He was but a simple priest, following the lord's teachings despite the world being wrecked with poverty and the plague; when life failed him, his faith did not. He had always supposed himself to be a man of God, and had dedicated himself to the chur...
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_ 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟶𝟿 ; 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗 _
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐙𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 through the window, the morning sun dancing on his pale features like a painting. The window was opened slightly, a small breeze floating into the carriage in which he sat and causing his blond hair to flutter against his face. A small smile picked at his handsome features.
Compared to the wretched town outside, filled with rickety wooden buildings and beggars clothed in rags, the man's appearance was clearly one of wealth, a princely white outfit perfectly tailored to his tall and slender body, embroidered with golden thread, yellow epaulets upon his shoulders.
Clearly he did not belong wherever he was. Unlike the commoners outside, with thin cheeks and matted hair, his skin was perfectly clear and his entire appearance groomed.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, eyebrows furrowing ever so slightly in disapproval. "What an ugly place."
Soon, the carriage pulled up to a tall yet thin townhouse, painted a dull purple hue and squished between two other buildings. The windows were shut closed, black drapes preventing any light from seeping in. It was frankly an undesirable place; he had no idea as to what (Y/N) was doing living there.
He stepped out of the carriage, raising a hand to silence the concerned coachman, who, too, had no idea what he was doing in such a place.
His leather shoes clicked against the pavement as he walked up to the door, grabbing the knocker and loudly slamming it against the door three times. Rather rudely for someone of his stature, he shouted, "I'm here!"
Just a few mere seconds later, the door opened, revealing (Y/N), who was exhaling and inhaling rapidly, a few beads of sweat rolling down her (S/C) face. Her jaw was tightly clenched, her curled lips not even bothering to offer him a polite smile.
"Wh... What are you doing here, Reinald?" She breathlessly asked, as if she had just run across her entire house to get to the door.
"Pleasant to greet you as well," he replied, a grin on his face. "You must've been eager to meet me again; you're out of breath like you just killed someone."
She shot him a hostile glare, clearly not a fan of his sense of humor. "You must have nine lives if you can make such jokes at my expense. Do you want to die?"
"Of course not! Then I wouldn't be able to see my lovely (Y/N)'s glare," he said, winking at her. Once again, his quip did not land. "But saying such things is no help to your already terrible reputation, no? Didn't you begin going to church just to rectify it?"
Her (E/C) eyes gazed into his blue ones seriously, a frown spread across her lips. "How crude of you to address a taken women in such a manner."
He rolled his eyes. "Right, I'm well aware of how fond you are of your fiance that you've met... hmm, three times?"
She clicked her tongue in distaste. "Anyway, what do you want? Let us not make this meeting any longer than it must be."
"Well, Edmond asked me to check up on you--"
"That deplorable man!" She cut him off. "Tell him I'm still deep in the throes of mourning and have no will nor reason to speak with him! That coward, not even coming here to speak to me himself--not that he's any better than you."
"And to work out a deal with you," Reinald said, finishing his words from prior. "Why don't you let me in?"
"Heavens, no!" She exclaimed. "Any friend of that man is an enemy of mine, do you understand?"
He smiled brightly, but the veins on his neck and hands bulged, his jaw clenched. "Look, I just want to help you... now, why don't you let me in?"
Just as (Y/N) was about to shut the door in his face, his foot lodged itself between the door and its door frame, preventing its closure. She stared at him with disdain for a few moments, before her face clicked back to its usual apathy, and she let out a sigh.
"Fine, you may enter. But do not expect my hospitality."
Satisfied, Reinold's tightened fists relaxed and his smile returned to its more genuine state from before, as he followed (Y/N) into the humble yet expensively decorated home. His blue eyes curiously scanned the blank walls, devoid of color or even photos, all of the framed photos placed downwards in such a manner that their contents couldn't be seen.
"You really despised your family, hmm?" He prodded.
"Even if that were true, it would not concern you," she effortlessly retorted, rejecting his attempts to pry into the strange state of the decor.
"It does concern me though, no? Since you're making me manage your main estate while you stay here," he replied.
"... The photos are like that because it saddens me so much to see their faces knowing that they're gone forever now. I'm trying to move on however I can," she said, her words so natural that Reinold almost thought that they were true. "And I don't appreciate what you're trying to imply."
"You don't have to be careful around me." Reinold sat down at one of the couches in the house's drawing room. "Edmond already told me everything."
"Even my own fiance misunderstands and gossips about me!" She angrily exclaimed. "How can he treat me so poorly and then refuse to sign the annulment papers? That dog!"
"Treat you poorly?" Reinold chuckled, with an amused grin. "(Y/N), he's the one who covered it up. Really, you should be thanking him for making sure the police didn't arrest you."
"The police don't have anything to arrest me for," she insisted. "All of the doctors said they died due to the plague, not homicide!"
"Yes, your family doctors said that--the ones salaried by you. You realize that all of this only ever got to this magnitude because you refused to hand over the bodies to the police till they were embalmed and in the casket?"
"I-I was grieving," she asserted. "Grief does strange things to people. You saw how I was; it was the worst moment of my life. Even if we're not friends, I'd at least hope my fiance's friend would take pity upon me rather than accusing me of doing it myself..."
Reinold chuckled at her words, before shrugging. "As I said before: you don't have to pretend around me. Even if you did do it, I'd like you either way."
She stayed silent for a moment. "What... what is that supposed to mean?"
"Let me help you," he said. "I'll help you scare off Edmond and in return...well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
"No. I cannot make a deal with you without properly outlined terms--that'd be like handing you a blank check, do you take me for a fool?" She sighed. "Tell me what you want."
"Hey, don't speak of me like I'm some con artist! The thing I want is... to be the person closest to you."
"Ah. Not a very high bar for that," she said. "I can do that. However, are you sure that's what you want? It is quite smaller a request than what I desire."
He smiled. "I can assure you, it is not."
"Well... regardless. I suppose if you can drive Edmond away from me, I'll be willing to indulge that request."
"Deal!" He replied.
And thus, the two made a deal, not knowing of the unwanted consequences that would occur.
