"Wow, Mister Ezra." She gave him a wonder-struck slow clap. "You are quite the showman." She smiled widely with a full set of teeth. "If anyone else saw that, they would think they work for you and not for me."

"It was my impression that Lord Davyid and Lady Anya are responsible for managing and funding the estate. Therefore technically, they don’t exactly work for you." He turned away from her and faced the doors, testing the door locks by tugging the door handles.

"Hah," she loudly scoffed. "You." She wagged her finger at him. "You're..." she said, unable to finish. She felt like she was standing on wobbling feet and a crumbling plan. He wasn't supposed to try and diffuse the situation, he was supposed to be losing in the situation.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Alight. I'll give this to you lowborn; you are quite bold in your attempts to challenge me."

"I'm the one who's bold?" He didn't move his intense scanning stare off her, and her glare only deepened as he strode confidently towards her. "You're the one who keeps making a scene. I don't quite get it, is theatrics your hobby?"

"My hobby?" she repeated, tangled in astonishment.

"It's okay if it is." A smile slithered on his face. "I feel likewise."

It was starting to irk her. His confidence and his prideful poise jabbed at her. It made her want to rip him off his pedestal and wipe that smile off his face. And perhaps, the word wipe was being gentle, she wanted to shred it and stomp on it.

"You think I'm being funny?" she seethed. "I've already warned you that you're testing piranha waters, lowborn. So do yourself a favor and realize your position. You’re in dangerous territory talking to a Lady of my position."

"Piranha waters? How terrifying." He circled her, watching her closely.

Just the feel of his suffocating gaze alone made the annoyance continue to rise in her. She was not at all, enjoying his superior-than-me attitude.

"Do you think I’m joking with you, lowborn? Do you not take my words with caution?"

"I'm not joking with you. I don't think you can take a joke.”

Shock stifled her. "What did you just say to me? Who do you think you are!"

"Matters not, don’t you think?" He stopped circling to face her directly.

“What?”

"What matters is that you appreciate pushing limits. I do not. There's a threshold for these sorts of things."

"Excuse me? Did you really just say that to me?" Anger struck her like lightning, and her cool demeanor was fading. She had never been insulted so brazenly before, and just the sound of the words made her physically convulse into shock.

"Am I not speaking clearly?"

The moment she heard the words proudly fall his lips; her jaw dropped as she viewed him aghast.

"Apologize for speaking so rudely to me!" She was blazing with frustration.

He met her scowl with a prepared smile.

"Did you know?" He spun around, pacing away from her, "Piranhas are known to be at the very bottom of the food chain?" With a careful eye, he examined the assortment of teas on a nearby cart. "In fact, many other animals that we assume are dangerous, are actually harmless."

He placed his hands on the cart handles, rolling it over to her.

"Why are you bringing that over instead of apologizing!?" she bellowed out.

"It's a funny thing that sometimes we feed a lie to the point that it almost becomes a truth." He raised a cup of tea slowly. "But it's not the truth." He smiled in the reflection of the tea. "It's actually a silly little lie that shouldn't falsely assume otherwise."

She smacked the cup out of his hands and it went rolling along the floor.

He looked from the cracked tea cup and back to her. "I thought you wanted tea my lady. Did you not start the whole commotion because of it?"

“How dare you!” She imploded with fury. “You don’t speak like that to me!”

“Speak like what to you? Lady Erina,” he said, emphasizing her name. “This is hardly a proper conversation.”

Her anger struck like lighting. “How dare---you can’t---don’t say---!” She fumbled over words, frustration twisting her tongue. “That is it.” Gripping her fists, she fought to regain control of herself. “I’ve enough of this!”

“Enough of what?”

“Enough of---!” She clenched her jaw, refusing to make more folly of herself. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

“I do not, but I’m flattered you would even suggest so, my lady.”

“Ha.” She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, silly be you.” She lacked any amount of amusement, as a sour scowl mangled her face. “You know,” she said, scoldingly shaking her finger. “I must reward you, dullard, for your propensity for the unthinkable.”

“Me?” He widened his eyes, feigning shock.

“Yes, you.” She tersely spoke, refusing a growl. “You are very brazen in your actions. Certainly, such stupidity must be rewarded.” She turned away from him and strode towards her writing desk.

Trudging, she pulled out the chair from the desk and sat down with a slam. She adjusted her seat and cleared the desktop, moving aside loose papers and ink bottles. “I’ll be honest with you, never before have I come across anyone quite like you.” She devoted her focus to tidying the desk. “Your ignorance of any proper social customs both baffles and intrigues me. You must know the consequences of your unruliness, and yet?” She paused, glancing back at him once to flash a smile before aggressively ripping open the desk drawers and digging through them. “You care little for your life.” She stopped, her fingers feeling something hard.

Despite the ominous threat, he remained quiet, following every word and watching every movement.

“I’d like to show you something,” she said, her claws digging into the item she pried out from the drawer. Suddenly she kicked out her chair, stood, unhurriedly adjusted the chair to face him, and sat back down. "Is this yours?" She held up her fist, revealing a bronze glass inlaid pocket watch.

He stared, maintaining his silence.

“Looks expensive.” She dangled the chain of the watch, crossing her legs. “This is something that would take a year’s worth of pay to buy. Someone of your standing must appreciate to have it.”

His lips remained sealed as she continued speaking with a patronizing tone.

“Do you know what I find interesting?” She examined the watch with animated curiosity. “When people view objects like these, they often think that an object is an object; a replaceable thing with no value beyond the price.” She rolled the watch chain between her knuckles, guiding the body of the watch into the palm of her hand. “Ignorant most people are, aren’t they?” Smiling, she exposed the back of the watch where a name was scratched into the back. “Mizran.”