The door to his room creaked with a familiar click of the lock. Vlad turned his head to the side where Gerald's head peeked out from behind the white, wooden door.
"Young Master, the breakfast is ready."
He recited his words like he'd practiced them countless times already. With a face full of professional calmness, he pushed the door further, entering the room unlike yesterday.
Gabriel's eyes inspected the room carefully, his nose twitched, and then his eyes landed on Vlad, who, while lying on his bed, was staring back at him with wide eyes.
"Is something wrong?" He asked hesitantly while taking a step forward.
"No, it's nothing," Vlad mumbled under his nose before weakly pushing himself off the bed, his feet sliding to the carpet that hid a floor of smooth marble.
'I guess I'm a little hungry.'
Vlad yawned to himself as he stood up and stretched his arms over his head.
Gabriel looked him up and down before, with an approving nod, going to the wardrobe and picking a set of clothes for the day.
Vlad's drowsy eyes wandered off to the floor, his mind somewhere else entirely-
"Young master."
Gabriel's voice shook him awake once more.
He raised his eyes, meeting a pair of green gems which stared back at him.
'What?'
As if reading his thoughts, Gabriel stepped in front of him. The white shirt in his hands unfolded.
"Arms."
Vlad listened and raised his arms over his head.
He couldn't really care about what was happening; it was a routine that he took almost every day.
Gabriel, who was his personal butler, would help him get ready in the morning and relay any important news that might involve him or the citadel.
Today, he was especially drained of energy.
Cesar's whim to spar with Vlad was nothing short of foolish. He brought him to the bottom floors of the citadel, and to the furthest edges to that. Yet to top it all off, he also made his scar reopen and destroy his precious suit, which was now with his personal tailor, whose eyes turned bloodshot at the sight.
"You can put them down now."
Gabriel turned to the side and picked up a pair of dark, leather pants.
Vlad lifted his legs one by one for Gabriel to put them on and wrap a belt around his waist.
'Was it five hours of walking? Or maybe six...'
Citadels were like an entirely different world, their size matching mountains which Vlad could see through his window in the distance.
From what he heard, they were over a kilometer tall, with the highest floors piercing the clouds easily. Each floor, however, was like a separate building, stacked over each other layer by layer that served its own purpose.
It was funny, the exact day his father wanted to spend time with him was the very day the elevators malfunctioned and made his journey to his room a hundred times slower.
"Sit down, please."
Gabriel pushed Vlad back on the bed, his hand applying just enough force to not do anything in case Vlad resisted.
He fell on his red blanket and put his feet forward for Gabriel to put on his socks and shoes.
"What's for breakfast?" Vlad asked before letting out another yawn. A small tear formed around his eyes, which he wiped with his finger.
Seeing this, Gabriel frowned and pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket. He grabbed Vlad's finger and started to wipe it with incredible dedication.
"Whatever you ask of, young master."
"Really?" Vlad asked while already knowing the answer.
"Yes, young master."
He nodded before continuing to dress Vlad up.
'I guess I'll take something simple.'
"Hey, Gabriel."
The butler looked up after finishing tying the shoelaces. He brushed his blonde hair to the side; the usual slicked-back hair of his was a little more greasy than before, but Vlad didn't mind.
"Yes?"
"Can you tell the chef to make me the usual?"
"Gladly." He smiled faintly before nudging at Vlad's pants.
"All done," Gabriel stated proudly before taking a few steps back towards the door.
"If you would like it, I can also call Sir Cesar to assist you in today's training-"
"No!"
Gabriel's brow raised in confusion before asking out of worry.
"Did something happen between the two of you, young master?"
Vlad blinked his eyes a couple of times, wondering why he yelled out the answer. Then shook his head and sighed, his hands going to his hair, which he pulled back.
"I'm just a little tired, I'd like to skip today's training."
"Alright." Gabriel accepted the answer without any suspicion.
As a matter of fact, he didn't know about the spar Vlad had yesterday with Cesar. He never bothered to talk to other workers, but he always seemed to have some time for fighting.
'It's because of him that I couldn't eat properly yesterday.'
The workers never questioned that behaviour of his, rather, they came to like him for that liveliness. He was the only person brave enough to step up to those of higher status and the only maniac who would beat Vlad up without a second thought.
Vlad strolled past Gabriel, who was occupied with typing on his PulseBand, his fingers phasing right through the ethereal keyboard with speed that no regular person could match; their skills in relaying information were inferior only to the people of H. Corp. The very people who came up with Pulsebands.
"Are the elevators functional today?" Vlad spoke over his shoulder to Gabriel, whose feet scrambled to follow right behind him.
"Sadly, no." He shook his head dejectedly but continued.
"I heard that they wouldn't be repaired until Monday."
'So three days, ugh.'
"Anything else?"
"Well..." Gabriel's eyes shifted to the side, prompting Vlad to stop in his tracks and startle him. "U-uh, well! I just thought that it's weird how there's no delver in the citadel to repair the elevators!"
He stammered through his words pathetically before wiping the sweat off his face and putting the handkerchief back into his pocket.
'I already thought about that.'
Vlad looked through the window nearby. The blinding light of the sun made his vision blurry but he didn't mind it. The warmth of the sunlight was enough to compensate for the stinging sensation.
He took a step closer to it, his hands holding onto the edge.
'It's awfully quiet lately...'
"Y-young master?"
Gabriel muttered from behind his back. Vlad's eyes pierced him with a glare that made his face pale faintly. The next moment, they returned to the calm hazel dots they were before.
"I'm a little hungry." He said while patting Gerald on his shoulder.
"You can go now. I hope you take care of yourself, though; you've been pale lately."
A second later, he turned around and walked away, the corridors of the citadels feeling more endless than usual.