The moment Sebastian realised there were no tea-sets in the house, a war between the butlers was put on hold, and both of them rushed to buy something at least presentable. Before they left, Edward tried to convince them that asking for tea was just a matter of speech, and in reality, when the guests arrived, they could brew coffee. No one listened to him, while both Dante and Faye decided to keep quiet as the guest had already drunk tea from a coffee mug in their house. And most importantly, Kelit probably didn’t even know what the standards for utensils were, nor that something like this even exists.

  When Ron heard who was coming, was even more eager to present the household in the best possible way. The butler still hadn’t said anything to Dante, and the young lord wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad outcome. He expected a lecture, a hands-on, trying to convince him to annul the engagement, not acting normal. Maybe even too normal. His butler must have realised that something was wrong when Edward, the one who rushed to Dante’s side first, didn’t even mention the union between his brother and Alicia. After all Ron had worked in a duke’s household for years; he was damned to catch on. But it was so hard to decipher what the man was thinking. Especially since he had some grudge against Alicia and tends to be emotional, he may only wait for the moment when Dante is alone to start his pestering.

  The young lord sighed, watching as Faye nervously tried to think of a cake that Dante would also like while setting the table. She was left to handle preparations alone, under the promise that she would get scolded if something were just a millimetre wrong.

  Agnes hovered above Dante, the hole in her throat even more visible as she observed the young woman. She wanted to help her, but the end of Death Week left her without enough strength. Looking back at it, the only ghosts who were stronger and lived with Dante were Veyra and…

  Dante looked at his brother and sighed again. Edward was taking a quick nap in the armchair, and no one dared to wake him up.

  “Am I really that bad at it?” Faye asked him, and when he looked at her with tightened brows, she explained. “You sighed twice since I started setting the table, Young Master.”

  “No, that’s not it. You’re doing great,” he reassured.

  “She does, even if not so confident,” Agnes commented with a smile, and then she put her hand on Dante’s shoulder and squeezed it. He didn’t feel a lot, but it was the gesture that mattered.

  “I wanted to ask Sebastian for some lessons,” Faye started, probably done with quiet, that settled when both old men wandered off, probably to argue over painted flowers on tea-sets. “He...Well, he seems great...I mean, less overbearing than Ron. Don’t tell him that! Do you think it’s a good idea?”

  “Why not? Both Sebastian and Ron were the best among their master students...there was also Maurice, but she’s like…well, father’s butler and a daughter of their teacher. She has the butler job in her blood.”

  “I’m asking because when I asked Ron for his opinion, he smiled at me and said yes.” She fidgeted with her hair. “I don’t believe that someone who rivals with his ‘husband’ all the time would say that.”

  “Maybe he thinks that Faye would grow with the help of someone he likes so much...but it’s also suspicious...Ron knows something we don’t. And I’m dying to see it.” The ghost nudged Dante, the old woman tried to make a pun, and it was nearly as bad as Kelit’s.

  Faye stopped struggling with folding napkins and decided to put Edward’s head on a small cushion. It seemed that she had some experience handling a sleeping person.

  “Father has a habit of falling asleep in the strangest places,” she smiled, when she realised that Dante looked at her. She unbuttoned Ed’s collar so that he wouldn’t choke in his sleep. When Edward moved his head, not wanting to be bothered, a golden pendant slipped out from underneath his shirt. “I didn’t take master Edward for a jewellery person.”

  “He’s not really one, that’s a memorial.” Dante sighed for a third time. He had the same pendant which held a folded photo of their mother. It was hidden at the bottom of the desk’s drawer, never to be looked at. Agnes wrapped her hands around his shoulders from behind; it felt like a feather brush. Surprisingly, it didn’t help as much as it used to.

  “I remember when my father fell asleep in the service lift in the mansion,” Faye changed the topic quickly, catching Dante off guard when she tucked another small cushion under his head. Not even Ron did that after Dante passed fourteen. The tension escaped him as her fingers straightened his hair. “He crawled there wanting to clean the back. The kitchen stuff had already gone homes, so thankfully, no one had seen him. Other than a soldier, who thanks the Time met me halfway through the corridor, otherwise there would be a legend about a dead cook in the Crimson’s kitchen lift.” The young lord smiled involuntarily. “I can’t blame the guy. He was doing his usual patrol when suddenly he saw a pair of legs sticking out of the lift. I got so scared that something happened when the soldier ran up to me speaking about a body that I rushed to the kitchen. Before I could see what was going on, the guy collided with me, and we knocked over some pots. That woke father up! He bumped his head in surprised, like he was blissfully unaware where he was taking a nap.”

  Dante couldn’t help but chuckle, while the man on the armchair in front of him slowly rose his head.

  “Oh, so that’s why my soldiers are now scared of that lift,” Edward chuckled, which at the end became a yawn. Faye spun around to face him. He was still halfway in his dreams, but smiled at her gently. “I’m a light sleeper. Although thank you for caring.”

  The perfect poker face Faye was flashing all day crumbled and blushed furiously at Edward’s sleepy charm. She excused herself right then, probably realising what she had done and to whom.

  “Can’t blame her, your brother’s just that dreamy…” Veyra’s head poked through the wall, and right after those words left their mouth, a big, most likely Darwin’s hand pulled them back. “You damn gardener! I just want to admire!” They protested, which made Agnes laugh.

  “I’ll get the lovebirds straight!” She declared. “Have fun, dear!” And with that, she floated out of the room, with the gentlest smile the ghost could manage.

  Around an hour later, the butlers returned on good terms this time. Their comfortable peace didn’t last long. Soon they were again at each other's throats. Dante realised why everyone called them husbands for so many years. They argued like a married couple that lived together for at least fifty years.

  When the knocking sound went through the mansion, Sebastian and Ron nearly brawled over who would open the door. At the same time, Edward once again adjusted Dante’s collar. The young lord could only comply with his brother’s antics.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Kelit, on the other hand, was attacked from both sides by the old men and maybe even regretted his choices. His clothes were still as neat as in the morning, but thankfully, he didn’t look ill anymore. Dante felt happy that his idea helped, even if he wouldn't admit to that feeling. It was just a plain, normal friendship. Friends do that for each other.

  Edward was yet again first to greet the blond man; he even chose a special place for Kelit at the table. Right next to Dante. It looked like this gave the blond man another reason to be enthusiastic. That enthusiasm was nearly dripping from him. The young lord would love to know how a person can switch their mood so quickly. And which mood was real? There was also a possibility that all of them were, even if it didn’t look that way.

  Faye brought them cake, while Ron poured tea. The young woman whispered to Dante that he could try; she made it the least sweet she could and added coffee to it. When those two joined Sebastian in the kitchen, Ed started the interrogation.

  “So, tell me something about yourself, Kelit. I’ve never seen you; you must be new to the academy.” The future duke smelled the tea, which aroma was fruity and slowly enveloped the room.

  “Oh, there’s not much to tell,” Kelit smiled coyly, which wasn’t real. Dante could tell from just a glance already, and most importantly, that man could never act coy. He mustn’t have wanted to talk about himself. Not like he ever does. – Dante could count on his fingers the moments when the blond man said something about his past. “And yes, I’ve transferred this year. The place where I was studying wanted me gone.” It sounded like a half-baked half-truth. And it was clear he had no intentions of letting them know where he was from. “I don’t have a family, so it was quite easy for me to just leave. My friend helped me choose this academy, and I’m not disappointed at all.”

  He glanced at Dante with a smile that made the young lord avert his gaze. How could a smile on one person’s face mean so many things? Especially that those smiles were only slightly different from one another. And very few of them are sincere. Like this one.

  “I grew up with only my friend. How is it to have siblings? You two seem close.” It was clear the blond man wanted Edward to talk, not ask questions about his life. The question Kelit had no intentions to answer.

  Edward smiled with a little mischief in the corners of his mouth. Dante associated this look with his older brother doing something embarrassing. He had that look at least once a day, when the young lord visited their home.

  “Are you asking for Dante’s embarrassing childhood stories?” That earned Edward a kick under the table. He let out an exaggerated ‘au’. “Dante, you’re changing into our dear Alicia, she also kicks first, ask second!”

  Kelit's smile twitched at the mention of her, and Dante could only roll his eyes.

  “Never mind that,” Edward chuckled, hiding his smile behind his hand. His eyes wandered between both Kelit and Dante. “Having siblings is great, until they do something stupid.” His eyes stopped on the young lord for longer than before, which made Dante groan inwardly. “I won’t lie to you, our family is little...alright, not just little, dysfunctional. When An…” He recoiled, looking at Dante, who in turn found interest in his tea, looking like he didn’t want to think about anything in that moment.

  Edward knew that using her name wouldn't sit well with his brother. He tried to talk to Dante about her, and it only made things worse. Even if he didn’t like it, it was better not to use a name when the young lord was present.

  “When mum was still around, it was better. Cassian wasn’t a fool; he is now.” It was Andar’s tradition to call family members by their names. Kelit wasn’t surprised, as Dante already taught him this. Soon, the smile indicating disaster showed up again. “So if you want to join, have this in mind: we are a little crazy.”

  Dante first thought: What does he mean by ‘join’? – But when he looked at Ed, he couldn't decipher what he meant. The blond man, in turn, without any opposition to those words chuckled.

  In that moment, Dante realised that he had been ambushed, but he wasn’t quite sure what the point of this ambush was, nor why those two seemed to agree on something unspoken in the same moment.

  The moment the young lord took a bite of the cake, Edward took it as a perfect opening to start telling a story. Of course, the story was about Dante, like Ed’s idea of a good time was to embarrass him. It was infuriating, but also warm in a way that made Dante relax. He really should have invested in more friends that Edward could interrogate and assess.

  “You probably realised that Dante is quite closed off.”

  “Oh, I did,” Kelit once again radiated rays of sunshine from his smile, just as he had at the start of their relationship. “I’m pretty sure he ran away from me at our first meeting.”

  “You were acting like a stalker; everyone would run.” Dante coughed in his tea.

  “I wasn’t!” The blond man protested dramatically. “And you ran from me at least twice during one day!” The young lord couldn't help himself and groaned.

  “That sounds exactly like my little brother! When we were younger, he was even more shy…”

  “I am not shy.” Dante cut him off. He wanted to crawl under the table or crash face down into the cake or do that to Edward for starting this topic, or both at once.

  “You are,” Edward said, as if it meant to be the end of a long-lasting argument. It made Kelit’s smile soften, which caught Dante off guard so much that he didn’t have time to protest anymore. “Imagine a scene, young Dante, around this tall…” Ed made a gesture with his hand at the same level as the edge of the table. “...or maybe even smaller, hiding after me, basically the same height at that moment, and desperately hugging his mother’s skirt like his life depended on it. Only because he was meant to be introduced to people at his seventh birthday party.”

  Dante hid his face in his hands. All that Edward had said was true, obviously. He was a timid, shy, and delicate child. He wasn’t proud of it, and it was so embarrassing to hear those stories.

  “And mind you, most of the guests were children his age.” That earned another chuckle from Kelit.

  “Can we stop talking about me?”

  Edward, of course, didn’t stop embarrassing him or telling stories about their childhood. Kelit seemed content with just listening, occasionally chuckling or adding something that didn’t belong at a noble’s table. The brothers didn’t mind.

  The blond man spoke of his friend only once, affectionately sure, but in a way that it was hard even to distinguish whether that friend was a woman or a man. The only sure thing was that they, whoever they were, were older and had taken care of Kelit in the orphanage. Apparently, the story of being an orphan was true; Dante could tell only by listening to the man’s tone.

  He left after a few hours. The butlers and a half started tidying. Faye was delegated to the kitchen, while both old men took over the table. Despite their rivalry, they worked well together. Edward stretched out in his chair, and his bones protested loudly, which made Sebastian walk over and squeeze both of his shoulders. It must have been a tough squeeze. Edward frowned and gasped. It must have been the most monstrous massage he ever had.

  “If I didn’t know better, I would say you want to kill me, Sebastian.” The butler only smiled and again resumed helping Ron. “I like that Kelit.”

  “I told you, master. The man is completely likeable.” For some unknown reason for Dante Ron was looking at him.

  “Strange, but likeable. He was avoiding my questions, but I don’t think it was out of malice.” Edward also looked at Dante. The young lord decided that he again fallen into some trap that day. “And he was frowning so nicely when I mentioned Alicia…” A loud knock from the direction of the front door cut him off. “Say a name, wake a footstep like gran Khari says.”

  Sebastian groaned quietly, looking at the nearly tidied table and starting to put the clean clutter back where it was, when the guest visited. While Ron was not happy about the circumstances he went for the door.