332 Don't be naive?
Winter Break Arc
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(POV: Akashic Records)
KNOCK! KNOCK!! KNOCK!!!
Lumiere continued to eat his meal in silence, oblivious to the persistent knocking at the door.
Lucilia, growing increasingly frustrated, balled her hand into a fist and pounded on the door once again.
Still no response.
Annoyance coursing through her veins, she lifted her leg and delivered a swift kick to the wooden door.
"Get your ass out here, Lumiere!"
Finally, Lumiere let out a weary sigh, setting his plate aside before rising to his feet. His steps were heavy and laden with exhaustion as he approached the door. His facial expression was plain.
"What do you want now?" he asked with a sigh to follow.
Lucilia, unable to control her anger, crossed her arms and looked at the door.
"I'm not going to answer you until you open this door and let me in!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with pent-up emotion.
Lumiere's eyes narrowed slightly, understanding her intentions.
"Fine, then," he responded calmly. "Have it your way."
With a defeated nod, he turned the key in the lock and stepped back from the door, waiting to see what Lucilia would do.
Expecting the door to swing open at her command, Lucilia reached out and twisted the doorknob. But to her surprise, the door remained stubbornly shut. Confusion flashed across her face as she turned to face Lumiere's voice.
"Lumiere? The door... it isn't opening."
Lumiere, now seated back in his chair and resuming his meal, simply shrugged.
"I never said I would open it. I said 'okay' as in, okay, do what you want. I'm not interested in entertaining you right now."
Sylph quivered even more.
"( Is Master Lumiere really okay? This woman's really scary, and yet he's treating her like this?! )"
It was hard to believe.
Lucilia's frustration boiled over, and she clenched her fists tightly, struggling to contain her anger. She wasn't going to let herself be defeated by a locked door, so with a sudden surge of strength, she delivered a powerful kick, sending the door crashing to the ground.
Gunther, who had been silently observing the chaos from his room, muttered to himself in amusement.
"I always knew that woman was no delicate flower... A gorilla in disguise, yes, that's absolutely what she is. Looks truly can be deceiving... How disturbing..."
Lucilia's glare pierced through the opening where Gunther was spying.
"I suggest you mind your own business unless you want me to teach you a lesson," she warned him harshly.
Gunther, hearing Lucilia's warning, quickly nodded in compliance, his heart pounding in his chest.
A bead of sweat rolled down his smooth, hairless head.
He closed the small opening in his door, cutting off the view of the unfolding drama, and retreated to his bed, hoping that he could just forget about the chaos outside.
"She's so scary..." said Gunther.
Deeper into his bed he tucked, doing his best not to think much on what she could've done to him.
"Women..." Gunther said to himself. "You never were good with them..."
...
Meanwhile,
Lucilia stormed into all the main room, her eyes blazing with frustration.
Lumiere, who had been quietly consuming his meal, glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a questioning look in his gaze.
He couldn't help but ask, "Was all of that really necessary?"
No, he didn't care about Gunther. He was referring to the way she dramatically kicked the door down.
Absolutely irritated, that was how Lucilia felt. At the time, if she could strangle Lumiere given the chance, she would. She wasn't used to him acting in such a manner, and yet here he was acting in the manner that she hated most; like an unmotivated bastard.
It was vexing.
Sharply she snapped back, "Of course it was! I'm not going to be ignored like this." But her words faltered as an unpleasant odor wafted into her nostrils, causing her to instinctively cover her nose. "Why does it smell so horribly in here?" she groaned.
Sylph, floating nearby, approached Lucilia with a sorrowful expression.
"I'm afraid Master hasn't taken a shower in days," she gently informed her.
Lucilia sighed heavily, frustration seeping into her every breath. She turned to Lumiere, her arms folded tightly across her chest, and demanded an explanation. "I just can't understand what's wrong with you. Why did you change so drastically all of a sudden?"
Lumiere, his voice devoid of any enthusiasm, shrugged his shoulders and took another lackluster bite of his stale food. "Don't know," he nonchalantly replied.
Maybe if she understood what Lumiere was going through, she'd be able to sympathize more with him.
But Lumiere was unwilling to tell anyone.
He didn't see the use of it, and he knew it'd be that much of a hassle if he did. Because they'd all do their best to console him which would only be a constant reminder of Ravenna's death. But, in the end, it was still the same situation going back and forth— they were disturbing him and trying to make him feel better.
However, Lucilia wasn't willing to do that.
She mistook Lumiere's grievance as him trying to take a break from the world because of one unfortunate incident.
And although this was the right assumption, she didn't know how much of an unfortunate event had befallen him.
Lucilia's gaze shifted to the plate of food in front of Lumiere, and her concern grew.
"That food doesn't look all that healthy," she remarked.
Lumiere, still seemingly indifferent, defended his choice, saying, "It still provides some nutritional value."
Lucilia shook her head, her worry evident.
"Yes, but even so, it'd be better if you ate something freshly made. You could get food poisoning from eating stale food," she admonished.
Lumiere simply replied with a detached nod. "Okay."
He had [Poison Resistance] so even if he ate rotten fish, it'd have no authority in his stomach; he'd still be healthy.
Sensing an opportunity to make a positive change, Lucilia took a step forward and suggested, "Like I said, you need something freshly cooked. I could go make you something now."
"I'd like that..." said Lumiere, indifferently.
Lucilia's smile widened, she responded, "Great, let's get going then!"
She took a step forward, ready to move.
However, Lumiere's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, interrupting her momentum. "Huh? I don't follow... Let's... go make something for me?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side.
Lucilia paused, taken aback by Lumiere's sudden change of heart.
"Uh, yeah, isn't that what we—"
With a gentle sigh, Lumiere interjected and mustered his thoughts.
"Lucilia, maybe it's the way I spoke or the fact you're finding it difficult to understand, but let me make this clear... I have no interest in leaving this room. If you want to be useful, then go ahead and make me something. But if you don't, well... you know where the door is..."
Lucilia stood frozen, her eyes wide and her heart pounding with disbelief.
She never expected Lumiere to be so callous and dismissive.
Gathering her thoughts, she took a deep breath and met his gaze head-on.
"Lumiere, I can't believe you would say something like that. You're not doing what's best for yourself. This stagnant environment will only lead to your mental decline. You're slowly killing yourself by shutting out the world," she passionately expressed.
Lumiere's lips curled into a sly smirk.
"Oh really? How dramatic," he taunted, seeming unfazed by her outburst. "So, are you going to prove me wrong and make something for me? Or are you all talk?"
Lucilia was at a loss for words.
"I'm done wasting my time..."
She immediately took her leave.
"Don't forget to close the door behind you," said Lumiere.
But then, he recalled the door was already broken.
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