For the past few days of continuous training with Az and Alicia, Allen felt more tired than before.
Today, when he finished another training, he arrives in the mansion in exhaustion. He double pays his driver to drop him off where no one could see him. He also gave him another pay to not tell anyone that he's already home. Allen's driver looked at him suspiciously, but he shrugged it off anyways and did what he was told.
Allen sneaks inside the mansion, trying to make sure no one sees him. The reason why he's being so secretive about it is because his clothes are all torn and dirty. Honestly, Allen was quite thankful that Az always brings a healing potion, because if he weren't, Allen would have to also worry about hiding his injuries.
As the boy finally arrives in his room safely, he quickly goes to his closet, looking for clothes to change. Az is on the way buying a potion that restores extremely damaged things into new ones, all that Allen needed to do is hide his damaged clothes for a while until that potion arrives. But before he could even change into his new clothes a figure suddenly appeared behind him.
Allen felt shivers through his spine as he sensed the presence of the person. Slowly, he carefully looked behind him and saw the butler, Sean, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"Sean! W-What are you doing here?" Allen said, trying not to look startled, but failed miserably. Seriously what's up with this guy? Sean hates him, so why does he keep on approaching him more often?
The butler's eyes narrowed as he looks at Allen from head to toe. "Young master, what happened to your clothes?" he asked.
Allen's face paled, trying to keep himself calm. This time, there was no way he could find an excuse with this. His clothes are extremely damaged, he couldn't just say he tripped again or something. It didn't took long, Allen's mind started to shut down. Now that there is no excuse he could think of, he attempted to run away. But he was unfortunately grabbed by the butler, preventing him from escape.
"I believe that you didn't trip this time. Am I right?" Sean arched a brow.
Allen became nervous, he cannot read what the butler was thinking. The expression was clearly unreadable for him to know. What do you expect? He came from a dangerous organization after all, of course he is trained to hide emotions. Allen doesn't understand why the butler is acting weird. He doesn't know if he unknowingly did something wrong that could've provoked this dangerous man.
Suddenly, an empty bottle of healing potion fell from Allen's pocket. This caught Sean's attention and picked it up.
"A healing potion?" Sean's eyes widened, picking it up as his other hand's grip remains firm on Allen's. As the butler stares at the object, he couldn't help but wonder. As far as he knows, these potions are expensive. The Coldwell family doesn't buy things like this unless it's necessary. So far, throughout the years, no one in this household has bought a healing potion, unless.....
"How long?" Sean asked as he faced Allen again.
Allen stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked, clearly dumbfounded.
"Don't play dumb with me. How long have you been doing this?" he questioned, clearly insisting on making Allen answer.
Allen was extremely scared because of this, but he didn't let it show. "What the hell? Don't you know what you're doing right now? Unhand me." he demanded, smoothly hiding his fear.
Sean remained unaffected by Allen's tone. "Answer the question and I'll let you go." he says. "Also, don't try to think of lying because I already know what you've been up to." he warned.
Allen's eyes widened in alarm. This time, the panic was clearly seen on his face. 'Shit, he knows! He fucking knows!' Allen thought. He doesn't know what to do. He couldn't tell Sean the truth, he couldn't. If Sean finds out about the novel and everything, Allen will be...
"Wait. Please, I could explain. There's a reason why I'm doing this so please don't tell anyone." Allen blurted out in panic, now already dropping his rude attitude.
Sean was taken aback at Allen's sudden change of attitude, which made his chest tighten. "I'm afraid this can't remain a secret. I won't accept any additional salary, so don't attempt anything." he says firmly. He lets go of Allen and starts to walk away.
"What? No, wait!" Allen panicked, chasing after the man. 'Look, I know you hate my guts. I won't bother you anymore, I won't be some rude asshole, I'll leave you alone. In fact, I don't want to bother anyone, really. I will do anything, just don't tell anyone!' he internally screamed in his thoughts.
Unfortunately for the boy, Sean just ignored him and continued to walk. "We will also return the additional payment you gave us. My decision is final, Mr. Allen. I will tell your family." he said.
The boy was taken aback as he realizes that Sean called him by his name.
Allen became more nervous as he heard those words. He immediately grabbed Sean by the arm, knowing that the butler won't like it. "Listen, dumbass. I assure you, it's nothing bad. So it's--"
Because of what Allen said, Sean stopped walking. "Nothing bad?" the butler said in utter disbelief at what the boy was saying. "Are you even hearing yourself?" his glare on Allen suddenly darkened, pure anger could be seen in his eyes. "Are you seriously saying that being in that state often is nothing bad?"
"What?" Allen gaped at him, starting to get confused. Okay, now this is getting complicated. He doesn't already know what Sean's talking about. Because of too much headache, Allen finally questioned. "Just what nonsense are you spouting right now? I do not understand what you mean, butler. I don't even get why you're doing this." he crosses his arms, slowly realizing that both of them aren't on the same page.
"What on earth is the fuss all about?"
Both of them turned towards the source of the voice, only to see Allen's older brother, Ronald, standing if front of them.
"Ron?" Allen gaped in alarm. 'Way to go, Allen. Way to make things worse!' the boy thought stressfully.
Before Allen's older brother could greet the boy a welcome home or scold him for thinking of being mean again, he stopped right on his tracks as he saw his younger brother's appearance.
"Allen? What happened to your clothes?" Ronald asked.
Allen stayed silent for a while, but later on, he answered. "Why do you care? Am I not allowed to wear this kind of style?" he says in a fake harsh tone.
"Allen, what did I tell you about being horrid to people?" Ronald scolded.
"Ron. This is none of your business. I choose what I like to wear so--"
"Young master Allen is being physically bullied in school." Sean interrupted, earning a glare from the boy. But he just chose to ignore it and continued speaking. "It seems that he had been secretly purchasing some healing potions, using it to heal his injuries without anyone's notice." the butler says, showing an empty bottle of potion on his hand.
Ronald's eyes widened. After a while of processing the information, he felt horror.
Allen looked at the man in complete shock. 'Wait a minute, he thinks that I'm being bullied? Like, physically?' he thought in disbelief. Just how on earth did Sean reached into that conclusion? No one had tried to lay a hand on Allen ever since he decided to act like an asshole, except for Will and the other bad guys. Speaking of Will, it's been a while since he saw the guys. Allen wondered if the dude is plotting something evil again.
While Allen is deep in thought, Ronald looked furious and walked closer to his brother.
"Allen? Is this true?" Ronald asked, touching both of his brother's shoulder's. Pure rage can be seen on his face, which caused Allen to flinch after he snaps out from his thoughts.
"No, of course not." the boy scoffed, seriously telling the truth. Unfortunately, the two men won't believe him.
"Who did this to you?" Ronald's eyes narrowed, plotting an evil torture for the people who had done this to his young brother.
Allen didn't answer. Okay, clearly there's been a misunderstanding here.
"Why haven't I known any of this? Why didn't I notice...Wha--" Ronald tries to speak.
What was Allen supposed say? That a bunch of criminals did this to him? Then they'll question them that would lead Allen into serious trouble.
"ALLEN. WHO DID THIS TO YOU!?"
Allen flinched in shock at his older brother's tone. Though he may not seem like it, but he's really shocked.
"Don't be such an imbecile. It's not what you think, really, it isn't." Allen grumbled with a slight assuring tone in his voice.
"Seeing your state right now, what is there to think!?" Ronald exclaimed in a furious tone. Right now, he feels nothing but anger. He's not angry of Allen, but he's angry towards those people who harmed his brother. He's angry of himself for not noticing anything.
In Allen's whole life, he has never seen his brother so.... angry. At that moment, he starts to think that he's in deep trouble right now.
"Cease this behavior right now. That temper of yours will cause a ruckus. At least lower your voice." Allen snapped at his older brother. This earned him a glare from the man.
"How could you expect me to lower my voice after finding out--" Ronald tries to say, but Allen interrupts him.
"Look, Ronald. It's....." Allen gave out an exasperated sigh. Honestly, he doesn't really know what to say in this situation.
Allen's the one who's supposed to be mad here. After all these years of being accused for something he hasn't done? Taking the blame even though he's not at fault? His brother is now asking if he's being bullied? Oh, please, Allen had been picked on by other kids ever since he was young, and no one ever bothered to believe him. No one, even his own family. He wasn't bullied physically, but mentally. Allen had to act up on his own and become rude to people just to send those bullies away. Now that no one's bullying him, his older brother is now asking him that? Allen almost laughed, good thing he managed to hold it in because he doesn't want any more glares coming from Ronald. When Allen was a kid, he needed help, he always needed one. But his family failed him. He always tried to tell them that he didn't do it, but they always ignored him. Why did his brother have to ask now? It's all been done, it's already too late for that. Sure, his siblings care for him, he's kinda flattered for that. But that care was sometimes used in a wrong way.
Ronald stayed silent for a while. As he observes Allen's movements, he assumed that the boy is having a hard time trying to speak of something. His glare softened and sighed as well.
"If your concern is about me telling our parents, don't worry, I won't. As long as you tell me who it is, I won't let anyone in our family know." Ronald assured, persistent of wanting Allen to tell him the identities of the people who harmed him.
Allen felt his eye twitch in irritation, feeling more stress in his mind that's now losing a few brain cells because of too much thinking. Looks like he has no choice but to lie about someone.
"It's...... It's just..." the boy grumpily trailed off, trying to think of something. At the same time, he's trying to control his boiling anger. "It's just some individuals in school who dared to not know their place. They won't do harm on me anymore. In fact, this is the last time they would dare because I reported them to the headmaster, causing them to be punished by suspension. The parents had given these imbeciles an adequate scolding. They even reached to the point of being traumatized from doing such thing again." he said, calmly explaining his made up story.
The two people in front of them looked unsure, but he could see that they believed his lie a bit.
"I see. You did the right thing in ratting those scums out." Ronald said, slightly unconvinced. "But if things get worse..."
Allen rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I get it. Talk to you. So can I go now? I need to finish my assignment." he lied again. Then a moment later, he crosses his arms. "Now you promised you won't tell anyone, right? I hate having more people know about this." he sneered.
"Yes. I won't tell them as promised. And yes, you can now go finish your assignment." Ronald tells the boy.
Allen wastes no time and quickly walks away from them.
When the boy was finally away, Sean started to speak. "He's probably lying."
Ronald flinched. He stared at the butler in surprise. After all, this is the first time that Sean has spoken to him first. As far as observed, he noticed that the butler shows distaste towards the Coldwell family, was he wrong?
"I'm not really convinced if those bullies in his school are suspended. Knowing how stubborn the boy is, I don't think he's the type to do that." the butler spoke again, explaining his answer.
As Ronald thinks about the Sean's statement, he just sighed in worry. "Yeah, I think so too. But who knows? He might be telling the truth." he says, trying to look at the positive side.
But as the two men stood there, deep inside their thoughts, they were thinking of keeping an eye on Allen more often than before.
---xXx---
Meanwhile, unaware of the two people's thoughts, Allen walked elegantly but in a faster way towards his room. As he was about to reach to his door, he suddenly saw two little figures nearby. The boy doesn't need to take a second glance to know who these people are.
Kivy and Ivy, the Sylvester twins. They're not dangerous as long as they aren't provoked. So Allen doesn't need to worry much about them. As long as he behaves, it's fine. The twins don't really give a shit about anything except for themselves.
"What is it? Do you want to say something?" Allen spoke in a calm demeanor, trying to be a little less mean.
The twins remained silent, which made Allen feel awkward and worried at the same time.
As Allen was about to speak again, Kivy broke the silence.
"The bath is ready. Also, we already prepared some clothes for you to wear." the fourteen year old boy told Allen.
Allen arched a brow. He finds it strange. It is unusual for the twins to serve him without being ordered to. As far as he knew, they often try to stay away from him and his family. What's the catch?
"Uh, okay." Allen said, not really sure what to say. He entered his room carefully, remaining cautious with the them. Despite the weirdness of their actions, Allen was quite thankful that they didn't question about his torn clothes or something.
"Why are you continuing to let these things happen?" the girl, Ivy, questioned for the first time, which startled the young master.
Allen turned around to look at Ivy. He doesn't understand what the girl was talking about.
Allen didn't speak, a bit afraid to ask what the question meant.
After a moment of long remaining silence, the brother finally stepped in.
"You don't need to answer her question." Kivy says monotonously, waving off his sister's question. Then he looks at Allen for a while with an unreadable question. "You know, those guys aren't really worth to abandon your life for." he tells Allen, suddenly changing the subject.
"What?" Allen questioned with his brows furrowing in confusion. He didn't understand the meaning of the servant's last statement. But still, he felt suspicious. He was about to ask something, but Kivy continued to speak.
"There are times that people should learn to fight back and take revenge to those who attacked them." the boy stared fiercely at Allen.
"Hah?" Allen gaped at him. His eyes are both widened in surprise. He really doesn't know what Kivy was talking about. But whatever it meant, it's scary and alarming. Allen didn't know that Kivy had a deep grudge on someone and seeks for revenge. Who is this kid mad with? Is it one of the members of the Coldwell family? Oh dear, what if it's Allen? Wait, no. So far, he didn't offend Kivy in this timeline. Oh wait, no. Based on the boy's statement, he probably meant different. But what? What does Kivy mean that Allen's life isn't worth to abandon for those people?
Allen got a headache because of thinking, he decided to brush it off and looked at the twins. He gave out a slight nod, unsure what to do. Then he entered his room, leaving them behind. He starts to wonder why everyone was a bit confusing to understand, did he lose some brain cells after fighting those human traffickers?
As Allen starts to take his bath, he wondered about Sean and the twins being all darker and edgier than before.