Yes, more of this.

Chapter 15: Grace

"Clear!"

The screen scanning was ultimately over the top. Erika walked forward, unable to help but feel slightly distraught about how she was treated going into this. If people were going to put responsibilities on her, it would have been best had they given the proper clearances to go with it. Still, it was not something to complain about, not that she had anyone to complain to. Within these walls, she was by herself, and nothing was going to change that.

The narrow corridor branched into various paths, all with their own security booth. The place was littered with checkpoints, rarely seen elsewhere that was not to protect the president of a faraway land. If she did not know those who inhabit this space Erika would have called it paranoid. She could not. She used to live here after all.

"Your name?"

"Erika Tsuyo." Security took a moment to narrow their eyes, then proceeded.

"Please place your hand on the fingerprint machine." More scrutiny was made on her personal identification. This process had been bothering her all morning, but nonetheless necessary. It was not her who needed it, though. "Clear! Welcome, Ms. Tsuyo."

She did not even have the urge to reply. This was all too bothersome, and things were pressuring enough already. This place was not of good faith; it has never been. To take another step forward is to have another day of her independence erased. The slider door of the main guest room was now in front of her. For a place with such overwhelming security measures, the actual interiors were still that of the old age.

"Who's there?" A voice, deep and masculine, came from within. Shivers ran down her spine, for she had not heard it in such a long time. However, she still had obligations.

"It's Erika." Her words were calm, or as calm as she could make them sound.

"Come in."

Leaving the slippers outside, the guest room looked exactly like how one would imagine it, in a traditional fashion. Everything was pristine, clearly maintained in the most thoughtful and respected way. It was so perfect and solemn that it would deter anyone from even making a pass at the furniture, in fear of dirtying them with their worldly dusts. In the middle, sat an old man in formal kimono, pouring tea. His hair was grey and his beard was long, but it was not exerting feebleness. His aura was one of a warrior, without a doubt; his looks was stern and emotionless. Nothing about him was remotely approachable at a glance, and perhaps more so later.

"Grandfather." A bow of respect. It would not be unreasonable to suggest a complete stranger to do the same, with the atmosphere as it was.

"Sit down, Erika." She complied. She was given an order, after all. This feeling of restriction had yet to leave her, even though she had not had a conversation with him in years. It was about time to be reminded of it again. "You understand why you have been summoned here, I trust?"

"Yes, grandfather." Not a single unnecessary word was prying its way out of her lips. Their eyes met, and she immediately turned her head down. Her grandfather believed it was not her place, and she would agree. "I am to be questioned."

"Correct." His hand motioned towards the tea set, urging Erika to claim her own cup. She did, cautiously, and began pouring. "This matter was brought to my attention when an unauthorised person had entered the interior of the Tsuyo's mansion."

He paused, as if expecting Erika to reply. She did not, for it was neither the time nor place to speak up. Her mind was spiralling, but she tried her best to keep her composure. He continued.

"Sources convinced me that you know this person." Both took a sip from their tea cup; both tasted bitter. The tone of the conversation was clearly not letting up any time soon, and it might be far too late to change that. "They also told me that she came to see you, do you deny this?"

"I do not." Erika was no longer aware of what she had to do in order to escape from this situation. This farce sounded nothing more than an interrogation, and it was one for all intents and purposes. She was here, unable to say a word lest be convinced of guilt. It was hard and oppressive, but it was her reality. "I turned her away."

"Yet she entered the manor regardless." It was clear that her grandfather knew perfectly well what happened, probably due to a combination of eye witnesses and security footages. He was simply expressing his disappointment in her one sentence at a time, somewhere deep down expecting her to retort and tell him it was untrue. He wanted this to be the case. She did not. "This was impossible, unless orchestrated by one of the workers themselves. Do you agree?"

"Yes, grandfather." The rabbit hole did not stop then. She could only imagine how this meeting would turn out should her grandfather already learned of her and Sabrina's dabbling in the past. It had been a month or so, but she could never really underestimate the efficiency of dedicated intelligence.

"According to those present, an alarming large number I might add, it was your butler, Ren, who was responsible for the guest's intrusion." Her grandfather probably had proof lying around somewhere should she ever tried to deny it, but the situation did not call for this. "Were you aware of this?"

"Only after the fact." He narrowed his eyes at that reply. It appeared he was not positive about everything. Sure, it was the truth, but he seemed rather reluctant in letting it slide. Eventually his efforts were for naught, because there was not a hint of lies in those words to be caught.

"I see." As predicted, there was a case file beneath the table. Pulling it up, the man skimmed through a few more information, and picked up the trail of questions. "Ren was someone under your direct jurisdiction, and was no longer present after the incident and the removal of the trespasser. Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

"Why do you not know?"

Erika was cornered. Surely she was not aware of the whereabouts of her butler, but she definitely knew what Ren was doing. After all, her job was to stay away from the prying eyes of the Tsuyo family's network and find Sabrina. Wherever that may be was unclear, but as for why…

"She is running an errand under my command." Erika was still trying to be as conservative as possible with her answer, but at some point it was no longer going to be enough. The old man wanted explanations, of which she was afraid of giving. "The task had took her places I am not sure of."

"So I understand she was not fired as she should, but I should not deny someone a chance to redeem themselves." Depending entirely on the task, but that was implied. He was simply waiting for a reaction; there was not any. "What did you have her do?"

"I asked her to find that guest." The truth was overbearing. There were not many words left for her to speak, and only her grandfather had anything left to express. "I removed her from the mansion because it was not her place to be, but there was something she needed to know."

"Sabrina, is it?" The old man's eyes narrowed. He was sufficiently aware of a good amount of interactions between the two, but had always brushed it off as natural new-age bonding between friends. It might have been, but it did not stay that way. "I understand that you two are colleagues, working under the Pokemon League as Gym leaders. I also have heard reports of your frequent meetings up until a month ago. This was around the time you went to Indigo Plateau to attend a conference."

"Yes." No added pronouns this time, and her grandfather was not sure of what to make of it. He continued on regardless.

"There was not any other activities leading up until that day." Files were being flipped once again. There was not any outstanding revelation to go forward with, thus the need to end the line of questioning. "What could she have wanted to say to you after all this time?"

"She wanted to say she loves me." That declaration took every bit of courage Erika had left in her after the intense scrutiny, and she had only one expected outcome for her action.

"I see." Her grandfather was not moving. He was unamused, should it had been a joke. However, knowing fully well that such a behaviour was not something he had taught his grandchildren to do, there were only more questions. "It hardly matters how she feels. What I want to know is how you feel."

"I feel like I should give it a chance."

"Do you understand what you're saying?" The tea cup landing unbalanced on the dish was the first sign of the old man losing his composure. It was not visibly obvious, but he was clearly not pleased with the direction this conversation had taken. He had little else but what he was protecting, and a soldier was never to be swayed by personal matters. "It is not a lie when I say I don't believe you have fully grasp on the consequences of your words and actions here."

"Grandfather, I understand fully." Erika had been preparing for this moment, both mentally and physically. This was the first time she had ever decided that it was correct to stand up for herself like this, and it certainly was not the occasion that she wanted to try it with. However, her hands were forced, and it was too late then.

"As the only child of the first son of the lineage, your actions hold great impact for the rest of the family and your own." He did not wish for her to finish, for his mind had been made up. It might not be possible to reform her decision, but it was easy enough to influence it. After all, he had nothing if not persuasion. "You are to carry the family's name and act as a Tsuyo's mistress would, or…"

"Or I shall no longer be one." She had predicted it will come to this. She might not get enough in her youth to justify being her own person, but this was still a dangerous decision. Was she really willing to give up everything and shame her family so that she could chase this dream? Her tone was sullen as hope was simply not winning reality over.

"Correct." Her grandfather, as intimidating as he was, had not at the least expressed his earnest opinion. Perhaps it was too much to expect such a thing from someone who would only think of his ancestor's legacy. His own feelings could never alter his course of action. "I do not and cannot forbid your personal affiliations, but take note of what is expected of you: to wed someone of high status and prolong the bloodline is your duty."

"I understand." This was not a declaration. They were not starting a war. This was all too expected. She had plenty of cousins to do such things, and no doubt should her Tsuyo name be revoked such a thing would be expected of them in place. However, as long as she remained under the support of her family, she could not break free. Sabrina was still nothing more than a lucid dream, while rejecting her duty meant rejecting her own identity and all that they had done for her up until now. The ride was bumpy and full of holes, but in the end they were still family. What was the psychic to her? "I shall leave."

Her grandfather was silent. He was not forcing her to make the decision just yet, simply because there was no reason to do such a thing. It was reasonably enough for him to believe that within the next few years there might be a man capable of pursuing his granddaughter. Until then, he got what he needed to know. After all, he understood that it was not his place. Erika left quietly, but she knew it was not possible for her to leave everything behind. She came here to inform and answer, not to choose a side. She understood that she would have to eventually, but she still had time.

…

"So that's how it is." Penny nodded. It was surprisingly easy to get Ren to explain everything the moment she said she had information to exchange. She never really thought of how serious people would take things that, to her, was considered nothing more than old relics not worthy of note. Early exposure to Western society had given her a much more passionate view on individual freedom, of which she passed down to her daughter. However, this was no longer just their problem. "Your mistress wanted you to tell Sabrina all this?"

"Yes." Ren took another sip of tea. This had to have been her fourth cup so far, but she simply could not resist. It was so alluring, both in aroma and taste. It loosened her up quite a bit as well, which she enjoyed. Constantly being monitored everywhere she went within the mansion was certainly not an experience for those who did not like to stiffen themselves. She dealt with it, but only reluctantly. "I trust that mistress has doubts about how willing the two of them are and how to deal with her family situations."

"This is indeed quite something. I'm not sure how Sabrina would react to this." Penny was unaware of just how accurate her take on her daughter's decisiveness was, and this was without the entire lineage angle that the psychic no doubt did not know. "She's always so passionate about what she wants but… to tell Erika to give up so much sounds insane."

"I see you feel that way." It was one of the few personal comments from Ren. She barely had any throughout the entire time they talked, but it also indicated significance. Indeed, logically it would be a risk that mistress could only be out of her mind to take."

"I'm curious as to how you feel about this, Ren?" Penny felt that there was simply some reserves left within this story. As much as she thought there was no reason for Ren to keep the truth away, her opinion was always omitted. "You came all the way here looking for Sabrina, but it felt like an obligation to your own mistress more than anything else."

"I…" A moment of hesitation. She knew, but she could not possibly admit, not to a stranger. Yet she had spoken so much already, and what good was her outside the confined mansion walls that she could not speak her mind? "I disapprove."

"Oh?" Penny was half expecting this reply. Naturally, she herself was much more of an outsider than Ren was. There were certainly plenty of good arguments to go around, but none was being made just yet. "What makes you say that?"

"I do not know Sabrina, as she has hardly been more than an outsider." There were no reserves left. "I don't know what happened between her and mistress, but to see mistress returns in such a state a month ago was hardly pleasing. Who's to say it wouldn't happen again?"

"It's hard to say you're wrong." Penny sighed. While Ren's reasoning was already sound, there are certain aspects of this that would certainly make the entire potential relationship problematic. From what she had heard, Erika did not exactly grow up in a liberating atmosphere. She did not want to judge before actually meeting the girl, but it would hardly be strange if she valued her obligations more than her own trust. "I know this sounds terribly intrusive, as this technically doesn't have to do with me, but what do you plan to do once you do find Sabrina."

"Are you saying that I would let my own perceptions interfere with mistress' orders?" It was a threatening voice, no doubt. A butler, understandably, did not take kindly to those questioning her loyalty. "If yes, you're treading a very fine line."

"No, that's not what I meant." There was a slight miscommunication that needed to be cleared. "You said yourself that there's a good chance of your employment being terminated once you return. What do you plan to do after that?"

"How does this concern you?" A questioning look was shot.

"It doesn't." Penny poured her another cup of tea. If there was anything obvious, it would be how Ren really liked Yorkshire. "It just seems that you're doing all of this to help my daughter and your mistress that it hardly seems fair were you to just get the short end of the stick."

"Well… I was here by the order of mistress." Yet another story behind the veils, Penny thought, though it hardly seemed like she was going to find out about it. "If she or her family decided that my service is no longer required, I shall go back to where I was before."

"Where would that be?"

"England."

"That is indeed far away." Penny pondered for a quick moment. It seemed that there was something she needed to say that both of them just forgot as the conversation kept on; then it hit her. "I haven't told you how to find Sabrina yet have I?"

"Hm?" Focus was only now returning to the two of them. "Ah yes! That would indeed be very helpful."

"Right, these are the only two places I could imagine her being, provided you already checked her gym." Ren nodded in agreement. Penny grabbed a pad nearby and scribbled down a few notes. She tried her best to make it readable, but she expect people to still have trouble with it. "Just tell me if you can't read it."

"I can't read it." There was absolutely no need for a second look.

"Right…" Penny sighed. There would be a point that this flaw of her will be fatal. Regardless, she did owe Ren an address. "I have a suggestion."