When I got Christine to settle down in the lounge, I quickly made my way to the kitchen. Fortunately, Simon was there, where I explained the situation to him and hoped his calm presence would help sooth Christine. While I made the tea in the kitchen, Simon stayed with her. Soon enough, the tea was done and I brought it into the lounge.

"You know Lady Edna wouldn't just kick you out like that," Simon was saying when I entered the room. "Besides, everyone makes mistakes. It isn't the end of the world if you break some meaningless glass object."

"But most people learn from their mistakes!" Christine cried, her whole body tensed. "Me, I keep making the same mistakes over and over again! I've been here over two weeks and I've yet to do something right by myself!"

Tears threatened to swell up again.

"Don't be so harsh on yourself," I said as I poured her a cup of tea. "Trust me when I say that you are not the first one to be a complete klutz."

I handed her the tea, where her shaky hands tried to reach for it. Simon had to help keep her steady, but she was eventually able to bring the hot liquid to her mouth.

"And you are not completely hopeless, Christine," I continued. "If you want hopeless, look at Simon and his kitchen. I mean, it's got to be the dirtiest thing I've ever seen! And he's been here longer then you and Lady Edna hasn't fired him yet, right?"

I made eye contact with Simon, hoping that he wouldn't take offense to it. Thankfully, he understood what I was trying to do, as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I can't deny that. In many ways, you are more capable of being a servant then I am!"

Christine looked down at her tea.

"I guess...but at least you are able to cook a decent meal. And you don't need someone watching over you twenty-four seven..."

"'Don't need to be watched?'"

Simon gave a small laugh.

"I guess Jasper criticizing me every five seconds doesn't count, right? The man is always at my throat."

"But..."

She lost her words as she sat her tea cup to the side. I sighed heavily. It seemed that we're going in circles. I saw that the girl had confidence issues, but this was ridiculous!

"Obviously, this has something more to it than just a simple screw up."

Christine blinked, looking up at me. Simon raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Sebastian?"

I looked straight into Christine's eyes, looking at her as if I was staring into her soul.

"Why do you think you are a screw up, to the point where you feel that your life does not matter? What has caused you to think like this?"

There was a long silence. Christine looked at me with eyes that were desperate to speak out, but a great fear was trying to prevent herself from revealing it. Whatever was on her mind, I could tell that it has haunted her for a long time, causing a lot of emotional trauma. I glanced up at Simon.

"Can you please step out of the room so that I may talk to Christine privately?" I asked. "And make sure that the others don't come in."

Simon nodded. "Sure thing."

Gently patting Christine's shoulder, he then left the room, closing the lounge's doors behind him. When we were alone, I took a hold of Christine's hands.

"Now, tell me everything that is bothering you," I said gently. "Whatever it is, I promise you holding it in is only going to make things worse on your soul."

There was a long silence, Christine avoiding eye contact as her breathing became heavier. She took in a deep breath of air.

"...W-when I was a child, my family has always been poor and lived in poor environments. My mother was a very ill woman, her mind...did not work like how it was suppose to. She was not always liked this, but not too long after I was born, my father said, that her health started to decline. If we weren't careful, she would have been taken to a mental home and my father wanted to prevent that. So throughout my whole childhood, I helped Father keep Mother safe, safe from the men in white coats..."

Christine took a tight grip on my hands, trying her best to keep her voice steady as she spoke.

"In many ways, I was the one who raised my mother while my father was the one who raised me. As a child, Father was the one who resembled strength while Mother resembled fragility. I looked up to Father, I wanted to be him and be nothing like Mother. I feared...that one day I would become her, as Father said I was so much like her..."

She paused for a moment.

"...While Father worked to keep us in the little house we lived in, it was my job to take care of Mother. I was always very shaky around her, afraid that I would do something wrong to set her off. Some days, she would be calm and loving, while other days she was violent and unable to recognize who I was. There were times that she would get so out of control, I would have to knock her out and then muffling her to make sure the neighbors don't become suspicious. In many ways, Mother frightened me, and the only place I found comfort was from Father. He was the only sane person I was able to get close to, because I was rarely allowed to leave the house, as someone always had to be watching Mother. Watching her unpredictable behavior..."

Tears fell from her eyes, landing on the white apron of her maid uniform.

"O-one night, when Father and I tucked Mother into bed, he told me that he was about to lose his job and that soon we would be out on the streets. He said that the only way to save us was to go to America and start a new life. He told me that he would have to be gone for at least two months, and that I had to take care of Mother on my own. To show him I was strong, to show him I was capable of not becoming like my mother, I told him I could do it. T-That he could rely on me and that nothing would happen to us!"

She gave a harsh laugh as the tears fell faster and faster.

"Well, not even two weeks had passed before Mother had one of her uncontrollable behavior swings. And it was a bad one, one that involved lots of screaming. I tried to calm her down, but it was too much for me. S-s-she almost killed me, telling me I was worthless and needed to be taken care of... And she would have succeeded, too, if it wasn't for the members of the asylum coming into the house. T-they took Mother away from me, while one of the neighbors came to my side, seeing if I was alright. I-I-I saw one of the men in white pin mother to her bed, attempting to put a straitjacket on her. I screamed, b-begging them to not take her away. But they did not listen, some of them even claiming that I was mad myself. In the end, they took Mother away, telling the neighbor that if I showed any signs of the same madness, to call them straight away."

Christine shook, her words mixing in with sobs.

"U-unable to handle the fact that I failed my father, unable to handle the fact that I was incapable like my mother, I ran away. And ever since then, I went from job to job, city to city, hoping to make a living for myself and prove I was able to live on my own. But, no matter what the job was, I couldn't hold it for long. I was too afraid of messing up the job, just like how I failed to take care of Mother, that I ended up screwing it up anyway!"

She met my gaze.

"Sebastian, it will only be a matter of time when I do end up like her. P-please, end it for me so I don't have to suffer like the failure I am! Please..."

Unable to hold it any longer, she covered her face with her hands and cried, her long dark hair falling into her face. I stared at her for a long moment, shocked to hear such a story.

What a poor, suffering soul she possessed. I...I had no idea how to respond to this, for this feeling of helplessness and self loathing sounded very familiar to me. But I had to do something, even though a part of me found it a little pathetic that she was breaking so easily.

"Christine, look at me."

Slowly removing her hands away from her face, she met my gaze.

"I can tell you that not many people can go through what you did," I said, sounding surprisingly sincere. "Not many people have the soul or will to take care of their mother at a young age, most would have gone mad just by doing it. But you...I can clearly tell are not mad. Just afraid."

Christine's eyes widened.

"You can do this, so long as you have the will to do so. You just have to let go and don't let anyone or anything pull you down. You're only doomed to fail if you don't gain confidence in yourself and find a way to succeed. Do you see what I'm trying to say?"

Christine stared at me for a short moment, her body shaking.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me and tightly embraced me, crying into my shoulder for comfort. I froze, my body tensing up. Looking behind the chair Christine was sitting in, I saw that Lady Edna and Martha stood by the open door, watching us. I had no idea how long they've been there, but I could see deep sympathy and sadness in their gazes. Lady Edna and my eyes met.

"...Christine."

I hugged her back.

"You've had a long day," I said softly. "You need to rest."

Taking a few steps back, I helped her stand up and walked her over to the door. At the sight of Martha and Lady Edna, Christine stiffen up again, clinging onto my arm for dear life.

"It is alright, my dear."

Martha came up to her side, taking a hold of her hand.

"Everything will be alright now," she said gently. "I promise you that nothing will happen to you."

Christine's grip on Martha's hand tightened. As the elder maid led her away, Christine was forced to let go of me. When they left the room, only Lady Edna and I remained. Lady Edna gave a small sigh.

"I…never realized that she was keeping something like that in all this time," she said. "I should have suspected something like this when I found little to nothing on her background, but I was too sympathetic to see otherwise…"

She looked up at me.

"Thank you, Sebastian. If you weren't here, who knows what could have happened. I doubt anyone else would have been able to reach her like you did."

I blushed slightly.

"You really give me too much credit, my lady," I replied with a small smile. "Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing…"

"And maybe that's what helped Christine to open up."

I blinked, slightly puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Lady Edna smiled.

"Don't take this wrong way when I say this, but compared to everyone here, you are the most defenseless. Christine, poor girl, does not have any self-esteem, and when you showed up…well, you seem like an equal to her. One that won't do her harm."

She moved closer to me, her long crimson hair glowing in the light coming from the nearby window.

"If I may request one thing of you, Sebastian," Lady Edna continued, "is that you oversee Christine and try to build up her confidence. I know this is a lot to ask of you, especially since you've barely begun your job here, but I believe you are the only one who can successfully help her."

I stared into Lady Edna's eyes.

"…Of course, I will do my best. I will do whatever you may ask of me, my lady."

Lady Edna smirked.

"Why so formal all of a sudden?"

She laughed and patted my head, like I was a cute dog or something.

"You are too kind, Sebastian."

I smiled.

"Well, I am a butler to die for!"

Without thinking, I made a weird hand gestured with my right hand, sticking my pinky and pointer finger out, while also sticking my tongue out. Lady Edna raised an eyebrow, a puzzled look in her gaze. There was a long silence, as I soon realized how ridiculous looked.

"…Eh he…"

I backed away slightly.

"Err…perhaps I should retire as well. I think I need it…"

Okay, if this was really how my memory was going to come back, I think I prefer just being totally clueless rather than having random, embarrassing outbursts…

I continued to give off an uneasy laugh, hoping to lighten the mood to when Lady Edna calls me crazy. But she didn't, instead she just simply laughed. Laughing like I had said the funniest thing to her! I blinked, my face going into a probably nice shade of red.

"Um…?"

It took a moment before Lady Edna could control herself.

"Ha ha ha! You really are a charming one, Sebastian!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you decided to become my butler! I really needed a servant with a good sense of humor."

She winked at me.

"I thank you again for helping Christine, and I promise I will give you an extra amount when I give you your first pay check. Have a good evening."

Chuckling to herself, she then left the room, leaving me to my thoughts as I admired how stunning she looked when she laughed.