The Redo of a Novel's Villain: Moira

03 - Swim or Sink

The young butler strode down the hallways. The pale sunlight leaked in from the window, filtered by a river of clouds. The brunette was deep in thought about the raven-haired boy he serves.

Huey Astaseul. A pitiful boy, orphaned by his parents' untimely deaths and neglected by the rest of his family. Thanks to this environment, the Young Master had picked up the cruelty as a way to survive in this vicious family. Unfortunately, the subject of his hate was often towards the servants. The brunette slowed down before coming to a complete stop. Owen's fingers ghosted past the scar. There was so much blood then... his hands clenched into a trembling fist.

The Young Master is a pitiful boy, but he's also a..

"A brat." Owen huffed.

He was confused. Who wouldn't be if their usual feisty Young Master broke all noble decorum and apologized to the servants!? It was strange, and Owen wondered if something had possessed his Young Master if not for the fact that the boy still retained much of his habits. However, conducting his duties comes first before any private musings.

Owen picked up his pace, returning to the calm indifference a butler should have.
Ahead, a maid was feathering a couple of hallway decorations. The girl, upon realizing Owen's presence, hurried to bow. The brown-haired maid from yesterday, the butler noted.

"Mr. Owen, good morning." She gave a small smile.

He nodded in response, "Good morning, Miss Elaine."

"Are you going to wake up the Young Master?"

"Yes, he has a busy schedule today."

Elaine's face lit up, and with a subdued excitement, she asked, "May I come with you?"

"..May I inquire as to why?"

"Curiosity. The Young Master has changed, don't you think?"

"I agree his actions yesterday were uncharacteristic," Owen contemplated shortly. "Very well, you may accompany me in waking the Young Master this morning. I will appreciate the extra hands."

-*:･ﾟ*✧ -

The boy's relaxed figure lay motionless on the bed, with the slow rising of his chest as an exception. From an unskilled eye, the young Astaseul would seem to be asleep.

He, in fact, was perfectly awake.

"..."

"THAT WAS SO EMBARRASSING!" Hands immediately went up and smacked onto his face, muffling the screaming and spieling. He screeched, "I JUST PASSED OUT? I GOT KNOCKED OUT FROM ONE HIT? I'M THAT WEAK?! WHAT. NO!!!" Huey's voice cracked. "I ORDERED 'hit me' AND PASSED OUT ON ONE HIT. NO. STOP. WHY. My pride is in SHAMBLES!"

The boy had woken up a few moments prior, but upon realizing that he was knocked unconscious in one hit had pretended to go back to sleep in shame.

"I'm going to lie here forever." He sobbed.

"No can do I'm afraid." A smooth voice interrupted his musings.

Huey jumped, his eyes cracked open in shock to see Owen and Elaine standing before him. How they got into his room unsuspectingly and how much they heard was a mystery he did not wish to know. However, from the way Elaine's face contorted in mirth, he feared that they might have heard all of it—regardless! Huey forced his attention onto the calm face of his butler.

Owen, completely unperturbed (at least from the outside) by his Young Master's earlier screeches, listed out one thing after another. "Your schedule for today is etiquette lessons from 9 to 11, your tutor lessons with Sir William from 12 to 14, a horseback riding session from 15:30 to 17:30, and..."