The Lord blinked. "He turned you away?"
Rayga remained where he was, kneeling beside Roctis before the Lord. "Yes. The request was an implied order." His eyes lowered to the ground, though his head remained still. "I have failed you."
The Lord, sensing that Rayga was about to immerse himself in the abyss of self-loathing and regret, waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense. You did exactly as I had ordered you." Rayga's gaze, though still clouded, held acceptance as he mutely nodded. Crisis averted; the Lord mused. In that sense, Rayga and Krasis were eerily similar in their devotion to their mission and their Lord.
He rested his chin in his hand. "Was he happy? Frankenstein's not causing him any trouble? Were you able to gather why he had left?"
Rayga's shoulders relaxed, pleased that he had something to report. "He appeared happy, though I am not the best to judge his emotional levels. Frankenstein seems to be aiding the Noblesse in their current situation, elevating any troubles."
The Lord nodded, his eyes gleaming with interest. "Good. And the reason for why he left?"
Rayga's shoulders were tight once more, and Roctis' eyes flickered over to the Kertia Family Leader. "That I cannot divulge," he answered. His jaw beneath the mask tightened, a betrayal of his sudden discomfort. The emotion went unnoticed by anyone in the room. Anyone but the Lord.
The Lord's eyes gleamed with sudden interest. "Really?" He leaned back. "And where is he residing? Surely Frankenstein wouldn't allow his Master to live in a place of squalor."
Rayga paused for just a brief moment, his eyes glancing over to the side of the room. The Lord smiled. "He did not instruct you to keep his location, did he?"
Rayga withheld a sigh. "He did, my Lord."
He sat up. "Oh? He did!" He laughed. "He is a slick one."
"Raizel?" Roctis asked, surprised. Even Rayga glanced up in bewilderment. To describe Raizel as 'slick' was a phrase none had bothered matching with the Noblesse.
"He must be picking up these bad habits from Frankenstein," the Lord mused. "Well, I have wanted him to get out of the house a bit more. I wasn't expecting him to, as the humans say, flew the coop. Something eventful must have happened! Rayga!" The Kerita Leader became alert at his name. "Do you know when he will be back? If ever. I mean, no need to rush if he is enjoying life as it is. But I do wish he would have allowed us to visit, that way I could drop by, or even send Raskriea into the human world."
"Within a year," Rayga answered, unperturbed by the Lord's bluster. Roctis raised an eyebrow, impressed that Rayga was able to separate the Lord's question from his empty chatter.
The Lord paused and eyed Rayga. "What?"
"He will be back within a year," he repeated.
"So soon? That's hardly enough time. Oh well, he will seek an audience with me, and I will heavily suggest that he extend his vacation...after explaining everything about the incident with the surge and the birds." Both Rayga and Roctis grimaced for several reasons. First, they knew that Raizel would not be the one to seek an audience with the Lord, but rather, the Lord seeking Raizel to have an audience with him. But also, the subject of the unexplained power surge from Raizel was of great intrigue. Even Rayga never received an answer, but when he was in the presence of the Noblesse and Frankenstein, he realized that the power surge was a nonexistent problem for them.
"Now, Roctis," the Lord stated. "I am aware that I could ask you where Raizel is, but as I am a benevolent Lord, I will not pry, and I will respect Raizel's privacy. However, that does not mean I won't be nosy." He leaned back thoughtfully. "Now, what could have happened to force him to leave? It must be connected to that sudden power surge! But why would he have released such energy?" He paused, realizing he still had an audience. "Why are you two still here? Go! You have plenty of things to do other than listening to me ramble on!" He watched as his Nobles left the throne room, a smile playing on his lips. He was not too concerned about Raizel wishing to keep his location undisclosed. What he was concerned about was Raizel's abrupt use of power. He had only once felt Raizel command such authority, and not even then at such an extreme. The surge had been laced with emotion, one that he had never felt from the Noblesse before.
Anger.
Now why would Raizel feel the need to keep his location from him? He could understand that Raizel liked his privacy, but from what he could gather, Roctis did not even learn the location of the Noblesse's abode, and only Rayga was privy to the information. He had no intention of forcing the Kertia Family Leader to reveal the location. He trusted Raizel, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious!
He slammed his fist on the armrest of his throne. Ah the restrictions of a benevolent Lord.
Oh well. Whenever Raizel set his mind to something, he could be incredibly stubborn on seeing it through. He could become quite obsessed with remaining set in his ways. He was like that.
xXx
Annunciata had determined that the masters of the household were lenient when it came to the rearing of the children. Though this was the first high-born family she had served, she knew that at the tender age of four, a child should be introduced to tutors to prepare him for the life of nobility. But neither of the Masters seemed overly concerned with the education of the boys.
From her seat near the fire, she narrowed her eyes at the words in the small book Master Lee had lent her. A euphoria of giddiness swelled within her. To think that she was committing the unthinkable! She, a woman of low birth, was learning to read! Oh, how the townsfolk would surely scoff at the heinous idea. When Master Lee had approached her about the learning of etiquette, reading and writing, she was skeptical about breaching such social boundaries. But there was something about Master Lee's presence that encouraged a breach of the norms.
Her eyes flickered over to a fellow nursemaid, and she smiled. Yes, Master Lee's presence did encourage an array of different emotions for many of the household staff, Lucia included. The young girl had appeared almost frightful when Master Lee had leaned over her shoulder once, attempting to help her with her writing skills.
Annunciata had found it odd that the masters required their maids to learn such meaningless skills. Let alone skills reserved for the nobility.
She had voiced her thoughts out loud once.
"I wouldn't think of it sir," she had protested. "It is unseemly."
He had smiled at her, amusement highlighting his features. "And yet you dare to argue with me. A bit unseemly, if I might say. And bold."
She blinked as he nevertheless pressed the book into her hands, her thoughts a whirlwind of emotion. The master never really called her out for her callus talk. In fact, he occasionally verbally jousted with her, even as she remained acutely aware of their social differences. Secondly, the fact that she was permitted to hold a book and expected to read, not clean it, boggled her mind.
"I expect you in my office this afternoon for your first lessons," he had said, already halfway down the hallways.
Now, she could successfully read an entire paragraph without any help. A note of pride swelled within her chest, and a smile grew on her lips.
"Whas 'dat?" The child on her lap pointed at the book. Looking up at her with such wide grey eyes, he regarded her with curiosity. Annunciata could not resist pulling him closer to her side, a euphoria of warmth filling her chest that quickly spread throughout her body. If her heart painfully attached the emotion to the babe she had once held close to her chest, she disregarded it.
"It's a wolf," she answered. Her fingers traced the simple sentences, her mind easily comprehending the lettering. "Wolves are bad, okay?" The child nodded in eagerness, patting the picture of the creature. "Bad wolf!" he declared.
Annunciata resisted the urge to squeal and crush the child in her embrace. His round, pink cheeks were puffed in displeasure, his lower lip stuck out as he glared at the offending picture. So sure he was with his declaration that the beast was bad, he gave it another resounding smack.
"He is learning."
Annunciata's heart leapt within her chest as Master Raizel sat beside her. His soft gaze was fixed on the child on her lap. Throughout her time serving the household, she had noticed the master's expression change from somber to happiness only when he was in the company of the children. Naturally, she could assume that he was still mourning for his recently deceased wife, and he was busy with the arrival of the Diavolo d'argento. Speaking of which, she wondered how long that nuisance intended to stick around and cause distress. She would have to speak with Master Lee about terminating his visit.
The child squeaked in delight. Crawling from her lap, he reached for Raizel. "Father!" Raizel held the child upright as he was bombarded with the excited ramblings of an infant.
"We are learning together," she declared, the book still held carefully in her hands.
Raizel's smile was briefly directed towards her. "I am glad you are given the opportunity."
She picked up so many underlying tones in that phrase. The opportunity to serve them. The opportunity to recover and distract herself from her tragedy as a mother. The chance to read and learn things a woman of her status would never achieve?
Whatever the hidden meaning was, she was grateful.
"Father! Is whike Muzaka!" The child pointed at the picture of the wolf, and he smiled in triumph, looking up at his father for congratulations at his cleverness. However, the Master's face was frozen in shock, his features unmoving.
Annunciata frowned as she stared at the picture. "This?" The child was comparing the picture to the Diavolo d'argento? "I suppose he is…" she trailed off and noticed the master's startled gaze on her. "I meant no disrespect to your guest, sir," she explained.
"Muzaka is a wolf!" the child declared triumphantly. He tugged on his father's shirt. "Big teeth and claws." He gasped as if he just realized something. "Like me!"
"Oh no!" Annunciata declared. "Dear one, you are not a filthy wolf. You are so precious and kind."
The child's smile slipped, and he cocked his head in confusion. "Wolves are not nice?"
"Wolves are terrible creatures that seek to destroy and steal." She patted his head. "You are a really nice child. An angel. Not a wolf."
The child seemed to mull over this new information, his face scrunched up. "Father, dada has claws and-"
"I'm hungry," Master Raizel declared, standing up and taking the child with him. He hastily nodded at Annunciata. "Thank you for taking care of him." With that, he left the room with a rapidly babbling child.
xXx
"...but if I'm a wolf, will I be mean? You told me to be nice, and I has to be nice or it make you and dada sad."
Such was the conversation Frankenstein heard when his Master and M21 entered the study area. Giving his Master a perplexed look, he was startled to see the haggard look on the Noblesse's face.
"Master?" he questioned, rising up from his seat.
M21 excitedly looked at him. "Dada! I learned something new today! Miss Nuta tolds me dhat wolves are bad. But I don't want to be bad! Is Muzaka bad? Tell him to go away if he is bad! I don't want the baddies to hurt Tako or Tao."
Frankenstein's look was of a man desiring answers, but unsure what to ask. Raizel merely sighed and passed M21 off to him, and with that, the issues. "M21 was reading a book. Annunciata provided extra context."
Frankenstein blinked as he adjusted his hold on M21. "Oh? Then she is progressing along on her lessons a lot quicker than I had thought." Though he was proud of the nursemaid's accomplishments in the literary aspects, he had yet to see what that had to do with M21's fascination with wolves.
His Master, rather than providing an answer, merely nodded. "It would seem."
Frankenstein sat in the chair with M21 on his lap. "Perhaps you should provide extra context to this matter, Master," he suggested.
Raizel paused, cocking his head. "I am unsure where to start."
Frankenstein's face was grabbed by a persistent M21, and he was forced to stare into M21's eyes. "Dada, will you keep the bad wolves away?"
Oh, Frankenstein could name a number of 'bad wolves,' a number of them having to do with M21's pain and affliction. "Yes, I will," he promised. He caressed M21's face. "I promise." M21 closed his eyes as he leaned into Frankenstein's touch. Glancing at his Master for a brief moment, he saw how the Noblesse gazed intently at the child, and a look that Frankenstein had only felt a handful of times through the bond from his Master was now reflected on his face.
Possessiveness.
Everyone automatically assumed that Frankenstein was possessive, both of his Master and his household. However, only two individuals knew that the Noblesse was the most possessive being ever encountered. It was more dangerous than Frankenstein's, for his lurked beneath the surface, undetected until what was his was threatened or in danger of being coveted.
"We both will."
A/N: Sorry guys, I won't be doing reader reviews for this one. I'm posting this on the go. But I do appreciate your continuous support, and special thanks to NoblesseSeria for inspiring me to finish this chapter to finally post it. Your review woke me up from my funk :)
