It was a cold, dark winter day when the young lady's only living relatives told her that they would be returning home.

Inside the Victorian-Oriental mansion where she lived, the young redhead sat on one side of the coffee table while her relatives sat on the other side. "Aunt Clara, Uncle Ben—is it really time for you two to go already?"

The blonde woman nodded and answered, "We have no choice. Alice, I absolutely appreciate all the time that we've spent together during these hard times following your grandfather's passing. However, we have family business to tend to back home as well."

"It pains us to leave you by yourself here," the teal-haired man added. "With both your parents and now your paternal grandfather deceased, there's no man in the house anymore. It'll be just you, Chris, and Soon. Have you considered hiring a butler or male worker? In case there are heavy duty tasks to complete?"

Alice gripped the edge of her dress as she saw a blonde girl and auburn-haired girl doing housework in the hallway from the corner of her eye. "I'll let them deal with it."

Ben smiled, but Clara suddenly asked, "What about that marriage proposal?"

"Clara, don't you think you might be rushing?" the middle-aged man asked in return.

"I don't want to think about it," the young lady answered. "I declined many interested suitors by telling them I had to handle Grandfather's funeral. None of them have followed up with me, so I don't think any were serious about—"

"One of them did follow up—with me instead of you because he knew you might still be mourning." Clara took out a folded note from her purse. "He told me to hand this off to you."

Alice unfolded the note and red. "Shadow Prove...isn't he the one with silver hair and dark purple suit?"

"Either he was wearing the exact same suit when he and I encountered on the streets, or that he has multiples of this suit. You seem to recall him rather well."

How can I not forget someone wearing absurd clothing? "I stand corrected, then."

"You can't be alone forever, Alice. You're not young anymore. Think about your future."

Why are you telling me this when you're about to leave?

"Especially when you inherit your grandfather's inheritance in the near future."

Alice's eyes lit up and glared subtly at her aunt and uncle. "Can we please not talk about that?"

Clara stood up and walked over to hug her niece. "I know you feel really right now. You can always send us letters when you want to talk, okay?"

The redhead calmed down and nodded. "I will."

"And find yourself a good man as well. That is mandatory."

Now the redhead giggled slightly. "I promise. I'll miss you two." After Clara and Ben grabbed their luggage, Alice escorted them to the front gates and watched them board a vintage car. "Have a safe train ride!"

"Goodbye Alice!"

With that said, the young lady's only living relatives disappeared into the distance. She locked the gates and was changing her shoes on the deck when the blonde girl ran over. "What would you like for dinner tonight, Alice? I'm entering the market in a few minutes."

"Let's see... We haven't had fish in a long time. Chris, go buy some of our usual vegetables and a fresh tilapia."

"You got it!"

"Or better yet," Alice searched through her coat pockets and handed Chris some more bills and coins. "buy some salmon—for all three of us."

Chris stared at the extra grocery allowance in her hands and bowed at ninety degrees. "I'll get you that salmon!"

After the blonde left the house, Alice returned to her art studio and stared outside the large window. How can I expect to be with someone that I have no interest in? They're all probably after me for my inheritance.

-x-x-x-x-x-

There were many streets in the neighborhood dedicated to vendors selling their goods. Portable stands usually sold vegetables, meat, confectionery, and other edibles. Some vendors either owned or rented a store front to sell larger or more expensive items, including but not limited to jewelry, fabric, and medicinal products.

A middle-aged man dressed in an average black suit laid his eyes on a gold hairpin decorated with amethyst orchids, emerald leaves, and diamonds dangling on delicate gold chain links. "I'd like this hairpin, please."

"An excellent choice!" the vendor complimented.

The man grabbed his wallet from his blazer pocket, paid the vendor, and placed the wallet in the same pocket again. He grabbed hairpin and held it in the sun to observe, just before a raven-haired boy bumped into him in the streets. "Watch where you're going, kid!" After nearly dropping the hairpin, the man put it away in his blazer pocket, only to not feel his wallet anymore. After checking all his pockets, he screamed, "Someone stole my wallet!"

Now everyone on the streets became frantic, which ironically helped the boy cut through the crowds to take a shortcut to his destination. After entering some obscure alleyways, he arrived in front of plain door in the wall and knocked carefully. "I'm back."

Inside, someone looked through the eyehole to confirm the visitor's identity. Opening the door was a young girl with green eyes and blue hair in pigtails. "That was fast, Shun. What did you find?"

On the other side of the door was a large living room with some additional smaller rooms behind other doors. In the corner was makeshift kitchen with a stove. There were old desks and shelves around the walls. In the center was a large table full of food, papers, and miscellaneous items. Shun walked tossed a black leather wallet on the table before filling a glass of water from the kitchen sink. "Check it out."

"Just one wallet?" the bluenette asked.

In another corner of the room was a brunet eating food at his desk. He placed his utensils aside and checked out the wallet on the table. "Shun brought back a pretty thick wallet, Runo." Then he opened it to find lots of bills. "There are at least ten large bills! It might last us the whole week."

"Might last longer if you don't spend it on stupid things, Dan."

"Runo, I don't completely make stupid purchases! Sometimes you need to buy sweets to keep the orphan kids happy, especially when we encounter new ones..."

Shun eyed the brunet next to him. "How many did you pick up this time?"

"Uh..."

The raven-haired boy swiped the wallet back before Dan even noticed. "Just because we pickpocket for a living doesn't mean we can spend our findings carelessly."

"Fine. This time, I found girl carrying her baby sister. The mom died a few days after giving birth, and the dad left without a word. End of story."

"Two daughters and no sons...cliché." Shun gave Dan the wallet again before walking to another walk table in the corner. "Marucho, what are you working on?"

"Forging a birth certificate." Once finished, the short blond pushed his lighted magnifying glass away. "We can only hope that the families that adopt these children treat them nicely. I hope they never end up like us. Check out my final product."

The raven-haired boy sat a tall chair and held the forged certificate to the light. "Best wishes to this kid for a new—"

Someone knocked on the door, but it wasn't the same pattern that Shun used earlier. Dan went to look through the eyehole. "Great. It's the purple suit guy."

Marucho groaned while walking to the door. "What does Shadow want now?" He opened the door and dragged the visitor inside. "Please have a good explanation of why you're bothering us today."

The silver-haired visitor laughed and walked around the center table. "What? You guys don't welcome me back?"

"We thought you forgot about us already," Runo remarked.

"Oh come on, I'd never forget where I came from. That's exactly why I'm here. I have a big, irresistible job offer for you."

Shadow finished circling the table and suddenly pointed at Shun, who sat still and maintaining a staring contest with Shadow while pushing his pointed finger again. "Not interested. Someone once left this place in search of bigger opportunities to earn money fast and never came back. I don't see why we should still treat them as one of ours."

"Seriously? You don't want to hear what have for you? At least let me redeem myself."

The raven-haired boy glanced from the corners of his eyes and saw how worried Dan, Runo, and Marucho were. "Fine. Get whatever you need to say off your chest now before never see you again."

"That's the spirit! Anyway, there's this rich girl that lives in a somewhat remote area of town by herself with some housemaids. I plan to marry her, take her inheritance, and the rest is history. Her household is trying to hire a butler or just a male domestic worker in the mansion. Apply for the position and be my inside man."

"That's it? Why not ask Dan?"

"Because you have the temperament, and he doesn't."

"And how do you have the temperament to marry anyone?"

After being insulted by Shadow, Dan immediately screamed, "Why you—"

"Hold on." Shun stopped his colleague from assaulting Shadow and asked, "Just exactly what kind of inheritance are we talking about? Did she even acquire it yet?"

"She'll get the entire share in due time. There was a recent death in the family, so she's been mostly avoiding people. I swear I'll split the earnings with all of you."

"And why should we believe you?"

"Because I don't think I can get this done if I hire anyone else but you." From an inside blazer pocket, Shadow pulled out an envelope with a letter inside. "I've even drafted a fake letter of recommendation so that you're guaranteed the position."

The purple-suited man gave Shun some personal space as he opened the left for himself and his colleagues to read. "Do you think this is a good idea?" he whispered. "One, this girl might not have her inheritance yet, so I don't want this job to go to waste. Two, she just had a death in the family. How desperate can Shadow get?"

"Even without inheritance, you still might have a decent salary or allowance," Marucho suggested. "Her address isn't too far. In fact, you get to live there and not need to commute back here every day."

"Do you realize that living on the premises means I won't earn as much disposable income?"

Dan laid the side of his face on the table and sighed loudly. "Shun, please just accept this. Once it's done, we won't see need to see Shadow ever again."

"Dan's right," Runo affirmed. "What we do isn't right, but we're on a really tight budget here. Just think about all the orphans that give shelter to. Without us, they might still be on the streets where absolutely no one will help them."

Shun continued staring at the letter before asked, "Is there a picture of her?"

"Nope," the others answered.

Doesn't matter. It's just another con. I'll see her anyway when I report to work. "Consider is a deal, Shadow." Curse myself and my outlook on life...

"I knew it! You can keep the letter, and I'll tell you more details later on."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Shortly after agreeing to the con, Shun's first day of work consisted of waiting outside the mansion gates with no umbrella and only an average raincoat to keep dry. Why did I not bring an umbrella with me?

Running over to unlock the gate was an auburn-haired girl with a large brown umbrella. "My apologies! I'm Soon, one of Miss Alice's housemaids. You must be Shun. How long have you been standing in the rain?"

"Not that long..." he lied. "This letter is for you."

"For me? Please hold my umbrella while I walk you inside then." Soon locked the gate and then opened the envelope to read the letter inside. "You used to work at Miss Kagusa's residence! She's a very nice person. How did you like it there?"

"It was okay. The whole family was very nice, but then she and her brothers all moved out after marriage. Changes in household dynamics caused me to be...laid off." How did I even get that fake story straight without stuttering?

"Oh dear. I feel terrible about you. Do they still have corgis there?"

"They did...but I think the sons took most of them to their new residences. I didn't really tend to their pets."

"What?! They split up the pet siblings?!" Soon spewed out more angry words before finally calming downs. "I apologize. Let me show you a tour of the mansion and go over some house rules."

After a very long and boring house tour, the pair finally returned to the living room. "Soon, we've been through the entire house, but I still don't think I've seen or met—"

"Chris and Alice? They were here this morning. They should also know that you'd be coming. Maybe—"

"Soon, do you have a spare umbrella?!" screamed a blonde girl as she changed her shoes at a back door that led to the backyard.

"My umbrella is drying at the front of the house. Follow me." Both Shun and Chris followed Soon to the front of house. Then Soon whispered, "How's Alice doing?"

"Still working in the garden and murmuring to herself. She knows better than to go outside when it's raining, right?"

"She's going to get herself sick from the rain and cold if she doesn't—" Suddenly, a loud engine sound echoed from the gates, following by a door slamming. "Sounds like we have visitors."

"Is it the new house guy?"

"No, Chris. I've already greeted Shun, and he's right here next to me. Shun, meet Chris, the other housemaid. Chris, this is Shun."

"Hi!" greeted the blonde cheerfully.

"Nice to meet you." Shun shook hands with Chris briefly. This entire household has issues. No wonder Shadow recommended me over Dan. Dan would lose his mind already. But where's—

"Pardon me."

A redhead girl briefly bumped into the raven-haired boy before grabbing a yellow umbrella from the wall. After retying her orange hair into a neater ponytail, she kneeled down to change her shoes at the front door. She wore a yellow dress that was slightly soiled at the skirt edge from the wet dirt and later put on a gray raincoat.

It was when she took her time to open her large umbrella correctly that Shun finally saw her flawless yet distressed face. So that's Alice... What was Shadow thinking?

One look was all it took.