A Conversation in the Rain
Back downstairs from Dario Ashbourne’s room, Julian D’Aurelius exited.
The mansion had finally settled down. The pandemonium from before, now ceased, was replaced with a controlled, organised air. Scores of black-clad bodyguards who had descended upon the estate and taken defensive positions with precise efficiency, arrived and spread out to defend the Ashbourne family after the gruesome battle. Though the tension remained in the air, at least there was no more outright panic.
Julian cast a calm eye across the courtyard.
His eyes narrowed.
"Huh?"
The... Trophy he’d left behind wasn’t there anymore.
Specifically, the rather unfortunate chunk of Steffan’s anatomy that had been recently embedded in the wall had completely vanished.
Julian blinked.
"Where did it go?"
Curiosity, a dangerous trait for those in his situation, tugged on him and he turned to a servant he spotted near him.
"It was right there a moment ago."
It might have been crude, but it felt symbolically important, in a twisted sense. In countless clich urban fantasy and light novels, the all-powerful Dragon King protagonist was always demeaning the villain in the most ridiculous of ways. Today, however... The roles have been bizarrely reversed.
He was likely the first villain in history to literally dismantle the protgonist’s ’macho parts’. For reasons unknown even to him, a strange sense of satisfaction filled him with that fact.
A great day for all villains.
The great uprising of the dignity of the bad guys finally began!
History was made... It had just been a rather less graceful turning of the page than anticipated.
The servant scratched the back of his neck with embarrassment.
"... We, um, fed it to the dogs, Young Master."
"..."
Julian followed the line of the servant’s finger with his eyes.
Several large, wolfdog breeds-temporarily seconded to bolster the estate’s security with police assistance-lounged in the yard. One of them was currently happily gnawing on something, its tail thumping rhythmically against the ground. Julian observed the scene, silently for three seconds.
One...two...three...A preposterously wild thought flew into his mind:’I wonder...
What if a dog eating something like that...
Makes it extra potent?’
Humans are always claiming how eating animal organs helps the body-pig kidneys, liver from an ox, chicken hearts-and each has some peculiar effect or other.
So...What if a dog eats a human’s...?
Would it spend the whole night chasing all the bitches within a ten-mile radius?’
He frowned thoughtfully. It was a utterly stupid question. Nevertheless, his mind insisted on taking this seriously, as if it were worthy of rigorous, academic investigation.
Just then, a soft, cool shower began to fall from the sky. The grey afternoon clouds wept gentle tears that splattered on the surface of the artificially formed lake and created faint, trembling rings across the water. The air was carried into the yard on a cool breeze scented with the fresh perfume of the rain-soaked earth, rustling the leaves of the ancient trees on the grounds.
A short distance away, Felberta Ashbourne silently lifted her head and turned to the sky, looking at the falling rain. Without bothersome need of an umbrella, or assistance from any servants, she slowly stepped into the soft drizzle. She strode gracefully through the manicured garden, until her lithe figure faded away into the veil of moisture and rainfall.
It wasn’t until after she’d progressed some distance that Julian shook himself from the ever more insane thought tangent.
He lifted his gaze-and saw her pause in her progress, a minute crease furrowed between her brows.
"Hm?"
Her eyes flickered to the open door ahead.
"... Where did she go?"
The words, unplanned and almost involuntary, came out. Without a second thought Julian got up from his seat and proceeded downstairs, his pace swift but steady. As he exited the house and stepped into the cold shower of rain, Liza Voss and Lina Ashford reflexively stood to follow.
"Young Master-"
Julian turned to give them a reassuring, apologetic smile over his shoulder and lifted his hand.
"You two remain where you are and get some rest. I am only going out to speak to someone, so I will not be long."
The two women shared a quick glance then gave in with quiet nods of compliance. "As you wish, Young Master Julian."
He smiled in appreciation before turning once more, the cool pellets of rain hitting his clothes as he began walking the curving stone path through the garden. His purpose remained unchanged: he had to find Felberta. More specifically, he wanted to discuss with her the crippling, lifelong phobia that had bound her for so many years, an all-encompassing androaphobia.
The garden was unusually silent under the patter of the rain. A mist clung to the flowerbeds and subtle ripples pulsed across the surface of the artificial lake with every drop of rain. It didn’t take long before he spotted her, standing under the arc of the gazebo by the lake-protected from the light, continuous rainfall from the slightly curved roof and weathered tiles above. At her feet sat two fluffy canines-their tails wagging good-naturedly as they leaned against her thighs as Felberta idly threaded her slender fingers through their soft, glossy fur without much thought. Her normally cold exterior had somehow shattered, cracks of fatigue-not physical, but soul-deep-etching themselves into her elegant features. Her crimson eyes were trained on the surface of the still water, upon the patches of lotus floating there; they danced gently with each small, rippling motion. Lotuses... Her favorite flowers since childhood...flowers that grew even from the murky waters and dense mud, but managed to emerge untouched, pristine, and pure...beautiful... Flawless...
She’d always longed to achieve that. And why? Because, it seemed, she could not achieve this same level of purity within people. This world was simply too crowded with individuals who happily submerged themselves into the depths of lust, greed, power, ego, and selfishness; few clawed their way back up. Even her own father... Even her own brother... They’d never risen above it. And frankly, her heart ached with an emptiness born from years of resignation, when she’d stopped expecting it...
Perhaps, she’d sometimes thought, with only flowers able to maintain a true sense of clarity. People, she’d come to conclude, always became tarnished. Whether to disappear, in quiet, peaceful seclusion and let the remaining days slip by with the rest of eternity alone rather than live in this tumultuous existence, had crossed her mind more than once...
Just then, a familiar voice echoed behind her, breaking the fragile serenity.
"Oh, what a coincidence, Miss Ashbourne, hiding from the rain here too?"