❝ I'M LAUGHING, I'M CRYING, IT FEELS LIKE I'M DYING. ❞

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Marion crept up to the stone incinerator, the bottom hem of her white nightgown brushing against the blades of grass, which were slightly damp from a slight rain that started just then, the echoings of thunder being heard in the background of that cold, dark night.

Fire crackled from the inside, which Vincent had made sure was burning properly before quietly heading back inside the manor and before Marion had made her way discreetly out into the gardens by the back of the old house.

She stood there silently for a moment, her mother's diary in hand as she listened to the combined sounds of the fire crackling and the pattering of rain against the ancient bricks and ground. 「 ─ why...? 」Was the sole quiet thought that kept echoing in her mind.

She didn't even know what Vincent was thinking as he burned her mother's things and lied so plainly to her just before. Perhaps he had done it so many times, it didn't bother him at all to do so.

Was the Vincent who was always thinking about her and supported her kindly through all her painful days...and the Vincent who had such cold, terrifying eyes - were they really the same person?

『 I can't let him near Marion. 』

The diary dropped from her delicate hands and went up to her head as she fell to her knees in pain with the sudden, sharp pain that overcame her.

"...hurts..." she groaned, wincing in pain as her vision started to spin and she collapsed onto the ground, with her long, blonde hair spilling around her and becoming wet as the rain pattered against her as she lay motionless in the dark, cloud-covered garden.

━━━━

The room was eerily quiet as the only sounds were heavy breathing and the slow but steady sound of something crimson dripping onto the floor. A small, blonde child was backed up dead against a wooden door, her small body shaking as she looked on at the scene.

Father's atelier smelled like old wood and rusted metals and the walls were lined with shelves, all being sat upon by beautiful porcelain dolls, their charming, doe eyes looking down on the child and the man who lay beside her, with blood running down his head and lifeless eyes looking upwards, unseeingly.

"Fa...father..." The girl shook in fear, tears flowing as the figure of a handsome boy drew near to her, face freckled with the same blood that stained his hands as he reached for her, blue eyes blank and emotionless.

"Please...Vincent ━ !!"

━━━━

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

The girl rose from her unconsciousness, rain-damp hair following her as she sat up from the cold, wet grass. Picking up the diary and rustling through its pages, she stopped flipping as she got to the part she wanted.

"...Hmm..." She hummed, amusedly as she read through the entry, giggling all the while. "Is this Vincent's secret?"

━━━━

Vincent frowned as he heard the thunder coming from outside the stone manor, completing his final routine check of the house and seeing that all the servants had finished their work and gone to their quarters.

He held a brass oil lamp in his gloved hand, nose wrinkling uncharacteristically at the unpleasant smell. He should have the bring up that new electric lighting with his Lady sometime later on.

All the doors of the long hallway were closed, making him nod at the sight, but he then eyed the Lady Marion's door wide open and her lamp on, the golden light flooding out into the otherwise dark hall.

"M'Lady!" Robin blue eyes widened as he ran into the room to see his Lady sitting on the ledge of her open window, her blonde hair and nightgown soaked enough to have become seethrough.

She tilted her head to the side with a giggle, grey eyes blank as she noticed his panicked look. "Yes, Vincent?" She asked sweetly, the curtains blowing in the thundersome wind that as being let in with the open windows.

"...Marionette." His face instantly turned disgusted.

This made her giggle even more. "Ah, you always figure it out so quickly."

"What are you even doing? Get down from there!" He frowned deeply at her sitting so precariously on the edge, leaning backwards and only holding onto the wall.

Suddenly she leant into him, grabbing his tie with on hand and pointing a perfect nail at him as she poked his cheek. "Don't order me around, murderer."

Unaffected, icy eyes met with hers at that, though his mouth twitched slightly.

"Oh, no! What a scary face!" Marionette burst out laughing at his frigid expression before it snapped back into a patronizingly sympathetic look. "Those weren't my words just then, though. They were Marion's."

The rain started to become heavier as the drops started to enter the room, making the floor just under the window soaked as she leant back out the sill.

"Well, I like the bad Vincent, anyways, so it's fine." She mused as she let go of the wall and Vincent's eyes widened as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in before she slipped over. This made the girl tilt her head again in interest.

"─ My, you certainly are a wolf in sheep's clothing." She ran her finger down the bridge of his nose and traced his features ever so softly to tickle. "If you had let go of his hand, your sin would have forever been buried in the darkness, you know?"

Vincent looked down at her coldly before placing an arm under her legs and lifting her up, holding her against his chest before he set her down on her bed, readjusted his tie and went to close the windows.

"Haaa~ You are so boring." Marionette sighed heavily as Vincent dutifully checked the latches and closed the curtains. The small puddle would have to be dealt with later.

"You promised me at the start," He turned around to face the blank-eyed girl. "If I listened to what you say, you wouldn't harm Lady Marion's body."

"Hm? Did I say that? I must have forgotten." She smiled seductively, before slipping the wet nightgown off her shoulders, a red mark visible on her soft, white breast. "For someone who acts so high-handedly, you've dirted this body many times."

"Marionette..." He started warningly, dark blue eyes flashing with a strange emotion.

Marionette's nightgown hiked up as she lay on her back on the bed, opening her legs before the expressionless butler and subtly smirking, her grey eyes teasing. "Don't do it gently like you always do. It's fine to be rough sometimes."

"You love Marion, don't you?"

"So much so that you want to destroy her."

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