Strangely enough, when you reentered the mansion there wasn't a single brother waiting for you in the entrance hall, nor did you run across any when heading to your room. You bit your lower lip, anxiously glancing around as you slipped through your doorway, checking your closet, bathroom and even under your bed, a sigh of relief escaping your lips as you headed back to the bathroom, finding all of the areas clear of any evil little monsters. You turned on the faucet in your bath at full blast, adding a delightful rose-scented oil that filled the room with a spectacularly lovely scent. You breathed in deeply before heading back into your main room, pulling out a cotton pair of cropped trousers trimmed with lilac lacing at the hems and laying them on the bed alongside a pale purple jumper. A calming bath before dinner was just the thing you needed before you had to deal with the brothers for real. You switched off the tap and stuck your finger in the water, jerking back with a slight yelp; it was much hotter than you had expected, so you decided to fetch one of your Japanese literature books to read while you waited for it to cool.
"Hm...this seems pretty interesting," you murmured, flipping curiously through the pages. You had never read it before, of course, but with your limited options you would be taking any entertainment that came your way. You yawned as the scent of the rose oil washed over you, rubbing your eyes tiredly. It really was exhausting to be so on edge all the time, but at least now you could relax a bit. You glanced up from the book and gave a startled scream, almost tripping in your haste to back away from the bathtub, which was now occupied. "Shu! What the hell, how did you even get in here? What are you doing in my bath?" He opened one eye a crack, the brilliant blue of his iris peeking through before he closed it again with a sigh.
"I don't remember you buying this bath." He pointed out, and you gave a surprised laugh, setting your book down on the cabinet.
"You sound like my mother when I tell her to get out of my room...told her." Great, now you were feeling that hollow emptiness that you attempted to keep at bay, the emotion making its way onto your face as you frowned anxiously. "Why are you in this bath, then? Fully clothed no less."
"I felt like it."
"Yeesh. Well, I was going to have a bath, but I think I'll just leave you to it―" as you turned for the door his hand flashed out, snatching your wrist and yanking you backward. You cried out in alarm as you lost your balance and tripped headfirst into the bathtub, water surging over the edge and splashing to the floor as you spluttered and coughed, completely drenched. "Wh-why did you...urk..." you dissolved into more coughing, the scent of roses now sickly rather than sweet. You felt him laughing beneath you rather than heard it, the slight motion sending ripples across the water, and you scowled down at him. "That was unnecessary."
"How exactly did you contact our father?" The question was sudden and out of the blue and you blinked at him, your confusion throwing you off your anger for a second.
"I asked Dr Reinhart for his contact details." You answered, and his eyes finally opened fully, something in their depths making you feel vaguely uncomfortable.
"Dr Reinhart? Really?" He mused, and you made to move away from him only to have him grab you by the hips and drag you even closer, a sly smile on his face. "You didn't think I would let you go that easily, did you?"
"Oh, what do you want this time?" You sighed, and he chuckled slightly.
"I want you to tell me exactly what you said to my father."
"Well...you didn't have to drag me into the bathtub to get me to tell you that." You muttered with a frown. "I just asked him―"
"Word by word." He interrupted, and you nodded slowly, repeating what you had said to Karlheinz. He stared at you for a moment before giving a wholehearted laugh that lit up his entire face, tears of mirth in his eyes as he stared at you in wonder.
