REMAID 2- A Life Like This Is Flat Out Unacceptable

September 18th, 2023

I’m woken up by the sound of my alarm. It’s not too loud, of course, but just loud enough to wake me up and me alone. Thankfully, I’m a light sleeper. If I wasn’t, the whole house would be awake and I’d be royally screwed. I take a deep breath. I’ve done this before, but it still fills me with stress to do it. Slowly, I get myself out of bed, my feet reaching out and touching the ground of the attic. I take a moment to breathe, letting my nerves calm by surveying the place a little. It’s about as big as my room back at grandma’s, though it has way more stuff filling it up. An actual bookcase, filled with classic novels that I recognize all of at the sight of them, for example. So far, literature is the only thing I can relate to anyone with here. Everyone except Miura is apparently a total bibliophile. So, that slaps.

Maybe I wouldn’t hate them so much if I wasn’t being forced to stay here.

Snapping back to reality, I notice that the head servant isn’t in his bed. That may be problematic. Well, whatever, hopefully he’s just out on his morning walk. In which case, I have plenty of time to go and make grandma breakfast. I start to walk over to the attic entrance, where I slowly push it open. I desperately grab a hold of the ladder as the door begins to fall. Carefully I let the device fall down to the floor below, only causing a gentle tap to ring through the hallway. Whew, nice, crisis averted. I climb down, and like that, I’m in the second floor hall.

The multitude of doors stress me out at the sight of them. Memories of cleaning every single room up here send me into a great tiredness that almost makes me crawl back up and into bed. I shake the feeling off and walk to the stairs. Grabbing onto the bannister, I begin to sneak down them. The sound of the gently creaking steps sends a chill up my spine.

"One hour of sleep is not enough for this much stress." I quietly complain before descending another step. The process is more tedious than can be put into words. Not to mention, the darkness of the house's first floor is even more nerve-wracking than the thought of accidently waking up the family of bastards I'm stuck with.

Eventually, my feet reach the first floor, gently touching the cold wood. Around me, a massive entranceway marks my current position. How excessive, especially for a village. I know this place is really stretching the limits of what can be called a village, but a manor of this size really cracks the illusion. Whatever, now all I gotta do is put on my shoes and open that door and just like that, I'm-

"Going somewhere?" The sound of the head servant stops me in my tracks. Crap. I turn myself to face the man sitting at the dining table, aiming his flashlight straight at me. His face looks tense and threatening. Crap again.

"Y-yes."

"And you know that's forbidden, correct? A servant only leaves when he's told to by the masters or myself?" He reminds me of one of the many rules he taught me yesterday. If there was anything this guy wanted to clearly get through to me, it was the power of obedience. Annoyed, I bite my tongue to keep from saying something I’ll regret. No, Yuta, being stupid is what got you into this mess. Be reasonable, and be honest.

"This is important. I'll be back before either of them are up. Ying and Miura don't have to know if you don't tell them, okay?" I stare the man before me straight in the eyes, pleading inside that he'll side with me. I haven't known Carson for long, but he doesn't seem like all that bad a guy. “This is for grandma, Carson. Please.” We stare at each other for the longest time, and I start to wonder if maybe I had pegged him wrong. As that dread slowly begins to take over, that dread that he has no intention of understanding me, is when he proves where exactly his priorities lay.

"...you have an hour. Run." He stands up and opens the door. "I can cover for you for only so long, understand? One hour." Carson iterates hard, and I can only nod my head.

"Thank you." I tell him before slipping on my shoes and running out the door. As I run, I begin to consider that, at the very least, I should be thankful to have one person on my side at that house.

...

"That boy." Carson sighs. During his years as a servant, he'd never met such a bizarre fellow. Still, he knew exactly where he was going. Where he went yesterday. To his grandmother’s. When Carson had gone himself, Yuta's grandmother was sure to assure him that he was only over to cook her breakfast and tidy up some. A good kid...how did a good kid end up in such a situation?

"The world is cruel to good boys, don't you think?" Carson whips his head around to see a groggy Ying, walking down the steps. "Relax, I'm not my boy. Yuta won't be punished. As long as Miura doesn't find out anyways. Then there's no saving him." Ying laughs, not cruelly, no, never cruelly. Vile emotions or causes like that were things Carson could never imagine coming from a man like Ying.

"Master Ying...why are you doing this?" Carson asks. Even despite knowing how his master is, this situation still feels too harsh. Carson can’t think of a single good reason to justify this. In response, Ying rubs his chin before sighing and walking his way over to the other man.

"You can take a good guess. What's a good leader need to have to keep his world in check?" Ying asks, arriving next to Carson and giving him a look like they both know the answer.

"...this is all about appearances..." Carson feels his chest get heavy. In such a case, Yuta never stood a chance.

"I'm sorry if you've taken a liking to the boy. I'm willing to overlook this one kindness. But I won't be giving any more lenience than this. Not because of cruelty, I hope you know." He says.

"Too risky. I understand sir. I would never think badly of you.” Carson slowly nods his head.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” Ying smiles. “You never do…that’s what I love about men like you.” He adds before closing the door. “Now, tell me why you’ve kept this blasted door open for so long.”

“To make sure he’s safe at least part of the way. It’s my duty to keep that boy alive.” Carson replies.

"Well, since you're so good at doing what you should, how about making me some coffee then?" Ying says before giving another hearty laugh and making his way to the kitchen, Carson in tow.

...

Run run run. I feel my shoes starting to soak in the forming dew from the grass as I arrive at grandma’s house. Gently turning the doorknob, I see it isn’t locked. Perfect. I slowly open it fully and step inside. The house feels still. Good, everyone is asleep. That makes it easier. If I had to face anyone…I shake my head. Closing the door behind me, I begin to tip toe towards the kitchen. However, as I get closer…I smell something. Something tasty, that’s for certain. Did Tanya get up and make breakfast? Reaching the entranceway, I see breakfast has already been cooked for grandma, but not by the mother maid I remember. Rather, a girl stands there, putting together a plate. The sight of her nearly stops my heart.

Wearing her black sweater, skirt, and thigh highs, everything about her triggers every memory to snap through my mind. We lock gazes, her brilliant emerald eyes glinting with a deep love that makes me melt inside.

“Rimi-” She rushes forward, and wraps her arms around me. I don’t even get a chance to say anything, but what the hell do I care? I wrap mine around her tighter. Oh god, Rimi…the feeling of her in my arms again is indescribable.

“Welcome home, Yuta.” She whispers into my chest as we hold each other. All the feelings that have remained locked inside me slowly begin to flow out as I desperately hold back tears.

“J-just for a little bit.” I answer her words with a bitter truth, the taste of my tears salt touching my tongue. She kisses me to stop another from slipping out. Slowly, I close my eyes, accepting her completely.

“I’ll take what I get.” She responds as our foreheads touch and her lips move away. “So don’t worry about anything else right now.” She kisses me again. Softer, sweeter. I wanna melt into her. Why can’t I? This sucks. I hate it, I hate it!

This life is unbearable!

I’ll put an end to it, no matter what, and I’ll give you the life you deserve. You AND Mina.

“I’ll come back.” I promise. Looking over her shoulder, I see a phantom. A woman wearing a broken noose, smiling at me. Mom’s smile never made me feel so strong. “I’ll come back to you.” I promise again, smiling back.

“You better.” I hear the words from under my chin.

How long did we stand there for? I don’t know.

But the moment is etched into my heart.

No matter what, I’ll keep my promise.

No matter what…