Author's note: Wow, finally this chapter is out.. I nearly give up in publishing a chapter in this holiday because my laptop just didn't want to work. But FINALLY after I whined to my father to fix it in a store for a couple of weeks, he finally went and get it fix for me. Yeey~ Anyway, please enjoy. I hope it turns out to be a good chapter :)

Disclaimer: GH is not mine, sadly..

Chapter 10: First Encounters are Always Hard

On the next morning, I was dressed with such a beautiful gown that I had to eat my breakfast very slowly just to make sure that I wouldn't leave a stain on the dress. Naru was starting to get impatient with my slow eating when a servant came into the dining room and announced Hara-sama's arrival. I was so surprised that I accidentally dropped my bread, with jam and everything, onto my lap. I groaned.

Naru eyed me with a vicious look before ordering Luthena to get me changed and left the room with Koujo-san and the earlier servant. I was grumbling to Luthena about how my efforts had gone to waste, and how someone could intrude in the time for breakfast, and why would anyone wear such an expensive clothes just to eat breakfast, and that Naru shouldn't have given me a cold stare like that, all the way back and forth from my bedroom. Luthena just chuckled and responded in short answers from time to time.

When we finally got to the living room, I found Naru and Hara-sama were sitting on the sofa, while Koujo-san and John-san were standing next to their respective masters. There was also another person there; a woman with beautiful childish face and wavy light brown hair who looked like in her twenties. It was hard to tell though because of her childish face. While the atmosphere between Naru and Hara-sama was somewhat menacing, that other woman didn't seem to be affected at all and she had this light air around herself.

Just right when I came into the room, the three of them turned their heads to me and that young woman practically leaped from her seat to in front of me. I nearly jumped back in surprise but she hold my hands and chirped happily. "Mai! That must be you! Such a sweet young girl, I see! it's such a pleasure to meet you! Naru talked about you a lot, you know!"

"No, I didn't," snapped Naru.

I looked at him, and then the woman holding my hands right now. "Um, pardon me, but who you might be?"

"Oh, yes!" She laughed. "How rude of me! I'm sorry, I'm just too thrilled to finally meet you. Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Madoka Mori and I'm Naru's instructor in Language and Mannerism for quite a while now. And I'm going to be your instructor for the next three weeks."

This time, I actually jumped away from her. "You're my instructor?" I quickly gave her a curtsy. "Excuse me for not giving you a proper greeting. It is a very pleasure of mine to get acquainted with you. I might not be much, but please take care of me from now on."

"My, my," she said, amusement in her eyes. "I see no problem with your manner. You might be even better than Naru!" She laughed again.

I smiled. "It's only because Ayako-san has taught me well."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ayako-san?"

"Ah, she's one of the caretakers in the orphanage."

"Is that so?" She made a fade smile. "She sounded interesting. An orphanage caretaker who is able to teach proper manner, eh? Must be quite a woman."

"Well, she and her family used to be one of the high status themselves, so she knows quite well about it," I explained.

"'Used to be'? What happened to her family?"

"Well..."

I was just about to answer when Naru interrupted me by clearing his throat. "I think we're not here today to discuss about Matsuzaki-san's background past," he said as he threw an annoyed look toward us.

Mori-san, or should I call her sensei?, laughed again. "Ah, my bad, Naru. I shouldn't have taken her all for myself. Come on, Mai! Let's have a seat!"

She ushered me to the sofa and seated me right in front of Hara-sama while she sat beside me. When I sat down, Hara-sama threw me a cold glare but she didn't say anything. She just simply covered her mouth with her dress sleeves as if I was some kind of stink stain that she found distasteful. Not very much different with what she had in mind, I believed.

Once we were all seated, Naru spoke. "Now that everyone has known each other, let's just skip the introduction and go straight to the explanation. Simply to say, we are all here to overlook Mai's study to become a proper Duchess candidate; or in other words, my bride." Hara-sama's glare was becoming more intense here. I shifted further back in the sofa. "And in order to determine her eligibility as the candidate, Hara-san here is going to supervise not just all of the educational activities but also Mai's daily activities in the next three weeks. Therefore she will be staying here too. While Mori-san here will be the one in charge for Mai's Language and Mannerism class; your first class this morning."

I tried not to gulp as I nodded to him. He continued, "Basically, you will have five classes, 90 minutes each. One is Language and Mannerism class, the others are General Knowledges class, Art and Dance class, Home-making class, and the last one is Politic and Governance class. I have assigned different teacher for each class, they will come exactly at the appointed time, so refrain yourself from being late." I laughed nervously as a reply. He didn't seem to be impressed. "Hara-san will also come to each and every classes and she also has the right to give suggestions to the teachers if she deems needed. However though, every classes schedule and course plan, and also every changes to it, will have to be approved by myself first before it can be exerted. Am I clear?"

Mori-san and I nodded.

Hara-sama said, "Yes, Milord."

"If everyone is clear, then we can finish this meeting here," said Naru as he stood up. "One of my servant will lead you to your room, Hara-san. After you has settled down you can join the class in the north living room on second floor. I have also prepared some breakfast to be sent to your room so you can rest as you like. We will continue our breakfast in the mean time, and you are welcomed to join us too, Mori-san. After that, you can start your class with Mai."

"If I may, Milord," Hara-sama spoke suddenly. "I would like to join thee in the table. I have my responsibility as the supervisor, so I shall keep true to my duty. And attending meals together with..." She peered at me. "...Mai-san would be necessary. Therefore I ask for thy permission to be at thy morning meal."

"Not that I disagree, but aren't you tired from the trip? I believe it costs you no small amount of energy to travel all the way here," asked Naru.

"Milord, I have come to here for no other reason than to fulfil my duty. For that, even my own fatigue won't hinder me on doing so," answered Hara-sama as she smiled sweetly at him.

It's an attack! I realized. I peered at Mori-san; she was smirking in please and whispered to me, "Watch, my dear." So I quietly looked back to the argument in front of me.

"I am in no mean to doubt you with your dutiful self. However though, I cannot let my guest to tire themselves out just to attend the meals. I would be a very bad host, then," Naru said again.

"Oh, my! No, Milord! Thou art no bad host. Instead, a very generous one, I must say. I am very grateful for thy concern over this humble self. That is also why I would like to repay thy kindness by doing my duty properly. Staying in my room and neglecting my job just because of some tiredness would be no excuse! Pray let me do as I should, for not I will forgive myself by not doing so!"

"Well, it is quite relieving to see how responsible and kind-hearted you are, but I couldn't let my guest be the one giving here, could I? It is my mansion after all, and I want to show you my generosity by giving you a proper resting time. Surely you would not refuse my generosity, would you?" Naru gave a faint smile, but the smile was so cold and intimidating that Hara-sama was taken aback.

She quickly looked down and mumbled quietly, "N-no, Milord, I would not dare."

"I'm glad you understand." Naru waved to one of the older maid in the room and said, "Rieko. Show Hara-san and John-san their rooms and prepare the breakfast for them. You will be the one in charge for their needs, but do remember that John-san is still her personal butler. Do not forget your place."

"I understand, Milord." The maid called Rieko-san bowed before she turned to Hara-sama and lead her and John-san outside the room. Hara-sama threw me another hateful look before following the maid lead.

After Hara-sama and John-san had left the room, Naru let out a soft sigh. He looked back at us and said, "Well, let's go back to the dining room now. We're losing a lot of time already."

I was about to say "Ok" when Mori-san hold my arm and smiled to Naru. "You go on ahead. We'll be coming shortly. I need to talk with Mai for a bit."

Naru raised an eyebrow. Mori-san just chuckled. "No need to worry. I just need to say something about our class. Now, go on, go on!" She gestured him to go away and he just sighed at her before going out of the room.

I watched him go before turning to Mori-san. "What was that all about?"

She just smiled. "Well, my dear Mai, that was your first lesson this morning. That's called the way of arguing. It's something you'll find quite often in the noblesse society. It was pretty one-sided though." She chuckled. "Sadly, that was the way Naru is right now. He's too good in it for his own good. He's so stubborn and doesn't like to lose, but what worse is that he always know how to win. That makes him a little bit too arrogant, I think. But now," she turned to me and grinned. "He has made a grief mistake of letting me be your language teacher! I'm going to teach you how to defeat him in an argument! You, my dear, is going to put a rein on that arrogant attitude of his!" She laughed. "Oh! I can't wait for it!"

I laughed nervously. "But, why would you ever want to do that? He's your student, right? Won't you feel proud when you find that he's doing a good job?"

"I did say that he's really good in argument and in getting what he wants, but I didn't say that he's doing a good job," said Mori-san. I looked at her, confused. She smiled. "Do you know about all the rumours surrounding him? About him being a selfish arrogant noble brat who always so full of himself and always make troubles?" I nodded. "Those rumours are not true. Well, not entirely. Sure, he is arrogant, and sometimes he can be selfish and full of himself, but he's not the kind of person who would look for troubles. Let alone making fights with other people. I mean, really, can you imagine him do things like gang fights?"

Strangely, I can't. I shook my head.

She smiled. "See? That's what I mean. I don't know where those rumours have started but whenever I asked him about it he just shrugged it off. I can see that he has nothing to do with any of that, but he also doesn't seem to try to defend himself. He may be too arrogant to care, I don't know. But I'm worried. If bad rumours keep spreading about him, his position as the next duke might be threatened. Even as his situation as it is, he's already in a bad position. If there are any more distrust towards him, well," she shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid that maybe even his life will be threatened too."

I looked at her in surprise. I remember at the time Naru came to propose me, he had mentioned that he didn't want to make his image any worse. I wondered if it was because of this. So Naru care after all, I thought, a little relieved. But wouldn't that mean someone is trying to impair his reputation in public? Why would anyone do that? And why was he already in a bad position? "Why?" I asked. "Why is Naru already in a bad position? Did he do something? And based on your story, it seems that someone is targeting Naru. Why would anyone do that?"

Mori-san smiled again. "Oh, you have no idea how many people wish to harm him. He's the duke's son after all. People is coming to him for his wealth and power, but he is definitely not the cooperative type. About his condition, though..." Her expression turned a little sad. "Well, the fact that you're asking means that he hasn't told you yet, so I guess I can't say anything. If you wish to know, you have to ask him himself. He will tell you eventually, I think. But still, it's quite rare for him to trust anyone who doesn't know. I guess he does love you that much, doesn't he?"

I blushed furiously. "I-I-I don't know! I don't know either! I-I mean, he's such a mysterious person that I'm not sure what is going on his head! I-I..." I quieted down in shame. "I'm sorry..."

"Hahahaha... You're interesting!" She laughed merrily. "Don't worry. There's nothing for you to apologize for. I guess no one can truly understand what he really thinks inside. Even his own going-to-be bride." She winked. "Well, my point is, I want to at least lessen a bit of the things that people don't like about him. For instance, his arrogancy. His attitudes that make people feel inferior toward him could be the biggest reason why people believe those kind of rumours in the first place. If we can make him look inferior towards you; now, that is the way to make them fear him less. That's why, won't you cooperate with me?" She put on her best cute-begging expression.

"Uh, okay... I guess."

"Yes!" she shouted. "I know you're a good person, Mai! I know I can put my hope on you! Now that we're settled, let's work our hard together, okay? I'll make sure to turn you into a great noble who can even win against the Great Naru-sama! Be prepared, Mai!" She laughed again and danced her way to the dining room. I followed her behind, feeling rather unsure about my future studies.

I hope I didn't just get myself another ticking bomb, I prayed to myself as I went back to finished my breakfast.

I massaged my neck as I made my way to my bedroom. I had just finished the dance class and I was about to change my clothes for dinner. Looking back at it, my first day was a pretty messed up one. After we finished our breakfast, we moved on to the first class, Language and Mannerism. Hara-sama joined us shortly after, still looking in a pretty bad mood. It had started well, I was able to do the basic mannerism with no problem and Mori-san was pretty happy about it. But it was only until she suggested to try out my ability in the so-called noble argument, and against Hara-sama nonetheless. We were doing fine at first, starting with a quite civilized debate. But after her argument with Naru in the earlier incident, Hara-sama seemed pretty determined not to let me win. We started to throw insults, getting to each other nerves. Then we started yelling, and when she finally get to the point where she called orphan children as society trash, I lost it and slapped her right on the face. And all hell broke loose. We screamed, and yelled, and hit, and kicked, and it took nearly six people just to separate us away.

She was still cursing me as the servants struggled to drag her out of the room. I wasn't anywhere better as I threw out insults so bad that if Ayako-san had had heard it she would put me in the basement scrubbing punishment after she washed my mouth thoroughly. Well, there was still Mori-san though. Once Hara-sama was out of the room, the servants released me and Mori-san started lecturing me about attacking people physically. She was telling me about how bad physical violence is, but somewhere along the line she didn't really seem to mind about the verbal abuse. Not that I complained though. A soap in your mouth was the last thing you would ever want to taste. After all of that cat-fight incident, Mori-san went back home murmuring about how dangerous young girls were in compare with guys, and kept massaging her temple until she went into the carriage.

My next class was General Knowledge. Surprisingly, the teacher was Yasuhara-san. From the moment I saw him smiling amusedly to me when I came to the class, I knew that he knew about the whole incident with Hara-sama. And though he didn't say a word about it, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed throughout the class. Thankfully Hara-sama had to excused herself for the afternoon because she said that she wasn't feeling well so I was saved from another hell of awkward situation. The rest of the afternoon was going well until Hara-sama once again joined me for Politic and Governance class.

The teacher for this class was the perfect image of a noble instructor. Her name was Katherine Mandale. She was strict, high-prided and elegant; all the quality you would ever find in a noble. I couldn't help but wonder how Mori-san could ever be pointed as the Mannerism instructor over her. Maybe Naru had figured that my Mannerism class would turn out into another living hell for me if Mandale-san were the teacher. Anyhow, it turned out that Mandale-san and Hara-sama clicked well, which was not a good news for me. In the class, I was supposed to memorise each and every noble in the country; including their histories, relationships between the noble families, and conflicts and cooperation established between them. The purpose was to learn how to make use of those relationships for the benefit of the town, or the family. I tried not to flinch when I heard that. In the end, this class seemed to be my least favourite subject, and it took me my whole will power not to snap again, especially when Hara-sama had the upper hand in the class.

My last class before dinner was Art and Dance. The teacher was a middle aged man with a rather quirky attitude named Gareth Von Duur. In the class, I was going to learn art and dance lesson in turn. Which meant I would be learning art for one class and then I would learn dance for the next class. And the first class was dance. Unfortunately, as I was attending the class, I came to learn that dancing is definitely not in my talent list. It might even be my worst talent aside from cooking. By the end of the class, Gary-san-he told me to call him that-had turned frenzy and would have stomped his way out of the class if his feet weren't hurt from all of the times I had stepped on him. Hara-sama didn't even bother to try to hide her pleased smile with her sleeves.

I let out a sigh. Even after dinner, I still have a Homemaking class, which I most definitely not looking forward to. Remembering just how bad my cooking skill was, I was pretty sure that this class would just be another disaster for me, nicely concluding the series of today's failures. I couldn't even imagine what Naru would do when he heard about today's classes. Not that I should care, but I just couldn't help but feeling discouraged. I could only hope that tomorrow is going to be better.

I let out another sigh as I made a turn to the corridor heading to my room. That was when I spotted him. A little child, maybe around nine or ten years old, running happily down the corridor, right to the direction where my bedroom was. He could be just a child of a servant here, coming along with his parent to work and had wanted to explore the mansion, but something about the child raised my curiosity. So I picked up my pace and followed him. I was following him as closely as possible without letting out too much noise but it was kind of hard because the little boy was half running. I wondered why there was no servant came scolding him for running in the hallway like that. And then I realized what was wrong. The boy didn't make any noise. Even if he was half running, his steps didn't make any noise at all. And his movement was so light and swift as if he didn't have any weight. He was there, a little boy happily running down the hall, moving as silent and as swift as the wind. I felt something stirring in my stomach.

As I was suspected, the boy was going in the direction of my room. We already reached the corridor where my room was, but he just ignored it and went straight to the end of the corridor. There was a big black door right at the end, leading to probably another bedroom chamber in the mansion. The little boy stopped in front of that door and swiftly pushed it open. Again, without any noise. He slipped in and left the door slightly open. Something telling me that whom ever that room belonged to, it was definitely not the little boy's room, so I decided to check in case there was something unwanted happening.

I stopped in front of the door and tried to peek in but I couldn't see anyone. Curiosity took over and I pushed the door wider. It creaked. I felt cold in my stomach but I ignored it and slipped in. The room was spacious and yet, it was nearly empty. There was only one regular sized bed near the window, a humble sized clothes cabinet right next to the bed, one armchair and one small coffee table in the middle of the room, while the rest of the room's wall was covered by bookshelves that were filled by hundreds of books. Rather than a bedroom with bookshelves, it looked a lot more like a library with an additional bed. But what made it really strange was the fact that everything in the room, except for the books, was all black. The bedspread, the quilt, the pillow, the armchair, the curtain, even the wood of the bookshelves and the lamp stands were all black. Who would ever want to decorate their room this gloomy? I wondered as I took a look around the room.

There was not even a single trace of the earlier child but somehow I got the feeling that I already expected that much. Who was that? What was that? My mind raced to find answer, but the only possible answer was something that I could never believe it to be. It couldn't be...ghost?

"What are you doing here?"

A voice shocked me out of my thinking trance. I spun around and I felt like my heart had just dropped down to my stomach. Naru was standing on the door, looking quite displeased.

"Naru..." I breathed out, but Naru quickly cut in.

"I asked you, what are you doing here?"

"I-I just, I saw a little boy, came running to this room, and I thought I should check him out just in case," I explained.

Naru raised an eyebrow. "A little boy? Here in the mansion? I've never known there was any child in this place."

"Well, couldn't it possibly one of the servant child?" I asked.

Naru gave it a thought. "Could be, though I am not sure that anyone would dare to bring their children here to the mansion."

"Eh? Why wouldn't they?"

"I just don't want any hindrance for their jobs."

"... Oh..."

There was a moment of silent before Naru spoke again. "So? Where is this problematic child?"

"It's not that he's problematic...," I said under my breath. Naru just stared at me, waiting, so I sighed and said, "He's not here. He's gone."

"Gone?" I wasn't sure how to translate his tone, but it wasn't pleasant. "What do you mean he's gone? Where did he go?"

"I don't know. When I came inside, he's already gone."

There was another moment of silent, but this time it was different. I looked Naru in the eye, challenging him to question the truthfulness of my statement. He stared back at me for a while, and then he sighed. "Fine, I'll just check on this matter later. You should go prepare yourself for dinner. But when you finish, wait in your room. I will come to pick you up."

I couldn't believe he just said that. It seemed like he really couldn't trust me after all. "Fine, I get it. I will see you then."

I hurriedly went pass him and on to the door. I couldn't believe he would doubt me just because of something like that. Sure, I was wrong for coming into other rooms without his permission, but I had no bad intention and he still couldn't trust me. If he couldn't trust me, how could we ever going to be able to cooperate and work together? And here I am working hard to meet his expectation just for nothing. Somehow his distrust made me feel crushed, and I could feel the tears were swelling up in my eyes. Not wanting Naru to notice the tears, I quickly went to the door and was about to go out when I saw him. The little boy. Standing right in front of the door, looking at me.

I froze. Thousand of questions ran through my head but none would come out. I didn't know how, but I just knew that whatever that little boy was, he wasn't human. I looked into his clear blue eyes and he looked into mine. Time felt like stopping, and I didn't know what to do. Should I scream? Should I tell Naru? Should I try talking to the boy? As options ran through my head, the little boy raised his hand, and touched my forehead. The next thing I knew, everything became pitch black.

Cliffhanger! Hahahaha... Sorry about that. I just can't help it XD Hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review, all of your comments are very much appreciated. With love, rei2nadia.