
'Not even my conman charm can get me out of this hell,' a grimace was suppressed and the dinner went on rather quietly with only Anne-Sophie and Yuzuru making conversation. Otherwise, I went with the unspoken rule that children were supposed to be seen, not heard.
"Tamaki." I almost frowned at the name, but caught myself as I casted a quizzical look at my father. I could only guess as to why he insisted upon calling me by my Japanese name at certain times, but I never looked too much into it. Without speaking, I gestured that I was listening.
"I know that both your mother and you have been separated from me for… quite a while." I didn't even need to comment on that downplay. "But I've been speaking with mother and I think maybe I'll be able to move you both to the estate."
"With her?" My face was carefully neutral as I let some of my pessimism leak through my words. "Or do you mean that we'll be living in a side home?"
"Ah, well… I suppose we'll have to work that out later." Yuzuru instantly brightened as he called for the wait staff to bring out the cake, effectively cutting off the conversation as my parents shared looks of wariness.
I didn't miss the subtle conversation. While I may be fairly new to the scene, I could tell some of the social factors of Yuzuru's culture made it difficult for us to be together. Discounting the obvious fact that he had an illegitimate son with a woman that is not his wife, but he also subtly disrespected his elder by going against his mother's orders and having a child with a foreigner. He disgraced her and made her look bad with his actions, the highest insult in the eyes of many, and so we were casted away like unsightly trash. My appearance as a more European looking kid didn't help the matter, so her disdain for me showed and the pettiness was almost palatable. Of course, I only had to meet the woman once when I was "studying", so I didn't really have to speak to her (thank the gods).
Other than her passing "filthy child" comment, I didn't have to grace the old bitch with the time of day.
'Cultural subtleties are tiring.' A yawn passed through my lips and Yuzuru made a joke, but I didn't take the bait and let his teasing die before it could begin. The maid must have sensed the tension in the room as she clapped her hands, glancing at my parents before doing so, and cheerfully congratulated me on being older.
'Oh the patronizing. How I love being a child.' I smiled brightly at the young woman, mentally noting that she was one that usually let me sleep-in in the morning.
It wasn't long before that that Yuzuru disappeared back to Japan, leaving to Anne-Sophie's condition to "mysteriously" worsen at his departure. Shaking my head, I granted her some solace by sitting by her bedside, or half-heartedly playing the piano. She smiled distractedly at me, seeing me as the proof of her and Yuzuru's love, but I couldn't fault her too much in that.
I may not be empathetic, but I can recognize a pitiful scene when I see one.
"Master Rene," a tittering maid nervously fluttered at the door as I raised my head to look at her. At the raise of my eyebrows, she hesitantly bowed before glancing behind her in worry.
"Madam Shizue is here to see you."
'Ah, I can see why everyone's nervous.' I nodded to the woman as the corners of my lips pulled back and I shut the book in my hands closed.
"Thank you, Claudette. Will you take me to her?"
"A-Ah, of course, Master Rene." She paused for a moment before combing my light brown hair with her fingers and straightening out my school uniform, then leading me quietly through the halls. In a way, I guess I should be happy about the worry-filled glances from the caretakers, or at least happy that I have them wrapped around my finger, but nothing could distract me from the impeding headache called Shizue Suoh.
"Filthy child."
A polite smile graced my lips as the maid winced as she backed out of the room. I see the eighty year old child (how old is she really) doesn't waste time.
"Grandmother, it is a pleasure to see you. I hope your travels went well."
"Speak when spoken to." She instantly chided, not-so-subtly casting a disdainful glance at Anne-Sophie who was quietly sitting across from Yuzuru. I frowned internally.
'She feels powerful enough to impose herself on someone else's house and has the gall to speak like this.' The message was not lost on me. 'She knows she holds power over everyone here and she wants people to take note.'
If you could say anything positive about the old bat, it would be that she has an iron grip on power.
Wisely keeping my mouth shut, there's no use arguing with her right now, I let the woman continue as I stood in front of her. No doubt she'd take some type of offense at me sitting without being told.
"I came here to make a proposition." Shizue declared. "Tamaki is to go to Japan and live his life there. Everything will be arranged as to be ready by the time he gets there, but he is to cut off all ties with you once he arrives."
She ignored the plain look of shock that settled onto Anne-Sophie's pretty face and charged ahead, regally holding her head high as she proposed, no, demanded her conditions.
"In exchange, you will be financially secure and the De Grantaine household will not fall into debt." The thinly veiled threat jarred Anne-Sophie more than it had me, but even I was reeling slightly from the audacity. Silence fell briefly on us and before I knew it, I was speaking.
"You need me."
"Do not speak."
"I'm the only blood heir to the Suoh Company and even if you don't put me into power, you need me as a figurehead or else the company will fall to someone else's family."
"You let your son speak to his elders like this?" The insult to her rearing abilities was clear, causing the blonde woman to duck her head and apologize, but I was never one to really care about consequences.
"She doesn't have anything to do with it. I speak my mind and I'll give respect to authority when it is earned." The fury her eyes held delighted me more than I can ever say, but to my displeasure and confusion, it was cut short when Anne-Sophie broke through the tension with a pained voice.
"I'll do it." Her mouth was set into a line with tears collecting at the corners of her eyes, making them shiny under the dining room's lighting. "Bring… bring Rene to Japan, I will stop contacting him."
"… Very well," quick words were muttered to the butlers behind her before she stood with hands smoothed out in front of her. "You have made the correct decision. Tamaki will be leaving within the next five hours. Get ready and do not be late, a Suoh driver will come to pick him up."
And then she swept out of the room, taking all the cold and bitterness with her. Quietly, my blue eyes were trained on her figure, mulling over my thoughts as the abruptness of the conversation finally settled with me. It was only until I heard a quiet sob that I turned to my mother and kneeled next to her chair, taking her hand in an empty show of compassion.
"Why did you accept so easily?" I questioned gently. It wouldn't do if she suddenly become a sobbing mess. I was never quite that good with comforting others.
"You need a better life, Rene. You spend all your time here instead of making friends all because of me. You don't even get to see your father because our situation, and going to Japan will give you more opportunities to live than I could ever offer you." Her shoulders quivered and I briefly caught the eyes of sullen worker before they turned away to get some tea.
No doubt, my face was in a carefully neutral state. Mother was a very sweet woman with nothing but the thoughts of others in her head, but she couldn't be more delusional.
'She actually believes that me moving to Japan will magically fix everything.' I watched silently as she put a hand over her mouth in misery. 'Does she even realize the troubles an illegitimate half child would receive from going to a country like Japan? Shizue is one thing, but she actually believes that Yuzuru will protect me.'
I fell silent. I didn't understand her thought process. Who could be so naïve? So trusting?
'She's the perfect victim,' my mind whispered to me. And it was true. She had all the marks of someone that I'd con out of their money or use to gain a foothold to greater figures.
"… I misjudged her." My eyes flashed as I remembered the bitter satisfaction that shifted in her dark eyes. "She doesn't need me. She just wants to punish us with misery."
If Anne-Sophie cried harder, I didn't make a show of acknowledging it. And with a numb feeling in my chest, I watched as the heartbreak visibly mold onto her face as she watched with several faces visible in windows of the mansion as my car smoothly pulled out of the long driveway. Even through the thick siding of the jet black limousine, a faint feminine cry met my ears.
"You really are a pitiable woman." I whispered to myself before turning my eyes away from the window. There was no use watching anymore.
Anne-Sophie dumped me into life of being under Shizue Suoh's thumb.
'And I'll be damned if I let her.'
Author's Note:
So this concludes the first chapter/prologue of this story. And before any of you say anything, yes, I know Tamaki has blond hair and purple eyes in the anime, but I'm actually going by the coloration stated in the manga.
Anyway, the chapter actually came our more seriously than I was actually intending it to be, but I guess that was a given since I was trying to put some subtle cultural differences within the conversations. I've seen people romanticize Japan and Korea's culture way too much and they don't seem to realize that there's just as much dirt as there is beauty within it, so I just wanted to make my story a bit more realistic in that regard.
Despite the serious tone, I hope that it was interesting enough. I can honestly say that future chapters will be more light-hearted despite the fact that my Tamaki is, well, a manipulative ass. But that just comes with the territory of being a conman in the past.
Thoughts and comments would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!
