(Part 4)

It was night time, and Louise had fallen asleep. Kyrano had somehow struggled through the nightly duties of cleaning up, rearranging things and preparing for the next day, and was finally free to engage in his own activities. Still, he remained alone in the bathroom, simply sitting at the edge of the empty tub, staring at the floor.

There was definitely something going on inside him that was getting in his way of butler duties. Kyrano had prided himself for being able to shuffle between emotions almost instantaneously, to suppress even the craziest emotion down with his own will to becoming the most stellar butler. Even his father had praised him for that skill when he was younger.

Yet, somehow, it wasn't working well. Rather, it was that Kyrano did not even recognise what emotion he had to suppress this time around. He had gone around most of the day, forcing himself to feel no emotions and simply attend to his mistress as a perfect butler. Still, he had continued to make stupid mistakes –like forgetting to prepare his mistress's tie, almost forgetting the time for the student council meeting, missing out on the instructions that his mistress had given him. During lunch, he had even been careless enough to knock over a glass, embarrassing himself and his mistress.

Kyrano couldn't understand what was wrong: he had already made himself feel nothing, and yet he was still not performing as normal. He had already received several concerned gazes by classmates and their butlers. Scott seemed to have something rather like disappointment in his eyes.

In the sanctuary of his own silence, Kyrano finally let his self-anger and disgust show as he clenched his hands against the side of the tub. He had been keeping emotions like these back for the whole day, and still he had not been able to act as he normally did. Even worse; he appeared to be lagging behind on his butler duties with his streak of absent-mindedness. Maybe he wasn't doing enough. Maybe he was still unconsciously nurturing emotions while he worked.

Reflecting on the happenings of the day, Kyrano tried to remember instances where he felt his emotions rising. Of course, shame was one particular emotion that he had kept back throughout the day. Self-disgust was also one that he forced himself to ignore. What else had there been?

"I'm having a talk with Keyron alone. Leave us to our privacy, Kyrano, and come collect me when it is time for dinner."

Yes. That had been the moment when Kyrano had had to suppress emotions as well. He had felt irritancy and disappointment. His mistress had been having many private talks with Keyron, so much so that it appeared as if the woman was downgrading herself to associate so frequently with a mere butler. It annoyed Kyrano to no end, particularly when he had begun to hear rumours being passed around in the classroom that Louise Crawford was having a love affair with Keyron. Kyrano knew that rumours were always created and shared without much grounding, but there was no smoke without fire.

Given the way that Louise had always requested that he not be around whenever she talked to Keyron, Kyrano could not help but feel slightly inclined to believe those rumours as well. But even if there was something going on between his brother and his mistress, what could he do?

No love could come from a butler and a lady. The whole affair between Amelia and Jet in the previous semester had shown the Academy's view on the matter. The St. Clair Academy for Ladies absolutely rejected the notion of a love that spanned between servant and mistress, and when news of Amelia Dewitt's requited love with her butler came around, they had been expelled immediately –despite the fact that they had already eloped before the academy could take action.

Kyrano could not help his own sense of disappointment as well. Even if there was love between Keyron and Louise, did her mistress not trust him enough to know the truth? They had grown up together, after all. Did Louise not know that even if she broke the rules of the academy, even if she committed an act of sin, he would still sell his life to protect her secrets? Even if he appeared to be a morally upright butler, Kyrano was willing to betray all personal morals if it ensured his mistress's happiness and safety. What disappointed Kyrano so much consciously was not the fact that his mistress might be having an affair.

What made his faith in her waver was that she didn't trust him with her secret.

The flood of emotions came crashing into Kyrano as he finally reacted to them, having suppressed it all since the day started. Despite knowing that he was doing something terribly rash, Kyrano went back to his own bedroom without having even bathed, pulling out a clean sheet of paper, and began to rant his thoughts down in words.

Since there was no easy way to organise his thoughts, Kyrano wrote his anger down in a letter addressed to his lady, though he knew that he would never send it out. Still, it was a way for him to vent his utter frustration and disappointment at his currently-sleeping lady.

Doing so helped him relax a little, but the force of the suppressed emotions still surged through Kyrano when he found himself at the end of the page. In a blind haze of indignance at the situation that he found himself in, Kyrano reached for another piece of paper, but felt a sharp pain on his fingertips when he realized that he had been reaching for the wrong thing.

He had somehow pricked himself with the exposed tip of a sharp scissors that he must have forgotten to keep in the drawers.

But the pain; it gave him so much a jolt that he almost lost all of his passionate emotions in a single moment. Momentarily shocked, Kyrano stared at the red bead of blood welling up on his finger, a sudden thrill coursing through his veins when he realized that he had accidentally found a better way of releasing his pent-up pressures and stress.

Kyrano reached for the scissors, and in spite of his own rage, disappointment and negative emotions that he could not name, he smiled. It was better than writing everything down, feeling only that little bit better.

There was a faster way to forget the emotions. A better way to ignore everything.

Kyrano was sure that he had found the solution to his problem. After this; he would definitely be able to serve his mistress well. He had promised her that he would get better, didn't he?

He gripped the scissors tightly in his hand and walked out of his bedroom.

Off to solve his problem.

______________________________________________________________________________

"Come in." Louise called when the polite knocks on the door came, placing her papers down neatly in front of her, looking up when her visitor opened the door, stepping in.

"You wanted to talk again?" Her visitor asked, and Louise simply nodded in acknowledgement, moving from behind the desk to the couch where the two of them could sit side by side. It was much easier to share personal conversation when they were physically closer –Louise had realized –and it appeared that her visitor did not have as much reservations as her butler did when it came to physical proximity.

"You sent him off again, didn't you?" Keyron observed as he looked around the room, not surprised at all to find the woman alone. "This isn't good; he might get the wrong ideas. Brandon has already told me about how the girls in your class are beginning to pass rumours about you and I having a love affair, Miss Louise."

"I don't care for rumours." Louise dismissed easily, stopping by the dresser table to collect an already-opened envelope. "Neither does Kyrano."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you." Keyron warned, already sitting down and waiting for the lady. Since the first day that she approached to Keyron to talk, she had constantly learnt new things about how a butler could possibly act around distinguished ladies without coming off as rude. It was simply a unique way that Keyron interacted with the ladies in the academy that gave the impression of an easy friendship with the appropriate respect rather than a servile butler-lady relationship.

"What do you mean by that?" Louise kept hold of the envelope, still not ready to pass it over to the young man, though it was obviously intended for his peruse.

"I cannot claim that I know your butler well, Miss Louise. But at least he is my brother, and at least I observe him with a little concern about his recent changes. He tries his best to remain as the perfect Butler in Black for the school, but he gets irritated about these rumours about you and me." Keyron explained, sitting easily.

"But there is absolutely no romantic relationship going between the both of us." Louise answered with surprise. She had not noticed anything about her butler being irritated at all despite knowing the many small quirks of Kyrano. Why was it that Keyron could see it clearly while she couldn't?

"I agree with you wholeheartedly, but the views of the academy and Kyrano might be different. These frequent meetings –you and me alone behind a closed door –are fodder for rumours. Kyrano must be particularly disturbed when you shoo him away whenever I come around at your call." Keyron observed intelligently, but Louise frowned a little.

"But we must talk without his presence. Kyrano often gets worked up over his family matters. I do not want him to worry too much."

"Do not forget that he worries over you as well, Miss Louise. When rumours defaming you are afire in this place, he is worried."

Louise sighed. There was no way to ease her butler's heart, was there? Even though he seemed to already be getting back to normal, making up for his past mistakes by days of utter brilliance and stellar performance as the perfect butler, Louise was still suspicious that there might be something nagging in Kyrano's heart. She only hoped that helping solve his family issues would make the man return to the usual Kyrano that she had grown up with for the past fourteen years with.

"Hopefully after the both of you read this, you can understand how and why things went the way they did nineteen years ago." Louise finally offered the envelope forth to the awaiting butler. "I sent a letter down to Karima Reyes a week ago through an intermediary just in case Kyrano caught up on what we were doing. She gave this reply. A portion of it is meant for you only, Keyron. I'm apologise beforehand that I read it as well."

"It's fine." Keyron replied with an easy smile. "Anything that woman has to say to me can be read by you. I have nothing to hide at all."

"Take your time, and I hope you understand where Karima and Kyrone came from." Louise said, ready to wait as the young man sitting across her, looking exactly like her butler but without an eye-patch, retrieved the neatly folded paper from the envelope. Eyes of black scanned through the contents.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Miss Louise Crawford,

I am so thankful and grateful for your help. I know that it is by your manipulation that a kindly saint offered to pay for my medical bills and Kyra's tuition fees. I understand that you do not want Kyrano to worry about the financial difficulties of our family. The Reyes family is ever in debt with you and yours, Miss Louise.

When I received your letter and the photograph of my son and his master, I almost fainted with joy. I never imagined my young Keyron to have grown up so well and handsome just like his brother. It is with utter regret and sourness in my heart to hear from you that he still hates me and his father. We, as parents to the two boys, had to make a difficult choice, but it was the only way to protect both of them. I understand that they have grown up now, and that answers need to be given now that they have met each other. Thank you for being concerned about our complex family matters, Miss Louise. I hope that you will pass this letter to both my sons, to let them finally understand what transpired nineteen years ago.

The tradition of Reyes is that every man of the Reyes House will be the Head Butler in the Crawford Household eventually. All man of the Reyes House grow up with the singular goal of serving the heir and head of the House. This, understandably, leaves no tolerance to male siblings in any generation. I did not question the tradition when I married Kyrone to be part of the Reyes household. However, when I found out that I was bearing twins in my womb, I began to ask Kyrone.

What I got was not what I hoped at all. Male siblings were disallowed in the Reyes House. When a woman realises that her child is male given that she has already had a male child, she must abort the foetus. My case was different because I was bearing twins–a first in the Reyes House. If I go for an abortion, I risked killing both Kyrano and Keyron. We never should have asked Kyrone's father, because Kiran found out about my carrying male twins. After much arguments, Kyrone managed to convince his father to let me conceive both boys.

When I birthed both Kyrano and Keyron, I was so relieved to have the both of them in the world. They were my babies. No mother in the world would not love her children.

But Kiran was heartless as the Head of the Reyes House. He gave us one week deadline: that we could only keep the older twin –which was Kyrano –and prepare for the departure of the young one. There was no questioning what 'departure' meant. I fought with Kyrone, and Kyrone fought with his father. But the Reyes House is unbending in their values. They were determined to kill my baby Keyron.

We could not take the murder. So before Kiran came to retrieve his own grandson for a painless murder, Kyrone and I took the baby to another family. It was the only family which Kyrone knew was adopting a young butler to grow up with their first heir. They were only months apart, and Kyrone begged for them to accept a one-week old baby. Understandably, the Greaves family were in a dilemma to accept a baby who might not have even made it past his first week. We begged and begged, and eventually they very kindly agreed to take our baby. They promised to keep Keyron's name, but it was with utter regret that we had to strip Keyron from his real family.

I kissed my baby before we left the household, and I never saw him again. Kyrone told his father that the baby died in hospital due to infection and faked the death certificate. From then onwards, Kyrone and I were forced to act as if I had only given birth to Kyrano. We were forced to ignore the existence of our Keyron. It tore my heart apart, but Kyrone and I were utterly relieved to know that we had left them into a loving household of the Greaves. Occasionally, when he still went to the Greaves House with Master Luca to discuss about business matters, he caught brief sights of our son, and he would rush back home to tell me about how Keyron was doing growing up to be a bright young boy like Kyrano.

We never forgot Keyron, Miss Louise, but we could never reach him without letting Kiran know. It was for his life and his sake that we abandoned him. But this is a lousy excuse. Kyrone and I have been bad parents to Keyron and I completely understand the cause of my son's hatred towards us. It does not change the fact that we abandoned him.

But even if Keyron chooses to hate me, I hope that he understands the circumstances at which we were forced to give him up. Even if my baby Keyron hates me, I still love him as much as I love Kyrano. Kyrano, Keyron and Kyra are all my babies and a mother will always love her children no matter what. At the same time, I, too, hope that Keyron doesn't hate his own twin brother. Kyrano grew up without knowing that he had a twin brother at all. My dear Kyrano must have been so shocked to find out about his brother like that.

I apologise greatly to you, Miss Louise, for causing you trouble with our past. I did not expect for the young master of Greaves to attend the academy for ladies.

Once again, I thank you very much for your endless help to our family, Miss Louise. I, Karima Reyes, am very much indebted to you. I only hope that giving my son to serve you wholeheartedly can make up for all that I and my family owes you.

Yours Sincerely,

Karima Reyes

______________________________________________________________________________

"This is quite a bunch of crap." Keyron declared as he finished reading till the end of the letter, frowning as he handed it back to the awaiting lady. "Am I supposed to believe this stupid cliché story?"

"Keyron, I have met your mother, and I know that she is a sincere lady. She isn't part of our world; she doesn't know how to make this kind of schemes. Karima isn't like that –she wouldn't lie about abandoning you. She really loves you." Louise rushed to say, desperate to make the young man accept his past better. Louise really wasn't sure when she had started to be so concerned about the Reyes family situation, but it definitely bothered her quite some bit now that she knew about the rocky past with Keyron and how it affected Kyrano.

"That's the damned thing. Couldn't they have sent just a Christmas card or something? 'Hey son, we're your parents, and we're alive. We didn't really mean to throw you away. We're sorry.' Are those words really so hard to say?" Keyron replied quickly, but his eyes were no longer on the lady, but frowning down at his clasped hands. It was the same expression as Kyrano whenever he was caught in deep thoughts.

"I'm sure they tried ways to reach you. But you must know that the Reyes House is very traditional in their values. They must have been unable to reach you without your existence getting found out."

"I kind of got that idea when they wanted to kill me just because I was the younger twin." Keyron answered absently, still thinking furiously hard. "But if that was the plan, then why is she telling us all this now? Isn't she worried that I might be hunted down and killed now that proof of the survival of her second son is out? Was she even planning to tell us about this? Or was she going to just wait until we bumped into each other on the street and faint from believing that we've been cloned?"

"That part; I can explain." Louise answered quickly, glad that she had considered the question briefly as well beforehand. "Because you grew up with the Greaves family, it was obvious that you would be made the butler to Brandon. Kyrone must have known that once you come of age alongside Brandon, the two of you will be thrown into spotlight –considering how the Greaves House is powerful as well. The truth of you and Kyrano being twins will come out. But by then, you are already property of Greaves. No one from the Reyes family will dare to kill you without risking the retaliation from Greaves. If they do, then Greaves will attack Reyes and us Crawfords will be affected. The Reyes House will never allow us Crawfords to be disturbed, and so they will never take action against you."

"This is too confusing." Keyron finally gave up, threading frustrated fingers through his hand to push back falling fringe. "You need to give me time to think about all this, Miss Louise."

"Of course." Louise acknowledged. The Reyes family was already kind enough to allow her to pry into their family affairs. She could not, as an outsider, push for Keyron to suddenly accept his real family. It would be impossible for Keyron to immediately accept his mother and father, whom he believed to have abandoned him out of distaste.

Still, Louise hoped for Keyron to come to terms and make peace with his family quickly so as to relieve the burden from Kyrano's heart. She knew that Kyrano was disturbed by his brother's foreignness to his own family, which was part of why her butler had been so distracted and making so many mistakes. If she solved it, then perhaps the butler she knew and loved would be back again.

It wasn't the best way to work around the problem, but Louise knew Kyrano well. Her butler would reject her help if she tried to do it publicly. Helping his family was something she had to do behind his back, but that involved keeping secrets from him, which honestly made her a little unsettled.

Still, once she had things settled, she could tell Kyrano all that she had done. He, after all, could not reject her help after it was already given, could he?

Just a little while longer, Louise told herself as she sent a very confused Keyron out at the door to her dorm room. Keyron would take some time to consider his place in the world and his real family. Keyron would need to think through about his own feelings, his own misjudgement about his parents, and the real feelings that he had towards his own family.

Still, Louise was rather confident that the young man would come around. The Greaves family had brought up Keyron to be a happy, easy-going and friendly man, very much like Brandon Greaves. Louise was sure that the Greaves House must have also taught Keyron to be grateful for those who loved him. Louise was sure that Keyron would eventually accept his real family. She just needed to wait a little longer.

She just needed to hold the secret a little longer.

Then, when the time was right, she would tell Kyrano everything.

And her butler would once more be free of his troubles, to become the perfect, flawless and dedicated butler that she knew and loved once more.