The performance had begun.
-Oh... good morning, Takashi-kun. Did you sleep well? -she asked, barely bowing her head, with an almost motherly expression.
Takashi didn't answer instantly. The air thickened slightly with the pause, and while his lips remained sealed, his frown deepened. His eyes narrowed like those of a nobleman contemplating a mediocre work with condescension. His silence was, as always, a choice.
-I hope so,' Rika continued without waiting for an answer. Though... I suppose it was a rather unsettling night for many. Wasn't it for you too?
Takashi slowly lifted the teacup in front of him, not looking away. Not out of interest in Rika, but as if gauging the right moment to slit her throat with an accurate word. Rika, for her part, took a small bite of her breakfast before speaking with feigned indifference:
-I heard some strange things last night too. Voices, footsteps, giggles... it was pretty creepy. Some of those voices sounded so much like those of our lovely maids that I wondered if someone was playing a joke. -Then he added, glancing sideways at the maids silently. Though I'm sure they would never do such a thing... would they?
The young maids were a little startled, unsure of how to react. Claire looked down for a moment, holding back a sigh. Hazuki set the cup down on the saucer with a louder clatter than usual.
-What an unnecessary comment,' Hazuki muttered, her voice barely restrained, addressing no one in particular.
-Oh, was it? -Rika cocked her head, feigning concern. I didn't mean to. I just thought Takashi might have... freaked out. After all, he's so sensitive, isn't he? -She looked back at him, sweetness dripping with venom.
Takashi was still sipping his tea. It was as if the entire theatre in front of him was a poorly directed puppet show. Finally, he raised an eyebrow and set the cup down with almost rehearsed elegance.
-Are you here for breakfast or to put on a show, cousin? -he said disdainfully. Because if your intention is to entertain us with trivial remarks and a performance more stilted than a bankrupt buffoon's smile, you're achieving the latter. Hardly.
Riku, who had been chewing in silence up to that point, choked a little on his food. The pigtailed girl watched everything with her chin resting on one hand, eyes narrowed with a mixture of academic interest and mockery.
Rika chuckled softly.
-Oh, Takashi-kun! Always so sharp. Just trying to make sure you're alright. Maybe even reprimand our maids if they've disturbed your rest.
-Reprimand them? -Takashi snorted with an icy smile. How noble of you... to act as if you defend my rest when you clearly enjoy trying to humiliate me. You love empty theatres, don't you? The taped laughter, the fake lights. Maybe you should move to a fourth-rate play. Although I'm afraid even there you'd overact.
Claire couldn't help a brief smile, hidden behind her napkin. Hazuki, on the other hand, seemed to restrain herself from blurting out a stronger word. Rika tilted her head, smiling even more sweetly.
-Wow... you've become very eloquent since the last time we met. Must be the air in this house. Or perhaps... resentment? Or was it the whispering that's been keeping you awake at night?
That was enough. Without losing his composure, Takashi picked up his glass of orange juice with a graceful gesture and, without further ado, threw it straight at Rika's face.
The impact was certain. A golden spray drenched her face, her blouse, her shoulders. The dining room fell silent.
-If you're here to perform, you should at least dress as a jester. Though it would be unfair to jesters,' Takashi said, with a refined coldness and a half-smile. You are as predictable as you are repulsive, a cheap actress with a face like badly baked porcelain. You're nothing but a pig with a twisted face... trying to pass for a maiden.
Rika froze. Juice dripped down her chin. The silence was so thick that no one dared to move. Takashi let out a low, dismissive laugh, as if celebrating a small victory in a nameless war.
-Takashi,' Hazuki muttered, his tone stern, though his voice trembled slightly, perhaps more out of surprise than anger.
-Enough,' Claire added, with a half-smile that was hard to decipher.
Riku stood motionless, fork suspended in the air.
Rika wiped her face with her napkin, not hurrying. Then she stood up gracefully. And then she smiled. A perfect, if empty, smile. For a blink, however, her eyes exuded something very different. A shadow. A spark. A murderous intent that faded as quickly as it appeared.
-My apologies,' he said quietly, addressing no one in particular. If I've offended in any way, I didn't mean to. I really didn't. How clumsy of me. How clumsy of me.
He bowed. Liquid was still dripping from the folds of his clothes. He turned and walked softly away. Only when he was almost through the door did everyone there seem to hear, or think they heard, a faint gnashing of teeth... though perhaps it was only an illusion.
The girl with the pigtails, in all that time, did not do or say anything. She only watched. Her gaze swept over everyone present. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes shone with a spark of interest. As if mentally, he was already writing the chronicles of this domestic war.
And so the morning continued... with the echo of a scene that everyone knew had not ended, but had barely begun.