Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Dante almost stepped back as he was truly at a loss. “What exactly are you blaming me for this time, sir?”

“Because you wrote the first letter!”

“But all I did was slightly correct what you had already written in order to sound more diplomatic. I must say, sir, your writing ability isn’t exactly...”

When Noel had first shown him the letter he had been working on for three straight days, Dante could not suppress the urge to furrow his brow. It hadn’t simply been the contents of the letter but rather how the young clan leader had expressed his sentiments. And yet, that still hadn’t been the most shocking aspect of his master’s supposed invitation.

“And what was your intention in including that lock of hair with the letter, sir? Why would you do such a thing? It wasn’t as if you were trying to place a hex on her or anything.” Dante had argued against that particular decision to no avail; thus it was likely the first thing that had caught Roxana’s eye upon receiving the letter was that grizzly knot of hair.

Yet despite that, Noel didn’t seem the least bit remorseful over his actions. “But Nix’s hair is the same color as Luna’s—golden like moonlight! I just thought she’d want to come see for herself who it belonged to since she would surely recognize it immediately.”

Dante had always been of the mind that his master’s one true flaw was his apparent idiocy. He knew he was being rather harsh, especially toward his own master, but it had proven quite trying and tiresome to deal with the flighty, young leader’s antics. “I doubt she recognized anything from just a lock of hair. Perhaps you should have sent her something more prominent.”

It was much easier for the steward to look after his usually dazed young master—since the youth would often stay up every night making dolls—as opposed to this new lively nature he had adopted.

“For example, sending those blue eyes or his scarred right ha—”

“Dante! What the hell is wrong with you?! You’re so evil and cruel!”

“Be that as it may, I consider it a miracle that Miss Roxana actually chose to come all the way here despite receiving such a letter.” It was apparent Dante was not going to let his leader off the hook so easily. He turned toward Noel with a smirk as he addressed him more directly. “Ultimately, sir, is it fair to say that you failed to entice the favor of the fair one? Goodness, I’m sure that must sting.”

It was obvious the steward’s words had struck a nerve since Noel’s face began to pucker as though he were chewing on a lime. Even so, he refused to own up to his blunder and instead lashed out in anger at the nearest passersby.

“You there! Go fetch the servants who attended to my Luna!”

An attendant who had been awaiting further instructions near the outer edge of the hall scurried off the moment they received the hostile order from the Gold Master. Dante sighed as he resigned himself to going along with his master’s whims. Before long, a group of servants appeared in the unhappy banquet hall.

“Did anything happen while you all were assisting Luna earlier?”

“Master, whatever do you mea—?”

“I mean, was there anything one of you did to upset my Luna?!”

The servants suddenly flinched collectively.

“And just what is the meaning of this?!”

Their reaction had not escaped Noel’s watchful eye.

“So something did happen.” There was a glint in his emerald eyes. “What happened? Out with it. Explain!”

Noel’s tone sounded more like he was pleading with them than demanding information. Just as Roxana had guessed, all the servants at the Gold manor were puppets. Not only that—they were humanoid dolls who were unable to lie. So on Noel’s order, they each came forward with every detail about what had transpired earlier that day.

“While helping Miss Roxana to prepare for the banquet, there was an accident which resulted in the lady receiving a small injury, master.”

“What?! You wounded my Luna?! Where and how?!”

“W-We were putting on her earrings when one of them scratched her ear and she began to bleed.”

“Good grief! She bled?!”

“But the lady was incredibly gracious, and almost immediately forgave the mishap, sir.”

“Did she? So she forgave and forgot, huh?” The tension in Noel’s voice seemed to melt away upon hearing that. “Well, that’s a relief. Then maybe she wasn’t able to enjoy the banquet because of that injury.”

Noel did both appear and sound relieved by this revelation.

“Dante almost had me believing that she was upset because of something I had done.” His face finally regained its normal composure as he continued to speak. “Thank you all for your honesty. You have put my mind at ease.”

As their master beamed at his servants, his radiant smile seemed to shine down on them like sunlight. His next words, however, cast an inescapable shadow over them. “Unfortunately, you must now all pay for ruining my evening with Luna.”

Pow!

The Vertium leader lashed out with the mountain goat mask in his hand. Each time he did so, one of the dolls fell to the ground while bleeding profusely from its torn skin. Noel glared at them all the while without an ounce of mercy in his gaze. As well-crafted as the puppets were, not one dared to move a muscle without his permission.

“We are terribly sorry for failing you, Mas—”

They apologized without a hint of feeling in their voices. By then, they had learned that if they cried or groaned as real humans would, their punishments would only prove far more severe.

“Master... please forgi—”

“Ugh, just be quiet. It’s not like any of you feel pain anyway.” Noel cut their apologies short sharply.

As the punishment continued, Dante turned to address Nix. “Why don’t you head back to your room now, Nix?”

The lovely young man smiled, then stepped down from his perch. “Are you worried I’ll be the next victim?”

“Of course not,” Dante said. “You know I’ve never liked you.”

Per usual, there wasn’t a degree of warmth in the steward’s voice as he addressed Noel’s favorite puppet. Even so, the blond boy continued to grin at Dante as he said, “Then you should know that I feel absolutely zero obligation to heed anything you say.”

Nix suddenly dropped the wineglass he had been holding gracefully in his outstretched hand.

Shatter!

The sound of breaking glass thundered throughout the hall. Dante creased his brows, while Noel stopped beating his puppets mid-blow. Instead of leaving as had been suggested, Nix made a beeline for his master.

“Calm yourself, Noel.”

The head Vertium’s chilly gaze had already turned to zero in on the source of the noise.

“Now that I think about it...” Noel’s airy tone suggested that he had only just recalled something especially important. “Luna didn’t seem all that happy to meet you.”

As if he had finally lost interest in wailing on the motionless dolls, the young leader dropped his mask to the floor. What remained of the bloodied, tattered headpiece released a hollow clatter as it met the ground. Meanwhile, the servants who had fallen continued to writhe in the messy red pools of their blood.

“Is it that she wasn’t very close to the owner of this body while he was alive?”

Nix simply shook his head from side to side as he attempted to answer Noel’s question. “I doubt that was the issue. The moment our eyes met, I felt something so intense that even I couldn’t ignore it.”

Upon seeing his explanation had successfully mystified Noel, the beautiful doll added coolly, “I suppose it was only natural for her to be so taken aback at seeing the brother who she was certain was dead.”

It was a given considering Nix was merely the form of her late brother.

“I think you should also keep in mind that she’ll need some time to take everything in.” The puppet’s explanation seemed to appease his master a bit more. “Don’t worry, Noel. Everything will turn out the way you want it to.”

The words were like honey to a bee. The head Vertium appeared almost content since his mood had suddenly improved. Dante, however, appeared to be harboring contradicting feelings to the other two.

“I think we should all turn in for the night,” Nix said. “After all, your Luna did say she wished to speak to you tomorrow. If you want to be at your best, you should get some rest.”

“Yes, you’re right.” The Gold Master happily nodded at the suggestion. In a matter of seconds, Noel’s vicious side had been successfully replaced with his more commonly seen innocent and airy side.

The two began to exit the hall together while Nix looked back at Dante with a wicked grin as if to say, “See?”

The older man openly glared at the doll with hateful thoughts racing through his mind. You defective pile of sh*t and bones, I’ll—

But before he could finish his most violent thought, Noel stopped to look back at him. “One more thing, Dante.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Be sure to dump those dolls somewhere I won’t have to see them again. They’re clearly defective.”

“Very well, sir.”

The young master disappeared from the hall without so much as a passing glance at the dolls he had left strewn all over the bloody floor. Once alone, Dante sighed quietly to himself.