After leaving the office, he walked through the carpeted hallways on his own, not even the sound of his footsteps following him. He was very familiar with the layout of this mansion due to the episodes focusing on the destruction of this mansion so finding the eastern wing wouldn’t be hard.
Along the way, he stopped in front of a statue that stood in the hallway, a marble dragon that stretched out for a bit over ten metres. His gaze trailed along the scales that went just beneath the spikes on its back, the shimmering blue colour that danced across them enchanting all who looked at it.
"Later… Let’s use you later."
He had seen the destruction of this mansion, he had seen the secrets it held, some lost to time and some hidden away from all but the one who held the title of duke. Should the need arise, and he had a feeling that it would eventually, he would use them all to his advantage.
The change when he went from the northern wing to the eastern wing was subtle, but still noticeable. Cobwebs hiding in some corners, dust stacking up underneath lockers and around smaller pillars. The carpet was a bit dirty in some places and the floor creaked occasionally if you stepped on the wrong parts. At a glance, it looked the same as the rest, but once you looked closer you would see the signs. This place was abandoned and barely received the base level of care to look presentable.
Walking through the dim hallways, barely any of the lamps lit, he quietly traced his memories. Occasionally, there would be minor segments taking place in the credits of each episode. Sometimes they focused on a noble as he went about his day, sometimes a small section of a battlefield, and sometimes, the villainess. They weren’t technically part of the greater story, just minor glimpses into the world to fill the time while they rolled the credits.
And during the glimpses into the villainess, there would occasionally be visions of her nightmares. An empty room, a closed curtain, a bed that was too large. A door with a small dent at the bottom, just high enough to look like someone repeatedly kicked it. In the show, that room was the first thing Alice destroyed when she brought down the mansion. It was her nightmare, it was her home. And she hated it.
He walked the empty hallway, lighting the lamps one by one as he walked. People needed light, such dim hallways wouldn’t be good for their eyes or their skin. And eventually, he reached the door, that small dent painfully visible when you first looked.
Frustration. Again and again someone had kicked the door, unable to do anything else. That dent was a mark of sadness. It was small now, but in the future it would only grow bigger, eventually causing the entire empire to crumble.
He didn’t even knock, he just opened the door and walked in.
The room was dark, the curtains were drawn and all the lights were turned off. The bed placed against the wall was large enough to house at least three adults, but now it house only a single little girl curled up in her blankets while clutching her pillows. A dresser with a mirror, a few toys that looked to old and worn to be new, a carpet with clear footprints, a basin filled with slightly murky water. This was the nightmare.
Gabriel walked past the bed and to the curtains. Thick black cloth, perfect for blotting out the light, perfect for hiding what was behind them. He tugged them strongly. They were put up shoddily so they crumbled down with little effort, even someone as weak as him could do it. If Alice wanted, she could have brought it down long ago. But if she could do that, then this wouldn’t have been her nightmare.
The outside wasn’t bright by any means, a few orange and dark red rays streaking across the sky as the sun was starting to slowly rise above the horizon. The sun rose from the east so this window, which covered a good portion of the wall, was the perfect place to see it.
Gabriel stood there for a bit, allowing the rays to wash over him and bathe the room in their hue as the sun slowly rose. Before long, it seemed like they hit Alice, who stirred from her slumber.
"Mugughu… Who’s there…?"
She spoke groggily as she sat up rubbing eyes that were redder than the sunrise. Gabriel turned to look at her. Not only were her pupils red, even the sclera had taken on a slight scarlet hue thanks to the blood-vessels. The area around her eyes was also a bit flushed, some bags just barely visible beneath her eyes. She had been crying, either while she was sleeping or before she slept.
"Good morning, My Lady."
He smiled at her. The pitiful child who loved but wasn’t loved, the one who gave but never received. The one that was hated just for being born, the one who found home and hate to be synonyms.
"Eh? Gabriel? Eh? What are you… doing here? Did my brother…not call for you?"
She quickly woke from her groggy state when she saw him, stumbling over her words. So she knew that he had been called, or at least that he would be called. Then again, it only made sense, all of her other maids had left her one by one, it was natural that the last one would also follow. So why… Why was he there?
"No, he did call for me. He offered me a job in one of the other wings."
He stepped away from the window and didn’t hide the offer he received, his slow steps echoing throughout the room as he moved towards the bed. The rest of the mansion was quiet, but here the carpet was so worn that he could hear his steps. How sad. How pitiful.
"Ah… Then… Are you leaving t…"
Alice couldn’t finish her words, clutching the covers she had curled into. She looked as if she was about to cry again, she probably would once he stepped out the door. But he stopped right by the bed, his body lowering as he dropped down to one knee, gently prying open one of the hands clutching the covers.
"You are the one who gave me the name Gabriel, My Lady, so how could I possibly leave you?"
This pitiful child so close to crying, this little thing so close to twisting. In one future, she burned the empire and brought forth an ocean of blood. But now, she was just a little girl who was all alone. That pitiful villain who had no one and got nothing, he could still save her.
"Ah… Ah… I’m sorry, I’m so sorr…"
Her eyes were red as she struggled with her tears. Did she not want to cry in front of him, did she want to appear strong because she was a Vritara? A descendant of the dragon? It was fine, he’d teach her how to bring down the dragon, those who are would become those who were, and nothing else. But before then, he had to teach her how to be a good person.
"My Lady, do you remember when I told you about a tenet?"
Tenets. One he had mentioned to Leonardo and one he had mentioned to Alice when they first met. It was just a quick explanation back then, but it seemed like she memorised it well.
"You said that the first tenet to living as a good person is to not apologise for things that aren’t your fault."
Many people spent their entire lives apologising, some people spent their entire lives repenting for things they had never done. Sad people, pitiful people, abused people. And to the pitiful person in front of him, Gabriel had only one thing to say.
"Yes, I did. So don’t apologise, my choice will never be your fault. Nor will the circumstances of your birth ever be your fault."
Her eyes seemed to crack further, her struggle with her tears slowly failing. She had been berated for it her entire life, she had spent her entire life apologising for it. I’m sorry that my mother cheated. I’m sorry that I was born. I’m sorry that she wasn’t loyal. But time and time again she was told that it wasn’t enough.
"But… But my brother, he off…"
Her voice was cut off by Gabriel, gentling clenching her hand. It wasn’t strange for her to bring up her brother’s offer, she knew that she couldn’t offer anything even close to what her brother could. All she could offer was abuse and humiliating words. The other maids were happier after leaving her… surely, he too… But rather than acknowledge the offer, Gabriel simply taught her a new lesson.
"My Lady, let me tell you the second tenet to being a good person. If you have something that you treasure, never let anyone else take it from you, no matter who they are."
People gave and gave, tearing away at their own flesh to please everyone around them. In the end, they wouldn’t even be left with bones while those around them would simply turn away. Even their hearts, their most intimate part, their most important and treasured piece, was given away. Sad people. Pitiful people. And the girl in front of him, she was one such person.
"…"
She couldn’t respond, the words only came out as a drawn out croak. The tears were winning and she was crumbling. He spoke to her, he spoke for her. He said it was fine, he said she didn’t have to do it. She could keep what she wanted. But… But… Gabriel cut off her uncertainties.
"And then there’s the third tenet to being a good person. If there is something you want, then you must make sure to acquire it no matter what you have to do."
Desires were human, wants were natural. But so many people ignored them, so many people abandoned them. I am not worthy so I should desire that. I did something bad so I shouldn’t want that. I was born like this so I shouldn’t ask for that. They gave up before they even tried, preventing themselves from replacing the pieces they had already given away. Sad people. Pitiful people. This girl in front of him, was one such person. And so, he became the first person in the world to ask her, the first person in the world to give this future monster a hand.
"So tell me, My Lady. What do you want?"
Gentle eyes that she had never seen before, a warm touch that she had never felt before. The bed that was too large, the room that was too dark, for the first time it felt a smidgen comfortable.
"I… I…"
A hoarse voice, words that were barely more than a croak. Red eyes that were turning wet.
"Yes."
A simple affirmation, from one child to another, from one twisted person to one who was supposed to become twisted. In the end, that was all it took to break the dam and for the tears to finally fall, some staining the sheets while some landed on Gabriel’s hand.
"I… I want someone to be by my side… I don’t want to be alone…"
She cried. She desired. She hoped. The maids had abandoned her. Her family had abandoned her. In this dark house, she was all alone. And from this moment forward, she dared to hope that it truly would be just WAS.
"Then you won’t. I will be by your side and teach you what I know, and you will teach me what you know. And together, we can live as good people."
My Lady. My Master. My pitiful villain. Let me give you a life better than what fate ordained, let me keep straight what should have been twisted. I who had nothing to live for, let me find a reason to not die in you.
"…I also want a cake, I want to celebrate my birthday."
She croaked out her desires as she cried. She was no longer alone, so she wanted to celebrate what no one else remembered before.