Notes:

Enjoy and happy reading!

DISCLAIMER:
Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.

CHAPTER 4: SERVANTS' HALL

"Thank you for coming, Miss Hange!" Nifa greeted, dragging Hange to a long table that was already filled with bottles of alcohol.

So, what happened here again?

A few hours ago, right after dinner, Nifa invited Hange for some fun gathering.

Thus, here she was, in the servants' quarters, most specifically the servants' hall.

The quarter was located in a semi-basement area that can be accessed by a door in the great hall, although it was quite in the corner, away from the center of the hall. You might miss it if you didn't know the manor quite well.

It was intended, because servants weren't supposed to be seen by the employer let alone guests. So, buildings were built with that in mind, and this century old manor is no exception.

And to Hange's surprise, the quarter was actually very comfortable, it was clean and tidy. The warm cream color of the walls also gave the quarter a nice warm atmosphere, especially with the orange glow coming from the oil lamps.

He could see that the servants took really good care of their living area.

Which also meant that the master of the house also provided enough resources for the care of this area.

Hange shook her head, trying to push down a certain someone from her mind. She returned her consciousness to this moment, to this little fun night where she was seated next to Nifa at the long table in the servants' hall, drinking some cheap alcohol.

"How are you doing with the job so far, Miss Hange?" Nifa asked as she poured the clear liquid into Hange's glass.

"So far so good." She answered, murmuring thank you when her glass was already filled.

Nifa nodded before asking again, "How about Mr. Levi?"

Hange halted her movement, stopping the glass from touching her mouth.

"Him?" Hange cringed as she remembered the event of that day. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Nifa laughed, "I don't blame you, Miss."

"At least I'd only see him during the weekend." Hange said before drinking, "Speaking of that, what did he actually do during the weekdays?"

"Oh, tp manage his company, of course. You know that, right? He has a tea company in Mitras."

Huh?

There are two things that came to her mind, and that was:

So that's why they have abnormal stock of tea in the pantry.

and

Wait, what?

Hange furrowed her brows as she asked Nifa, "He owns a company? Why?"

Hange was confused because usually, a landed gentry like him, wouldn't be in need of a job. The man could just breath and he would still earn money from his estate, his land!

Him owning a company would also be frowned upon in the high class society, because for them, working is only for middle class people.

Weird.

"I honestly don't know." Nifa answered. "What I know is, he would always come here on the weekend to take care of his estate affair, to attend parties, and… to relax I suppose."

The mention of parties reminded Hange of the event that transpired that evening. Hange was sure that she would not have dinner with Mikasa, because she would definitely have dinner with her cousin.

Like hell Hange would eat with him on one table.

But then, she saw him standing near the grand door wearing black tailcoats, white shirt, white low-cut vest, and white bow tie.

He was wearing an evening suit.

A suit that specifically used to attend parties and balls.

"Oh God!" Hange exclaimed to Nifa, "So you're telling me that this person travelled way back from the Capital, not only to visit his estate but also to attend social gathering? Didn't he know that he has a young cousin that he could only see for two days in one week? I— I don't understand why he chose to eat at some dinner party rather than having a real one with his cousin?" Hange gripped her glass, she was furious as she remembered the empty gaze that Mikasa had during their dinner.

"Well… " Nifa shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "Mr. Levi is actually quite popular around here. Hence why he always has parties and balls to attend on the weekend," Nifa answered before gulping her own drink.

Hange narrowed her eyes, "Really? I'm actually surprised, I don't take him as a sociable guy, let alone popular. I — "

"HEY GUYS, COME WATCH MOBLIT CHUG DOWN THIS ONE BOTTLE!"

Both Hange and Nifa took a glance at the source of the sound and found Moblit seated at the end of the table while being surrounded by others. He looked wasted but his grip on the bottle didn't falter.

The anger that she felt melted away at the sight of Moblit drinking a bottle of alcohol down to his throat like it was nothing while the others cheered at him.

She let out a chuckle, "Is he always like that?"

"Yes," Nifa answered with a big smile, "You can't blame him though, he has eight younger siblings… and probably other things he couldn't mention."

Hange gasped, "Oh!"

"I think that also explains why he's such a mom, stressing over us everyday." Nifa laughed, "Even though it could get a little annoying with his nagging and lecture, we knew that he cares a lot about us ." Nifa looked at Moblit with a warm smile.

Moblit who had just finished drinking, screaming at the top of his lungs, saying something about him being the king of this world.

"Yeah, I think he's a really dependable guy." Hange said with a soft smile while witnessing Moblit grabbing another bottle.

Not when he's drunk though.

Hange turned to Nifa, "How about you, Nifa? Do you have any siblings?"

"Oh, me? I'm the youngest of four siblings."

"Oh! That must be nice to have siblings," Hange said with a dreamy smile.

Nifa snorted and rolled her eyes, "That's something a very lonely child would say."

Hange nudge Nifa on the side, earning a laugh from the said girl.

After recovering from the high of laughing, Nifa slowly leaned on her hand and stared warmly into Hange's eyes. "You know, it's been fun since you came here, Miss Hange."

Hange smirked, "Hold on now, it hasn't even been a week since my arrival."

"I'm just saying," Nifa shrugged with a smile, "I've been here for five years, and I never met a person like you, Miss. You are one of a kind."

"Aww, I thank thee for the compliments." Hange giggled, "Although maybe you spend too much time around Mr. Levi 'emotional constipated rock' Ackerman, that you're just grateful to finally see people like me."

Nifa let out a loud laugh, "That's too harsh, Miss Hange! He is actually not that bad, as long as you didn't get to his bad side."

Hange snorted, "I would be dead before it, then."

She probably already hit a lot of his bad sides.

Hange scoffed as she leaned on her hand, "That's why I don't understand why he's popular. With the way he talks and acts, he's not a fun person to be around with."

Nifa nodded, "I get what you are saying, Miss, but— you forgot that he is also young, rich, and has high social standing. Which are the three characteristics that certainly secured a good marriage. I'm sure there's a lot of parents that wanted him as their son in law." Nifa glanced at Hange with a smirk, "Not to mention that the master is also handsome, right?"

Hange gagged, "Oh please, I would rather kiss a frog than marry that goblin." she mocked before her expression suddenly turned serious, "My lack of attraction aside, there's also the fact that we belong to different social classes. I'm sure that I would be the last person he would ever intend to marry."

Nifa closed her eyes and sighed, "Ah, that's true."

Hange laughed, "Besides, I don't really think that there's someone out there who wanted to marry me."

Nifa gasped, "Who wouldn't marry someone like you?"

Oh, there are some, Nifa.

"I might come from a respectable family, but I'm not someone you'd call a lady." Hange said with a weak smile. "Not to mention a wife, I don't think I'm capable of being the perfect wife."

Nifa stopped herself from drinking.

"That's why I really need this job. Without this, I don't think I will be able to survive for long— not me, not even my Mom." Hange continued as she swirls the liquid inside her glass before taking a sip.

"I could only imagine how hard it must be for you, Miss Hange." Nifa said in a soft voice.

"Yes." Hange sighed, "But, there's also this feeling of… I don't know… I just— I just couldn't see myself doing this job for years to come. I mean— I love this job, especially after I arrived here, but… I don't want to do this for the rest of my life."

Nifa didn't say anything, but Hange could feel the caring gaze Nifa gave to her.

"However, the only way for me to retire is through marriage… which honestly, it baffled me that I had to wait for this husband to save me." Hange ran her hand through her hair. "But then, we don't have many choices, don't we? With our limited income, inheritance, or even skills, we couldn't do much other than to marry for financial security. After all, we had to do what we should do to stay alive, right?"

Hange took another gulp from her drink before laughing, "Ah, I'm sorry. We shouldn't be talking about this, right? I sh— "

"I truly understand what you meant, Miss Hange." Nifa interfered, her caring smile still painted on her face. "You know, I love my job, but forever… it's just seemed too long for me. I don't want this job to be forever, I also want to do something else."

Hange raised her eyebrows, "You do? What is it?"

"Uhm... I actually wanted to become a tailor," Nifa bowed her head as if avoiding Hange's gaze. "It's a stupid impossible dream actually."

"What? No! I don't think it's stupid or impossible." Hange exclaimed with furrowed brows before smiling, "Granted, it wouldn't be easy and you probably wouldn't enjoy the process, but there's a saying that said 'to the stars through difficulties' and I believed that."

Nifa raised her eyebrows.

"With that being said, I can see it! You, being a tailor! From the way you always dress Mikasa, you have a really great sense of style and fashion. I know you can do it, Nifa!"

Nifa smiled shyly, "You give me too much credit… but thank you." Nifa sighed in content, "How about you, Miss Hange? What do you want to do?"

"Me?" Hange hum a tune, "I want to study."

"Study?"

"Yeah, study!" She exclaimed with a laugh, "I want to earn a degree— no, a lot of degrees."

Nifa widened her eyes, "Really? That's amazing, Miss Hange."

Hange could see a smile blooming on Nifa's face.

"If it's you, I know it's possible." Nifa added.

Hange felt a warm inside her chest as she enveloped Nifa in a sudden tight hug.

"Whoa, Miss Hange—"

"Thank you, Nifa." Hange whispered.

Hange could felt Nifa's tense body slowly loosened up. Nifa tapped her back, "Thank you, too, Miss Hange."

Hange closed her eyes.

It felt nice to finally let that out.

Until…

"OHHHHH, HIC! WHAT IS ZISSS? GROUPPPP HUG? LE' ME JOYN."

Huh?

Suddenly, Hange felt additional weight on her body.

It was Moblit.

Drunken Moblit.

Sobbing as he hugged Hange and Nifa.

"Hey, Moblit! Get off them!" Said someone that Hange recognized as Keiji.

Hange could feel Moblit being dragged from her and Nifa, she could also hear Moblit whining.

It took three grown men to release Moblit, or more specifically, release them from Moblit.

Moblit then passed out on the floor, still whining.

Hange could only look at Moblit with widened eyes before erupting into a loud laugh.

That night, she learned that Moblit is an absolute alcohol maniac who turned into a melancholy crazy person when he's drunk.

Not only that, she also learned that Moblit wasn't the only one who wasted.

Because she herself was also wasted.

Hange couldn't remember the half portion of the night, but she could vividly recall being carried by two people to her room.

But still, what a fun night.

Levi came home from another awful night that he was glad it was already over.

He stepped into the foyer and was welcomed by Abel.

Without even trying, he could smell it.

"Have you been drinking?" He asked as he took off his hat and cloak.

"Uh, right— Yes, sir!" Abel answered, grabbing Levi's hat and cloak before putting it away in the cloak room.

Levi didn't really mind with his servants having a drunken night as long as it didn't hinder their job.

"Alright. Just don't get too carried away." He said.

"Yes, sir!"

"How about the bath?" Levi asked, taking his white gloves off.

"The maids are preparing the bath for you as we speak, sir. It should be ready by now." Abel informed.

Levi nodded, "Right, thank you. You may leave."

Levi walked toward the grand staircase and stopped when he saw something at the corner of his eyes.

He saw a pair of glasses lying on one of the steps.

He stared at it before bending down to grab it.

This woman again?

From the look of it, she probably took a part in the servants' drinking adventure.

She probably got drunk.

"Tch."

Levi inspected the pair of oval lenses. There's dust and fingerprints painted all over the lenses.

No wonder she had trouble at throwing things.

Without any second thought, he grabbed his handkerchief and began to wipe the lenses and the frame.

After that, he inspected the glasses, making sure that all was clean. When he was satisfied, he carefully folded the glasses.

At the same time, he heard steps coming from the left wing. He looked up and saw two maids descending the left wing stairs, they stopped and bowed when they saw him.

"The bath is ready, sir."

"Thank you— and before you leave, can you give this back to the governess? She should be in her room." He said as he handed the spectacles to one of the maids. "Don't touch the lenses!" He quickly added.

The maids nodded and they excused themselves before walking toward the right wing.

Levi folded his handkerchief and stared at it before putting it back inside his suit.

Alright, time to end this long day.

- Chapter 4 End -

Notes

;)

Fun Fact: This was actually planned as chapter 3.5 and this was also probably one of the hardest chapter I've ever written for this fanfic.

Comments, Favorites, and Follow are very much welcomed, it fuels me :D