"True apothecary thy drugs art quick."

― William Shakespeare

━━━━━━━━┓ ? ┏━━━━━━━━

This is such a ludicrous development... From being the secondary scion, a 'mundane' student, an irregular 'Herrscher' for that Goddess, being transported to an unknown world and fighting several 'special forces' to now, taking a bath in an illusion. And it would be obscure to call it as illusory as I expected it to be... Heck, it's even at first-person.

"Jaiden, I'm coming in." While I am busy doing nothing but thinking frivolously of how my timeline has become this tangled... a voice suddenly echoed through the room, with the core endeavor of depriving me of my solace.

"I don't recall our culture incorporating a mixed bath tradition," I responded as a sort of retaliation, implicitly saying on my thoughts "I don't want you here, just wait for your turn outside.", but he bunged right in either way.

"Eh? But we always took a bath together, regardless. Come on. We even had set up this innovative bathroom for that purpose!" He replied.

Hmm... It's not innovative. We just copied it from the east. I thought... without slipping any word. Well, for starters, I don't even know if he has any idea or any perception of what's it like to live on the east. After all, being enclosed in this familial community for practically as far as he can remember is one thing that he is hell-bent on doing as the heir.

As he entered with a bathing towel on, silence then slowly found leisurely entering through the bathroom, except for the sound of water, whose consecutive and minuscule drops from the unsightly-sealed shower is seemed to be magnified...

It's as expected though. There's no way I'm starting a little chitchat with this man, who will soon fall into his self-professed perdition. I will, however, ignore him this entire time, proving the grounds of an ancient maxim that, silence, really is a virtue... sometimes.

I then continuously spoiled myself with this illusory bathtub that is rather too realistic, completely ignoring his 'innocent-for-now' presence. He slowly sat on the other side with this mini-chair, while starting to bathe like eastern guys would do, and called...

"Jaiden..."

How annoying. Now I know how Larimosa feels when I accidentally disturb her during this type of scenes, depriving her of luxury-time.

"What?"

"You're acting peculiar today. something's been bothering you lately. I can tell that much." He confidently exclaimed.

"Yeah, you are soon to kill every last one of them after all. Who would not?" I thought. But having found the will to conceal such meritless concussion of words, I held back.

"You should probably forget bout such small details, especially when your birthday is coming. Just assume it's a sudden struck of adolescence. That's all." The perfect reply came gushing forth from my mouth.

"Adolescence huh? You're really becoming ready to follow me and my footsteps. And I assume it's only a matter of time before you will surpass me. I know that much..." He said, with an assured expression. Yeah, I remembered that face, It's one that kept me going in my self-professed competition, inspiring me, making me believe in a futile hope of actually outmaneuvering him for once. It's a facade of an austere brother, who hopes for the best outcomes for his siblings.

"Well, I surely can't disturb that process of integrity. I'm gonna hurry up. Adolescents need a private time for themselves after all." He added, hastily scrubbing his entire body with soap, then continuously pouring buckets of water on his head...

"Just don't do anything too significant, Jaiden... and you'll be fine." He whispered, in a way that he thought I am unable to hear them and, now with a slightly-troubled demeanor

"Well, then... I'm off. Make sure to sleep well okay?" He then left the bathroom, having met by three mid-aged butlers, who I reckon to be silently waiting outside for him to finish for quite some time now, carrying his pajamas and some other grooming-before-bedtime materials. A typical scenario, that any aristocrats around this time are assured to have.

Sleep well? Sorry, but I'll have to decline the offer. I mean, how could I even do that?...

"Young master, are you done?" Another voice came in just after that man and the three butlers went out from the view. It's Xerxes on duty.

And yet, for another 30-plus minute, I pampered myself with the solace that this bathroom has to offer, ignoring the call of the main butler...

"Young master, I wouldn't recommend you, staying in there for an extended period of time... That would put your health in deterioration, young master and we can't let that be." Knocking yet again on the door, never relinquishing to wait, he again exclaimed...

Well, he's right. While I may find it too trivial to worry for my health in a sphere of a first-person illusion, I assuredly can't afford to waste my time here devoid of merits. And also, I am rather curious, as to how it might feel to eat and dine, inside someone else's Paradigm Shift.

"Yes. I'm finishing up now."

(...)

I then got out from the bath, while Xerxes, the same from the other three previous butlers, is also carrying my bed-time essentials, who also has been waiting for me to finish this entire time... And I think I know where there is going...

"I can change on my own... No need for you to accompany me for such a simple and natural task to do." I exclaimed, determined to maintain my right to privacy...

Wait, was it always like this before?... Oh yeah.

"While your brother, also persisted to do the same, I must insist young master. It's a part of my job as the head servant to keep you sanitized and well-rested on the night," he replied, with a look of utter insisting.

"I'm not changing my mind. You're only wasting your time."

"But young master!... You also need to finish dinner, have you forgotten? You're the only one who has not yet eaten!"

I then ignored him, quickly snatching the essentials from his hand, running through the stairs and on the hallways, which ultimately leads toward my spacious room, wearing nothing but a soaking-wet towel. Yet, the most important thing, is that I managed to escape from the grips of that agreement-driven head servant.

I mean, there's no way I'm letting some butler see me stark-nude.

What is this, 'Black Butler'? Where I get to be Ciel Phantomhive and he gets to be Claude? Hmmm. Preposterous. I'm 18, in the body of a thirteen-year-old, and not to mention, that a lot of my perspectives have been altered the moment I started living with Gramma, and one thing of the much that I learned, is that letting someone change your clothes in these age-range, is palpably against any types of normalcy.

(...)

Assured that Xerxes decided to let me be, I then continued trending my feet towards the long and rather eerie Verandas. It's night now, and I think that I've been on the bath for too long, that I did not even notice... Hmmm... '30-plus minutes' my ass...

Along with the Verandas, I then noticed the exact same place, where my last endearment towards the moon happened... I stopped by, looking up, and there the main symbol of a night of derangement and of my unrivaled bad luck - the moon, in its phase called 'Waning Gibbous', just before it being utterly full...

And then, as I am busy assessing this visage of an 'earthly' astronomical body... from my back, I noticed these reverberating footsteps, getting closer and closer, and from whence, emerged a young Maidservant, in the usual and prescribed attire, probably the same age as that soon-deranged-brother of mine, holding out both a teacup and a crystal-clear pitcher...

And from her, malevolence... In the same tier to that of the pianist.

"Oh, young master. What are you doing at these sleeping hours?... Please be ready for bed. The lights will soon be put off." She said, smiling, in a way, that if not because of my ability o see all of her malevolence, I could have had deemed her as a mundane household servant... which does not seem to be that way. Hmmm... people around these parts are really good at pretending huh...

Being ignored, she bowed her head as per their customs, slowly facing away...

"Where are you going?" I asked...

"To your brother's room, young master, to deliver his daily favorite tea." She answered as any maidservant would do.

But... I'm sensing something quite not right. And while I may not be an expert on chemicals and drugs, my knowledge is enough to recognize them, from either smell or outward perception alone...

"I'll be going then, young master."

"Wait..." I intervened, preventing her from going further any longer.

"What is it, young master?"

"That's a drug, right?... right there, on the tea..."

"Eh? No, young master! How could I even resort to such a meaningless betrayal?"

"Then drink it."

"Ok then, young master. I am saddened that you're doubting my service, but to prove that I can be trusted, I will."

Hmmm.., confident, now aren't we? And I know that it's peculiar.

She then poured a glass and started drinking it, nonchalantly... Like there's nothing to worry about, indeed...

Yet, come on... Everyone knows that these dubious drugs can be designed by preference. And this, right there is made not to cause a quick cunning death, but to slowly kill, and that, it's not something out from that drug used in Romeo and Juliet... I know that much.

And... she said that this is a daily, favorite tea-routine of that man, right? Is he that quick to be played by someone false? No. The thought alone is implausible...

"As you can see, young master, it's safe! Do you want some?"

"No, thank you."

"