It was only when Elaine went to her bed later that night that what had happened truly came down on her. Descole had admitted to having some kind of fond attachment towards her. How exactly did she feel about that though? Thinking over her emotion and feelings in regards to the masked man, it was a bit hard to say for certain how exactly she felt.
He had kidnapped her, held her against her will. Both of which were twice. Thrice if you count simply being held hostage on a spectre bot. Then there had been those times of, uh… somewhat, physical violence. But the worst she had ever received was having her head hit off a hard surface and being choked. Though thinking on that sentence now, it didn't exactly sound any better. If anything, it just made it worse.
But even with all that, Elaine couldn't help but take some level of interest in the goal of whatever Descole's next escapade would involve.
"The Infinite Vault of Akbadain?" Elaine faintly recalled reading it from a book at some point, but the name itself was about all she could remember. She had been reading in the library when Descole had come in telling her that they would be leaving for Monte d'Or soon, in a month or two. The fact that she had yet to hear of any part of the current plan made her feel a bit sickly in her stomach since the lack of any knowledge could only send warning signs.
"I'm not entirely sure if it had a specific purpose just yet." Descole explained as he walked past the armchair Elaine was sitting in. "But it still must be found."
"And that's why you need the Masks of Chaos and Order?"
"They're the keys to finding it. They'll rise the vault."
"So, you're going to look for the masks in Monte d'Or?"
"The Mask of Order, yes." Descole turned to look at Elaine, a tiny yet confident smirk on his face. "I have actually found the town where our missing boy is."
"Then why are we 'eading to Monte d'Or if 'e isn't there?" Elaine questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"You'll see when we get there. I think you'll find it interesting." Again, a worried feeling came to Elaine, but she ignored it. There was nothing she could do for now. All she could do was carry on and once she saw some sort of chance to… to do anything, she'd take it.
"So, assuming 'e does 'ave the real mask, 'ow are you going to get it?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there. But an opportunity will show. It always does." It couldn't exactly be denied, that was true in a sense. Though to be fair, Descole was plotting and doing things in one way. Thinking of how exactly to make things go his way, and even having a head start of whoever else may get involved. Whatever would happen for those people was something Elaine could only guess.
"So, what's 'is name? The boy I mean?" It felt a bit odd to think of this mystery person as a boy when he was probably around her age by now. Give or take a year or two.
"Randall Ascot. From the research I've done, he's actually an old friend of Layton's." It was surprising considering that Elaine had never thought this would involve someone close to Professor Layton. Hopefully Descole didn't decide to use the man against the Professor. "He appears to have suffered amnesia from his fall back at the ruins. It actually works quite well in my favour actually."
"You're… You're not actually going to tell 'im lies, are you?" Elaine already knew the answer. Why bother asking when she knew? She had no certain idea why. Perhaps hearing Descole say it himself would keep her from having an uneasy sleep filled with 'will he, won't he' type questions.
"Not necessarily." Descole responded. "I'll tell him the truth up to his accident. Then I might… Twist some details."
"Like what?"
"It is a bit coincidental that Henry Ledore, Randall's friend and servant, found the money in the ruins, used the money to build up Monte d'Or and also marry Mr. Ascot's sweetheart, Angela Redoll. Don't you think?" Elaine didn't need to be intelligent as she was to figure out what Descole had in mind.
"You're going to tell 'im 'Enry stole everything from 'im." Elaine narrowed her eyes as she stood up hesitantly. "But you said I'm coming with you to Monte d'Or. What makes you think I'll keep quiet this time and not just tell 'im the truth." Now Descole's smirk just unnerved her more.
"Oh, trust me when I say things will go smoothly and that you won't speak a thing."
"'Ow's that?" Descole walked towards her at a slow pace before he leaned down to speak into her ear, with a sardonic gentle tone,
"You're cousin, Madeline I believe her name is, works as Mr. Ledore's assistant. Doesn't she?" Elaine immediately pushed Descole away from her as she stood up, and glared darkly. To Elaine, Descole was crossing a line he crossed before at her parents' house, and likely spying on her brother to know just enough about him to impersonate him for a brief time.
"Don't you DARE, threaten any of my family!" Elaine spat. "Keep me if you want, just leave. Them. Out. Of it."
"I don't think you're in much of a position to make demands." Descole old Elaine bluntly. "And for your information, I'm not threatening anyone. Just, making an observation."
"Just don't touch them!"
"You really should learn to keep calm." Descole grumbled as he grabbed Elaine's wrists. Elaine glared at Descole as she clenched her fists.
"Whatever you do, don't you dare 'urt Madeline!"
"I won't hurt her." Descole told her. The tone made his words seem honest, but Elaine still had a feeling of mistrust. "I do however suggest you keep quiet about everything, and to not tell Mr. Ascot if by some chance you meet him yourself."
"So if you don't 'urt 'er, what will you do?" It might have been a stupid question to ask in the opinion of some, but Elaine needed to know what risk she could be taking for Madeline's sake."
"She'll just simply have to come with us." Descole responded.
"You'll kidnap 'er too you mean." Elaine grumbled as she tried to look away before Descole grabbed her chin, holding her wrists in the other, and looked at her.
"Elaine. Just do what I say, and I assure you that your cousin will be fine at the end of all this." Elaine pursed her lips together. It wasn't exactly a kind of deal she liked, but it was bad enough her family was missing one member let alone two.
"Fine. Just… Just promise, whatever you're going to do, that Madeline will be safe. S'il vous plait?"
"She won't be physically harmed." Descole stopped the conversation and let one of Elaine's hand go. The other, he looked at it for a moment or two before hesitantly bringing it up to give a small kiss on the back of the palm. Elaine tried to not show it, but a flustered blush did creep onto her cheeks lightly.
"I didn't realise you could blush so easily~." Elaine scowled a bit at Descole's remark, hearing a slightly teasing tone in it. The slight smirk Descole had didn't help too much either.
"I'm not blushing, crétin." Elaine muttered. "It's just a bit warm in 'ere." Descole hummed and let go of Elaine before walking around her to leave the room.
"See you at dinner."
"Dinner?"
"I thought we may as well actually have dinner in the dining room together for a change." Descole didn't bother looking back or stopping and left room. Elaine clicked her tongue. Maybe… Maybe Monte d'Or wouldn't be so bad like Ambrosia or Misthallery. It couldn't hurt to try being optimistic this once, could it?
Sitting back down on the armchair when, Elaine only realised something then.
Descole had actually called her by her first name for the first time.