Merely Existing

Chapter 19: A Missing Hole

[Cavarone Mansion]

The silent atmosphere at Claus' office, could only be described as suffocating. The clock's handle which seemed to be ticking with an unusually loud rhythm was another source of discomfort.

An absolute pressure weighed down on Roy's shoulder as he gazed apprehensively at the stone cold expression of his master. Gone was the usual elegant smile on his handsomely chiseled face, replaced by a thin line of lips as he stared at the report in his hands.

He placed the report calmly on his desk after going through it, then leaned back onto his chair with a seemingly normal calmness. Though only Roy knew, that underneath that calm was a deadly mind driven by cold rage.

His master was far from calm.

"So, what is her condition now?" Claus questioned, directing a sharp glance at Roy.

"We've received word from the doctor just recently. It seems that she was in a critical condition at first. She took a bullet to her right shoulder which fortunately didn't damage any major vessels or nerves. However, it hit her bone causing great damage there. She was also stabbed in the stomach. The doctors suppose that she had instinctively angled her body in such a way that none of her vital organs were effected but it still made a puncture wound which served to cause excessive blood loss. The rest are slight damages on the surface like a bullet wound that ripped off a bit of flesh from her leg and slight burns all over her body. She underwent a surgery immediately and as of now there is no immediate threat to her life. A full recovery is to be expected in one or two months."

There was no changes in Claus' expression as he listened to the report. But Roy didn't fail to notice how his master's hand which was clenched tightly into a fist seemed to loosened a bit. He found himself smiling slightly at that reaction, even that pressure on his shoulders seemed to have lightened.

Heavy footsteps stomping hurriedly towards the office could be heard. The owner of those footsteps, as usual, didn't so much as bother to knock on the door when he barged into the office like a hurricane.

"Mr Deviorra, your manners please," Roy reprimanded almost like a reflexive reaction, although he knew full well it would only fall on deaf ears.

"Manners? MANNERS MY FOOT!" he roared, "Explain what in the blazes just went on in my school! MY. SCHOOL!"

"Mr Deviorra, do calm down. For your information, it happened outside your school borders. You're school was untouched," Roy reasoned with him exasperatedly. He glanced over at his master who simply sat in his chair looking uninterested. Well, so much for expecting him to do something about this.

"It happened damn near my school so it's still my business, you cyborg butler! Not to mention the 'it' we are casually speaking about here is a goddamn explosion!" Steven was in a state where couldn't even care to bring down his volume. "What kind of sad excuse of a human being being would even go after a little girl with bombs? Have you lot lost your marbles?! If you're trying to kill her, don't do it near my school premises! Remember our deal Mr Cavarone? My school stays out of your business, that's the deal!"

The sudden sound of fists banging on the desk stunned both Roy and Steven into silence. Their attention was immediately focused on Claus, whose face had gone dark despite his calm appearance.

"Kill her? That doesn't even make a joke," he commented with a casual smile, "I would never kill her. That would be like killing off the hound you trained for so long before it even served its purpose."

"But the bombs..."

"That was not on my orders! Neither was I even informed of it! Dammit!" Claus cursed under his breath, "That vixen and 04....if they weren't already dead I would have them taste hell before killing them off nice and slowly. How dare they...how dare they try and murder her behind my back...."