Joseph stared at Kaon, jaw slack and glasses askew. “Uh, Young Master Kaon…” he began, then stopped himself with a frustrated sigh.
“Don’t even say it,” Kaon grumbled, inspecting his reflection in the mirror.
“Seriously, have you gone mad now?” Joseph couldn’t help himself and blurted.
Kaon scowled. “Then why did you start with ‘uh, Master Kaon’ if you were just going to blurt that out anyway?”
Joseph rolled his eyes. Now wasn’t the time for a debate on semantics. He had a mission to complete, and getting hung up on word order wouldn’t help. He gestured to Kaon’s reflection. “Look at yourself!”
Indeed, Kaon looked like a walking, clashing advertisement. A crimson cloak draped over a pristine white doublet, a feathered hat that rivaled a macaw for flamboyance, a chunky ruby necklace, and a ruby ring that could blind a lesser man. As Joseph had eloquently put it, Kaon looked utterly insane.
“And where are the earrings?” Kaon added, seemingly oblivious to his own ridiculousness.
“Should I get some?” Joseph deadpanned, not expecting a serious answer.
“What?” Joseph nearly choked when Kaon reached for the jewelry box, intent on adding to the assault on good taste. Thankfully, none of the earrings were red. Kaon, perhaps realizing he’d gone overboard (slightly), didn’t push the issue. He was already ridiculous enough.
The whole point of this exercise, as Joseph understood it, was to attract attention. Judging by his own reaction, that goal was a resounding success.
“Alright, let’s go,” Kaon declared, striding towards the door.
Joseph groaned. “…In that getup? There’s no way I’m going out there with you looking like that.”
“Fine,” Kaon conceded. “I’ll lead the way, then.”
With a heavy sigh, Joseph resigned himself to following his increasingly eccentric master.
***
Kaon paraded through the mansion like a man on a mission. Servants and staff he passed by did a double take, surprised blinks followed by mumbled apologies. It wasn’t subtle – the crimson cloak, the blinding white doublet, the hat that wouldn’t look out of place on a carnival float. By the sixth or seventh startled reaction, Kaon was numb to their reactions.
“Can we be done now?” Joseph muttered uncomfortably.
“Not yet.” Kaon tilted his head back, checking the clock tower. Noon. Perfect. “Let’s head out, Joseph.”
“Finally!” relief laced Joseph’s voice.
“To the barracks dining hall.” Joseph’s hopeful expression evaporated, replaced by a grimace. “Young Master, that’s…peak lunch hour. It’s absolute chaos.”
“Exactly.”
True to Joseph’s word, the dining hall buzzed with activity. Knights fresh from training sessions devoured their meals, while servants scurried to keep up with the demand. The cacophony was impressive. Unfazed, Kaon marched into the crowded hall, a beacon of red and white amidst the sea of armor and training clothes.
“Come on, you barely used your full strength! Lucky win, Henri,” a knight boasted, playfully grappling with his friend over their lunch by the entrance.
“I totally had you going!” his friend countered.
“Distracted yourself, more like it! …Hey, isn’t that Young Master Kaon?” The grappling knight broke off, staring at their master’s outlandish attire. “Look over there!”
“The Young Master? Maybe he’ll join us for lunch.”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Not it?” The other knight half-heartedly glanced back.
The buzz in the hall started as a ripple, a shared curiosity that quickly turned into a wave of stares. Heads swiveled, conversations trailed off, and soon all eyes were locked on the same scene. There, amidst the gruff knights and stoic staff, stood their esteemed leader, the prince of Ferdinand, looking more like a lost member of a traveling circus.
The noise of the dining hall died down, replaced by an unsettling silence as if someone had doused the room with cold water. Then, a lone whistle pierced the quiet. “Young Master! Looking mighty vibrant today!” It was Maurice, his voice booming with enthusiasm.
Kaon surveyed the stunned faces around him. Confusion, maybe a hint of terror, but they were all probably thinking about the same thing. Has their master gone crazy?
“Are you going to a fancy banquet? Do you have to wear red to go? Looks fun, can I come?” Maurice yelled, waving his arms excitedly.
The outburst, while bizarre, shifted the focus from the flamboyant outfit itself to its color. Seizing the opportunity, Kaon addressed the room. “Actually, red happens to be my favorite color.”
Awkward silence hung in the air. A few nervous glances were exchanged.
“Well, wouldn’t you know,” someone mumbled. “Never heard you mention it before, sir.”
‘Of course not,’ Kaon thought dryly. ‘They’d rather know the brand of my sword than my favorite color.’ He didn’t particularly want them dwelling on his personal life anyway.
“But consider this a formal announcement,” Kaon declared, his gaze sweeping across his assembled knights. “Red. It’s my favorite.”
Even the most oblivious knight wouldn’t miss his point now. This public display, this intentional spectacle, would become a whispered rumor, then a shared anecdote, and eventually, common knowledge throughout the estate.
‘The lectures are coming,’ he sighed. Baroness Robert wouldn’t be happy. But he was prepared for that, a small price to pay. As long as the gossip about Alessia stopped, it was worth it.
With a satisfied nod, Kaon turned to leave. Just a quick detour to have Joseph return his mother’s jewelry, and he’d be done.
“Jo…” He froze. There she was, standing just outside the mess hall.
“Alessia.”
Her face was a mask of shock, something deeper flickering in her red-rimmed eyes. They locked gazes for a long moment, then with a startled gasp, Alessia bolted, disappearing out of the building.
“Alessia!” Kaon didn’t hesitate. He sprinted after her, the echoes of his own name bouncing off the empty hall.
***
Alessia could sprint. Seriously sprint. But Kaon couldn’t just let her disappear, so he chased her all the way back to their shared suite. It was the only place on the whole Ferdinand estate that could even vaguely be considered her private space, after all.
‘Maybe I’m overstepping,’ Kaon thought, hesitating in front of their curtain.
He didn’t want Alessia to go through this alone. He didn’t want to pretend he wasn’t aware of the whispers and stares. He’d hoped it would make her feel less isolated in this strange land, show her someone cared. He wanted her to feel welcome, to want to stay in Ferdinand. But by the flamboyant display he’d just put on, he might have done the exact opposite. Maybe he’d just mortified her.
“Alessia, I—” He started, but the curtain whipped open before he could finish.
There she stood, eyes red-rimmed and fierce. Kaon opened his mouth to explain, but Alessia surprised him again. She threw herself at him, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
Kaon’s brain short-circuited. What was happening? All he knew was the small body in his arms was trembling. Hesitantly, he patted her back, offering whatever comfort he could muster. The silence stretched, punctuated only by the soft sounds of her muffled sobs, until finally, a long, long time later, her grip loosened.
🍉🍉🍉
