Episode 19 Continued - Rich and Rude
“Yumi!” a girl called, making my lashes lower. “Hello! I missed you so!”
I gazed down at the crowd to find three girls running toward me.
Not these bitches… really? They were the first to greet me?
Sebastian was right, I made a mistake inviting them, didn’t I?
My three cousins, Kate, Jamison, and Matilda stopped in front of me, bowing like I was suddenly their queen.
“Hello, cuz!” Matilda said way to casually. “It’s nice to see you!”
“We’re very sorry about last time,” Kate expressed frantically. “We were so cruel to you and we see that now.”
“Now, now, girls,” Sebastian said then, stepping forward.
They all shrank back in fear, stumbling a little as they huddled together. “Sebastian!” they said together, more out of surprise.
He just smiled kindly. “My master needs to greet her other guests, too, so give her some space, alright?”
They all bowed quickly. “At once!” And they rushed off.
I just smiled a little. “You made quite the impression on them.”
He just gazed after them curiously, watching them huddle in a corner behind their mother. “It seems I did.”
“Yes, well, whatever happens, I shall be safe with your menacing, demonic, black, fire-like shadow behind me.”
He just followed after me. “That was a lot of descriptions of me, master. If I were smart, I think you were hinting that you were afraid of me.”
“Oh, I definitely am,” I said, making him blink and gaze down. I just smiled. “You are a demon after all, you were contracted to kill me for the longest time. I would be a fool if I wasn’t afraid, wouldn’t I?”
He stared at me for a moment, surprised even though I’ve expressed this before.
But he just smiled, lashes lowering as his eyes glowed dangerously. “And you are no fool, master.”
“Indeed, I am not.” I stopped in front of our guests, Sebastian by my side.
“Hello, everyone!” I said in an oddly chipper voice. “My name is Yumi Phantomhive, heir to the Phantomhive throne and keeper of the underground. I am so glad all of you could make it! This is a rare, and oddly occurring circumstance that we’re all here, isn’t it?” I laughed. “I am anti-social, after all.”
They all laughed even though I was serious.
“This is Sebastian, my butler,” I said, gesturing to him.
He bowed before them. “A pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”
He stood up when I gestured to my other four servants standing in a corner and adjusting their clothes. “And those are my other servants.”
They all shot up, surprised that I introduced them.
“Cammie is the short one with the curly hair, she serves as a maid of my mansion,” I said, “and the tall one is Carter, the houseboy. Maddox is the one wearing the fedora, he’s the cook for my mansion. And the other girl with the blonde hair is Scarlet, my other maid.”
They all bowed simultaneously before standing up straight. “A pleasure.”
“Now, if you’ll all please introduce yourself to everyone,” I said, clapping my hands together. “We’ll start with you, over there.”
I pointed to my three cousins.
Their cheeks burned a bright red, and they glanced at each other before looking at their mother, my aunt.
Aunt Beth just arched her brows.
They then looked back forward, separating from each other at an instant and closing their eyes kindly.
“I’m Matilda,” one of them said, closing her eyes kindly.
“I’m Kate.”
“And I’m Jamison! We’re all Yumi’s cousins!”
“My name is Beth Phantomhive,” my aunt said then, splaying her hand over her chest as she gazed up. “I am Yumi’s aunt, and this is my husband, Minister Curtis.”
He nodded, letting out a hmph as an agreement.
Another girl piped up then, smiling kindly as the hat she wore topped over with her movement. “My name is Claudia! I am a manager at one of Master Yumi’s toy factories!”
A man with dark skin and a top hat bowed before me. “I am Jeffery, manager of the perfume department.”
“My name is Savage,” another girl said, smiling kindly. “An odd name, I know, but I manage the medicinal department.”
“I go by Deneise,” another woman said, closing her eyes as her smile remained gone. “I manage the floral department.”
“And my name is Beham Phamtohive,” my grandmother said, smiling kindly as she chuckled, “I am old and worn down, but I serve as Yumi’s grandmother.”
All of them laughed a little at her small joke, and I just smiled.
After a moment, we all looked down to the final guest, lips parting.
It was a cold, emotionless-looking man, and he just gritted his teeth. “Name’s Denver,” he said then, voice gruff, “weapons department.”
I watched him suspiciously before gazing up at the guests. “Thank you all for coming! I appreciate this more than you can imagine. Now, Maddox will guide you all to the dining room just across the hall. If you’ll all follow him.”
He gazed up in shock then, brows drawing together as he pointed to himself. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” I said quietly, “go!”
“But I blew up the kitchen!”
“All you have to do is walk,” Carter said then, making me roll my eyes. “And unless you got bombs in those shoes, you’ll be fine! I gotcha!”
He just grumbled in protest and started forward, Carter following behind him, making Sebastian chuckle a little as Maddox bowed unevenly and gazed up. “If you’ll follow me!”
All the guest murmured in amusement as they exited the room and into the dining room.
“Hey, Cammie,” Scarlet said then, making us gaze over. “You know… Carter mentioned something about bombs in his shoes….”
“Oh, that was one time!” she said then, shaking her head as she glared. “I haven’t done it since!”
“Well, you did it once which is why I had to ask,” Scarlet said then, rolling her eyes.
“It didn’t even go off! I made sure they were duds.”
“Yes, but you still scared the crap out of him.”
Cammie gazed up then. “That was the point. He ate my mashed potatoes. I was warning him not to step out of line.”
Sebastian watched their encounter in amusement.
I just gazed up at him. “I didn’t see that guy you were suspicious of. None of the guests looked like him.”
“Indeed, you did not.” He kept watching Cammie and Scarlet. “But he could be one of the guests.”
I just let my lashes lower. “None of them have black hair.”
“Ah, but there is a thing called a disguise,” he said then, gazing down at me. “But, no matter. Come, now. Dinner, my lord.”
He then started down the stairs and I followed after him.
“It still could’ve gone off!” Scarlet said.
“It was a dud!” Cammie argued.
“How do you know?!”
“Because I just do!”
“Idiots…” I grumbled, “all of them.”
Sebastian just smiled.
69Please respect copyright.PENANA7kKAltyzBJ
69Please respect copyright.PENANA9KqOurHg6E