A day later after the banquet...
"Brother. I am bored." Maxwell told his brother. They were sitting face to face in the library. Maxwell was leaning on the table infront of them, feeling bored while Maxillary was leaning on his chin -with a large book in his hands on the top of the table to support its weight.
"Then, go to the garden." Maxillary replied bluntly and flipped another page. He was currently reading the Empire's politics history entitled, 'The Water After the Drought by Williams Stefen' which he found interesting when he saw it in piled books in the table.
Looks like someone forgot to take it back in the shelves or that someone was currentaly not finish in this books that was why it was not on the shelf? But who would have an interest in politics other than Maxillary?
"You are too serious on what you are reading." Maxwell pouted and threw the crumpled paper from his hand to his brother's face. Maxillary was irritated but he did not fight back.
"Maxwell." he calmly said. Maxwell sighed and sat on his back before messing his hair with his hands.
"Ugh! You are no fun, Maxillary! I am going crazy here!" he exclaimed.
"Then go crazy."
Maxwell frowned and stood up thumping his foot.
"I will go to Maxine!" he said suddenly dreamily with his hands clasped.
"Her lessons are yet done." Maxillary cut his excitement but Maxwell was not bothered at all.
"It is about to end." Maxwell backfired that mad Maxillary closed the book in his hand with a thud before he abrutly stood up from his seat and walked passed Maxwell.
"Then let's go. You are too slow." he said, pretending not to be excited
"You!" Maxwell called irritatedly but still followed his elder brother.
When he said that he was bored, the latter did not made any efforts to answer but after hearing Maxine's name, he immediately stood up.
What a peculiar brother.
They both run towards the second floor where Maxineirah's class partakes, instead of knocking on the door, Maxwell barged in.
"Maxine! Let's play! We know...how...now...to-" Maxwell slowly stopped from what he was saying and they were both stuuned at the sigth they caught insid the room.
Maxine was kneeling on the floor with the hedge of her dress was lifted up and too many scars were now visible all over her lower part.
The two faces dimmed and lost their rationality.
"What the hell?" both of them murmured in unison. Maxine widened her eyes. What was her brothers doing here?!
Her face paled up and reached for the table to support her weight to stand on her feet.
She did never expect that they would see her in such a state. What a great timing...
Maxine never intend to be bullied by her teachers and the pain she receives from the whipping were so strange for her.
She did not know if it was because of the torture - she received in the cell before she died- that the whips from her instructors did not affect her anymore.
It aches but the pain was bearable as if she was already used feel the same pain.
"Baron Striford. What is the meaning of this?" Maxillary asked in an angry tone. His forehead was creased, teeth were gritted and his hands were clenched into fists. He looked so red all over his face and were trembling out of anger.
"Y-Young M-Masters-" the Baron called stuttering.
It was obvious that Maxillary was restraining himself from attacking the teacher since his sister was here.
Maxineirah seeing him in adevious state and killing the teacher was the least thing he want her to see.
Maxwell immediately took an action and did the opposite thing. He angrily turned his back from them, went out of the room and ran towards their father's office.
"W-wait! I-I can exp-lain!" the Baron begged infront Maxillary and kneeled on his knees but Maxillary ignored him and looked passed to Maxine who seems to be lost in a thought.
Maxine was frozen for a moment when she saw her elder brother's cold yet burning face. She quickly diverted her eyes from him. She brought her hands behind he fidgeted.
Baron Striford grabbed Maxillary's trousers that made him furiously looked down to the gibberish Baron by only moving his eyes.
"Who do you think you are?" Maxillary's voice boomed that made the other two in the room shiver. The Baron unconsciously dropped his hands on his lap.
He had this annoyed look when he hid his face by bowing his head.
'Damn this kids! Did that wench planned this out?!' he thought, gritting his teeth in irritation. Maxillary passed through the kneeling Baron and approached Maxine who was looking in other direction. He stopped midway when he saw the expression Maxine was wearing.
He scurried back to distance.
He could read it as sadness mixed with disappointment and hurt.
Although, Maxine was glad that her brothers found out her being maltreated but there was still disappointment and agony in lingering in her chest. She clearly did not know why.
Should she not be happy because no one would hit her again?
She wanted to but what were this feelings that stirring in her chest?
Was she dissapointed because of herself causing another havoc for them? Or wass it because she was dissapointed to her family because they did not know anything that was going on just until now? Just like in the past, her being maltreated was never found out, just this time.
If her Brothers did not barged in they would not have known until all of her classes was over.
"You are not going away with this. I will make sure you rot in dungeon." Maxillary swore the Baron while looking at Maxineirah who refused to look back.
Maxineirah clenched her hands under her dress and same goes to her brother whose balled into fists.
"Y-Young M-Master, y-you are mistaken!" the Baron said with his voice trembling and tried to reach out the child's foot but Maxillary immediately turned around to face the kneeling Baron and kicked the adult's hand away with restrained force.
If Maxillary did not controlled his force, Baron Striford's hand would have been gone from his body by now. Maxillary wanted to cut the Baron to pieces but he had restrained his self because he did not want to give his sister such an unsavory sight,
"I am indeed a child but are you perhaps taking me for a fool?" Maxillary asked angrily. Maxineirah glanced his brother a little. She never heard her brother talk like that in the past. As cold as his father's.
She already experienced her brothers and father's cold treatment in the past but she never heard them reply to her with such a mad expression even when her engagement to the Crowned Prince was brohen.
"T-that is not w-what I meant." the Baron backed off but he ttried to look at Maxine and thought of something sour.
Maybe, just maybe, the Young Miss was really innocent to all of this, a woman with a soft heart. If he beg the Young Miss to let him off the hook, the brat would surely forgive her.
"Young Miss, please spare my insolence, I am your instructor and I just wanted you to become better-" he stated without any sincerity like he was just talking to an ant. The Baron was talking with Maxillary with fright a second ago but when he talked to Maxine, he did not gave an ounce of respect, pretending to be one when he obviously not.
How could Baron Striford be so shameless? He had sinned to Maxine and not to her brother and yet he was looking at Maxineirah but his words were towards Maxillary.
It was as if he was just want to be pitied.
How confident was the Baron to beg for Maxineirah's mercy without any sincerity at all?
It was as if he was sure that the young lass would forgive him just because he apologized with that pathetic apology.
Maxine glanced at him in the corner of her eyes and gave him a menacing look that made the Baron stopped midway and brought shiver down to his spine.
The way Maxine looked at him was sharp, piercing and it drown him to the pits of ocean, body tied on the rope. He felt his soul shivered at the sight, chilling the every fiber of his nerves.
Maxineirah did not said anything to him. The look she gave to the Baron was enough to make him falter.
The Baron could surely distinguish the Young Lady to be a part of the Zachrono.
They heard the quick footsteps in the hallway from the open doors of the room. Only the Baron was the one who looked back out of fear.
The Duke, the Butler, his Brother Maxwell, Kathelina, two other maids and two Knights popped up from the door.
"Young Lady!" Kathelina went straight to her Young Miss followed by two more maids that arrived with her father.
Duke Zachrono glanced at his daughter for a second who seems to be in a daze before looking at the kneeling Baron with a cold facade.
“Explain yourself Baron Striford.” The Duke said that fueled the chill in the room. The Knights behind Maximus shivered unconsciously as they glanced at Maxineirah who wass now wearing a poker face.
The emotion of her face was different from her usually warm fac. It was as if she returned back to her old self and nothing could be thrilling than that.
“I-!” before Baron Striford could ever talk,
“All words that will come out of his mouth are all lies.” Maxillary butted in.
“That is right! We saw-!” Maxwell was about to support his brother’s words when their father’s voice grumbled that made the people in the room flinched except for the Zachrono siblings who seems to be used by it.
“Shut up.” Maximus did not shout but that was more than enough to even hold their breathes.