A/N: After a very long hiatus, I'm back with another chapter! I'm really sorry to have kept my readers waiting. (Are any of you still following this fic?) Hopefully, the next chapter won't take nearly as long. Special thanks to Pretty Punch, anon, foxyaoi123, VampireNaomi, Lumoa, Linda, Kenneth22, and Sammy-chan for reviewing! It's been a while since I wrote anything serious, so I hope this chapter won't disappoint.
– CHAPTER 15 –
Schemers
He was in that dark corridor again, though it was now a little better lit. Antonio was at his side, a warm, reassuring presence in this unsettling place. He could hear whimpers and sobs that quietly echoed through the hallways, seeming to come from where that portrait of Edelstein's late son had been. The one he had broken in a temper tantrum.
"Is Feliciano still crying about that stupid portrait?" he grumbled.
"Oh, no," said Antonio, his voice sad even though a small smile adorned his tanned face. "He's sad because Ludwig left."
"What? He left? B-but why?"
"He was ordered to. Because he couldn't get along with you. Don't you remember?"
That was right. Lovino remembered pretending to be his brother so that he could take his revenge on Ludwig and send him away. He had told Ludwig to leave... and now he had actually left, and his brother was crying as if he were attending his funeral.
"Ludwig... Ludwig... Why did you leave me?"
Lovino felt his heart clench at the pitiful sound. He hadn't given much thought about Feliciano's feelings when he had decided to dismiss Ludwig. He had been sure that Feliciano would get over it. He still thought he would but... how long would it be until he got over it? What would it take? It was hard to be optimistic about it at the moment, because all he knew, right now, was that his brother was absolutely heartbroken. And it was Lovino's fault.
"He was his best friend," said Antonio softly. "Maybe his only real friend in the world."
Indeed, Ludwig was the only one who was willing to put up with Feliciano's antics day and night. Lovino was his brother, but they didn't even get along that well. He got along well enough with Antonio, but they weren't that close. Feliciano's affable personality allowed him many friendly acquaintances, but when it came down to it, he didn't have many close friends, people he could really count on when he needed them the most. Only one, really. And now he was gone. And it was Lovino's fault.
Maybe Lovino had been a little hasty. He had got so obsessed with revenge that he hadn't really stopped to consider what he was doing to his brother. Granted, they didn't always get along, but he had to admit that Feliciano had always cared about him, always treated him with kindness.
"I can't even imagine what he's feeling," continued Antonio. "To lose your best, only friend..."
The guilt weighting in his chest was too much. Lovino tried to think of a way to make it more bearable.
"Yeah, well..." he stammered. "How bad can it be? It's not like he's dead, anyway. Besides, Feliciano is a social butterfly. Everyone loves him. I'm sure it won't be long before he finds a new friend."
"Like you did?"
"I told you, Gilbert isn't my friend." You are, he added mentally, unable to voice it. He averted his gaze to the other side, away from Antonio's sight.
"Then who is?" he heard Antonio ask, his voice almost inaudible.
Lovino did not answer.
You are, he thought again, but was it true? Antonio had always taken care of him when they were younger, yet now, even though they still lived under the same roof, something had changed. They barely talked to each other any more. Lovino knew he still cared about him – that was why he was avoiding him, so that he wouldn't get caught in the family feud and get hurt – but weren't friends supposed to trust and rely on each other? Why was Lovino more willing to trust his life to a creepy stranger than his childhood friend who had never failed to protect him?
Why did he not only feel more and more distant from him, but also wanted to keep growing more distant from him, even though he still cared about him?
Was he losing his friend, too?
"Antonio..." he whispered, suddenly apprehensive, and turned back to him, only to see he was alone in the dark hallway. "Antonio?"
When had he left?
Lovino hugged himself, suddenly cold. He didn't want to be left alone in this dark place.
He could still hear in the distance Feliciano's mournful sobs...
"Ludwig... Ludwig..."
Lovino tried to follow his brother's voice. At least he wouldn't be alone any more.
He kept following the voice, but somehow, he didn't seem to be getting any closer.
"Ludwig... Ludwig..."
Lovino's heart clenched again. He regretted causing his brother this much pain... and yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but bitterly wonder, Would you cry like that for me, dear brother, if I were the one who left? Or is Ludwig really more important than I could ever be?
His foot hit something soft on the ground. Lovino looked down.
Antonio's unseeing eyes stared back at him, surrounded by dark red.
Lovino wanted to scream, but his voice has escaped him. In the distance, he was vaguely aware of his brother's voice still mourning.
"Lovino... Lovino..."
A burly man was suddenly in front of him, holding a knife. Lovino barely had time to register that it was one of Russo's men before the knife cut through the air and right into his heart.
He opened his eyes with a gasp. He was on his back, and a slender man in dark clothes was looming over him, knife in hand, and looking a little startled himself. This time, Lovino's voice didn't fail him and he screamed with all his might. This seemed to startle the stranger even more, but he recovered quickly and tried to thrust the knife into Lovino's chest. More out of instinct and luck than anything else, Lovino caught his assailant's wrist.
Lovino wasn't very strong, though, and he wouldn't have been able to stop the man for longer than a few seconds. Fortunately, that was as long as he needed. The door was kicked open and suddenly the dark man's weight was lifted off Lovino. He was only vaguely aware that Gilbert had just come into his room and was now struggling with the enemy. This, too, only lasted a few seconds, until Gilbert managed to shove the other man away from him, towards the now wide open window. Before the man could charge again, Gilbert took his gun and shot him. The impact of the bullet caused the man to fall backwards and out of the window.
"Take that, you bastard!" he shouted at the fallen man before looking back at Lovino, who was about to faint from shock. "See? I told you I'm an awesome bodyguard," he preened.
"Y-y-you're the lousiest bodyguard ever!" stammered Lovino, shaking like a leaf. "The only reason I'm alive now is that I happened to have a nightmare and woke up right when he was about to kill me! If it were up to you, I'd have a hole in my chest and the killer would be miles away, crowing his success to his master while you snored at my door!"
"Hey, don't blame me!" Gilbert defended himself. "You should have locked your window. It's common sense, dumbass."
"What is going on here?" Ludwig's grave voice cut through the argument. Lovino almost fainted from shock again. Behind Ludwig, Feliciano, Antonio and some servants had also come to see what was going on.
"Oh, it was just a burglar," said Gilbert. "Don't worry, though; I killed the wretch."
"A burglar, here? Oh, Lovino, are you all right?" asked Feliciano, hurrying to his brother's side to fuss over him.
"He didn't hurt you, did he?" asked Antonio, following Feliciano's example.
Even though Lovino felt smothered by them, he didn't curse or try to push them away like he normally would. He was just glad to be alive, and relieved that both his brother and Antonio were also all right. He had only had a nightmare. Ludwig was still here, so Feliciano had no reason to cry, and Antonio was very much alive.
"Nah, he's fine," Gilbert answered on Lovino's behalf. "All thanks to me, of course. Good thing I was up and around, or else that burglar could have seriously hurt him to silence him."
"Thank God you were here to protect him, Gilbert," said Feliciano, hugging his brother and looking the picture of relief.
Antonio, on the other hand, was suddenly and strangely quiet.
"Maybe you should sleep with me tonight," Feliciano told Lovino. "I want to make sure you'll be all right. You shouldn't be alone after this."
"Fine, if you insist..." Lovino didn't think it would happen again tonight, but he knew he would still feel better if he weren't alone.
"Shouldn't we do something about the, er, body?" asked Ludwig, peeking out of the window.
"Oh, Ludwig, can't you take care of it?"
Ludwig sighed. "Certainly, Master."
"I'll help you, Ludwig," offered Antonio.
oOo
Ludwig was a little nervous about leaving his naïve master alone with his dodgy brother and Ludwig's even dodgier brother, especially so soon after that incident. However, he could not disobey his master's orders, and even if he hadn't been ordered, he knew that no one else would have done anything about the conspicuous body in their garden. These unpleasant tasks always fell on Ludwig's shoulders.
There was also another reason why he needed to leave his master alone, though. This could be his only opportunity to find out what Lovino and Gilbert were up to. Because Ludwig didn't believe for a moment that they weren't hiding anything and that the man who had just broken in was a common thief. Ludwig had known Gilbert for as long as he remembered, had practically been raised by him. And if there was one thing that Ludwig had learnt about Gilbert after all these years, it was that Gilbert was always up to something.
And while Ludwig hadn't known Lovino for nearly as long, he could tell the rule applied to him, as well. From the moment Ludwig had met him, Lovino had always been a trouble magnet. And when Gilbert and Lovino were together, nothing good could possibly come out of it. It was a chaotic, ominous combination, and Ludwig's head ached at the mere thought. They would be the death of him, those two...
He just wished there was another human being on this Earth who could see that. Feliciano was as oblivious and naïve as a little child. Antonio... frankly, Ludwig didn't know what to make of him. Supposedly, Antonio was Lovino's closest friend, as air-headed and happy-go-lucky as Feliciano. And yet Ludwig hadn't seen him hang around Lovino that often, and when he watched Lovino and Gilbert together, he got this unusually dark, closed-off expression. It could just be something inane like jealousy, but Ludwig liked to think that maybe there was hope for him, after all.
When they both went down to investigate the body, Ludwig kept throwing him glances, trying to read his expressions and maybe even communicate wordlessly his own suspicions. However, Antonio never met his gaze, and when they found the body, he just stared at it as if it were a dead cockroach. A mild annoyance and an eyesore, but ultimately boring and trivial.
Ludwig, on the other hand, watched it intently from various angles, checked the man's vital signs to make sure he was dead, searched for any special markings on the man's clothes and skin, objects, etc. There wasn't really anything remarkable about the man, however.
They were soon joined by a loud, overeager young man who called himself Alfredo and claimed to be in the Militia. He had apparently been passing by when he'd heard the gunshot and come to investigate. He said it was his duty to make sure that no citizens would be in danger. Ludwig thought he was just a nosy boy.
"So, at precisely around midnight—"
"Twenty-three past one," Ludwig corrected him.
"What, is it really that late? Oh, shit, Dad's gonna kill me..."
"You should hurry up and go home, then. This is none of your business, anyway."
"Yeah," said Antonio, now looking a little tense for some reason. "It's just a common thief who tried to break in. No need to involve the Militia."
"Nonsense. A true investigator must always get to the bottom of every case for the sake of justice!"
"But—"
"Where was I, again? Oh, right!"
"You were about to go home," said Ludwig.
"No, no, that isn't it! As I was saying, at precisely around one in the morning, there was a gunshot and a man fell from some window thereabouts on the second floor – or maybe the third one – and we still haven't found the culprit or the crime weapon..."
"My brother shot him!" Ludwig snapped, tired of wasting time. "And he was only defending himself and my master's brother! As I said, nothing that concerns you or the Militia!"
"Then why were you investigating the body?" Alfredo asked in a surprising moment of insight. Ludwig sputtered.
"He was just making sure the thief hadn't stolen anything," Antonio provided helpfully.
"Ah-ah-ah," said Alfredo, shaking his finger negatively, with a toothy grin. "You can't fool me. I saw you checking for marks on his skin. Why bother doing that to a dead thief? Did you expect him to be part of some group? Do you think he was sent here by someone? Did he have other, more nefarious purposes?"
Ludwig hesitated. "I—"
"What does 'nefarious' mean?" Antonio wondered out loud, but he was ignored.
"I think so, and I think you think so, too!" concluded Alfredo. Antonio looked completely lost.
"Look, you..." Ludwig hesitated, searching for a non-offensive word. It took his mind a while to find one, "sir, I must ask you to leave. This is the Vargas' property and you are trespassing for no good reason."
"But I still have to investigate—"
"No, you do not," said Ludwig firmly. "You are just a boy who thinks this is a game and who needs to go home right now because it's very late. If you do not leave of your own accord, I will have to remove you."
"Whoa, whoa, is that a threat? You know, I think you're trying to get rid of me..."
"Whatever gave you that idea?" said Ludwig, making sure to put in extra sarcasm so that even this idiotic boy wouldn't be able to miss it. Alas, he missed it.
"You're very suspicious, sir," said Alfredo. "I'm afraid I'll have to take you to the headquarters for interrogation."
"Oh, I'll be glad to accompany you there."
Eager to get rid of this annoyance, Ludwig grabbed the young man and practically carried him out of the Vargas' estate, Antonio trailing after them. He knew that if he simply left the boy at the gate, he would just come back right in, so he actually dragged him all the way to the Militia's headquarters. He wasn't surprised at all when the senior soldiers scolded Alfredo for being a reckless kid with grandiose ideas and apologised profusely to Ludwig and Antonio for the disturbance.
He was surprised, however, when they finally returned and found that the body was gone.
"I guess Gilbert must have taken care of it," said Antonio, scratching his head as if he were a little confused.
"Yes, and that's what worries me," replied Ludwig gravely. Curse that Alfredo kid! "I don't trust him."
Antonio did a double take and gave him a very nervous look. "You don't trust your own brother? What, do you think he's somehow involved in..." he trailed off, unwilling to word whatever idea he had in his head.
"Oh, don't get me wrong; I don't think he would intentionally hurt us," Ludwig hurried to reassure him. "It's just that he has absolutely no common sense and he's always up to something stupid and dangerous. And I don't think he's the only one."
"You're talking about Lovino, aren't you?" Antonio rubbed the back of his head, as if embarrassed on Lovino's behalf. "Lovino doesn't actively seek dangerous situations like Gilbert seems to do, but he always ends up in them somehow. He's a good kid, deep down."
Ludwig grunted. "Well, good kid or not, I think he and my brother are up to something."
"Like what?" asked Antonio, frowning.
"I'm not entirely sure, but... Antonio, you don't really believe that the 'burglar' was really just a burglar, do you?"
"What are you getting at, Ludwig?"
Ludwig was startled by how cold Antonio's voice had suddenly sounded, and he was even more surprised when he turned to look at the man and was met with an icy glare. For a moment, he wildly thought that this was an impostor, because he was too different from the cheerful, friendly Antonio he was used to seeing.
"You think Lovino is up to something?" he continued, his quiet voice chilling Ludwig's blood. "Well, he isn't. Maybe your brother is, but Lovino isn't."
"I didn't mean to say he was up to something intentionally," said Ludwig. Not that it was entirely true, but maybe it would get Antonio to calm down. "Maybe he got dragged into it by my brother or someone else. I'm just saying that he's definitely hiding something and it somehow involves my brother, which means it's definitely dangerous and possibly illicit."
"He isn't," Antonio insisted. "He isn't involved in anything at all."
Ludwig just stared at him for a moment. "How can you be so sure?"
"Because..." Antonio breathed heavily, and suddenly the coldness in his expression and voice melted into desperation, "if he were in trouble, surely he would tell me! That's how it's always been! He gets in trouble, he begs me to help him. Because I'm his friend, his brother, I've known him since he was a little kid and he trusts me completely. Lovino can't handle danger, and he can't handle fear. If he were in danger, he'd be scared, and if he were scared, he would come to me right away!"
There was a moment of silence, broken only by Antonio's panting, which sounded almost like sobs.
"Are you trying to convince me?" Ludwig asked him at length. "Or yourself?"
Antonio gritted his teeth, his breathing sounding even harsher.
"I'm just saying," said Ludwig, lest Antonio was preparing to punch him for his audacity, "maybe Lovino doesn't trust you as much as you think. Or at least not any more."
"Why would he stop trusting me? Nothing has changed between us."
"Are you sure?"
Antonio looked angry at Ludwig's question at first, but his expression faltered slightly for a moment to show what had been lying beneath it – doubt, fear, sadness. He recovered quickly, though, and the confident mask was soon back in place. He snorted, as if Ludwig were an amusing fool.
"Of course I'm sure."
oOo
"Don't let them investigate the body! Do something!" Lovino hissed, glaring at Gilbert from the crack in the door of his brother's bedroom. "If they find any clue that indicates that man worked for the Russos..."
"But what am I supposed to do?" Gilbert whispered back. "If I try to stop them, they'll only get more suspicious!"
"I don't know! You figure out something, dammit!" With that, Lovino shut the door before Gilbert could retort, though not before getting a last glimpse of those red eyes glaring at him from the dark like those of a demon. Lovino shuddered a little and locked the door for good measure.
"Lovino, come to bed already!" Feliciano whined. Lovino gloomily thought that he would have been a lot more eager to comply if those words had been uttered by a beautiful woman.
Nevertheless, he made his way to the bed quickly, only to be enveloped in a warm embrace as soon as he lay down. It was... well, not exactly reassuring, but it did make him feel a little better. At least he wasn't alone. He really didn't want to be alone right now. On the other hand, his fear and anxiety still held an iron grip on his heart. What if another assassin showed up? Then Feliciano would definitely find out and then get hurt, possibly killed as well, and Gilbert was no longer around, and even Ludwig and Antonio wouldn't be able to save them—
"Lovino, your hands are shaking," Feliciano remarked, his hands feeling incredibly warm and soft around Lovino's own.
"Y-yes, well, you'd be shaking, too, if a burglar had broken into your room in the middle of the night. I'm lucky Gilbert happened to be there when it happened, or that thief could've really hurt me!"
"Yeah, you're right... But you shouldn't worry, Lovino. As long as Ludwig is around, we're all safe! Ludwig has never failed to protect me. He's so muscular and strong and intimidating and reliable. When I'm with him, I feel like no danger in the world could possibly fall on me. Because I know he'd never let anything happen to me. And now that you're here, I'm sure the same thing is true for you. Since we're brothers, I mean... Ludwig will protect you, just like he protects me."
"He's scarier than anything!" Lovino protested. "I-I mean, not that I-I'm scared of him, but, you know, if I were scared of anything, he'd be the one I'd be scared of..."
"Well, I also thought he was really scary and mean at first, but once you get to know him, you see he's a really nice guy deep down. Kind of like you!"
"Shut up! I have nothing in common with that bastard, okay?" Lovino snapped, even as his mind treacherously brought up a memory of Ludwig suggesting the same thing, of him actually acting like a decent person with a good heart. That had just been a façade! Ludwig had only been trying to trick him so that he wouldn't be kicked out. "A-anyway, he wouldn't bother to protect me. He hates me."
"He doesn't hate you, Lovino!" said Feliciano, sounding almost scandalized. "He actually wants to get along with you! I know, because he's asked me several questions about you, and he asked me if I knew what he could do to make you stop hating him." There was a brief pause, and then Feliciano laughed. "He even told me once he wished there was a book that could give him instructions on how to get along with one's master's big brother. Silly Ludwig, he thinks books can teach you anything and everything you need to know."
"Idiot..." Lovino muttered, trying to dismiss what Feliciano had said about Ludwig.
"Even if Ludwig can't be there for you..." Feliciano continued. "There's still Gilbert, who proved he can protect you tonight, and I'm sure Antonio would die before he let anything happen to you, too. And... and then there's... me..." He snuggled a little closer to his brother. "I know I'm weak, but I'd still try my hardest to protect you... because you're my brother and I love you. A-and that'd make me stronger, I think."
Lovino felt the sting in his eyes again and that painful knot in his throat. Part of him longed to believe those beautiful words. How he wished he could believe he actually had all those people to count on no matter what. So many people willing to keep him safe even though he had never done anything to deserve their sympathy or friendship. He wished it so badly, it hurt. But he knew better. Maybe Feliciano believed what he was saying, but not Lovino. Reality wasn't that fairytale Feliciano was apparently living in. Even Antonio...
Maybe Antonio would...
No. No, no, no, he couldn't let himself finish that thought. He couldn't bring Antonio into any of this. He didn't really care about Gilbert or Ludwig or what they thought of him, but Antonio absolutely had to stay out of it, as did Feliciano.
Oblivious to his brother's turmoil, Feliciano made a contented noise and softly touched his head against Lovino's.
"This is so nostalgic... Remember when we were kids and we used to sleep together like this every night?"
Lovino made a non-committal noise. He had never really been fond of sleeping with his brother. He had only done it because there had been only one bed for them, and Lovino hadn't cared to sleep on the floor – and Feliciano had always made a fuss when Lovino tried to kick him off the bed.
"And sometimes we'd sleep with Grandpa," Feliciano added. "Whenever there was a storm or when we'd just listened to horror stories and got too scared to sleep by ourselves." He giggled. "Remember?"
"What do you mean, 'we'? You're the one who got scared," Lovino retorted, a slight smirk sneaking its way onto his lips.
"Oh, that reminds me..." Feliciano shifted a little so that he could meet his brother's gaze, squinting in the dark. "Grandpa will protect you, too. He's watching over us. Even now, when Ludwig, Gilbert, and Antonio aren't here with us, Grandpa is watching over us, so you don't have to worry. You can rest at ease."
"Hmph. Big load of help he's been so far," Lovino muttered sarcastically.
And yet, despite having been unable to relax until minutes ago, it wasn't long before he finally fell into a peaceful sleep.
oOo
The following morning, Gilbert was nowhere to be found. At breakfast, Lovino tried to gauge everyone's feelings about it. Ludwig's expression was the most difficult to read, seeing as he had no expression to speak of, but he was obviously tense. Lovino took it for suspicion, while Feliciano took it for worry and kept insisting that Gilbert was fine, he had probably just gone out for a stroll around the town or something. However, despite his reassurances, Lovino could tell Feliciano was a little worried himself, maybe entertaining some silly idea that the so-called burglar's friends had come after Gilbert to take revenge. Antonio, oddly enough, seemed to be in a better mood than he had been lately, although he was also a little tense. Hopefully, he was just worried and not getting suspicious like Ludwig. Lovino should have known that it was a terrible idea to leave those two together after such a suspicious incident.
As for Lovino's own feelings about it, he was trying not to panic. Not only were Ludwig and Antonio apparently growing suspicious of him, his bodyguard had mysteriously disappeared soon after an attempt on Lovino's life. This did not bode well. He really hoped Gilbert was merely still trying to dispose of the body, and that he would come back soon. Because if he didn't, Lovino would be forced to stick with Antonio or, even worse, Ludwig all day, and then he might as well confess everything...
He was going to skip rehearsal today, and he was going to lock himself up in his room and barricade the door and the window. And he was going to stay there until Gilbert returned. With all the skill of an experienced pickpocket, he slipped a knife out of sight under the table and wrapped his handkerchief around it. He had left his knives and his gun in his bedroom and forgotten to fetch them when he'd left his brother's room – how stupid of him, really! – so he needed to have some kind of weapon on the way there.
Once breakfast was over and everyone was getting up, Lovino pulled his brother to the side and told him, "Look, uh, I don't feel so good. I think I'm still a little shaken about what happened last night."
"You do look a little pale," responded Feliciano, caressing Lovino's face. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
"No, no, I just need to sleep some more. I'm just tired, really," he quickly reassured, because he knew that Feliciano would fuss over him if he got worried. "I'm going to my room and I don't want to be disturbed, okay? If Bonnefoy shows up, tell him I'm not going to rehearsal today. And if I'm still in my room by lunchtime, have one of the cute maids bring the food to my room."
Feliciano squinted at his brother, a rare frown on his face. "Hmm, are you sure you aren't just being lazy, Lovino?" He then winced when he got called names and got hit by a light punch or two. "Ow! I'm sorry! I was just joking!"
oOo
With both the door and the window firmly shut, Lovino was left in a dark room with a lit candle in his hand, the small flame flickering feebly as his hand shook. He took a step towards his bed, but a metallic sound made him freeze in his tracks. It took him a moment to realise that the sound had come from below; he had stepped on something. He lowered the candle to see what it was.
A knife.
Oh.
The knife that had been meant to pierce his heart last night.
The assassin must have dropped it at some point during the struggle with Gilbert.
Lovino shuddered, feeling suddenly very cold. That was why he quickly made his way to his bed and, after setting the candle on his bedside table, covered himself in a cocoon of blankets. Only because he was cold, of course, not because he was scared or anything...
Oh, who was he trying to fool? Just look what he'd been reduced to. It was such a nice day outside, and he could have been out there to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his skin and watch the cute ladies go by, maybe even engage them in conversation. But no, here he was, locked up in a dark room, cowering under the blankets as if they could actually shield him from the world, waiting for a gory death.
He reached a still shaky hand out of the cocoon and snatched his rosary from the bedside table. At this point, there was nothing else he could do but pray. God was the only one who could protect him now. Or, if protecting him was out of the question, then maybe he could at least bargain for a swift death?
He closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he found he was unable to concentrate, for he was too worried that another assassin would sneak in somehow and Lovino wouldn't even see him before it was too late. He opened his eyes. After a few more minutes, he decided that praying with his eyes wide open was too weird, and the shadows cast by the candle were playing tricks on him and freaking him out. He closed his eyes again.
He was being stupid. There was no reason to worry. Just because an assassin had come after him last night didn't mean another one would come today, at daytime when so many people were up and about. Besides, he had locked his window and his door; there was no way anyone would be able to sneak in or break the door open. Unless they had an axe and killed everyone on their way here... No, no, he couldn't think like that, he was perfectly safe here and no one was going to try breaking the door open—
A loud bang on the door cut his thoughts short and Lovino felt his heart leap up to his throat then drop right to his stomach. That had only been his imagination, right? No one was actually trying to break the door open, no, no, no...
Another series of bangs and Lovino's hair stood on end. No, definitely not his imagination.
"Wh-who's there?" he ventured asking.
"Mr. Vargas," came a grave, ominous voice. "Please open the door."
Had the scary man on the other side of the door not heard his question, or had he avoided it deliberately? Either way, he was sure he didn't want to open the door for whoever it was.
"Go away!" he yelled.
"Mr. Vargas? Are you in there?"
Only now did Lovino recognise that voice. He huffed, and with the blankets still covering him from head to toe, he got up from the bed and approached the door.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Mr. Vargas, can you please open the door? I don't like feeling like I'm talking to an inanimate object."
Lovino rolled his eyes and was about to open the door to yell at the man in his face like he wanted to, but a sudden thought stopped him.
"Hah, g-good try! You won't make me open the door so easily, you sucker! You'll have to prove who you are first! I won't be fooled just because your voice sounds familiar!"
"Excuse me?"
"You won't get me!"
Feeling more than a little disturbed and maybe a little hysterical by the possibility of being separated from an assassin by a mere wooden door, Lovino hurried back to his bed to fetch the gun under his pillow. He fumbled with it, but his hands shook so hard that he might have had better luck trying to grab water. Before he could get a grip, a metallic sound coming from the keyhole echoed and the door opened. In his hurry to back away, Lovino stumbled back and fell over, his gun flying from his hands while he got tangled in the blankets.
"Er..."
Lovino managed to remove the part of the blanket that had been trying to swallow his head and squinted at the muscular shadow in front of him, his whole face heating up in embarrassment. Well, at least he knew for sure that it wasn't an assassin.
"Is everything all right, Mr. Vargas?" Ludwig asked, casting a suspicious glance around the dark room, his gaze lingering at the gun on the floor. "Is that my gun?" With a resigned sigh, he stepped into the room, picked up the gun to inspect it, and put it away. "Do you need... assistance, Mr. Vargas?"
"No! I'm perfectly fine, dammit!" With some difficulty, Lovino finally came out triumphant from his battle with the blankets and stood up, clinging to the remaining shards of his dignity like a lifeline. "What do you want? I told Feliciano I did not want to be disturbed! How dare you interrupt my sleep!"
"You were sleeping on the floor?"
"S-so what if I was? That's none of your business!"
"Very well, Mr. Vargas. I apologise," said Ludwig, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. "Lord Feliciano ordered me to check up on you and to fetch you in case everything was all right. We have a visitor who wishes to see you."
Lovino tensed up. A visitor who wished to see him? That couldn't possibly be good. He wasn't exactly popular in this city. It had to be either Bonnefoy or someone involved in the Russo-Gianturco family feud. Still, he tried to cover his nervousness with derision.
"Hah, I should have known that Feliciano wouldn't listen to me. I tell him I don't want to be disturbed and the first thing he does is send you of all people to bother me. Assholes, all of you. You can tell our visitor to go fuck himself."
"Are you sure? She was very adamant on seeing you, and you haven't even heard what she has to say."
Lovino hesitated. "She?"
"Miss Magherini. She really wants to see you, for some reason."
Miss Magherini? Elisabetta? That pretty yet weird, aggressive woman who had given him the wine treatment on his birthday and had tried to dictate whom he should be friends with? What could she possibly want from him?
Part of him was afraid this was some kind of trick, but in the end, his curiosity, allied with his inability to say no to a pretty girl, won over his paranoia and he decided he might as well hear her out.
oOo
"Oh, Lovino, there you are! I'm glad to see you're okay, and I'm sorry for disturbing you, but Elisabetta was really adamant on talking to you and..."
Lovino was barely listening to his brother's chattering. Why pay attention to that idiot when there was a beautiful lady who just couldn't wait to see him? Oh, God, was it him, or did Elisabetta look even more gorgeous than usual today? Not to mention more friendly! She had always looked angry or cold before, even when she had been trying to act polite, but this time she looked completely sweet and ladylike.
A part of Lovino couldn't help but wonder if he should be afraid. Surely such unusual behaviour took warning?
That part of him, which normally held supreme reign over Lovino's mind, was swiftly suppressed by that irresistible impulse to be nice to women. Suddenly, all his fears and worries concerning the Russos and Gilbert were far, far away, as if they belonged to someone else, or to a fading dream. He stood up straight, his demeanour confident and gallant, and he greeted the lady politely. He didn't even acknowledge Feliciano when he said he had better leave them alone in a rather suggestive voice – which was really odd coming from such an innocent person.
"So, how can I help you, Miss—"
"Oh, let's drop those silly formalities. It'd feel even weirder after this."
"This... what?" Lovino asked, feeling as if he were missing something.
Before giving him an explanation, Elisabetta inspected all windows and doors, as if to make sure they were really alone. When she finally returned her attention to him, there was a mischievous glint in her eye. As quickly as it had been gone, his anxiety was back full force. Crap, he should have listened to that part of him who had warned him about Elisabetta. No one with that look in their eyes could possibly be up to any good.
"I see Gilbert isn't here today," she remarked in a faux innocent voice.
"Uh..."
"Do you know when he'll be back?"
"No, I have no idea..."
"Good."
And suddenly she was very close, too close, and her eyes scrutinised him from head to toe, like an expert merchant inspecting the goods he's about to trade. And whatever it was that she had in mind, she looked very satisfied with what she saw. Lovino's face burnt; sure, he had had girls look at him appreciatively before, but never quite... like that. Like they had unholy plans for him and were going to enjoy themselves a little too much with that. Lovino was torn between excitement and terror.
"You're perfect," she announced.
Lovino's heart skipped a beat. Now that was something he had never thought anyone would say to him in all sincerity. He couldn't even feel flattered, though, because, somehow, it didn't sound like a compliment. It sounded like another warning.
"P-perfect for what?" he dared ask.
"For my plan!"
Oh, so she finally admitted she had plans. Lovino didn't like the idea the so far. He didn't even want to know what she was planning, but he was locked up here and he doubted Elisabetta would let him get away so easily. He swallowed hard and asked the unavoidable question, "What plan?"
"My plan to get revenge on Gilbert for his lies and slanders!" She snarled. "And to get some recognition in this treacherous city!"
Lovino frowned at the mention of Gilbert. Had he actually done something to offend or shame Elisabetta? The thought was infuriating. That must be why everyone in town avoided her. Once again, Lovino felt his heart swell with sympathy for her. How dare Gilbert hurt such a pretty lady!
"And... what do you want me to do about it?" he asked guardedly. He wanted to help her, of course, but he still couldn't help this nagging feeling that he wasn't going to like her idea.
"I know you and Feliciano can pretend to be each other," she whispered, eyes narrowed in excitement.
"Wh-whatever gave you that idea?" stammered Lovino, suddenly very flustered. Did she know what he had done with Ludwig? Was she going to blackmail him or something?
"I met Feliciano when he was passing off as you the other day. He really fooled me for a while. He even tried to flirt with me." She smiled in fond amusement for a split second. "But I'm very observant, so I eventually saw through his disguise and tricked him into revealing himself."
Lovino said nothing, and tried to keep his expression passive, but inside he was boiling with anger. Feliciano had never told him anything about being found out! And then another thought occurred to him. Oh, God, what if she had seen the suspicious men who had apparently been following Feliciano around? She had just proved herself to be very clever and observant, so if she had seen those men, she would definitely realise something was up...
"And then he told me some really interesting things," Elisabetta went on, seemingly oblivious to Lovino's growing discomfiture. "For example, he told me that you can also pass off as your brother, and that you're even better at it than him."
Damn that blabbermouth! Lovino was going to kill him!
"I could never ask Feliciano to do this, but I think you will agree to help me..." Elisabetta paused, her mischievous smile dropping to give way to a serious, determined expression. "I want you to pose as your brother and pretend we're having an affair."
Lovino was suddenly glad that he hadn't been drinking anything, because he would have sprayed it all over Elisabetta's face just now and things would have gone downhill from there. Surely he had misheard her. It was just the lust talking, faced with such a pretty lady. Yes, he should have paid more attention to what she was actually saying, instead of letting his dirty imagination roam free. He focused on her words as hard as possible.
"We'll make out somewhere where we'll be caught by the maids. They're big gossipers, so I'm sure that almost everyone in town will have got wind of it by the end of the month!"
Lovino stared at her in stunned silence for a moment. Oh, God, she had actually said what he thought she had said, hadn't she? He wasn't just hearing things. He felt his heart beat faster and faster, causing the blood to rush to his face.
"Why would you want that to happen?" he asked, hoping to bring some reason to this bizarre conversation.
Now it was her time to blush and look away in obvious discomfort.
"Everyone says I'm too scary and unladylike to find a lover," she muttered. "I've been engaged three times and something went wrong every time. Some people even call me 'black widow'. It doesn't help that Gilbert always brings the worst in me to make me look like an uncouth barbarian or like a madwoman in front of people. I admit I wasn't very feminine when I was younger, but even now, when I'm trying so hard, no one respects me."
Lovino took a moment to digest her words. "Well, maybe you should try harder, because to be honest, getting drunk, swearing like a sailor and throwing wine at the first well-intentioned guy who comes your way doesn't exactly give you a very good impress—Ouch!" He yelped when she punched him in the arm. Jesus, this woman had some muscle! Lovino rubbed his sore arm, hoping it wouldn't bruise.
"Another smartass comment like that and the next one will be on your nose!" she hissed, shaking her fearsome fist in his face. Lovino swallowed a "case in point" comment and muttered an apology.
"Anyway," she went on, appeased, "if I'm seen with someone – with the head of the Vargas family, no less – people will start seeing me in another light. I presume." She shrugged. "But my main goal is actually Gilbert."
"Why would that affect him?"
"Oh, you might not know this, but Gilbert is secretly crazy about me." She smiled smugly again.
Lovino's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He had been aware of Elisabetta's engagement with Gilbert in the past, but he had never got the impression that Gilbert actually liked her that much.
"He's in denial, of course," said Elisabetta, as if she had read Lovino's mind. "That's why he picks on me. So that no one will ever know. But as I said, I'm very observant, and I have female intuition on my side as well."
"If you say so..."
"So, when he sees me with another man – with one of his best friends, to boot – he'll get jealous. He'll get so very jealous, he'll try to chase after me, and I might even get him to confess his feelings for me."
"Oh, I see..." Lovino shifted awkwardly. "You have feelings for him, too, huh?"
Elisabetta snorted. "No way! I just want to see him grovel, and then I'll reject him, and humiliate him like he did to me. Nothing would give me more satisfaction."
Having recently been rejected by his love, Lovino couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Gilbert – assuming, of course, that Elisabetta was right and he did have feelings for her. On the other hand, he was still mad at his failure of a bodyguard, and besides, how could he refuse the chance to make out with this ravishing, willing woman? Lovino took only the briefest moment to weigh his options.
Hm, yep, Gilbert could go to hell for all he cared.