The sweet smell of flowers and the warm, liquid luminescence of the sun provided a great setting for a morning stroll.

Alois Trancy was murmuring into himself in his drawing room when the sunlight caught his attention.

Forever fickle, Alois abandons his revenge plans and ruminating brooding in favor of participating in this lovely weather.

He can't do it alone, though.

Alois despises being alone.

It might even be safe to say that he loathes being alone.

Standing in the desolate corridors of the manor, Alois's head swivels around, in search of somebody.

Somebody to force into walking around outside with him.

"Claude!" Alois shouts, his foot scuffing the ruby rug upstairs. He furrows his eyebrows when the butler doesn't arrive at his mere beck and call.

Just as Alois is about to venture further, Claude wisps up the stairs and is at his side.

Alois doesnt startle.

He simply smirks smugly and glances up at his butler. "Ah, there you are," Alois hums, arms crossed over his chest.

He shrugs his shoulders and sheds his flock coat, disposing of it.

The piece of rich fabric rests coldly on the floor and Alois kicks it away with his foot.

"Get Hannah to pick that up," he demands.

Then, he remember why he actually requested Claude to make an appearance and claps his hands together.

The butler remains nonplussed and stands there, awaiting Alois's orders.

"It's such a a beautiful day, isn't it?" Alois inquires, whirling around childishly on his feet.

Claude nods, albeit stiffly. "Yes, my highness. It is truly beautiful outside," he replies coldly.

Alois is dissatisfied by this weak response, but he holds his tongue.

He can't have Claude flaking out on him because he threatened to punish him for his incompetence.

Again...

"Let's go for a walk around the manor!" Alois exclaims, throwing his hands into the air enthusiastically.

"As you wish, my highness." Claude bows at the hips, and Alois takes that as his noncommittal agreement.

Leading the way outside, Alois flings the double doors to his extravagant manor open.

Warm light pools down at his feet and shadows of trees sway in the cool breeze.

Alois inhales contently, hands on his hips confidently.

"Smells like spring," he comments. He glances over his shoulder at Claude, who's expression is still unchanged.

"... Smells like shit, too," Alois adds, his mood dampening considerably.

He takes a few strides ahead and Claude lags behind, but he continues to obediently follow.

The shrubbery lining Alois's manor is adorned with many types of flowers.

Roses, lilacs, cornflowers, tiger lilies—any flower, really.

Alois hops and skips around the manor, and soon enough, him and Claude are all the way at the back, near the trees.

Alois leans closer to one of the flower bushes and he sloppily plucks a red rose from its stem.

Carefully avoiding the thorns, Alois spins the flowers between his pinched index and thumb.

"You can't have roses without thorns," Alois mumbles, his lips pulled taut in a smirk.

As per usual.

Expect nothing less from the young Trancy; from the omnipotent earl; from a bratty child.

Alois looks back at Claude.

"Don't you agree, Claude?" He questions, arching an eyebrow and mock curiosity.

Claude fixes his glasses meticulously, nodding all the while. "Yes, my highness. You can't have a rose without its thorns to accompany it," he replies flatly.

Alois's smirks widens, stretching so far that it's splitting his lips.

"I do believe that—" The loud, thunderous sound in front of them cuts Claude off and genuinely causes him to falter.

Alois's head twists and he stares ahead at a weird machine, beeping and buzzing.

It's thrumming.

Then, the door swings open and a thick, acrid and chemical smelling fog percolates and clouds their vision.

A bright, white flash of light blinds them.

And then walks out {{user}}.

Alois shields his eyes and tries to peer through the fog, and when it finally clears, his eyes are a little wide.

"What the bloody hell is this..?" He whispers.