[The Promise Arc]

(Part 1)

Kyrano had been keeping tabs on them for some time now, and it seemed as if their support base was beginning to grow stronger by the days. It was initially simply a small fact to take note of in the past, but now it was steadily growing bigger and bigger, begging his attention. After all, he knew from experiences that such things were better off nipping it by the bud.

Miss Rowena, Yvette, Ashelia and Drina sat together at a round table during lunch time, exchanging serious talks paired with disgusted, contempt-filled expressions. It would normally lie low beneath Kyrano's senses, but he knew where those expressions were occasionally direct to, particularly when the ladies assumed him to not be watching. Their respective butlers were simply respecting their ladies' wishes, and Kyrano silently wondered if any of them had already tried to dissuade their young mistresses about the danger of whatever they were planning for.

"Kyrano." Louise's call of his name got him back to reality as he leaned closer to his mistress where she sat alone at the table, dining peacefully on his quickly-prepared lunch. It was western cuisine this time around, and it seemed as if his young lady had chosen to leave a polite portion out. His mistress was watching her weight well, for the school's sports meet was coming soon.

"Yes, Miss Louise?" Kyrano asked politely, much oblivious to the eyes of admiration flashed at the close master-servant relationship.

"Please invite Miss Rowena and her friends to the classroom once they are done with their meals." Louise daintily dabbed at her lips to clean off the last of the steak sauce, taking the soft pause in comfort. "It is time for us to address all that they have done and are planning to do."

"As you wish, Miss Louise." Kyrano bowed low once more, recognised that his mistress planned to make for the classroom alone, and got to his job. It was rare for the Butler in Black to ever part with the Rose of the Academy, but it was not something that never happened.

Eyes of interest followed the Butler in Black as he made his duteous walk towards the table, every step filled with the notion of a duty to fulfil. It was a figure that captured many hearts of the young ladies that studied in the Academy, a figure that made women jealous of all that the Rose of the Academy –the President –seemed to be casually ignoring and abusing.

Kyrano knew well of what the ladies' sentiments of his mistress were, as well as what their sentiments of him were. Though he felt it terribly unfair and undignified in place of his mistress, he knew Louise well. The Louise Crawford he knew would never be affected by such petty rumours, and Kyrano strove himself to be unaffected by these incessant chatters that would forever be sailing around the rooms.

Collective eyes of jealousy landed on the table where Kyrano stopped by, bowing low to the dignified ladies who sat at the table, their eyes beginning to fill up with honey at the sight of the Butler in Black –the only butler with the golden badge of honour –standing before them.

"Miss Rowena, Miss. Yvette, Miss Ashelia and Miss Drina, I humbly offer my afternoon greetings to you. My mistress has tasked me with the duty of inviting the four of you dignified ladies to meet with her in the classroom after your meals. Please do take your time and make less haste, for the next class shall not start until an hour later." Kyrano offered politely, bowed once more, met the eyes of each ladies' butler to make sure that they knew that something new had appeared on their lady's schedule, and then turned around.

"Wait, Kyrano." The voice that broke through the awed, stunned silence of the cafeteria belonged to Miss Rowena. "I'm not meeting Louise. Why do we have to meet her when she is the one who wants to talk to us?"

The Butler in Black spun back around to face the brave woman despite the collective gasp of shock that came around. The President –the Rose –of the Academy, while being a little too detached from anyone in particular, was still a fine and capable women who was served by a fine and capable butler. There were little people that were dissatisfied with Louise Crawford as the Rose, and thus when such sentiments were aired by ladies like Rowena, it definitely became a fodder for more gossips.

"Please pardon me, Miss Rowena." Kyrano once more bowed to show his manners. "My mistress knows that you desire very much to address an issue with her. Her schedules offer little break in between."

"So?" The brave woman continued, though the ladies who shared the same table with her seemed taken aback by the reckless bravery. "I'm also a busy woman. Just because Louise is the Rose doesn't make her the master of the school."

"If you see it as such, then let me humbly offer my own invitation to you to visit my mistress at the classroom." Kyrano's mind worked quickly, ready to hit at weaknesses that he knew the woman held.

While Rowena had a burning distaste and dislike for Louise for stealing the limelight of the academy, Kyrano knew that Rowena very much desired to have him as a butler. Rowena Julian was a woman who emphasized much on efficiency, and seemed to have gone through various butlers looking for the 'perfect one'. The current one, Scott, had not made a slip-up yet, but Kyrano knew that Rowena had already set her sights on him as the perfect butler for her. And this thus made him Rowena's weakness.

Kyrano knew exactly how well his plan worked when the young lady's determined resolve in her eyes softened a little, her tightly controlled expression giving way to a little more lax.

"For your invitation, Kyrano, I accept. I will visit Louise." Rowena caved in, and Kyrano once more bowed in to show his gratitude.

"I am honoured to be in the consideration of your choices, Miss Rowena. I will see you in the classroom." Kyrano bade as farewell, and returned to the empty table which his young mistress had vacated only recently. With her unfinished tea barely cold, Kyrano was done with the clean-up and made to the classroom with a refill of the calming tea.

He was not surprised to find his mistress sitting alone in the classroom, settling accounts of the academy in silence. Knowing better than to disturb his mistress in her work, he silently took to her side, sliding the cup of warm tea to the corner of her desk.

"Thank you, Kyrano." Louise offered absently when he stepped back to his usual place diagonally behind his mistress.

"Miss Rowena presented some resistance against the idea of meeting you, but I managed to have her persuaded, Miss Louise." Kyrano thought it best to inform his mistress about the situation that he had met briefly back in the cafeteria, and his mistress's reaction, instead, was to close the accounts credit book softly in front of her, looking up at empty space.

"What do you think their reaction will be, Kyrano?" Louise asked, not even bothering to fill her butler in on the reason why she had invited the ladies to meet her. Both of them knew well what to expect from the feigned 'polite invited meeting'.

"Given that Miss Rowena's father has recently been requested to partner your family for an international conference happening overseas, it appears that the young lady understands her new importance in standing when it comes to the Crawford family. She seems ready to abuse this new power that she holds over you." Kyrano explained, not exactly sure if his young mistress was still updated at the events that were happening back in the Main House while they lived in the dorms of St. Clair.

"Halim Lauren?" Louise was fast to come up with the appropriate name of the current master of the Lauren family –as well as Miss. Rowena's father. "What event are we putting up?"

"It is a showcase of the prestige that our country has steadily been attracting. Working with the Laurens is of importance to us, for they will help to further solidify the family's standing in the societal order." The dutiful reply came quickly as Louise took a moment to consider the new circumstance that she found herself in. It was something so normal to her, yet something too foreign if anyone else knew about it: the fact that she knew nothing of the major happenings back in the Main House of Crawford while she was kept here in St. Clair.

The other ladies occasionally received letters from over-attached or concerned parents, or at least received news about the Main House through their butlers regularly. For Kyrano and Louise Crawford, it appeared as if they had been abandoned by Oscar Crawford since their appearance in the school, for the Main House had failed to keep them abreast about the current affairs of the family. During the first summer break back in the Main House from St. Clair, Kyrano had tried to hunt down the origin of the order given to the hierarchy of servants to stop anyone from updating the young mistress any news about the family. But this hunting process eventually led Kyrano to the Head Butler, who met him with a blank face and simply told him that Oscar Crawford had not wanted his niece to be distracted from her studies and responsibilities by weighing her down with issues of the family.

It had been such a painfully obvious excuse, but the problem with the situation was that Kyrano could not go against the orders that came from his master, no matter what he thought about it. Thus, Kyrano had learnt to never ask the Main House again about any major events.

Instead, the resourceful young man had gone and contacted the outside –where information was sold for money. This kept Kyrano abreast with the current affairs, in which he would impart the more important ones to his mistress. It was a good thing that Miss Louise had not asked about how he had come by across such news.

"Kyrano," Louise broke the silence after a long pause, "your shoulder injury from that time where you broke my fall; is it fine now?"

Kyrano blinked in surprise that his mistress still remembered about his injury from more than a month ago. In that incident, it appeared that Miss Ashelia had been the one who had 'accidentally' pushed Miss Louise from the top of the stairs. Had Kyrano's reflexes been milliseconds slower, Louise would have ended up with at least a cracked head or concussion. Instead, Kyrano had wrapped around his young mistress in the instant she lost her balance, and cushioned her fall with his back –though her head had fallen heavily on his shoulder, causing a hairline crack on his shoulder blade.

"The pain is almost entirely gone now, Miss Louise. Why do you still bring it up?"

"Are you well enough for a sword-fight?"

"It will very much be dependent on the skillsets of the opponent, Miss Louise, for if my opponent recognises that I still have recurring pain in my shoulder, he might strike at it as my weakness." Kyrano answered as honestly as possible, knowing that pretending to be all fine and dandy was useless in a fight. It was pointless to put on a show of dignity for his mistress, because what good would it make if a butler who looked perfect could do nothing with a broken shoulder blade?

"Your opponents might not be in quality, but quantity." Louise's answer was quick, and Kyrano's mind was equal in speed.

"Miss Louise, I am confident of being able to deal with Scott and Justin. However, Jay and Hunter are both from trained families of kendo and aikido respectively. To deal with them together might pose a small problem for me."

"Are they skilled enough to know to aim for your shoulder?"

"Not from what I am aware, Miss Louise."

"Then if I ask a fight between you and the remaining four butlers of the ladies. Will you come out unscathed?"

"This I cannot guarantee, Miss Louise, but I will try my best."

"As always." The answer was paired with a smile that Kyrano could not see from behind the woman. The Butler in Black did not know about it, but his mistress always felt at ease whenever she heard him promise that he would try his best. She had, after all, watched him grow and learn from being an unknowing young boy to the butler that he was now.

She knew that he had done his best in the learning process, and had showed amazing results –some of them almost ranged into the areas that seemed supernatural.

As if the conversation was settled between the both of them, Louise once more opened her accounts credit book, making a mental note to ask the Treasurer of the Student Council about a certain purchase that she didn't remember asking for. It did not take long for the ladies to arrive afterwards, their arrival announced by authoritative knocks on the door.

Kyrano went to the door to greet the newcomers, urging them to move closer so that his mistress would be able to address the four ladies who had come with their respective butler: Miss Rowena and Scott, Miss Ashelia and Jay, Miss Yvette and Justin and finally, Miss Drina and Hunter.

"Let us address the grievances that appears between us." Louise began as Kyrano took his place behind her the same way the other butlers took their places obediently behind their ladies. Of the four butlers, Kyrano knew well that Hunter was the most aggressively protective of the butlers, that Justin was the most talented in terms of arts and academics, that Jay was the most meticulous, and that Scott was the all-rounder. It was, after all, part of Kyrano's job to keep track of the characteristics of the people hanging close to his mistress daily –even if they might seem insignificant to the women.

"Since you are so straightforward, Louise, then don't blame us for being ruthless." Miss Yvette –usually quiet –spoke up with righteous anger. Kyrano knew the reason why Miss Yvette was going against his mistress. It had nothing to do against Louise as a person; it was just Miss Yvette's taking the side that was against the Crawford family, which had ruined Miss Yvette's family power in the society drastically during a takeover that rendered Miss Yvette's family useless.

Miss Louise, naturally, knew nothing about it.

"We don't like that you are the Rose of the Academy. You don't deserve it. Sure; you have good grades, but there are many others more suitable to be the Rose. Family is not supposed to make a difference in the standing of a lady in St. Clair, but you are obviously abusing your family's power, Louise Crawford." Miss Drina stepped forwards with an aggressive intent in her eyes, but was wisely held back by her butler.

Miss Drina was in this group because she had been on the list of the most popular candidate for the Rose of the Academy, and had almost been chosen. However, Miss Louise had joined in the campaign last minute, and blasted through the processes, overtaking Miss Drina easily and clinching the title of the Rose. It appeared to Kyrano that the young lady was still not taking things easily in her stride –having had her title taken away just like that –but he found it rather sad that the previously capable and respectable lady was now part of the petty little rebelling team against his young mistress.

"Remove my family's name from that day, Drina, and the results would still have been the same." Louise's reply was factual and almost unforgiving –but Kyrano knew better. His mistress was trying his best to convince Miss Drina that she had been working hard for the same campaign as well. "It remained in the fundamental problem of how you wanted to run the student society."

"And how have you changed anything since your time of office?" Miss Ashelia challenged to show solidarity for her friend Drina. To be rather honest, Kyrano found it rather a pity that Miss Ashelia had joined the group only because of shallow friendship with Miss Rowena.

"I have no need to vindicate myself to you." Kyrano knew that his mistress was beginning to get into the defensive –which also meant that the offensive was about to come soon. He knew his mistress too well; he knew what to expect easily. "Why should I, the Rose of the Academy, try to address the petty grievances that you hold against me? I was fine with the little pranks and jokes that you tried to play on me –like putting a loose bottle of nail polish in my bag or leaving pins in my pencil case –but you almost harmed my property three weeks ago, and I do not forgive it."

Kyrano guessed that his confidence had been wrongly founded, because he found himself surprised now as he tried his best to recall of the happenings three weeks ago. The only incident that involved the four ladies that stood before his mistress was when Miss Ashelia had pushed Miss Louise, ending up with a hairline crack on his shoulder. When else had the ladies 'harmed' his lady's property without his knowing?

"What can you do to us? There is no founded evidence on all that you're claiming. We can sue you for slander, Miss. Rose of the Academy." The sarcasm was particularly heavy when Miss Rowena finally opened her mouth, the defiant expression speaking for her clear intentions on rebellion.

"Oh, ladies, do not doubt that I have evidences of all that you have done." Miss Louise was back in her zone, and Kyrano could only wait patiently for the scene to unfold. After all, his mistress was no simple woman –she was a Crawford.

"However, as the Rose of the Academy, it would be unbefitting of me to simply remove the four of you from the S Class without proper trial." Miss Louise stood up from her chair, meeting the height of the fellow ladies as well without fear. Kyrano watched the impressive, elegant back of his mistress, wondering if he could possibly ever get a better mistress than this one that he served.

"Kick us out of S Class?!?" Miss Yvette screeched with anger. "You can't do this for no reason!"

"Yes, I am well aware of the rules as well." Louise answered in a painfully condescending tone of voice.

"And thus, in my capacity as the Rose of the Academy, I shall declare the first Recall of a Duel of the semester."

The shocked faces appeared not only on the young ladies' faces, but also their butlers. Kyrano, though feeling the same emotion, made sure to not show them on his faces –for they would instantly understand it as a weakness –that Louise had not trusted to tell him of what she planned beforehand.

"Duels were banned from St. Clair over fifty years ago!" Miss Ashelia protested.

"According to the records, Duels were temporarily suspended from St. Clair over fifty years ago by the Rose of the Academy of that time because they had lost the meaning behind duels. Only I, a Rose of the Academy, am able to lift the suspension by starting a Recall of a Duel, which will be watched by the whole school." Louise was entirely in her zone as she explained, never letting her voice or face betray a single stray emotion.

"But a duel is supposed to be a one-on-one. Who will you pick amongst us?" Miss Rowena spoke up, the wariness clear in her eyes.

Miss Louise smiled gently, but the ladies and their respective butlers all saw the same look in her eyes –the look that Kyrano was used to. A woman in power; a woman who knew exactly what she was doing.

"In the First Recall of the Duel, I will not be picking one person. This duel will happen one-against-four. And we will not be the ones duelling." Miss Louise's confidence came clear when the ladies exchanged looks with each other, helpless at how the situation had suddenly turned out for them.

"Then how will the duel be carried out?"

"I bet on our butlers." There was a short pause. "I bet Kyrano's sword-fighting skills against the four of your butlers: Scott, Jay, Justin and Hunter. Should Kyrano win, the four of you will be downgraded to A Class. Should Kyrano lose, then I will resign as the Rose of the Academy."

Kyrano forced the protest from rising from his lips, knowing that he should do nothing at all to undermine the pretence of power that his mistress held now.

"Should Kyrano lose," Miss Rowena spoke up, fearlessly meeting the eyes of Miss Louise, "you resign as the Rose of the Academy and you give me Kyrano."

There was a fleeting moment of hesitation that Kyrano saw in his mistress.

"Deal." She nodded. "Then we have ourselves a duel. It will happen at the end of this week, at dusk in the colosseum."

"You're on." Miss Rowena replied with the same face of determination that had been there since her confident walk into the classroom. Kyrano briefly wondered if the woman was truly confident of the capabilities of her butler in winning the duel. "Don't back out last minute, Miss Rose, for it would be so humiliating for the Crawford family. Be prepared to lose to us."

"We will decide the loser on the day itself." Louise took her accounts book from the table and turned for the door. Kyrano was fast to follow his mistress's no-nonsense walk, offering a humble bow of farewell to the ladies and their butlers. Then, like the way that both Kyrano and Louise were used to since the start of school, the both of them breezed through the school corridors alone, undisturbed.

"I have issued a duel in my name as Rose and put the family name on the line." Louise spoke softly, but Kyrano heard her clear. "Kyrano, are you prepared to carry the name of your master on your shoulders once more?"

"I am prepared to win glory to the master's and your name, Miss Louise." He answered humbly and lowly, knowing that despite his mistress's bravado in the classroom, she was still slightly doubtful. Of course she would –there were little people who could survive a four-way swordfight. But there had been no doubt in Kyrano's mind at all. He might be injured, might almost lose his life. But there was no doubt that Kyrano would win the duel for his mistress's sake.

Never will he, as a butler bearing the name of Reyes, fall to the lousy schemes of a few petty ladies of the Academy.