(Part 2)

The evening sun cast a beautiful orange glow to the garden of the academy, but there were little ladies with the time or interest to walk through its well-groomed pathways and corridors. The small statues and fountains were still in perfect condition –owing to the hard work of gardeners and caretakers of the academy in maintaining the perfect image of the school through its greenery.

With his mistress by his side, Kyrano stepped through the garden, casting his eyes appreciatively over the neat bushes and their blooming flowers. Up ahead was the Rose Pavilion, and he could easily see the woman that he was supposed to meet already waiting there, her back to him as she watched the fishes carry on with their lives nonchalantly in the small pond.

"Kyrano, I will hang around here." Louise said softly as he turned around to find his mistress slowing her steps to a stop a good distance away from the pavilion. "This will provide you with some privacy of speech."

"Thank you for your kind consideration, Miss Louise." Kyrano nodded in acknowledgement. "It will not take long."

Then, looking back to make sure that his lady was well waiting on her own, entertaining herself by looking at the scenery, Kyrano made up the steps to the pavilion quietly.

"Miss Amelia, I have received your note that you sent to the student council." Kyrano greet softly so as to not shock the woman. At the sound of his voice, Amelia Dewitt spun around with wide green eyes, her deep red curls flying around her shoulders.

"Kyrano!" She greet with enthusiasm at the sight of the Butler in Black bowing humbly to her. "I was getting worried that you might not have seen the note in time."

"My apologies, but I almost did not. Had Miss Louise not been going through the letters sent in to the student council, it would have been missed, and you would have had waited for me in vain." Kyrano explained, for he figured that it would only be polite if he informed the woman about his circumstance.

"But it doesn't matter, because you are here." Amelia answered, a delighted glint to her eyes that Kyrano didn't understand. What was it about his presence that made her so happy? What had he done to warrant the elation of a fellow lady that he didn't remember having much interactions with?

"Is this matter you intend to discuss of utmost important, Miss Amelia?" Kyrano asked politely. "I ask this question as I am actually on a tight timeline. My mistress is required at a formal dinner, and we cannot afford to delay too long."

"Oh, it won't take long at all. As long as you listen to me and answer me honestly, I don't think we'll take long at all." Miss Amelia smiled brightly at him with such radiance that he almost felt uncomfortable not smiling back. But he wasn't supposed to smile back, because he was supposed to be a butler, and butlers were supposed to stay emotionless and react impartially according to their instincts rather than their emotions.

"Then do let us begin. What is it that you wish to discuss with me, Miss Amelia?"

"I love you, Kyrano." The confession was made with courage and no single instance of hesitation at all. A faint blush appeared on the lady's face as she kept her eyes on the butler who stood before her, his face writing nothing, but his eyes reacting to her. Amelia knew very well what kind of a man that she had fallen hopelessly in love with. She knew that Kyrano had been taught from young to not show his emotions on his face as a butler –but she knew that butlers tended to escape showing emotions on their faces by showing them all in their eyes. Kyrano was no different.

"I thank you for your brave confession, Miss Amelia, but-" Kyrano began to say, but the woman stepped forwards, one more step closer to the man that she had admired for a long time.

"Wait, listen to me first, Kyrano." She insisted, and it was by pure duty that the butler remained silent even though he knew that he was better off not knowing the extent of the feelings of infatuation harboured for him. The more he knew; the harder it would be for him to turn down the woman politely.

"You first caught my attention when you helped Louise become the Rose of the Academy. Then, when the two of you were blasted into fame, I began to admire you –like everyone else –on a surface level. I simply thought you were handsome –too cute to be a butler. But the thing that made me fall deeper was how you made every other lady feel as important when you spoke to them. Your emotional depth –I could see no end to that. I was intrigued. What kind of circumstances could have shaped a man like you? You and I; we are so young, and yet you appear to have gone through much more than any one of us. And so, I researched about you, Kyrano. I learnt everything I could about you."

If it was disturbing to find that he had been watched from a far distance for a long period of time, Kyrano was doubly disturbed to know that the very same woman had 'learnt everything she could' about him. Though he had little secrets to hide from anyone, for his past was a clean slate on his conscience, he still found it rather unnerving that a stranger knew everything about him.

"Then you must understand well that I am devoted solely to my duty as Miss Louise's butler. To expect love from me, Miss Amelia, would be in vain." Kyrano tried to nip the problem by the bud, but the woman was adamant as she shook her head.

"What I understand, Kyrano, is that you never had the opportunity to experience life as a man. You have been a butler your whole life, and love is nothing in your vocabulary. You do not expect yourself to love anyone except your job. I understand that, but it does not mean it cannot change. Let me be the one to thaw your ice heart, Kyrano. I want to be the first to walk into your heart and take my place there."

"A butler cannot love a lady, Miss Amelia. Regardless of who the lady is, a butler cannot hope to transgress the differences in class to love and marry a lady." Kyrano informed, but it appeared that the woman was already prepared for his arguments.

"But a butler can receive a rise in class and become his own master. When a butler becomes a gentleman, then a lady can love him and marry him."

"I am, and always will be a butler, Miss Amelia. I have no desire to rise."

"The House of Dewitt might not be as strong as Crawford, but I am willing to use my family's power and money to make your rise in rank and class, Kyrano. When the family of Reyes rise to be more than just butlers, then I will be able to love and marry you."

"Miss Amelia, you must not harbour such thoughts. Yes, it is true that you can raise my family name, and you can raise me to be a gentleman. But I cannot, because all that I am is a mere butler for the Crawfords. I will not become anything else, even if I am given the opportunity."

"Are you sure you can resist a rise in power and name, Kyrano? Do you not have to consider the finances of your family? Is your wage as Louise's butler going to cover the debt burden that is growing on you by the months and year? I told you, Kyrano. I have researched about you. I know about your family situation, and I understand that you desire to work loyally to a family that has been giving you a stable income to support your family. But it isn't enough."

Kyrano was silent for a short while, wondering exactly how much the woman had found out. While the finances of the Reyes household wasn't exactly a top-secret to be kept from the outside world, Kyrano did not particularly want his mistress or anyone to know of the financial situation that he was in.

After his father died in service when he was twelve, the savings Kyrone had left for him had depleted quickly when his mother had taken ill to a chronic disease. Always in need of medical aid, Kyrano had expanded much of his father's savings on his mother. Then, when his younger sister came of age, Kyrano had respected his father's wish for his sister to be a refined lady and sent young Kyra to a rather prestigious private academy.

Kyrone's savings had only lasted the Reyes's family four years. When the tuition fees and medical costs had depleted all of Kyrone's savings, Kyrano had begun to pay the debts all off with his own wages and savings. It had managed to get them by for the next two years. Afterwards, Kyrano had taken out loans. As the man of the house after the departure of his father, Kyrano had taken it upon himself to pay off the debts bit by bit, hiding the financial situation away from his family and all that knew him. He would not burden anyone with his problems. Definitely not his family. Definitely not his mistress.

"I will be able to get by, Miss Amelia. Thank you for giving me considerations about my family's well-being, but I will be able to solve it eventually." Kyrano replied lowly, hoping that the woman could not hear the strain in his voice. She was smart to hit him at his weak spot, but what could he do? While his debt burden increased by the years, Kyrano simply could not let his family go. As the man of the house, Kyrano had to assume his father's place and solve their financial situation by himself...

"How selfish can you be, Kyrano? I am offering you an opportunity to clear all debts that you have been accumulating over the years. I give you a rise in rank, and you can live a comfortable life. You don't even have to serve anyone ever again. I can even give your mother and sister a comfortable life. Do you not want it for them?"

"My apologies, Miss Amelia." Kyrano kept his eyes down. "But I cannot give up being Miss Louise's butler. I do desire a better life for my mother and sister, but I believe that I can do it as a butler. My father taught me up to be a butler, and a butler only. To be a gentleman, to be a lover; those are not in considerations of my future."

Kyrano then took advantage of the shocked silence that came after his solemn declaration.

"If you will excuse me, Miss Amelia, I have to leave, for Miss Louise will be late for her dinner if we discuss about this matter any further." Kyrano bowed humbly once more, and turned around to retreat. His first step forth away from the pavilion was stalled when a warm body ran into him from the back, and arms latched around his chest, pulling him back.

"Don't go, Kyrano... Forget all that I said. I just want to love you. You can be a butler, you can be Louise's butler. Do what you want, Kyrano, but just let me love you..." The woman spoke, her words muffled as she spoke into his back.

"I am sorry, Miss Amelia." Kyrano did his best to pry off the arms of the woman politely, but there was just no 'humble' way to do it. "I am very sorry to have to deny your feelings, but it is useless to love me. You will fare better if you invested your interest and your heart into someone else more deserving than I. I cannot love, because I am a butler to Miss Louise. I am pledged to the Crawford family, and as long as I am pledged a butler, I cannot consider the notion of love for anyone save my mistress."

"Then must I steal you from Louise's grasp? If you become my butler, then I must be allowed to love you then! Regardless of what the rest of society says, I will marry my butler if you come into service of my family! My father and mother will have no say, because I have already declared to them that I love no one but only Kyrano!" Amelia seemed to straighten out her thinking immediately, letting go of the man she loved so strongly and watching as he spun around to look at her in shock.

"Miss Amelia..." Kyrano could not even begin to come up with the appropriate words to dissuade the determined woman.

"Do not try to waver me, Kyrano. I am determined. I will grab you from Louise's hold, and make you my butler. Then, I will be able to love you, and you cannot betray the orders of your mistress to marry her." Amelia said, a look of epiphany on her face. The look –Kyrano was a little scared on the inside.

"Miss Amelia, please do not harbour such thoughts." Kyrano did his best to dissuade, but it was obvious that the woman was past listening. "The effort you put in will be in vain..."

"Nonsense. I rarely love, Kyrano, and when I do, I will get what I love." Amelia declared proudly, the delighted smile back on her face. "I will henceforth declare a duel with your mistress, Louise Crawford, with you as a wager. If I win, I will gain you."

"Miss Amelia, please-"

"I accept your proposal for duel. However, if you lose, you will promise to surrender all research and property that you have done on my butler and give up your heart of love that you harbour for him." The interruption came from Kyrano's mistress herself, and he spun around to find her walking up to the pavilion, nothing but an exterior of strength as she approached them.

"I do not intend to love something that I cannot possibly gain." Amelia replied, another figure of confidence now as the ladies stared down at each other. Kyrano stood at the side, helpless as the women met with hard eye contact, issuing challenges behind amiable smiles. "However, the duel would be truly unfair if we were to duel through our butlers. While we already have witnessed the strength and capability of Kyrano, he is still recovering from surgery. To have my Jet winning him like that –it would be such a shameful victory for us."

"Then let this duel be amongst us ladies. It is only apt, since we are fighting over a butler." Louise suggested as Kyrano lost his voice to protest. He knew that look on his lady's face –that expression that show that she allowed no concession and would heed no protest at all. The woman was had set her sights on something, and Kyrano recognised that he would not be able to dissuade her.

"Then let me propose that the method of duel be an archery competition between us both. The winner will gain Kyrano as a butler." Amelia declared, and Louise Crawford betrayed no emotion at the declaration.

"We have a deal. We will conduct the duel in two weeks."

"Deal." The smug look on Amelia's face was understandable, for the National Champion for Archery had been none other than Amelia Dewitt for the past 5 years. While she had not seen nor heard of Louise ever being an archer, Amelia was utterly confident of her skills. There were little who could beat her in archery, and they were all not in the country.

It was going to be an easy win for her, and she would get Kyrano just like that.

"Kyrano," Louise turned around without so much a preamble. "Let us go. We will be late if we delay any further."

"Of course, Miss Louise." Kyrano answered deferentially, back to his usual aura of stability. Amelia watched as the butler that she admired and loved bow down low to her in farewell and walk away beside his mistress.

They disappeared quickly around the corner.

Amelia turned back to face the pond, squatting down and piercing her finger softly past the surface of the water.

"Did you hear that, Jet?" She asked seemingly to no one, but a man stepped out from behind a pillar.

"Everything, Miss Amelia. Loud and clear."

"I'm going to win Louise easily, and Kyrano will be mine, Jet. Aren't you glad?"

"Of course, Miss Amelia. You have been waiting and dreaming for this." Jet, the faithful butler of the Dewitt House, stepped forwards, throwing a long coat over his mistress.

"But why..." Amelia pulled the coat closer around her, pulling in the warmth that was Jet's. The coat held Jet's scent. "Why didn't he want to rise above being a butler? Why was he so adamant about being Louise's butler? Why couldn't he begin to think about loving a lady?"

"Because it is against our duty to love our ladies, Miss Amelia. When we do, we harbour thoughts that are unbecoming of a butler. When our ladies love us in reply, it is futile, because we can never truly become gentlemen, and it would only ruin our lady's future." Jet explained as he sat himself down beside his mistress, who had now fallen to her knees before the pond.

"Is what I am doing wrong, then, Jet?" Amelia asked, looking over to her butler with the tears crowding the corners of her eyes. Jet had been her butler for only 5 years, but Amelia could not think of anyone else who knew her better. The man, 8 years her elder, had cared for her and watched over her everyday with the gentlest of gazes, the gentlest of touches, gentlest of words.

"Even if it is wrong, Miss Amelia," Jet reached forth and pulled his mistress's shoulders down till she leaned against him. "I will still stay here by you, always."

Recognising his genteel once more, Amelia clutched herself in familiar embrace as she dripped her tears down his black vest. Jet held his mistress close, giving her nothing but his warmth as she cried over her rejection from the man that she thought she loved.

Jet sat on the pavilion floor by the pond, with his crying mistress by his side. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

What his mistress was doing was the wrong thing. If a lady loved a butler, and if the butler loved the lady in reply, there was only one thing that the couple could ever do. There was no hope in remaining in society. If they really loved, they would elope.

But Amelia did not know that, and Jet did not want to raise it up. Kyrano would never elope; Jet knew it. But Jet could do nothing about it, for she had turned her eyes onto the young man. He had already let his mistress down once; to tell her that the way she was approaching Kyrano was wrong –it might break his fragile porcelain princess.

Regardless.

Jet would be there by her side forever. It was up to him to protect her. And though he knew that he had already broken her heart once, he was still cruel to the both of them.

Because his heart was also torn in two.