Left for Carnage (Twisted Wonderland x Reader) (PAUSED)

Chapter 4: Heartslabyul

Epel lets' out a long sigh as his vision focuses on the natural scenery flying by outside the car window. The drowsiness that had invaded his mind a few moments ago was gone; now numerous thoughts swirled inside his brain. Doubt and fear clouded his judgment.

Mostly, he wondered what had happened to get him to this point. A few weeks ago, he was helping out in his village by doing some heavy labor and collecting the ripe fruit that would be used to make jams or sweet treats, still wondering what he was going to do with his life now that he had graduated from high school.

He briefly thought about college, but just the thought of how expensive it was to attend Night Raven College and the horrible fees some universities charged scared him away from the idea, sending shivers down his spine. Besides, he didn't even know what he wanted to major in. Would he pursue a culinary career?

With the many monsters that roamed the world slowly reducing in numbers, he thought about helping expand their family business to newer areas or maybe use his carving skills to sell various wooden figurines or fabricate some furniture. Money is precious in this world, it is the currency that moves buildings and grows empires, so perhaps becoming an entrepreneur wasn't such a bad idea.

It wasn't until a warm Sunday evening, that he would receive an answer as to what would become of his life. He returned to his grandmother's cottage holding a large basket of apples, only to find her happily conversing with a younger woman. Epel quietly peeked through the doorway and started eavesdropping on their conversation; they mostly spoke about how lovely the area was and the young woman mentioned how their sibling would love the new scenery.

His grandmother let out a small delighted laugh as she noticed the presence of her beloved grandson. "Oh, Epel, dear, you're back! Please, say hello to Mrs. Astrid (L/N)," the last name sounded a bit familiar but he paid it no mind as he greeted the new guest in a heavy country accent.

Before he could retreat to his bedroom and fall into his bed, however, Epel was quickly ushered by his grandmother to take a seat at the dining table while the old woman disappeared into the kitchen, only to hear the clanking of dishes a few seconds later. The lilac-haired boy shifted awkwardly in his seat as he stared at the young woman. "I heard from your grandmother that you were looking for a job," she began in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I could use the coin. Are ya offering me employment?" he replies, his mind drifting to the idea of finally being able to buy a blastcycle if the pay is good. His grandmother soon returns from the kitchen and hands him and the woman a warm cup of coffee. He quietly thanks her as he sips the bitter beverage.

"Correct. I was wondering if you would be interested in being my younger sibling's butler. They are in the process of moving to the Rhadamanthus estate, the one near the village's border," Astrid explains as she reaches for the sugar bowl and adds a few spoonfuls of sweet powder to her coffee.

His ears perk up at the name of the building. The old abandoned mansion? Epel remembers the really strange legends surrounding the identity of that house. Well, those "legends" were mostly scary stories made up by the older kids in the village to scare the younger ones.

However, he does remember parts of the actual history of the previous owner of the mansion. She was a beautiful and gentle woman who suddenly went mad one day, smashing every single mirror in the mansion before dying brutally a few days later, though he doesn't remember exactly why she died. He looks at the young woman with a little sadness in his eyes.

"The situation is a bit complicated, but I just want you to remind them of their eating and sleeping times. They tend to get very involved in their work and the next thing you know it's one in the morning and they haven't even had dinner," she woefully sighs and continues. "As for housework, you will have to discuss it with them as they are stubborn as they don't like to bother people, but I implore you to take care of various chores so that they don't get overloaded with work."