Notes:
THANK YOU GUYS for following and favoriting this story!
What would I do without all of you :'))
Special Shouout to cherrylate (thank you so much for your enthusiasm!) & Deadkoala (Thank you dear for reading this! It means a lot to me)
Without further ado, I present to you chapter 5
ENJOY!
P.S PROBABLY THE LONGEST CHAPTER EVER.
DISCLAIMER:
Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama.
CHAPTER 5: CHANGE
Three months.
Three months had passed since that day.
Three months of watching the four eyes governess roaming around the manor.
Three months.
Fortunately, he survived those gruelling weekends he spent in the manor.
He did that by tolerating and, to some extent, ignoring her existence.
Unfortunately, everytime he came back to the manor, it always felt different from the last time he left it.
He was sure it was all her doing.
Because it's all started ever since she stepped into this manor.
And it irritated him so much!
But, he couldn't find himself to scold her.
He couldn't even be in the same proximity as her.
Like, he just knew that something bad would happen if they ever come in contact.
They only talked when it's important, and mostly it was about Mikasa's education. She would update him every month about Mikasa's accomplishments. She would also tell him about the study plan she made for Mikasa.
He would comment a little, and that's pretty much it. Five minutes and it's done.
If they ever met anywhere in the manor, she would nod at him and politely smile, but he would only stare at her in silence before glancing away.
He never replied or even initiated the nod.
She probably loathes him.
He didn't mind that though, because rest assured, the feelings are mutual.
Yeah.
It's all good and easy.
Good and easy.
Actually, no.
He might be successful in avoiding the four eyes governess, and yet he couldn't shake her away from his mind. He had been thinking about the speech that she told him during their first meeting.
And it bothered him.
He wanted her to leave his freaking mind!
So he thought, in order to do that, he had to do something.
So, he actually spent a whole day reviewing his rules before finally deciding to revamp said rules.
And no, it's not because of the governess, of course no.
He consciously decided to —not because some governess told him to— remove the book completely. He would later summarize the whole book into a compact five points of rules, that is: Cleanliness, Honesty, Discipline, Order, and Workers' Right.
Yeah, that could do.
It will be easier for them to remember five bullet points than a hundred right?
Yes, he did this to help his employer.
Moreover, the rules were already outdated, so it was bound to be updated after all.
Yeah, it wasn't because of that governess.
Not only to his servants, he also did the same thing with hundreds of rules that he had in his tea company and to the people that live in his land.
Might as well fuck it all.
And of course, it shocked everyone. They looked at him like he just came back from being dead.
Even her, the shitty glasses looked at him like he was some kind of impostor.
Anyway.
He also thought he might as well do something to her cousin.
Again, might as well fuck it all.
So, his mind went back to one Sunday morning in April. He and Mikasa were having breakfast, and as always, nobody said anything.
Suddenly, he blurted out, "You know, you should grow up. You don't have to ask me anything, just do whatever shit you want to do. I'm not your nanny."
Mikasa choked on her salad.
He sure is bad with words.
He knew that, but still.
Nevertheless, he did it again the next week, at the same time and the same setting.
"Hey you, brat. I can't read whatever you have going around on your crappy mind. If you need anything, use your mouth to tell me. I don't want you to curse me in your sleep because you think I'm neglecting you."
This time, Mikasa choked on her milk.
He just so fucking bad at this, huh?
Even so, he did that again the next week, and the week after. Now, everytime they have breakfast together, she would always glance at him every now and then before swallowing her food.
Honestly, it was amusing.
It also seemed like his bad words reached her.
One day, during their mandatory Sunday breakfast, she told him that she needs a new dress because her current dress didn't fit her anymore.
He glanced at her and noticed that she indeed grew bigger every time he visited.
"I also want to choose my own dress." she continued and it surprised Levi, because ever since she came here, she would usually let him buy her outfits.
Which was weird because why would she trust him? He didn't know a thing about dresses.
So, imagine him walking stupidly into a dressmaker shop with no reference whatsoever. Imagine him standing in the middle of the shop for minutes before finally the worker approached him.
In the end, he would just choose the darkest dress with the nicest fabric from the series of dresses that he was offered to.
In his mind, dark dresses are practical to hide dirt.
Also, he didn't really care about the latest model or anything.
For him, Mikasa looks good in any dress.
Besides, she didn't seem to mind the dress he chose.
So he thinks he did good.
"Because you are terrible at choosing colors and models."
Levi almost lost a grip on his cup.
"No wonder you don't have many friends."
Brat.
Long story short, here he was, riding a train on Friday evening because he had a fitting appointment with Mikasa on Saturday morning.
Really, what a brat.
The city was bustling as always.
Filled with the oh-so-fancy men and women with their oh-so-fancy children. They were either walking with their heads up in the air, walking in groups and giggling at anything they saw, or even walking with their expensive imported outfits.
Well, the street that he and Mikasa were currently walking was pretty much filled with five stars shops, restaurants, and hotels. So, it was no surprise that he could see many fancy women and men. Levi and Mikasa are no exception, whether they like it or not being in the same category as them.
In contrast, from the corner of his eyes, he could notice a girl in dirty clothes was trying to sell boutonnieres made from cheap and wild flowers to passing gentleman and gentlewoman.
Not far from that, there's also a boy with ragged clothes standing near a bakery, yelling whatever articles that were in a buck of newspaper he was trying to sell.
He glanced at Mikasa who was walking by his side.
She was wearing a beautiful dark blue silk dress, and on her head she wore a matching hat with bows and flowers.
One glance and everyone would instantly know that she's coming from an upper class background.
But, they didn't know that she could be that flower girl.
Hell.
Even he could be that newsboy.
"Hey, Levi. I think I want some flowers." Mikasa suddenly said, and it brought him back to reality.
He paused for a while before answering, "Sure,"
Mikasa bought four boutonnieres from the girl.
"What do you want to do with that many?" Levi asked as he paid for the flowers.
"This one is for Hange, this one is for Nifa, this one for Mr. Moblit and—" Mikasa shove one to him, "-...this one is for you."
He furrowed his brows.
Kind of redundant that she gave him something that he bought for her.
He took it anyway.
He put it on the lapel of his suit.
He probably look stupid wearing it in a broad daylight.
Moreover, he caught a quick smile forming on his cousin before she returned to her flat casual expression.
Yeah, he probably look stupid.
"Hey Levi, you know what flower is this?" Mikasa asked.
Levi stared at his flower, "Probably some cheap flower."
Mikasa snorted, "Of course you wouldn't know. This is Pink Carnation."
Levi raised one of his eyebrows, "So?"
Mikasa flashed him a smirk, "Nothing!" She said before humming a tune.
Very weird kid.
"Since when do you care about plants?"
"When you were away selling those old dried leaves, I spent my time studying with Hange, so my brain will not rot like you."
Levi threw a dirty look at Mikasa and scoffed, "Oh, I see, your governess taught you a lot of things, huh?"
Mikasa shrugged, "Well, she taught me a lot of things that you wouldn't understand."
He could detect that she was in fact, mocking him, especially with those grins on her face.
This—
Alright Levi, she's just a brat.
He took a deep breath and decided to let it pass. He ignored her and chose to look at the boy that was standing near the bakery.
"Hey you, newsboy!"
The said newsboy heard Levi and immediately approached him, "Yes, sir!"
Levi asked him for one of those bullshit papers that he sold, which the boy gladly offered.
"What do you need a newspaper for?" Mikasa asked as they continued their walk.
Levi glanced at her, "Toilet paper."
"Yeah, funny." Mikasa rolled her eyes before stopping in front of a shop. It was a photography studio, seemed new.
She gaped in awe, "Hey Levi, how come we never took any photos? Hange showed me once, and I think it looks amazing."
"Huh? What for? I think paintings are fine— Come on, move your shitty legs or we're going to be late." Levi grabbed Mikasa and dragged her, forcing her to walk again.
This governess kept coming into their conversation, and he was not pleased by it.
Mikasa frowned, "You are no fun, damn old man." She said as she forced herself out of his grip, "I hope you got strangled by your cravat and died."
"If I die, I will fucking haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Fine by me." Mikasa smiled, "You are welcome to haunt me while I spend away the fortune I inherited from you."
Levi stared at her with wide eyes.
The first time he met her was two years ago. She was a cold quiet little girl whose height barely reached his shoulder.
Now, she's a certified annoying brat that stood tall, almost touching his ear, and probably will grow taller than him at some point.
"You, shut up now, or I wouldn't buy you that shitty dress you wanted so much."
In the end, Levi had to forcefully drag her to the shop.
She is definitely a brat.
An annoying one.
"ERWIN!"
Levi flinched, trying to tune out that high pitched scream from his ears.
He had just got back from accompanying Mikasa to the shop, in which they ended up buying more than one dress. He had to pay for three new dresses, a new coat, a new shoe, and a new hat for his lovely young cousin.
They still have to wait a few days for the clothes to be done, though. So, Mikasa still had to wear her already small dress that she said was ugly.
But then, the whole trip of waiting for her fitting and her choosing the dress took longer than he thought and it almost made him crazy, his only friend was the newspaper he bought.
That's why he just wanted to take a quick nap in his study.
Until some thick eyebrows blond guy decided to come to his house uninvited and unannounced.
Not unannounced per se, because he did tell Hange that he will come, but he didn't tell him at all.
"I wanted to surprise you," Erwin said with that innocent charismatic smile that he so wanted to slap.
'Surprise you' my ass.
What pissed him the most was how elated this shitty glasses was for seeing Erwin. She jumped and hugged him while squealing like a little girl. Meanwhile, Erwin gracefully returned her hug with a kind smile, patting the governess on the head.
Didn't they know that they were in his house?
He just stared at them with an uninterested gaze.
After that, Erwin said alongside the line of borrowing Hange for a little while.
"What? You don't have to ask me. You can kidnap her for all I care." He muttered with a scorn.
She didn't seem to be bothered by his comment though, or maybe she just chose to not care at all.
Either way, he was glad that he was able to get away from these two.
Before taking a nap, he decided to check on them.
He was making sure they weren't making any troubles.
From the windows of his study that looked over to the back garden, he could see how close Hange and Erwin were. They seemed to be engaged in some kind of interesting talk.
Well, he didn't care, so why bother.
He said that as he kept looking after them for another minute.
"So, how was she?"
"How was what?" Levi replied as he fixed his cufflink, not bothering to look at the asker.
"Miss Hange Zoe, the governess."
Levi glanced up toward Erwin who was seated in front of him. They were both inside a carriage as it moved toward this famous Earl's manor that Levi couldn't remember the name. Levi was supposed to attend this ball alone, but turned out, the Earl invited Erwin too. That's why Erwin came into his place unannounced, because he thought they could come together.
He wouldn't say it, but he was glad to be able to attend the ball with Erwin. He could use some real companions for this supposedly long night. But then, he had to ruin it with that question.
"She's okay." Came Levi's short reply.
Erwin laughed, "I was afraid you both will try to kill each other, because I knew well how different you two could be."
"I'm aware," Levi sighed, "That's why I tried to avoid her."
"I assume that you are satisfied with her."
Levi hummed, "She's not bad."
"So, you will not fire her, right?"
"For now? No."
Erwin crossed his arms and leaned back on his seat, "Color me surprised." Erwin said with a grin.
Oh, he really wanted to slap that grin out of his face.
"Like I said, I just don't care. Mikasa likes her, so I just need to endure her."
"I can't believe I said this, but— I'm proud for you." His grin changed into a soft genuine smile.
Levi threw a dirty look at him, "What the fuck, Erwin."
"I can't believe that there'll be this version of Levi Ackerman." Erwin said, his smile still staying strong on his face.
Levi felt a shudder on his body, staring at Erwin with disdain.
Erwin raised both of his hands and laughed, "Okay, I will stop."
Fucking finally.
"But still…" Erwin shifted his expression to a serious one, "Thank you Levi for agreeing to all of these. I'm sure her parents were beyond grateful for you, even Hange herself."
Levi only replied with a grunt and side eye.
When Erwin visited him months ago to recommend a young woman to become a governess to his niece, he didn't really think much about it. He accepted it because he trusts Erwin and he just happened to be searching for governess, as Mikasa's previous governess retired.
He only knew little about her, Erwin only told him that she is a daughter of a lawyer in Stohess who just happened to be Erwin's mentor back in Law School.
But, with how she really wanted to stay on this job and with how Erwin thanked him, Levi started to wonder about her.
A middle class woman like her working as a governess was not surprising as it was common in this time. He knew that she might have some problems that forced someone like her to have a job.
But, he didn't bother to ask the details to Erwin because he just didn't care at all.
Then, he met her.
Now, he wondered…
Creak.
It was the sound of the carriage's door being opened from the outside.
"Right on time," Erwin said as he checked on his pocket watch, "Come on Levi."
Erwin and Levi quickly get off from their carriage while saying thank you to Keiji who drove them.
"Put on a smile, like I taught you." Erwin nudged Levi as they walked toward the gigantuous manor.
"I'll kill you." He muttered under his breath.
Erwin smirked proudly, "No you won't."
Levi clicked his tongue and looked away from him.
Erwin noticed a group of women who had just arrived at the same time as them, "Look!" He whispered.
Levi followed his gaze before rolling his eyes, "I'm not here for that."
"Why not? You are almost 26 but still no wedding in sight." Erwin said, emphasizing on the numbers.
"And you'll turn 31, Erwin. I think you should be the one who hurries it up before you hit your expiration date."
Erwin laughed, "Touché."
"Yeah, so shut up. I just want this to be over," Levi continued before finally putting the best 'smile' he could ever make.
Another long night.
Levi opened his eyes and looked around.
He was in his study.
He stretched his body and rose up from the chair he just slept in.
He heard a soft tune melody coming from the walls beside him.
This was not a rare occurrence.
His study was located next to the drawing room, so he could hear every time someone played the piano.
He knew well who played that piano.
When Mikasa was teached by the previous governess, she rarely played piano outside the class. These days though, she would always play the piano with her governess on the weekend, usually on Sunday morning, right before breakfast.
Levi leaned back on his seat.
Honestly, it relaxed him.
Although today the piano sounded different than usual.
After drinking a glass of water, fixing his shirt, and wearing his grey vest, he decided to check on them before going to the bathroom.
So he went out and peeked inside the drawing room.
He saw Mikasa and the governess were sitting together in front of the piano, playing and singing duet.
That's new.
They never sing before.
Well, at least not when he's here.
He couldn't recognize the songs, but he listened anyway.
He always knew that Mikasa had a nice soft voice.
But the governess, this was his first time hearing her.
Her voice was... not bad, although it was too loud and too energetic than he usually heard from parties.
Yet surprisingly, their voices blended well and created a beautiful harmony.
Levi looked at the governess. She looked the same as always, with that stupid smile, stupid hair, stupid dress, stupid everything.
Even so, he couldn't take his eyes from her.
She looked so bright with whatever the hell she was doing right now.
And it stirred something inside him.
Suddenly, she glanced at him.
And at that exact moment, their eyes met.
Her big eyes sparkled with glee from the singing.
While his cold one widened with pupils dilated.
Oh.
With his fast reflex, he immediately went away.
Shit.
Did she just catch him spying on them?
He wanted to die.
Which seemed impossible because he felt that his heart couldn't stop thumping inside his chest.
Shit!
- Chapter 5 End -
Extra:
"What is it, Hange?" Mikasa asked when she noticed Hange stopped playing.
"I think I saw someone," She answered, eyes glued to the direction of the door.
"Really?" Mikasa followed Hange's gaze, "Who?"
"I don't know, I couldn't see." She narrowed her eyes, "I think I have to renew my prescription."
Notes:
Ho . . . ho . . . ho . . .
I had mixed feelings about this chapter, like I had fun but at the same time I was like UGH! WHY IS THIS SO HARD?!
I hope you like this chapter :)
Anyway
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Do tell me your thoughts about this chapter!
P.S Since the new semester is just around the corner... New chapter update might come later than usual;;;
BUT I SWEAR I'LL TRY TO FINISH IT BEFORE APRIL