The morning was chilly, as the weather had already begun to change to winter’s coldness. And oh, how the winters were freezing in the country. Soon, Ron will probably take out the additional heaters, which worked solely on mana stones infused with fire magic. It was such a good use of resources, especially since electrical energy was still new and cost more than one could imagine. It was used only by the wealthiest – even though most preferred to save money and just used mana stones – and facilities such as academies.

  Dante was fidgeting with one magic stone, which went off in his bedside lamp. Although he preferred to read in the candlelight, for early mornings like this, lamps and candelabras with the stones were a better option.

  The stone Dante was playing with was different than those that lay on the ground. It was naturally smooth and golden in colour. Believers of Time claimed that it’s the remains of the god’s blood. It was hard to believe. The ground could produce those stones, like the trees produced air, and some inventors were even able to make a substitute that worked the same, but cost less.

  What the young lord had in his hand was a natural mana stone, now without any magic attached. If he were like a normal person, he could probably see why it went off. He didn’t, but from what was explained to him once, the light magic that stone was infused with was used all up, and it needed to be refilled by a skilled light or fire mage. One could do it alone. Ron was in charge of that in their home, or he’d just give it to someone else, as he usually used fire magic. He’d go out of his way just to make Dante more comfortable in a light similar to sunlight.

  Dante wandered if Kelit would take offence if he were to ask him to do it. The young lord would offer to pay, but the man would probably say something like: I ain’t a cheap whore,’ or similar words, in different phrasing. Kelit was a strange phenomenon. He wouldn't act either nobly or like a commoner. Dante had a few guesses about where he came from, but the truth was harder to grasp than he expected.

  His thoughts were cut short by the flump of the bed’s mattress. He looked up in the dim light of only one stone in the lamp and saw a monstrous dog. Now that he looked at Lady, he could sympathise with Ron. Saying that she looks like a bear was buttered up. Her body resembled more that of the monster.

  Ghosts were usually blueish; some of them called it a colour of the human soul, others just shrugged it off. The ghosts who became darker were in the world for far too long, and mana waste started to cling to them. The unresponsive ghosts were in a worse situation. Mana waste was said to be attracted to strong and bad emotions; those ghosts emanated those kinds.

  When the ghost was infected with that force, they became unpredictable, or in the worst-case scenario, their shape changed, trying to become physical and imitate something else, just like Lady. The black dog was once a normal ghost, probably an unresponsive one, that lingered because of pain.

  They were like monsters, but at the same time possessed some intelligence, so they weren’t completely unredeemable. Helping one like this would probably be a hassle. And Lady thankfully was stable enough.

  “So you’re back,” the dog, of course, didn’t answer. Dante stood up, putting the stone on the night table. Ron hadn’t yet come to wake him up, probably wanting him to get a good night's sleep.

  “You know, a lot has happened.” He opened the wardrobe, quietly browsing his shirts. “There will be revolution, and I’m helping to plan it. I’m also “getting married”.” He chuckled at his own joke.

  But Lady didn’t think it was funny. She abruptly stood up, her ears twitching, as if the word ‘marriage’ scared her. Her tail was slightly pulled against herself. Dante put back his clothes and got closer to the shivering monster-like ghost. He was concerned; she never reacted this way.

  “What’s going on? It’s only a fake marriage…” When he repeated the word, the ghost shivered one more time, then bolted through the closed doors.

  For a few moments, it was quiet, and Dante stood with his mouth agape, trying to comprehend what had just occurred. Then a scream came from downstairs.

  “Please wait, my Lady!” It was Agnes’ voice, and then again, quiet came, as nothing happened. Except that Veyra came floating through the door, looking distressed.

  “What happened?” Dante couldn't form a word in such a short time as they gave him. He also didn’t know what to say. “Agnes and Darwin rushed after that monster...I...They couldn't leave the house as far as I knew. I have to look for them!”

  “They what?” Dante couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ghosts like Agnes and Darwin, who were attached to something, couldn't leave that thing or place. So apparently those two weren’t attached to the mansion. “Could ghost be tied to another ghost?”

  “I don’t know,” Veyra said, slightly shaking. “I’ll let you know when I find them…” With that, they left.

  Dante stood in the middle of the room with the wardrobe still open when the knock came. Ron walked in with his usual ‘good morning’ smile, his brows tightened when he looked at the young lord.

  “Is something wrong, young master?”

  “No, everything’s alright.” Dante shook out of his confused state. “Ron, can you choose a shirt for me?” The old man probably took his state as just being indecisive. When the butler was looking through different colours of shirts, the young lord got an idea. “Can we pull out the mansion records?”

  “There will be no problem with that. Although they are all stored in the main mansion, I’ll ask Sebastian to send them to us after they return there. Why are you suddenly interested?” Ron pulled out two shirts and started comparing them on Dante’s shape. Neither of them wouldn't be the young lord’s first choice. For some reason, one was a pastel yellow, the other violet.

  “Oh, just curiosity,” he lied, and thankfully, Ron was too absorbed in his task to ask more questions.

  In the end, Ron helped him dress up in the violet shirt and the fresh academy uniform. Then he looked for some accessories to pull the outfit together. The butler’s eyes landed on the neatly stored necklace, which he had seen for the first time. At first, he thought that Rose must have made something for her older brother again, but he quickly decided that the craftsmanship was superior to that of the ten-year-old girl.

  “I got that from Kelit…” Dante clarified it for him, and before he could even add the things he wanted to say among the praises of the handcraft, Ron grasped it and put it around his neck under the collar.

  Dante decided that not commenting on the attire the old man chose for him was a better option for his own peace of mind. Now he understood the choice of colours completely. He wasn’t dressing Dante up so his look would be consistent with the red eyes and black hair; he was dressing him so he would look good standing next to a certain lavender-eyed man.

  “Are you sure that colour suits me?” The young lord looked into the mirror.

  “Yes, now let’s join master Edward at the breakfast table.” Ron put his arm around Dante and gently guided him downstairs; his objective was clear. He wanted to make sure that the young lord wouldn't suddenly change.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Dante sighed and let himself be dragged to the dining table, where meals were already waiting for him. His brother was drinking coffee, trying not to fall asleep again. In contrast, Faye and Sebastian excitedly discussed their whole day of training at the opposite side of the table. It appeared that the young woman was going to skip classes. For the first time in a long while, the atmosphere in the house was lively, not because of ghosts, and their disappearance didn’t bother Dante.

  The morning and first lectures passed rather quietly. Alicia went with Edward for the meeting as Florents’ representative. Ducal families worked together on businesses fairly often, especially those that were aligned. Crimson, who were responsible for handling matters inside the country, were on good terms with all of the remaining three. International affairs lay on Obsidians' shoulders, military was Florents, and trade was left for Balterions.

  She returned for Andar class and because Kelit wouldn't move seat to make space for her, she sat with her group of friend with a soft smile, a quick wave of her hand their way, and shaking her head in mock disappointment.

  “Is it all it takes to get rid of her?” The blond man was astonished by the simplicity and apparently, that simplicity made him even more irritated.

  Kelit was sitting too close for comfort, dressed up in a similar shirt to Dante's. Although his was shabbier, he changed into it after the first lecture. Dante wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve, but it was vexing and maybe just a little cu…he would rather not think about it.

  The blond man was still trying to keep his looks in control, which probably meant it was the only thing he had control over. Dante noticed that pattern not long ago.

  Somewhere in the middle of the lecture, Professor Aarav had lost it. No one wanted to speak to him at that point in both languages; Andar and the common continental one that the country adopted as a national language ages ago. He must also have been tired of calling only on Dante to answer questions and hearing constant death threats, because people couldn't pronounce words: ‘can you repeat?’ properly. He decided to put them all to work under a threat of failing the subject and drank his cold, dark coffee alone, looking at the ceiling like it was meant to grant him a new job.

  Aarav gave everyone some poetry to translate, and most were looking at their pages blankly. Some students, Dante had recognised from Bernadette’s classes, looked at him, considering whether they should approach and ask for help, and how much that help would have cost them. Kelit didn’t even bother to look at the page in front of him. The only word he knew in Andar was ‘rask’, meaning idiot or brainless; he learned it after Dante called him that repeatedly during their studying session over the weekend. He was surprisingly really happy to learn its spelling by heart.

  “Shouldn’t you at least try?” He asked, trying not to react as Kelit started doodling in the only notebook he owned. Again. Kelit glanced at the text and grimaced. He got familiar with the script, and he no longer calls it children's patterns, but he still couldn't decipher it one bit.

  “Nah, I’m gonna pass, have a better pastime anyway.” He poked his drawing with a pen a few times, intentionally drawing Dante’s attention. The doodle was, of course, the young lord’s face – honestly, calling it a doodle was an insult. The attitude Kelit showed now was completely different from the one he had when that exact scenario occurred for the first time, months ago. He wasn’t shamelessly flirting; this time, he was almost casual, which, in Dante’s opinion, was worse.

  “When did you even get so skilled?”

  Dante rushed to the topic to hide a sudden wave of shyness that crept up his spine. Before the blond man could answer James, the guy from the diplomatic major approached. He was rather confident, or he only appeared to be. Asked for help without any show, so Dante obliged.

  “Well, I always liked handicraft.” Kelit had no problem with ignoring that man; if it were Alicia, it probably wouldn't be so easy for him. “I always sketched or made something with my hands when I had the time. My teacher said it was useless.”

  James was so grateful that Dante nearly missed the mention of a teacher, whoever that was. When the man sat down with a smile, the rest of the diplomatic major must have decided it was safe to approach. They all swarmed him, asking questions about the alphabet, how to read some words, never for straight-out translation. Kelit chuckled:

  “Ah, wow, you’re suddenly famous, Trouble. I may ask for an autograph later.” The comment rolled out of him, even though he was focused on the drawings, not elaborating on the prior topic.

  In that moment, Dante learned that Kelit was incredibly good at ignoring people, and he would go about his day without even talking to anyone, given a chance, and that sometimes knowing a language was a bother.

  When he was finally free from questions, and that took not only the entire diplomatic major, which wouldn't be much of a hustle, but Alicia and her group also approached. Kelit scoffed at her, and she sent him a kiss; her entourage of ladies giggled. When they were gone, some others suddenly grew courageous enough. Dante had cursed his soft side, eagerness to help, and suddenly warmer image. He could write a book, ‘from monster to gentle nobleman in one day’.

  “I knew you were soft,” Kelit chuckled, which made Dante look his way and at the drawings. He let out a snort.

  “I like this one,” he pointed at the playful drawing of Alicia with fox ears and big, monstrous teeth. Then he looked closer: “Why am I a cat?”

  “You brood like one,” the blond man suppressed a laugh when he saw the young lord’s expression. For a moment, they were quiet.

  “You feeling better?” Dante finally asked, and as expected, Kelit didn’t answer. He sighed and changed the question: “You had a teacher before? Like singular?”

  “Yeah…” He sat silently, his pen stopped moving, like he was wondering how much he should tell or trying to suppress some memories, or both at once. “He took me when I was ten...or younger. I don’t exactly remember. Back then, I made him a present too. I’m not saying it looked good, I was a child, but now I don’t think it deserved to be burned the moment it reached his hands.” He began drawing again. “I hate this man.” He said it as if it were a matter of fact and a universal truth. “And I only really hate two things.” He mumbled the last part.

  “You don’t have to listen to a man like that. Even if he took you in, you owe him nothing.” Dante, for some reason, felt a need to say it. That teacher of his already doesn’t sound good, and it wasn’t even a whole story. Kelit avoided diving deeper into it than just the drawing and handicraft aspects.

  “I know that now,” it sounded like it was a revelation he had not so long ago, and it was honestly worrying. “It really looks like everything he said is wrong.” He didn’t explain further. “Thank you, Dante.” He hasn’t used the nickname. Even though Trouble was affectionate, Dante’s name sounded even more. The young lord blushed slightly and covered it with a cough.

  “What are you thanking me for? I’ve done nothing to deserve it.”

  “Just.” Kelit shrugged. He rubbed his left eye as it itched. For a second, Dante thought that something was in that eye.

  Wait? Is he wearing contacts? -- It wasn’t strange, a lot of people changed their eye colour with contacts, but wearing them constantly would hurt. They were made from magic stones and light magic after all.

  “So do you want to tell me about yourself a little more?” Dante decided to rush to some topic; he really shouldn't have observed that man so closely.

  When the words left his lips, he realised how corny he sounded. His emotions left his face, but Kelit seemed to consider this a normal question. This man definitely never spends much time in society.

  “There’s really not much to tell.” The fact that he sounded genuine was honestly scary. “Do you want the drawing?” He changed the topic, pointing at the sketch of Dante with cat ears.

  The young lord rolled his eyes, but nodded. Kelit tore the page out for him.

  “Is my tutor session still on this Friday evening and weekend?” He asked sweetly, handing him the page.

  “Friday, yes. My weekend was planned by Alicia, but I’ll send Ron if there’s time.” The blond man grimaced.

  “Won’t she live without you?”

  “Won’t you, Sunshine?” Alicia appeared in front of them. Kelit clicked his tongue, but refrained from further comments. “I’m planning to eat in my club, you’ll be joining me.” She pointed at Dante, who didn’t protest.

  “I’m going too.”

  “Oh, are you now?” She teased, even though she planned to invite him either way. Her grand scheme included both of them being happy at the end. I’m just that good. – She thought, smirking.

  “Apparently, you two need a chaperone. I’ll be good at it.” Kelit smiled sweetly. It was a different kind of sweet than when he smiled at the young lord.

  Dante could only sigh. At home, there was a war of butlers, at the academy, a war between those two; he couldn't even get a small break.