Cruel Ranking System

Kanon pushed the trolley out to the rose garden. He stared ahead, his back as straight as a yardstick. He didn't glance at the golden butterflies fluttering around him and focused on his task. The teapot, coaster, and lone teacup shook as he maneuvered the trolley down the cobblestone path to where she sat after a much needed break from arguing with her brother. As the witch sneered in his ear, daring him to douse her with the simmering tea, Kanon came to a stop in front of the arbor.

He bowed to the woman with her face resting in her gloved palm and said, "Eva-sama, I've brought your requested tea."

Eva sighed and continued gazing at the rose garden. She waved her hand to dismiss him.

He pursed his lips. He knew what that gesture meant. Her tests were often cryptic and forced him to see beyond her looking glass. Unfortunately, Shannon fell victim to her wiles too often, but he learned from her errors and proceeded to pour Eva a cup of tea.

As he set the cup on the coaster, he noticed her raise an eyebrow at him. Deciding against asking if she needed anything else, Kanon rose up the steps and set the cup in front of her. He bowed once more and went back to his trolley, reminding himself of what else he needed to do.

"Kanon," Eva interjected, her voice as sharp as a knife, and with his back to her, his lips twitched into a frown, "have you spoken with Shannon recently?"

He looked over his shoulder and set his hand over his heart. "I speak with Nee-san every day."

She scoffed, a short puff of air slipping past her teeth. "Testy, are you?" She straightened and looped her fingers around the teacup. As the heat settled in her palm, she asked, "Have you spoken with Shannon about my George?"

Eva drummed her fingers on the table and waited for his reply. Her lips curled upwards in a sickeningly sweet smile. It was enough to make his skin crawl. Kanon tightened his grip on his uniform, sucked down a breath, and shook his head.

"I see. I guess siblings keep things from each other, too." Eva chuckled and sipped her tea. Humming, she closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair. "What kind of tea is this?"

"Phoenix Oolong tea. There's also a hint of honey in it." He narrowed his eyes at the cup as Eva tilted her head back and swallowed the rest.

She sighed too loudly for his liking. Setting the cup on the coaster, she said, "Good, good. You've done your research compared to that furniture you have as a sister."

"Nee-san is trying her best, and Gohda usually does not tell her what kind of tea he is making. Please excuse her," he said, a bitter taste souring his tongue.

His excuse only made Eva's brow furrow. She sat straighter in her seat and gestured for him to pour her a second cup. He tightened his grip around the teapot's handle and evenly poured until the tea grazed the rim. Without a single drop splashed on the white tablecloth, he pulled away, bowed again, and hurried back to the trolley.

"Where do you think you're going?" Eva called when he turned the trolley around. Like a snake clamping its jaw around a mouse, she snatched her fan and flipped it open. Holding it up to her mouth, Kanon saw her cheeks raise and eyes crinkle. "I haven't finished speaking with you. It's impolite for servants to leave without being dismissed. Haven't you learned that from your sister?"

He refused to let his mask crack. Showing any sign of irritation or surprise would give Eva a clean victory. Unlike Shannon, who cowered and acknowledged her faults whenever Eva pointed them out, he would not back down. Giving in to someone like Eva made his blood boil and skin flush red hot, but his expression remained unchanged and his uniform shielded his weakness.

Turning around, Kanon stood with his hands folded across his stomach and asked, "Was there anything else you wanted of me, Eva-sama?"

She frowned, but it lasted only a second. He took her briefly disgruntled expression as a warning sign and stood his ground. As Eva waved her fan, he waited and anticipated the worst.

And yet, Eva merely sighed. She snapped her fan shut and set it back on the table. He expected hateful words to spew out from her, but her expression sagged with melancholy. Her shoulders drooped, and her gaze shifted to the shadows crossing the arbor as if lost in a memory, leaving Kanon uncertain of how to accept this sudden change.

"Ah, well, I was hoping she would have spoken with you. You two seem a lot closer than Nii-san and I were at your age." She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I hope you two aren't fighting. Are you?"

Her question left him uneasy. She never inquired about his relationships before. He was always professional and cordial, out of her sight unless needed. Adding a personal layer to the distant relationship they shared, it almost caused him to bite his tongue.

"No. Nee-san and I are doing well." He cleared his throat and shuffled in place.

Eva crossed her arms and legs, her posture reminding Kanon of a queen leering down at her subject. "And if you're doing well, then do you know anything about the date my George had with her?"

Somewhere, something cried. Whether it was one of the animals loose in the witch's forest or Sayo's imagination, something had cried. Sayo stared through Eva as the question lingered between them. An answer needed to be given, but not a single response seemed reasonable as Eva leaned forward.

"That's…" He closed his eyes. "I am not privy to what my sister does during her free time. I am furniture, and I know my place." He tucked his chin to his chest. "If Nee-san has stepped beyond the boundaries of furniture, then I am sorry for any harm she has caused."

Eva did not reply. Silence settled between them once again, but he felt like he was being strangled. It was as if the silence had become sentient and wrapped its massive hands around his neck. While he didn't resist, it choked the life out of him, and all he could hear was the blood rushing between his ears until Eva sighed.

"Well, I didn't expect such an overly dramatic excuse," she said and clipped a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Taking her teacup, she gingerly sipped and appeared to savor the light taste.

"If I may be curt, I was not excusing her. I know what she should and shouldn't be doing."

She raised her gaze back to him and said, "You really are the more responsible sibling. Knowing your place, maintaining a life that suits your kind perfectly." Her dry cackle hit him square between his eyes. "I'd even prefer you as my son's friend over that pitiful girl. You'd at least make a good butler for him when he's too lazy to roll out of bed."

Kanon grinded down on his molars. His quick wit, often used against the other maids, was dying to be used. He could think of hundreds of retorts to combat her cruel remarks, but he was furniture and not permitted to speak up. It was his destiny to remain in the background as the dust covered him until the destined day arrived even when it wasn't anything that he wanted.

"You know, and I don't know why I'm telling you this," Eva drawled, closing her eyes, "but I want my son to be happy. He's a hard worker and a scholar. Sure, he's a little pudgy right now, but he'll work it off." She cast a languid glance at her tea and seemed to watch her reflection shift in the liquid. "Even if he doesn't appreciate how much effort I put in to his upbringing, he works as hard as his father."

Her comments came off as a stark contrast to the Eva he knew. She was bold and resolute, refusing to back down until she got what she wanted. Her words were venomous, infecting the poor fool who dared challenged her, and he recalled many family conferences when Natsuhi would flee with tears threatening to spill down her rosy red cheeks because of her terrible bite.

While she had a tender side for her husband and son, she had never shown any care towards others. She treated him and Shannon like specks of dirt under her heels. Not even her own sister was spared from her wrath. Kind remarks would be twisted with a crueller meaning, and he had seen Maria suffer too many times by her mother's hand all because of Eva's cynical comments.

So, Sayo wasn't sure what to make of this moment. It felt like an eternity would pass, but Eva would not wait forever. Once again, thoughts crossed and words formed dying to be spoken, but Sayo couldn't find the strength to let them out.

Eva stood up and finished her tea. She gripped her fan and ambled over to Kanon. She fixed a few loose strands into her bun and said, "You can clean the mess. I have to get back to my husband before Krauss-nii-san convinces him to join him for another joint venture."

He didn't reply and bowed. As her shadow left him, Kanon was left with a vice clamped around his heart. He heard Beatrice cackle and Shannon hum to herself, both of them so entrenched in what would come that only he was left to bitterly accept the scheme. He glared over his shoulder at Eva, hoping the rest of them would never come next month, praying that the family conference would be delayed because this year, 1986, was when Sayo would end it all.

"Eva-sama, you should've been nicer to Shannon. You should've been nicer to us all," he whispered and cleaned up her miss, his reflection obscured in the tea droplets.