Kael noticed his pet now often hung around Mary since yesterday. The rabbit didn't even bother to enter his room and instead clung to Mary's feet!
The rabbit even dared to shake his head at Kael's order to come in.
"Hmph. If he didn't want to come in, so be it. Let him sleep outside." Kael said coldly, trying to sound like he didn't care much.
"Yes, Young Master." Mary nodded. Not that she really put him outside, instead Mary planned to have him sleep with her.
Seeing she left with the rabbit, a part of Kael felt dejected that his own pet didn't want him anymore.
"Stupid rabbit." He muttered in dissatisfaction before pretending to not care and plop right into bed.
Oh why do I care so much… it's just a stupid rabbit… He said to convince himself.
Meanwhile, Mary went to an old storeroom looking for the old books. Wiping and blowing off the dust covering them, she picked up the story books meant for children and a hand drawn picture book with letters, words and sentences in them. She remembered reading them for Kael when he was a child.
The memory of herself reading it to the 3 years old Kael then made her smile slightly. The way Kael would jump up and down asking for more, it was funny…
They returned to her quarter and Mary gave the picture book to the rabbit for him to familiarise himself.
Shou felt so blessed that this maid was so nice and actually let and believe in him to learn.
Who cares about that hunky buffoon? Mary is the best!
Shou quickly shuffled through the book, page by page. He was impressed at how each picture was hand drawn with a very fantastical concept. Each one of the drawings can be put on Instagram in modern Earth, with coffee at the side for an aesthetic picture.
His paw stopped at a page with drawings of various animals, including a rabbit. He couldn't help but remember his own kins, now gone…
His mood deflated slightly, but still, he had to move on, he thought.
"You need me to read them for you?" Mary asked. Shou seemed to think for seconds, trying to understand each word spoken by Mary one by one and nodded twice.
"Let's start from the vowels first. This one is A. You say it like this, 'aa'."
The rabbit nodded, seemingly eager for next one.
Mary stopped for a second to think. Do I really need to teach him how to pronounce it… it's not that he can speak… right?
"You cannot speak… I think we should stick to just reading and writing."
Shou tilted his head, not quite understanding her words.
"I mean, you cannot… aaaaa. Lalalala…" She even included a cross gesture to make him understand.
Shou pouted, not agreeing with her. He stood up and cleared his throat. "Nnn… aeee…" He managed to make a vowel sound even if it wasn't quite right.
"Oh Luminus… you can't really…-" Mary's hands trembled from her disbelief hearing the rabbit actually make a sound. She felt a little scared. This wasn't normal, right?
"Mm…mm…ma… rrr… ree… reei… ry! Ma-ry!" With trial and error, with different movement of his throat muscles he managed to call out her name.
Mary felt so creeped out she stood and took a few steps away from the rabbit.
"Y-you… you are not a demon are you?"
The rabbit seemed to grin, his mouth reaching his ears.
"Ma… ry… Ma…ry…!" The rabbit took one step closer, his voice soft and floaty, but also creepy. His eyes that refuse to blink, his feet standing on two legs walking like a human, it was close to a nightmare material.
"Ah?! D-don't… don't come closer!"
"MA…RY!" The rabbit's voice turned louder, her name escaping his lips sent freezing chill down her spine.
"KYAAAA!!!"
***
Mary quickly called another servant next door to pick him up and ordered them to send it back to Kael. She felt her world view collapsing. She quickly went to her bed, covering herself with her blanket and prayed to Luminus in her heart.
Oh I feel I am catching a cold… oh Luminus…
Kael was surprised that a servant knocked on his room late in the night and handed him his pet.
"Mary asked me to deliver him back, Young Master." He explained.
"Hm. You may leave." Kael didn't really understand but didn't bother to ask such a trivial thing.
"Now you know how to come back. Come here."
Shou grumbled inwardly, being forced to lay in bed next to this buffoon. Kael's arms wrapped around him, and he even pulled the blanket to tug both of them in.
Shou wouldn't admit it out loud, but… it was warm and nice being close to this person. The calm peaceful feeling washing over him... but was ruined by Kael's next words.
"Don't you dare pee or shit here." Kael still gave him a warning. Shou's eyes snapped open hearing the keywords. It was humiliating enough! He glared at Kael as if he would want to bite him the next second.
Who's peeing? You are peeing! Your whole family is peeing! Shou retorted in his heart.
"Where did you do your business anyways…"
Kael furrowed his eyebrows, thinking about this 10 dollar question. He never saw it somehow. Yesterday the rabbit took a walk outside so he could do business outdoors. But today he stayed with Mary all day, so Kael wouldn't know where he did his business. Nevermind, he will see it tomorrow, he thought.
Kael put the question at the back of his mind. The man and the rabbit soon fell into a calm sleep.
In the morning, he felt the soft warm fluffiness missing in his arms. He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath and yawned at the same time.
Where did he go…?
Kevin raised his blanket first, then looked at the floor and around the room.
All of a sudden a flush was heard from the bathroom. His head snapped in shock hearing it.
"Who's there…!" The servants would never enter his room without permission, so who-
And behold, the sliding door was pushed open by paws. A white rabbit turned his head up, their eyes locking in that moment.
Kael's jaw dropped open for seconds trying to process the scene.
"What the actual fuck-"
***
Uh… Oopsie I got caught… Shou's ears flattened shyly.
Kael's eyes bulged wide, his brain's fold multiplied trying to understand what he had brought to his home. He walked close towards him, picking him up and looking even more closely. His gaze as if trying to peek even through his fur and skin.
What… why are you looking at me like that…
Shou's feet were flailing around, uncomfortable at the gawking he was receiving.
After seconds of observation, Kael let out a low breath.
"No… you must have seen me or Mary using the toilet… I heard that Machioness's cat can do that too… no surprise…" Kael tried to reason himself.
The rabbit was just very smart, not that surprising. Yeah, definitely.
Kael shook his head and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He really was overthinking it didn't he.
"Come." He commanded as he led the way out to get breakfast.
Shou obediently followed to the dining room. Kael's father, Duke Rheon was already on the table having his own meal.
"Father." Kael greeted him before taking a seat.
"Hm." He acknowledged it with a 'hm', and continued eating.
Shou observed the pair of father and son, wondering why their relationship didn't look warm like a normal family.
He just waited quietly until a servant brought a silver bowl filled with vegetables and placed it in front of him.
"Where is Mary?" Kael asked the question to the male servant serving his breakfast.
"She had a fever, Young Master…"
"Hm. That was unusual… let her rest then."
The dining room was silent, only the clatter of cutleries could be heard. Suddenly Rheon placed his fork down, his eyes glanced at the rabbit eating right next to Kael's chair.
"I heard you are bringing him around everywhere." Rheon looked up at his son, his eyes piercing as always.
"Yes. Father." Kael's voice was a little strained, nervous at the questioning.
"As long as you do not forget your duty." Rheon's voice was cold and flat. His expression remained stoic. As if it didn't matter anymore he retracted his gaze back.
"Yes, father. I will not forget."
Shou noticed the weird tension between them, but unfortunately he was just a rabbit and an outsider so he couldn't snoop around to gossip with the maids and servants.
Hmm… this old guy looked so stern and angry all the time… and Kael didn't seem to have a mom. Maybe she passed away already.
Shou was imagining the stories behind these two, that in the scene, this angry looking man there was once a gentle person that lost his wife and turned cold like this. Maybe he blamed Kael after his wife's death due to giving birth to him too.
That was just his imaginations running wild of course.
After another minute of silence, Rheon spoke another few sentences.
"This year, you will join the Elemental Convergence. All the other families will be watching, and our own family members too. Prepare well."
Kael's hand gripping the cutleries tightened subconsciously. A sense of nervousness and anxiety crept up in him recalling the yearly tournament held by the academy.
"Yes, father." He muttered a reply. He had watched others competing in the tournament every year, displaying their abilities and magic; it was more of a showcase of each's lineage's strength. Now, it was his turn as a last year student.
I cannot disappoint him…
Kael said to himself. He carried the name of Ashborne with him, and this duty, he would need to uphold it from now.
He looked at his father with a renewed determination. He would make his father proud, he would make sure of it.
Rheon finished his breakfast first, and without another word left to his study, attending to the duties of a lord handling lands and manpower beneath him.
Recalling how hard working his father was, how much he was doing behind the scenes, Kael felt inadequate. It was almost out of reach, for the barely adult Kael to imagine doing what his father was doing. So much responsibility, so much to his name.
I need to stop playing around.
Kael finished his breakfast soon after, and with his renewed goals he strode out of the mansion to the outdoor training area.
He didn't have lands or men to oversee for now, his father only asked for one thing. He just needed to become strong enough to keep his family's name proud. That was it. Kael chanted the mantra in his mind as he picked up the wooden sword.
He turned to the servant replacing Mary quietly following from behind.
"Call the guards captain. I need a sparring partner."
"Understood." The male servant quickly left to call for him.
Shou felt a little abandoned seeing Kael seemed to forget his existence as he just left. He wondered if he should follow and see what Kael was doing, but then he would rather learn how to read and write, and speak with Mary. So he turned his tail the other direction and hopped away to find her in the servant's quarter.
Mary was in her bed, her fever still there though it had already subsided since last night.
The rabbit was too scary. The memory of last night lingered in her mind, with the rabbit standing, walking step by step towards her and muttering her name one syllable at a time like a ghost child.
Mary shivered at the thought.
Just then, Mary heard a knocking on her door.
Knock. Knock.
"Yes…?" Mary thought she already told her neighbor to inform the Head of Staffs about her break for today, so who would disturb her?
She sat up and went to open the door. But there was no one. She turned her head left and right, a little suspicious who would knock and just leave.
She didn't pay too much attention to it. Right as she closed her door, she felt a breeze, or something, crawled at the corner of her eyes.
She took a sharp breath of air as she turned quickly to see behind her. Her heart was beating rapidly as she felt a presence.
"Who's there…" She called out. Her eyes looked left and right but saw no one.
Sigh…
After seconds of silence, Mary rubbed her temples and closed her eyes for a second. Maybe last night was too much for her.
She sat down on the bed. And then-
THUMP.
Something soft landed right on the wooden tile behind her.
Mary froze. Then, slowly, very slowly, she turned her head.
In her vision, two white peaks were visible right under the bed. the blanket covered the entity from view. Then the two white peaks rose slowly. The white peaks turned into two long ears, then underneath those ears, a rabbit head.
Its amethyst eyes were round and unblinking, as if seeing through Mary's soul. Mary couldn't say a word nor react, her entire body was in shock.
"Mary." The voice escaped as the rabbit opened its little mouth, and a grin, an evil grin on the rabbit's face, was Mary's last straw.
Her eyes turned up and backward; she fainted on the spot.
"Mary…? Mary!" Shou hopped close and used his paw to slap her cheek a few times.
"Sleep? Lazy…" He shook his head. He thought this maid was a very diligent one but it seemed she just wanted to sleep in for today. Even Kael, the Young Master, had gone out to do things.
Shou looked around and found the books, papers and pencil on the desk and decided to learn by himself until Mary woke up and left her to sleep.
No one knew what horror Mary had encountered, and no one knew other than her that a creature of terror was lurking in the mansion.