"Three."

Everett’s eye twitched violently. The silver aura around him flared, then flickered.

"You think you’re clever? You think because you’ve wormed your way into this house, into her life, you’re untouchable? Also, how dare you bring my sister into this. You are a speck of dust compared to the political might I repres–!"

"Two." Kurt interrupted as his eye began to glow with a sharp, predatory blue light.

The temperature in the room practically dropped as Kurt’s and Everett’s mana began to exert a physical pressure that made the silverware on the table rattle.

Everett’s face contorted. He ignored Kurt and turned his furious gaze toward the woman still sitting calmly at the table.

"Diana! Are you really going to sit there and ignore me? You’re choosing this... this nobody? He has no lineage nor political standing!! Are you really about to throw away years of planning? Our families joining is the foundation of the next decade of Eldorian prosperity! You’re going to break the bond between the Valentine’s and Herst’s for this?!"

Diana didn’t even look up. She was busy using her napkin to wipe a stray drop of sauce from Kurt’s plate.

"Lord Everett," Wendy’s voice cut through the tension. "You have been asked to leave. You are no longer welcome in this mansion. Please depart with what remains of your dignity."

Everett looked at the Head Maid, then his gaze swept to Sadie, Isabel, and Yuna. The three maids hadn’t moved a muscle, but their auras were coiled like vipers. Their eyes were locked on his vitals, waiting for the slightest twitch of his hand toward a weapon or when his mana surges out.

He looked at Julianne. The Madam had leaned back in her chair, a hand supporting her chin as she watched him with a small, entertained smile, as if she were watching a particularly mediocre play at the theater.

And finally, he looked back at Diana. But she was still ignoring him.

"One," Kurt whispered.

The blue light in Kurt’s eye flared into a cold spark. Everett felt a shiver of genuine, primal fear shoot down his spine. He knew, with the instinct of an S-rank, that if he stayed for "Zero," he not only would be walking out the room safely, but he’d also be losing face in the eyes of the Valentines.

*Tsk* "This isn’t over," he spat and turned on his heel. His cape billowed behind him as he marched toward the dining room doors.

"That’s a good boy," Kurt’s voice trailed after him.

Everett flinched. His entire body tensed as if he were about to whirl around and strike, but he forced his feet to keep moving. He stormed through the foyer with heavy boots that thundered against the marble.

He reached the grand front doors and yanked them open, but before he could step out onto the porch, Kurt’s voice rang out from behind him. "Hey! Herst!"

Everett spun around, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword.

FLAP!

Pollen and petals exploded in a cloud of white and yellow as a massive bouquet of lilies slammed directly into his face. Everett stumbled back, sputtering as he clawed the flowers away from his eyes.

Kurt stood in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. "Diana likes roses, not lilies. Get the order right next time, dumbass. Not that there’s going to be a next time."

He then slammed the doors shut right in his face.

Outside, Everett let out a scream of pure, unadulterated fury. He grabbed the bouquet and slammed it onto the stone, stomping the flowers into the dirt with his heel.

"I will not let you get away with this! I am Everett Herst! I’ll be informing the Duke immediately! And he’ll have your head on a pike! Diana will be mine! You hear me?! SHE WILL BE MINE!"

"Um... excuse me, sir?"

The small, soft voice came from his left. Everett paused, his chest heaving as he looked down. Standing there was a tiny maid with large, innocent eyes, holding a bundle of red cloth in her arms. It was Hope.

She looked at the mangled, crushed lilies on the ground and then up at Everett’s red, vein-popping face.

"You shouldn’t litter on the ground like that. It’s bad manners. Could you please pick those up?"

The sheer innocence of the child acted like a dousing of cold water on his public persona. He blinked and the mask of the noble desperately tried to reassert itself. He smoothed his hair, coughing into his hand as he forced a tight, artificial smile.

"Ah... yes. My apologies, little maid. I just... dropped them. That’s all." Everett muttered. He knelt down with trembling hands and suppressed rage as he gathered the broken stems and crushed petals.

"Thank you, sir," Hope said with a polite little bob of a curtsy. She adjusted her bundle of cloth and walked away inside the mansion without a second glance.

Everett stood up as he clutched the floral trash when he heard a sharp sound from the mansion.

"Pfft–!"

When he looked up, he saw Kurt was peeking through the door which was slightly ajar from when Hope entered. A massive, mocking smirk was plastered on his face.

The moment Kurt saw that he had Everett’s attention, he gave a slow, exaggerated wink and pulled the door shut again.

A vein throbbed in his forehead. He turned and marched for his carriage, throwing the remains of the flowers through the open door before hauling himself inside.

"Move!" he barked at the driver. "Take me to the recently beaten Rift! Now!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

He needed to speak with Duke Valentine. He needed to tell the man that his daughter had been corrupted by a nobody, a thug who had no respect for the bloodlines of the world. As the carriage rattled away, Everett stared at the floor, grinding his teeth so hard that the driver thought they might shatter.

Back in the dining hall, the tension had evaporated, replaced by a sudden, light-hearted mood.

"Man," Sadie smiled. "That was pretty cool, Bossman. The sausage trick? I’m going to be laughing about that for a week. Just thinking about it now... Heh."

Kurt sat back down in his chair, letting out a long breath. "Yeesh, that guy was a prick. I don’t like people who think they can walk into a home and demand things just because they’ve got a fancy title."

"I must say, Kurt," Julianne reached for her tea as her crimson eyes sparkled with delight. "You’ve taken me back to my youth. My husband used to clear rooms exactly like that. Though he usually broke more furniture. Thank you for the show. It was a marvelous breakfast entertainment."

"Err, you welcome?"

Diana didn’t say anything at first. She stood up, walked over to Kurt, and sat back down on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. She rubbed her cheek against his, her voice a soft, purring murmur.

"Thank you, Rosie. For dealing with that annoyance. He’s been trying to ’claim’ me since we were children and got worse when we met again at the academy. My father... well, my father likes his strength, but I guess he doesn’t see the arrogance underneath. Or maybe he does but is too focused on the future to care about his daughter’s feelings."

Kurt wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "I’m a bit bummed out, honestly. I was kind of hoping he did swing at me. Wiping that arrogance out his system would’ve been so satisfying."

"If he had swung, I wouldn’t have let you touch him. I would have sent him to the middle of the ocean. He’s lucky you only used a sausage."

"Ahem! Ms. Valentine," Wendy cleared her throat, her expression returning to its habitual state of stern disapproval. "You are still not sitting in your own seat. Please return–"

"Oh, hush, Wendy." Julianne waved a dismissive hand at the Head Maid. "Leave them be. They’ve earned a few minutes of peace. Besides, look at them. They’re in their own little world."

Wendy opened her mouth to argue, her eyes darting to where Diana was now trailing her fingers along Kurt’s jaw with eyes half-closed in bliss. Kurt was murmuring something back to her with a small, private smile on his lips.

Wendy sighed, sounding full of a weary and fond resignation. She adjusted her posture and stepped back.

"Very well, Madam. I shall prepare the tea in the study. But if another noble barges through the door and yells at them, I am blaming you." She joked.

"Haha. I’ll gladly take the fall."

As the staff began to clear the table around them, Kurt and Diana remained locked in their own space, the chaos of the morning fading into the quiet warmth of the mansion.

"You know, there’s still some time before I have to leave for work. What do you say to me and you getting down and dirty?"

"Really, Ana?" Kurt looked at her with a straight face.

"What? I’m talking about some sparring. What are you thinking about?" Diana smirked at him.

"O-Oh... That sounds great, haha. I’ve always wanted that rematch."

"Then you’d better finish your breakfast," she teased, picking up a piece of toast. "You’re going to need the energy."