I pushed the exquisite loveseat groaning at the effort.

Bertram glanced at me worriedly, "Do you need help?"

I spoke through clenched teeth, "No! Now shut up."

After I pushed it in the spot I desired, I rubbed my hands in approval. "There. Perfect."

Lona had been watching me in the doorway, "And what are you doing again?"

I went over to a chair and started pushing it, "I'm setting up my office."

She nodded, "Right. And why are you doing that again?"

I spoke through groans from pushing the heavy chair, "I am going to... Help Bertram... Get better..."

I wiped my brow and stared at my work. I panted heavily, "Why is this furniture so God d*mn heavy?"

Lona looked confused, "But I thought you already cured him of his habit."

Habit was a nice way of putting it.

I grabbed a blanket and threw it over the rest of furniture that was pushed into a corner.

"Well I stopped the habit, but I didn't fix the root cause."

She nodded, "I see... And so what exactly are you doing now?"

I sighed, "I've already told you! I'm going to cure the root cause."

I grabbed a sharp tool and went to the door. I started carving into the door. Lona looked at me full of concern, "Are you sure your father is okay with this?"

"If he's not I will just tell him that I hate him. That will change his attitude."

She sighed in exasperation, "If you keep telling your father you hate him, he's going to have a mental breakdown."

"I know, but it's super easy to get him to do what I want when I say it." I stopped carving and smiled at it proudly.

Lona walked over to see what I carved. Her face fell in disbelief when she read it allowed, "Dr. Seri's office?"

I nodded, "Yup."

"Why did you have to carve that into the door?"

"Well it's not like I have a name plaque."

"But why would you turn this room into your office?" Lona couldn't help but think I would get bored of it quickly and the servants would have to fix it later.

"It's not like this room was being used for anything."

She sighed in exasperation and held her head with one hand, "What do you mean? This was a guest room."

"So? We have like 12 others. Besides, no one has ever spent the night here."

At least, no one has since I've become Seri.

She shook her head, "Where do you think all the noble ladies rested when they visited for your birthday party?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Why do they need to rest at a party? Did they get too drunk or something?"

She hung her head, "No. It's very normal for a noble lady to sit in a room and rest for one or two hours before returning to a party. That's why every noble house has several guest rooms."

I glanced at her, "Sounds stupid. They can go rest outside in the dirt if they're so exhausted."

She scolded me, "Seri! Don't say such awful things. What if someone heard you?"

I just shrugged uncaring. I noticed a maid carrying something down the hall wearing glasses. I shouted after her, "Hey wait! You!"

She jumped, "Y-yes young Miss?"

I walked over to her, "Bend down."

She did what I asked, trembling slightly. After my mini meltdown, all of the servants were a bit afraid of me. I reached up and grabbed her glasses.

I put them on. "God d*mn! You're blind!"

She answered with a trace of worry, "Yes?"

I took them off and popped off the lens. Her face lit up in horror as she grabbed them before they hit the ground.

I put the frame on, "There we go! Now I look smart."

I walked away from the maid who sat holding her lenses wanting to cry. Lona scolded me once more, "You can't just treat the servants like that. You will make them hate you."

I glanced at her, "Really?"

Lona couldn't admit that this was actually not the case. Unbeknownst to me, there was actually a shrine in the servants wing dedicated to their young miss. Every day, the servants would go there and pray for Seri to bestow blessings upon them.

When Lona first discovered this she grew extremely embarrassed. When did this even start? Well, it started after the tantrum Seri threw. She thought everyone would be afraid of her after this, but instead it had the opposite effect.

After witnessing Seri's strength, and her ability to throw both the Great Kane and Lady Sharon into a helpless frenzy, the servants were convinced their young miss was a god.

In short, Seri accidentally started a cult and she didn't even know it.

Lona knew that if Seri knew about the shrine, it would go straight to her head. So, she could only respond in dejection, "Yes, really. So please treat them kinder. Who knows what rumors they might start."

I nodded and shouted down the hall, "I will buy you much better glasses as thanks!"

I turned around and didn't notice that the maid had collapsed from overwhelming happiness. I slapped a sign on the door that said, "In session".

I pushed Lona out, "Alright Lona. I'm with a patient and I have to respect patient confidentiality. So you will have to scold me later."

She raised an eyebrow, "Why are you so interested in being a doctor now? Shouldn't you leave this to a professional?"

Well, it's not like I've had no training on this. After all, I did get my masters degree in this field. If it wasn't for my poor ethical code, I might have made a good counselor.

But in the end I only lasted a few weeks. After that, I worked with the government as a profiler. I also didn't last long there either because of my disdain for bureaucracy. To be honest, I really didn't like working in that career field.

However, I had to have a counseling session because I couldn't let Bertram relapse. If he started spouting the whole "kill me" thing again, it would be annoying. I didn't want to deal with something so troublesome.

Besides, it can't be that bad right?

I smiled up at Lona, "Dr. Singh has inspired me to pursue this field to help people. I need to start practicing."

She frowned, "I'm sure."

After she left, I shut the door behind her. I grabbed a notebook and pen and sat in the chair across from the couch. I glanced over at Bertram, "Alright. Come lay down on the couch."

He hesitated, "Young Miss... You really don't need to go through so much effort."

My voice hardened, "Bertram."

He quickly laid on the couch obediently. I smiled at this. I didn't think he would actually listen to me so well after I won the bet. Now he's like a well trained dog.

I spoke to him, "Alright mister Bertram. Are you comfortable?"

He nodded, "Yes. This couch is very soft."

"Good. Now I want you to look into your mind and tell me why you turned to alcohol as a way to cope."

He paused, "Young Miss... Isn't that too personal?"

"Mister Bertram, I am a doctor. Anything you say here will stay confidential."

"But...."

I smiled at him reassuringly, "I won't judge you Mister Bertram. Have I done so yet?"

He thought for a moment and shook his head, "No... I don't suppose so..."

I spoke in a gentle voice, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Vulnerability makes us human."

His eyes teared up, "Aww... Young Miss.. You are truly an angel."

Sure let's go with that.

I nodded, "I won't force you to share. It is all your choice whether you do or not."

He smiled and asked, "Where should I start?"

I smiled back, "Wherever you'd like."

He nodded and started his tale, "Well. It all started when I was younger. I lived in an orphanage after being abandoned by my parents. I resented them so much I grew up getting into trouble.

I was always tall and larger than any other man. No one could ever beat me with a sword or fists. I decided that because I had been born with such a monster like body, I should take advantage of it. So I became a mercenary.

Occasionally I would work for the government. Other times I would be a bounty hunter. Anything that paid well, I would accept. I didn't have any moral qualms about my work. That is... Until I met her.

The love of my life. She had such beautiful long blonde hair that sparkled in the sunlight. Her eyes were green like gems and she had the sweetest voice one could ever hear.

I fell in love with her at first sight. The day she reciprocated my feelings was one of the best days of my life. We soon married and even had a daughter."

His once sparkling eyes grew very dark, "But... I was still a mercenary. As such, I would be away for several days or even weeks at a time. One day, when I came home I discovered my wife tied up dead with such empty eyes. My child lay at her feet unmoving."

Tears began to stream down his face, "I couldn't believe it. When I looked into who murdered my family, I discovered it was one of my bounties I had caught before. He was on his way to the gallows and managed to escape. He resented me for turning him in, so he discovered where I lived and waited until I left so he could kill my family as payback."

He shook with anger, "Naturally, I hunted him back down. I wanted to make him pay. I was going to torture him. I didn't care what happened to me as long as I could make him suffer. But when I finally caught him, I didn't expect him to tell me what he did to them.

He... He.. He tortured them relentlessly. He tied up my wife and forced her to watch him torture our daughter until she died at her feet. Then and only then did he kill my wife."

He shook, "All I could think of is how much they suffered. It was all because of me. Because of me they were targeted. I couldn't help but think, maybe if I had never met her, maybe she would still be alive. Maybe it would all be better if I had never existed.

Every night I was plagued by nightmares. My wife and child would be bloody, screaming at me. They would say, you promised to protect us. You said you would never leave us. Why didn't you save me Daddy? Why didn't you protect us? Why. Why. Why.

I couldn't stand those dreams. I stopped sleeping. Eventually, I would see their bloody faces screaming at me wherever I went. I couldn't take it anymore. It was maddening.

That's when I started drinking. I drank to fall asleep. I drank to forget. I drank every waking minute.

I had no job. I was homeless. And I was near death. I wanted death to take me. I begged it to.

But that's when I met you. At first, I thought you were my daughter. My daughter had the same fire behind her eyes as you did. I thought that, I could redeem myself by working for you. But in the end... I'm still tainted."

After I listened to his story, I nodded with a poker face.

Holy. F*cking. Sh*t.

That was way too intense. How could an interesting character with such a sad backstory never be mentioned in the original novel?

After hearing such a thing, I knew he really needed help. Thus, I began to use my past knowledge to help him.

____

After being kicked out, Lona walked down the hall where she was stopped by Lord Kane, "Lona! Wait."

She stopped and bowed respectfully, "Yes? What is it my lord?"

"Where's my daughter at? I want to see her adorable face."

"Oh, she's upstairs playing doctor with Bertram."

He nodded, "I see... Playing doctor... Wait. PLAYING DOCTOR?!?"

Lona looked at him a bit confused and nodded.

He shrieked and ran upstairs, "I'LL SHOW THE BASTARD WHO DARES TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!"

Lona watched him run upstairs realizing he had misunderstood something. She just shrugged and kept walking.

Kane flung the door open, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY DAUGHTER!"

He paused when he saw me in the chair with a notebook while Bertram lay on the couch staring over at him.

I glanced over the rim of my glasses, "Father. Please read the sign. I am with a patient right now. If you wish to make an appointment, go speak with the receptionist."

He stared at us with a blank expression, "Oh.... Okay... Sorry."

He slowly closed the door behind him.

____

After I finished my first session with Bertram, Lona got me ready for bed. As I lay under the covers, I glanced out the window, "The days are getting shorter."

"Yes. Winters approaching."

"Hmm... Winter.."

That means, Dante's "birthday" is coming up. I forgot I promised to make him something for his birthday. Why am I so forgetful?!

I looked up at Lona bashfully, "Hey... Do you think you could... Help me make something?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to make your crush something for his birthday?"

I groaned, "Looonaaa!! Stop teasing me like that! I told you it's not like that!!!"

She nodded with a blank expression, "Sure. Sure."