Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 122: Missing Gabriel & Hunting Mira.

Chapter 122: Missing Gabriel & Hunting Mira.

Dear Critic.

I have news.

Everyone I believe remembers the fallen barroness of Critic Arley. Well, all of her sins that you know or may not know about, none would top the one I am about to tell you.

The baroness’s name was never Vera but Hama, she had taken the place of her elder sister by locking her up in their former house to marry the baron.

How vile could women get when intending to? I would have shuddered but believe me I have seen worse.

Perhaps the actual Vera would soon appear in our dearest Critic Arley now that she has been freed.

This shall be a new beginning for her and those coming of age too.

The balls, masquerades and parties, await.

Yours.

Muckraker.

*

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*

Morning.

Kitchen, Theodore Mansion.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

******************

In the dimly lit kitchen of the grand Theodore Mansion, Joyous, moved with practised grace as she prepared breakfast for her lady and lord.

Her delicate hands deftly sliced bread cracked eggs and stirred a pot of porridge over the crackling fire. But beneath her composed exterior, turmoil churned within her heart.

As the aroma of sizzling bacon filled the room, memories of her distant family flooded her mind.

She couldn’t help but wonder if they ever spared a thought for her. She had been taken from them, snatched away by cruel hands and sold into slavery.

Yet, despite her desperate prayers for rescue, no one had come searching for her.

She knew they hadn’t looked for her.

With a heavy heart, Lily glanced at the locket hanging around her neck, containing the faded photographs of her parents and siblings. How she longed for just a moment of their care, a glimmer of their love amidst the cold indifference that they’d always shown.

But duty called, and she pushed aside her melancholy thoughts, focusing instead on her tasks.

She arranged the breakfast table with precision, ensuring every detail was immaculate to please her lord. Yet, as she worked, a single tear slipped down her cheek, unnoticed amidst the steam rising from the teapot.

Dorothy was with Lady Theodore while Hound appeared cold today.

In this vast mansion, filled with opulence and grandeur, Joyous felt more alone than ever. She felt that she was a mere pawn in a game of privilege and power, yearning for the warmth of familial bonds that seemed forever out of reach. She loved her new life in this mansion as her employers respected her but as she served the breakfast to the couple that had come down for breakfast, she couldn’t help but wonder if anyone would ever come to her rescue, if anyone would ever care enough to save her from her silent mind.

After setting the hall, she left the space for Dorothy. She was sitting in the kitchen when she heard a rustle and then a rumble.

"Did you miss me?"

She raised her head and they widened slightly at the view in front of her before she blinked and relaxed her back on the wall.

"Who are you?" she sassed.

"With the way your eyes lit up when you saw my sumptuous self just now, I am rest assured you did miss me, and not to worry, I missed you too," Gabriel said sweetly.

Blanc and the boys had come back last night, if they had been earlier they would’ve met with the returning carriage of the Emperor’s mother.

They had all been exhausted, and the weather still that they only went straight to bed and acknowledged the lord this morning.

Joyous appeared uninterested as she asked. "What are you doing in here?"

"Chatting with milady," he said with a shrug

Joyous looked behind him and at the outdoors. "Where is the other one?" she asked.

Gabriel glanced behind him too. "My brother?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Do you fancy him?"

Joyous glanced his way with a glare, but she was quick to drop her gaze again.

He smirked, he loved the way she turned red under his gaze. "He’s at the stable, has a thing for horses and this mansion harbours a good amount of it" he pointed out.

She nodded. "You need to leave" he made her feel vulnerable, she hated it.

He rested on the wall.

His bicep bulged, on his caramel skin, and his curly black hair framed his forehead, he was staring at Joyous as though nothing more interesting had ever existed and she didn’t understand it.

"I do not have anything to do at the moment" he offered.

She rolled her eyes. "Leave me alone then, sharpen the blades, bring in vegetables, wash... Oh, I know what to give you" Her eyes are round and girly now.

He lifted his shoulders from the wall.

"I do not work for you though, but I shall do what you want" he declared.

As she turned to him with a cup of tea he held her eyes before taking it. "Thank you" he whispered. She reddened again before she said.

"Tea is good to begin a day with, everything becomes splendid and swell," she said in a sing-song.

His hand shook and the hot content in the cup spilled over his palm.

"Shit!" He gasped and she quickly turned to him, her eyes curious.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked away, his shoulders tight as he asked her curtly. "What is it you want done?"

"Wheel in waters from the lake, please" she muttered.

Without a word or glancing at her again, he left the kitchen. The cup of tea was left abandoned on a desk in the kitchen.

"What are you looking at?" a voice jolts Joyous to the present.

It had been moments since Joyous was staring at the door Gabriel had used to leave just now. What happened to him?

"Nothing" she whispered.

Dorothy nodded. "I can see it’s nothing but why were you staring at space?"

Joyous turned to her but her face quickly turned into a frown. "Stop bringing the cat into the kitchen, its furs could fall into a pot" she scolded. Pointing out her reason for the frown.

Dorothy sighed in realization. "Yes, Joyous, go on Red, go and meet Mama" she prompted.

Red appeared to be protesting for a while before he jumped out of her arms and into the mansion.

Dorothy cocked her head. "You look unwell, What happened?"

Joyous shrugged. "Our lady is unwell, I fear I cannot look well"

"You are hilarious, we need to be well to help her gain her health back, let us go to the corridors for the old flowers," Dorothy said pointedly.

"Yes, Dorothy," Joyous said in an imitation of how Dorothy normally says it.

Dorothy giggled and they both left for house chores that day.

*

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*

Afternoon.

Lydia’s Office, Theodore Mansion.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

****************

"Gooseberry?"

Lydia raised her head from the piece she had been trying to merge at the sound of her husband’s call.

"Yes, come inside" she invited, dropping the gem.

"I wish to take you out," he said lightly.

And as expected her eyes lit up. "Right now?"

He nodded, a smile blooming on his face. "Do you wish to come?" he asked.

She nodded profusely before she asked. "Can I come in my dungarees?"

A chuckle slipped as he asked back. "Is that what you desire?"

"No, I shall change into something subtle" she replied after having thought about it.

Lydia in fact couldn’t find anything subtle so she ended up in a light dress, one she could get better air out of and wouldn’t worry about heat.

Theodore had just finished from his office and thought it’d be lovely if he took his wife out. Perhaps that would help clear her mind from its darkness.

They got the carriage and off they went.

****************

Everywhere & Anywhere.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

***************

In the dimly lit streets of Critic Arley, a figure cloaked in white moved with calculated purpose.

His demeanour exuded an icy determination as he prowled the cobblestone pathways, his piercing green eyes scanning every shadowed corner with an intense focus.

His black hair slicked back with a sense of severity, framed a face chiselled with resolve.

Hound’s attire, pristine in its white fabric, stood out starkly against the sombre hues of the cityscape.

Yet, his appearance was not one of innocence but rather of danger veiled in purity.

Each step he took seemed deliberate as if he were tracking down prey in a dangerous game.

He would stop to inquire about Mira with chilling precision as he sought information about a maid.

Mira had committed a grave act of betrayal by poisoning his mistress.

The urgency in his voice hinted at the consequences awaiting the elusive maid should she be found.

It was evident that his loyalty lay not with only justice but with Lydia whom he served, and Theodore whose wrath awaited Mira.

Despite his relentless pursuit since leaving Shi’Enz’s window, Mira has remained elusive, leaving only whispers and fragmented trails in her wake.

Yet, undeterred, Hound scoured every alley, every tavern, and every hidden enclave, his determination unwavering in the face of adversity.

As he continued his search, his presence cast a chilling aura over the streets, instilling a sense of unease among those who crossed his path.

In the darkness of the night, he remained a formidable force, driven by a singular purpose: to bring Mira to justice, to face the consequences of her treacherous actions.

And until that task was fulfilled, he would remain an ominous figure haunting the city streets, a harbinger of retribution in the Arlian night.

Perhaps all the cities in Critic-Ishire too.