Avy not sleeping in her own room almost caused another uproar that morning when Mariel burst into a screaming fit when she saw nothing but a pile of blankets and a messy bed inside her mistress' bedroom, thinking that once again, the Lady went on an out-of-the-wall adventure without telling anyone. If not for Sir Hayward calming her down and canceling the search consists of every knight present in the Manor including the Young Master and the Prince who was awakened by the chaos of maids running around looking for the girl, it would've been a huge problem given the fact that Ashton instructed Ciel that he should be called if Avy disappeared again.
Fortunately, the eldest son left the same morning with the crown Prince before anyone could open their eyes to bid them goodbyes. Avy exited the room where she spent the night in and was greeted by Ciel and Light along with the weeping Mariel, her personal Knight, and the smiling butler who then looked at the others with a knowing look as if telling them 'See? The Lady is right here.'
If not for Ares' reassurance that he created a magic field whenever he shows up so that none of their conversations would be heard by other people, Avy would've set herself on fire, guessing that those people have been waiting for her to come out for a fair amount of time. She looked at them one by one as they showed signs of relief after confirming that she was indeed still inside the Mansion.
Why were they standing in front of her door? Was it Avy's birthday? She doesn't think so. But not as if she knows when her birthday is.
Oh.
Right. She left her own room to sleep next to her fiance's quarters. That would surely stir a little bit of problem right?
"What?" she asked, slowly closing the door behind her without breaking eye contact with her maid who stared at her in tears. She remembered how Mariel told her that she would no longer let her leave the mansion on her own to ensure her safety. Well, she had caused too much trouble, and it would be a bad idea to create another problem or else she might get watched twenty-four-seven and she surely wouldn't want that to happen when she's happy with the freedom she has.
She heard Light groan, saying something along the lines 'he should've just let Arkwright search for his sister on his own' before lazily telling them that he would wash up before going down to the dining hall to eat because apparently, he had to go straight from his comfortable bed to make himself of use. Avy clearly doesn't understand why he had to do that, but considering the fact that he and Ciel are always glued together, she didn't question it any further.
The rest of them went on ahead to eat breakfast, Mariel who finally pulled herself together tailing them along with Clerivan while Sir Hayward went back to his duty. Avy saw a small frown on her brother's face as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, chose not to. She just shrugged it off and ate her breakfast peacefully.
~~~
Breakfast was nothing new, the usual comfortable silence and only the sound of dishes clattering lingered in the air. Except, of course, the atmosphere was lighter than before. Avy looked more approachable and even though she still seemed like she would rip someone to shreds if she was angered, the servants became less frightened in her presence that they were able to serve them without looking away and fearing that they might get yelled at if they made a small mistake in front of the Dukedom's Lady.
Ciel was the happiest of this improvement. Not only his sister started eating meals with him, but she was also not as quiet as before although her way of speaking became bolder and more straightforward, the distressed look on her face whenever someone was around slowly faded over time.
"Where's Ashton?" he heard his sister speak, he lifted his head to answer properly but before he could even open his mouth, Light already beat him to it.
"Heirs are needed in the palace, sister. Young Master Ashton and His Highness left before daybreak," the young prince stated, popping a piece of cherry tomato inside his mouth. Ciel just scoffed inwardly, cringing at the way the boy called his sibling, sister. Unfortunately, he had to accept it whether he liked it or not, since he was right. Avy would also be his sister once she and Prince Lucifer get married, which was, not far from certainty as his sister didn't seem like she wants to let go of him soon.
"So, they came here for what? Waste energy? They could've gone to the Palace without stopping here. They sure like to take their time."
Ciel smiled a little. He became accustomed to Avy's snarky remarks that became more frequent recently. But she still hasn't realized how important she was to the family that even their elder brother who hated traveling- he avoids getting on a horse or a carriage as much as possible- came to check on her, abandoning the thought of going straight to the palace even though it would be easier, just to stop by and see her condition.
"I'm full." the sound of Avy's silverware hitting the table was heard before she stood up, prompting Ciel to raise both his brows in surprise, and by the look of it, even all the spectators, including her own maid and knight, and Light was taken aback by her statement.
"Did you not like the food, sister?" he asked, baffled.
"How offensive." she huffed, annoyed but harbored no malice in her tone. "I ate four servings, does that pass as not liking the food?" she said, pointing at the empty plates on the table.
But you usually eat thrice as much. That is what they all wanted to say, but they knew better than to piss off the grumpy lady so early in the morning.
Avy just ignored their looks and vacated the dining hall with her servants.
"Sister looks like she's in a better mood." he heard Light comment next to him, looking in the direction where Avy exited. "Must be because she was with brother all day yesterday," he added.
Ciel stared at him disapprovingly. He may not say it out loud since it might upset his sister, but he never really liked the crown prince to be their only Lady's betrothed. In fact, nobody in their family does. Sure he was the best candidate to be an addition to the Arkwrights, he is smart, a great mage, and he is one of the strongest people in the new generation. But Ciel thinks he is far too uncaring and cold towards Avy.
They were not really supposed to be together anyway, even as a child, he understood all the talks his family had. He knows that they only agreed to the engagement because of the promise that the next girl in the Arkwright bloodline will be married to the Imperial family but when Avy was born, the Dukedom made a deal that their lady shall only be married off if she herself desires it hence the reason why their relationship is only supposed to be announced once Avy turns eighteen. Truth to be told, the Duke intended to break off the engagement as soon as possible if Avy didn't show a bit of interest towards the Prince, but before they knew it, Prince Lucifer had the little lady wrapped around his finger. And it worsened day by day.
Ciel didn't want his sister to be stuck with a man who doesn't give a damn about her existence. Not once did he see the prince holding Avy's hand. He never accepted to be her escort in any events knowing that they had to go with the girl holding his arm, it was one of the reasons why Avy stopped coming to social gatherings, thinking that she was too much of an embarrassment to be taken as a partner. He couldn't understand why he avoided Avy's touch as if she has some kind of contagious disease and it didn't sit right with him. He slowly lost his respect for the heir to the throne.
He also didn't like the oldest son of the Harrington Dukedom, Young Master Zach. To be precise, he hated him. Although he is talented and powerful and has the brains suited for being the successor of his father, he has an awful personality, especially towards Avy. He may have never witnessed it firsthand, but he heard countless words from the servants that they would always see the young master yelling at their Lady, mostly for being too close or for talking too much when they're together. It was infuriating.
He was convinced that his elder sister's taste in men is by far the most terrible throughout the Empire.
Ciel just hoped that the change would include her seeing the bad in those two, enough for her to let them go.
~~~
Avy, in her entire life, never had any pet even as a child, well aside from that stray cat that demanded her food when she was in pre-school that she didn't really consider as her own. She was alone most of the time, minding her own business and burying herself on mountains of books she stole from her Dad's mini library inside their house. She thought it was a waste of time to care for one because she was always engulfed by her priorities- mostly experimenting on things or remaking old scraps- hence she never entertained the thought of getting another life to invest her time on. Besides, Lucy already took a lot of her time by pestering her almost every single day.
But she would be lying if she said she never felt lonely when she sees happy owners with their contented pets on television.
If she would have the chance to pick a pet, she would choose a cat.
Maybe because she wants company when she's staying up doing her work. Just a mere presence that reminds her she wasn't alone. Something that wouldn't demand all her attention or something that wouldn't leave even if she's not that touchy and affectionate.
Well. Even after all that, she clearly didn't wish for one when she entered a new world out of her own volition.
"I don't remember asking someone for a cat." she stared at the ball of fur curled up into a ball on her black carpet, expressionless.
"Oh my." Mariel hurried to the small feline and gently took it in her arms, looking at her lady apologetically. "I'm sorry Mi'lady. It must've not liked the small bed I made," she stated, directing her eyes at the cat bed on the corner of the room. Still didn't answer Avy's curiosity, whatsoever.
"Is it yours?" she frowned because if it was, she would surely need an explanation or the image of her maid would not be that good after that.
The cat was almost dead. Just barely hanging onto its poor dear life. Its ash-colored fur was a mess and it looked like it was starved for months without barely anything to eat. the cat's limp body moved softly as it struggled to breathe and keep living and it seemed like it was in pain whenever it exhaled.
"Young Master Ashton brought it home, Miss. It came from an illegal experimental home in Bergunn. He asked the servants to bring it to you," the maid answered, voice full of pity.
Avy didn't look happy at all. She really appreciates Ashton coming home to check on her, it was obvious of course since he really didn't do anything other than stay for a whole day and wait for the Prince to spend time with her before leaving. But she didn't like how he dropped off a cat as a gift just for her to watch it die, it really didn't look like it would survive for another week.
It was a piece of hidden information that no one in that world knows, and the reason why she was an exception is that the Author revealed it, calling it a fact about the characters. It is that the Arkwright Family is a family full of cat persons. And by the looks of it, it seems like it really is true. Even the villainess Avy was the type to rather hit someone than to hit a kitten, maybe that's the reason why Ashton wanted Avy to take care of it, aside from wanting the cat to live without being too obvious about his affection for cats.
Avy didn't want to take the cat in, but Mariel looked at her with pleading eyes saying 'please let's keep the cat I will be the one to take care of it' or something.
"Fine. I don't care." she surrendered, surely it was not because she was hoping that the cat would survive. Definitely not.
"Aren't you going to name him-"
"No."