Chapter Three: The Misunderstanding

“Yes, I do have remorse, but I’m not even sure myself whether it is as profound as it should be. I’ve always wondered myself why I don’t feel more remorse.”

- Jeffrey Dahmer

“Black Rose, we finally found the cause of the anomaly.” The mysterious person smiles and replies. “Hold the fort for me. I want to personally castigate them.” Pierrot Aicard gives his affirmative and Black Rose then drops the call. He stares back at Gallius Esquire and smiles. “Finally, it’s been awhile since we last saw Black Rose.” Gallius nods. “Yes, but it is for Black Rose’s sake why we must stay away for now. Until the signal is given, then we shall go make our moves.” Pierrot Aicard grins. “Until then, let’s continue trailing this impertinent fool.”

Meanwhile, back at Althea’s mansion, a certain person is pouring out bad vibes in the area. Ignacio simply tosses a table napkin and it spreads on Sebastian’s face then slowly falls down to his lap. Sebastian looks at Ignacio venomously. “What? Of course, you side with her!” Ignacio simply laughs. “In the end, this is her life, Sebastian. I know you treat Althea as a younger sibling, given the fact you are years older than her. But we should let her make decisions like that. It’s the only way she’ll grow as a better person.” Sebastian groans. “Don’t give me such of your pep talk. Althea is way better before than now. Trusting no one but us. Because we will never betray her!” He says abruptly leaving the room. Ignacio sighs and clears the kitchen of the filth. “Oh well, time to go harvest those fruits. I’ll make sure to send Louis some of those, I’m sure he’ll love that.” He then turns off the light then goes out back to the Brianbrair Orchard.

Sebastian, on the other hand, found solace in polishing silverware, and dusting the whole mansion. He simply couldn’t forget how Carson is taking away Althea. ‘In the end, will she leave me as well? But, she’s the only family I have left. She and her brother.’ He thought. His resolve steeled, as an idea came to him. He’ll make sure, that he’ll keep this second family he has now, intact.

The four suits gather up in front of The Soul of Cake Café. Pierrot smiles. “Ah, this place looks marvelous, let’s all go in and have some fun! We deserve that after all!” Desmond Vertin smiles and he opens the door to the café. Quickly, the female staff and customers swoon at him. Those who came with their female dates who end up swooning at Desmond, gave him annoyed glances.

Pierrot laughs. “Amplifying up your charm, I see? I heard that she’s here.” He pokes at Desmond. “Who’s here?” He looks genuinely surprised, putting a mask of innocence. Bryton Rhychester laughs. “Don’t tell me you forgot about last night? You got drunk and confessed that your first love works here.” Desmond laughs. “I’m bluffing, I’m not yet ready to give up my bachelorhood.” Gallius smirks. “Really? Do you want me to play the record? Too bad, you fell asleep before even saying the girl’s name. Talk about a total wreck.” They poke fun at Desmond.

Isabella then approaches them with her usual carefree smile. “Sirs, come sit here in our newly upholstered seats, as to not crinkle your well-made suits.” She then gives them the menu. Pierrot glances at it and stares at Isabella. He leans over to Desmond. “Is… she the one? Man, you’ve got nice tastes, but she looks innocent, I thought you like ‘experienced’ girls? Oh well, but she’s good-natured, she’ll definitely be a good wife material.”

Desmond instead points to an item in the menu. “I’d like a Wintermelon Iced Tea, paired with some strawberry croissants.” Isabella smiles and jots down his order. Bryton laughs at Pierrot who was greatly ignored at this point by Desmond and places his order as well. Defeated, he and Gallius order as well. Isabella jots them all down and gives the order to the kitchen staff. She then comes back with a water pitcher and pours water for them.

She then comes back with a trolley, containing everyone’s order. “It’s Isabella, right?” She stares up from serving dishes upon hearing Pierrot call her. He gives her a goofy smile. “Can I have the list of all the female staff here?” Isabella looks at him queerly. “Wait, I’ll go ask our manager if that’s okay.” And she disappears back into the kitchen.

She then later on comes back with a list of people working there. “Here you go sir. But before I give this to you, can I ask why you’re asking for it?” Pierrot chuckles. “Our friend here said, that his first love was working here! So! In order to know who this girl is, we would do a trial and error of sorts on him.” She nods and gives them the paper. But her curiosity got the better off her and she didn’t move an inch away from the table. “Can I know too? Plus, I could use that to poke fun at my fellow employees.”

Pierrot gives her a high five. “Ah, a woman after my own heart. We’ll get along fairly well.” And he moves over to let her sit on the table as well. “Pierrot, what are you trying to pull? Miss Isabella, don’t be fooled by our friend, there is a reason why he’s always called the fool in our workplace, plus his name generally translates to clown, so don’t believe him.” Desmond says, trying to get out of the situation.

“Come on Desmond, I thought you’re bluffing? You’re obviously blowing your cover off you know? That just makes us surer than ever that your first love is working here.” Bryton says sipping his coffee. Desmond sighs. “This is pointless. She’s not here, I tell you.” He says as he digs into his strawberry jam filled croissants and takes small sips from his Wintermelon drink. Pierrot and Bryton take turns into saying the names but in the end, it was to no avail. With Gallius acting as their lie detector, they learned that Desmond might be telling the truth. Isabella glances at the paper. “Oh, the name of our manager-slash-chef isn’t here.” Gallius smiles and puts down his cappuccino. “Checkmate.” Bryton and Pierrot laugh. “It’s rare to see Gallius smile, and she’s right. Maybe that girl is the manager-slash-chef of this establishment. Oh, you’re so done for Desmond.” Desmond’s face remains unperturbed. “Ha, that’s impossible.”

Isabella points out to Althea walking towards them. “Oh, here goes our chef-slash-manager.” She elbows Pierrot. “She’s really nice and all, and she’s very supportive towards others. She’s like a saint on earth, I shall say.” And she immediately stands up, bows slightly and attends to the other customers. Althea approaches their table, smiling enchantingly at the four. “Welcome to our café. I’m sure, you’re new customers. How are the dishes so far?”

The three stiffen and Desmond sighs. “It’s wonderful, miss.” He replies. Althea nods happily. “Then please, taste this Chicken Alfredo Pasta I’ve made. The sauce and pasta are made here, by me and with the help of our sous-chef Erick, and all the ingredients are all organic.” He looks at them with a look of uncertainty. “Unless… anyone of you is by chance… lactose intolerant or allergic to poultry.” The four were silent. She sighs. “I see, I’ll take this back to the kitchen then. I’m really sorry, I didn’t take note of your allergies...” And she takes the plate back. Desmond grabs her arm. He looks away, blushing. “It’s not that miss, it’s just that your cooking is far too dainty to look at, and we all are taken aback by your beauty as well.” Althea laughs it off.

“Sir, you definitely are a flatterer. But are you sure you don’t have any food allergies pertaining to this dish? I wouldn’t want to mark your first visit on our café with blotched skin or diarrhea.” The four quickly shake their heads. She smiles beautifully. “Very well, please enjoy, and don’t forget to fill our suggestion waiver!” She then leaves the table.

The three looks at Desmond, who’s grabbing his share of the pasta. “You should all get your shares.” They all wordlessly eat their fill, and as per Althea’s words, they filled the suggestion waiver. The four suits pay their bills, each leaving a hefty tip, underneath their plates. They all stand up and leave the café.

Pierrot is the first to speak up. “I can’t believe it. That’s her right?” Bryton looks at Desmond. “Please tell us that’s just her twin.” He says. Desmond and Gallius sighs. “That can’t be mistaken. Remember that time? The food taste just the same. I’m sure. It’s her.” Desmond replies. Gallius then speaks up. “So, she’s your first love then?” Desmond sighs even more deeply. “Yes.” Bryton pats Desmond’s back. “Maybe it’s best, if we didn’t come back here.” Desmond looks at the three. “I can’t do that. Have you seen her? It’s been years since I last saw that smile. I want to see that every day, even if it means I’ll come as a customer.” The three sighs. “Suit yourself. But don’t say we never warned you.” Pierrot says. “But, hang on buddy. I’m sure, if you make her realize your worth as a man, she might like you.” Pierrot says reassuringly. The two nod, agreeing to what Pierrot said. Desmond smiles. “Now, let’s all go finish our missions so I could start impressing her.” They then walk away from the café.

Isabella pats Althea’s shoulder. “You don’t usually do that; do you know them?” Isabella says, curiously. Althea smiles. “What do you mean? We do that for all of our first timer guests.” She says, as she cuts through meat with finesse, preparing it for another dish. “Well, you don’t usually serve them first-hand. You already are tired with cooking, not to mention baking.” Isabella replies, helping her prepare the dish. “Well, I didn’t mean to do it, I was going to ask our old guests what they think about our new menu.” Althea says, as she wipes the sweat from her brow. Isabella nods, and they continue cooking.

Meanwhile, Ignacio is walking home, when he spots a raft of ducklings along with their mom waddling across the street. He immediately sees the impending danger that will come upon the raft, as the speeding car accelerates even further. He then sees a brick nearby and he hits the car’s windshield smashing it, the brick sits on shotgun along with debris, shocking the driver and forcing him to halt. The driver angrily gets out of the car and confronts Ignacio. “Do you know how expensive this car is?! You—” “You almost ran these ducks over.” Ignacio says, cutting him off as he pets the ducks, helping them cross the street. The man loses his cool even further and attacks Ignacio with a punch. Ignacio instead catches his arm and folds it behind the drivers back. “You know, I can rip your arm off here and then, and I would definitely love to see you draped in a crimson like robe, but I want to use my tools on you. I want you to feel the coldness of my blade across your skin, how I start to flay your skin, as I remove it slowly while you scream in pain and agony. Can you wait for me here at least?” He whispers, his words sending shivers down to the man’s spine. The man breaks away, thanks to a surge of adrenaline and Ignacio’s loose hold on him. “Monster! You’re a monster! I’ll report you to the cops!” He says, as he immediately rides his car and speeds away at a thunderous velocity. Ignacio, unfazed, skips away, after helping the ducks cross the street. He heads for the graveyard, where he sees a man in his fifties, placing a bouquet of flowers on the grave of Althea and Louis’ mother. He then sighs and walks away. Ignacio picks the bouquet up and places it on another grave, “Louis and Althea will be upset if they see his flowers on their beloved mother’s grave.”

In the distance, where a young girl wearing binoculars sat inside her car, staring at Ignacio who’s tidying the grave of Althea and Louis’ mother. “Let’s keep an eye on him for a while. Maybe he’s the key to find them.” She then closed her car’s tinted windows and waited for Ignacio to leave. But, as if he was a ghost, he disappeared in thin air. She clenched her fists and threw a pot towards the grave of Ilysse. “This bitch! You should have never given born to them!” The she laughs sinisterly as she pulls the grass on the grave. “Or much better yet! You should have never been born!” She began to stomp on the grave, kicking the dirt all around it. “I hate you so much! You gave birth to them! You ruined my life!” Grabbing a nearby shovel, she began to hit at the gravestone so hard, that it crumped into pieces. Seeing their mother’s gravestone destroyed gave her a euphoric feeling. “Don’t worry, I’ll punish them, and ruin their lives just as you did with mine. I assure you, you’ll be together soon.” She spat on it one last time and dusted herself off before heading back to her car.