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etlunainmorte · 5 years

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✒ P.S. I Love You ✒

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III

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"It's him again. Poor guy must be really nervous right now." Avery strode towards the front door and before she could leave, she turned to them once more. "Make yourself at home, I insist." She, then, gave them an awkward smile as she opened the door and went out. "If you can,..."

And with those words, Avery finally left them inside that very cold mansion.

"That's very hospitable." Nico muttered after seemingly an eternity later of just her and V staring at the door. She, then, turned towards V and punched him ( playfully ) in the shoulder. "Hey, what's the plan?"

The tattooed poet threw his cane, caught it, and slammed it several times against his left palm. He gave the woman a sideways glance and smirked. "I'll see what I can find here on the first floor. I noticed,... something strange,... a while ago."

"Okay, gotcha. I'm just gonna get something in the van. Some things I prepared for the mission." The woman made her way to the door and as she was about to come out, she winked at V and gave him a thumbs up. "See ya."

V watched as the freckled Artisan swiftly made her way out, and when she was finally gone, he turned and -

He felt his heartbeat halt once more for a split second as he came face to face with the same boy he saw earlier.

And this time, he was unblinkingly staring at him right in the eye.

V felt his hair stand on end again and the cold creep unto his skin. The way the boy stared at him with those wide, muddy colored eyes and that distinct frown on his pale face,...

... it's as if he was searching for something beyond his eyes. It was like he was appraising his very own soul and being.

But, why?

"How can I be of service to you?" V graciously and patiently asked the boy. After a few seconds, the young one only abruptly turned away from him and hastily went back to the kitchen. And this action only led V to follow him,...

"Hey, V,..." All of a sudden, his demonic avian familiar, Griffon, materialized, his talons immediately taking hold of his shoulders, seemingly in caution. "Be careful 'round this place. I don't feel so good in here! It's like I'm bein' strangled! A - and,... it feels like this house is drainin' my energy!"

"I know." V answered at the same time his demonic feline familiar Shadow materialized.

"See? Even the house cat could feel it! Look at her!" And what Griffon said was true: the moment Shadow materialized, her eyes lit up in caution as the red marks on her jet black fur appeared. She was baring her fangs at something at the top of the stairs, and V could not even see what it was she was being angry at.

No. The way she was acting and the way her skin pulsated like she was ready to attack an any given time: V felt like Shadow was being threatened by something.

But, what?

"I have to go after that boy." He decided. "And I have to find out the cause of all this,... strangeness."

"Okay, Shakespeare. Ya know the drill," Griffon gave his little pep talk as his master made his way towards the kitchen. "You and I like to exist, so get rid of that ghost real quick, cause killin' it aint my schtick ( mainly 'cause we can't even kill ghosts )! Sorry if I don't get yer back, 'cause this whole place is just whack!"

V smirked at his familiar's quip and calmly searched for the boy. He found him right there, in the huge room, talking to someone. It was an elderly woman dressed entirely in what looked like the family's maroon uniform for servants like her. And the moment the boy realized that V has managed to follow him, he quickly ran away and went outside towards the opposite side.

"Pardon my,... intrusion." V began as calmly as he could so as not to frighten Avery's elderly housekeeper. "I came here by your lady's request for a special,... commission."

"My,... lady?" The old woman croaked.

V watched with wary eyes as the old woman faced him. And as her kind, gentle, and yet, restless, features finally registered, the tense feeling on his shoulders vanished altogether as he finally relaxed for the first time since entering the cold mansion.

The woman's eyes widened as if she was so shocked upon seeing him. If it weren't for the genuine smile she showed him, V would've felt conflicted upon making her teary eyed for a seemingly unknown reason.

"You must be the man our lady chose."

"To tell you the truth, I was not her first choice."

"Oh, why? Pray tell."

"She considered me,... upon being rejected by the man she,... originally chose,... for this job."

"Oh." The slight frown on the woman's face disappeared as it was replaced once again with her kind and gentle smile. "If you were not originally chosen as you've said, then it must be fate that brought you here, young master."

V chuckled as he shook his head. "I see. Then, I' am obliged to tell you that my companion doesn't believe in things such as fate."

"The young lady does."

V noticed the clear sadness in the way the old housekeeper said those words, and before he could even muse about it any further, she gave a slight bow and motioned for one of the chairs. "If you should take a seat, then I would gladly tell you everything I know. My name is Maria, and I have served the (L/N) household for as long as I could remember."

"Madam Maria. You can call me V." The poet returned the courteous gesture as he introduced himself.

Maria giggled as she waved him off with one hand. "Just Maria is fine, young master."

"Then, call me V,... and not young master."

"Very well! Very well! Please! Take a seat and make yourself at home. I'm making some muffins for dinner, and we have some to spare for you and your pets without ruining your appetite."

As V settled on one of the chairs facing the long wooden table, he watched the movements of the old lady as she prepared the muffins. And as he admired her hard work and effort by preparing the food and for serving the household for as long as she could in general, he couldn't help but wonder why she hasn't retired yet, given her old age.

"Hey, V," Griffon, who was still clinging unto V's shoulders with his talons, whispered. "... that cute little old lady is not even afraid of us! Is she even alright? Ya know, in the head?"

"Now, now, that is a very rude way of addressing our,... host." V answered as Shadow finally calmed down and settled next to his feet.

"Here we go. Have as much as you can. You would need all the energy you could get." Maria offered the huge plate of muffins before V, and after doing that, she settled on the chair opposite him.

"Thank you, Maria."

"Always happy to serve the lady's guests."

V looked at the scrumptious looking treats and felt it was rude to refuse, so he took one, split it in two and gave one to Griffon, who simply gobbled it without a moment's hesitation. The bird chewed as fast as he could and swallowed with much gusto, the gulping sound he made slightly embarrassing V. He, then, split the remaining half in two and offered one to Shadow underneath the table. Only then did he finally take a bite of the warm and fluffy treat.

It was,... so good.

Maria was eagerly watching V through all this, looking as though she hasn't fed someone in many years.

Which reminded him,...

"You mentioned you have served the (L/N) household for as long as you can remember. I assume it is Avery's mother's family, then?" V asked, the muffin he just took from the plate being swiftly stolen by Griffon, who seemed famished to the bone.

But, Maria didn't answer. Instead, she just held out a brave, trembling hand to pet Shadow. "The young lady used to own a cat. It was dark in color, just like this one. She used to call it Luna."

"Oh, I see." V answered, his fingers almost bitten by Griffon, who took, yet, another muffin from his hand. "This is Shadow."

"Hello, Shadow! It's so nice to meet you." Maria greeted. And to V and Griffon's surprise, the demonic feline squinted her eyes in a gesture that successfully told them she approved of the elderly housekeeper to pet her. Maria didn't waste any time and scratched her behind the ears right away. "She used to hide it from the master, since he didn't allow her to have pets. I remember I have to steal food from the cupboard for little Luna while the young lady hides her in the library. But, of course, the master heard all the mewling. So, the young lady had to part with her, the poor thing."

Who knew Avery was a cat person? "Hmm, it must've saddened Ms. Avery as a young girl. To part with a beloved companion."

Again, Maria didn't answer. This time, she was busy feeding Shadow.

V sighed. He knew he must be patient due to Maria's old age, so he took a mental note of this and proceeded.

"About this,... job,..." V carefully began, ignoring Griffon as he tried to steal another muffin from the plate. "Have you,... noticed anything,... a little,... strange,... lately?"

"Oh, good heavens! I forgot the tea. My mistake, dear. Let me get it for you."

V couldn't help but watch again as Maria stood to fetch the beverage, and when she returned with the pot containing the aromatic liquid and started pouring some for both him and her, he asked once more.

"Anything at all? Like,...sounds, or voices, or - "

"Here." Maria said as she offered V a cup of tea.

"Thank you. Any clue could help us with the investigation - "

"Oh, how time flies,..." Maria mused loudly as she settled back on her own chair to drink her tea. "When you're in here, you never actually notice the time. You sit down with a book in your hand in the morning, and when you get up, it's already twilight. Time flies,... indeed."

V looked at her, wondering whether all aging women were like her, and tried, one more time, to ask her regarding the haunting in the household.

"Are there any restless spirit around here?" V just got straight to the point.

"And sometimes, you sit down with a cup of tea, and next thing you know, a whole week has already passed by."

V inhaled sharply through his nostrils and finally gave up on questioning Maria. He decided to just do the investigation alone and without her cooperation. After all, grandmothers don't do well with creepy experien -

"The thing you seek lies right above us. And with it, all the answers you would need to get yourself out of this labyrinth you involuntarily got lost in the moment you stepped inside this house." Maria spoke in a very vague tone after sipping her tea. She put the cup down on the table and leaned closer to V, too close, in fact, that he was getting really uncomfortable with it. Her breath, which smelled of earl grey, assaulted his nostrils, but what unnerved V the most were her dull - looking gray eyes. As if she's,...

"Or was it voluntary? You don't believe in fate, do you, young master?" Maria asked, allowing V to catch a glimpse of her yellow teeth,...

And so, it was with utter bewilderment when he finally got the chance to untangle himself from Maria's scrutinizing gaze and made his way back to the entrance hall where Nico was already preparing all her things. And by the time he got back, the place was already filled with all sorts of wires, gadgets, and weird things from left to right.

"Dude, where have ya been?!" Nico questioned, seemingly irritated for no reason, at all.

"I was talking to the housekeeper." It was the truth.

"Huh. Ye really like that housekeeper, don't ya? To think you talked with someone for six full hours." Nico scratched her head in confusion. "I thought ya ditched me here, man. You scared me."

Six hours.

Six.

Full.

Hours.

He was gone for that long?! But, it only felt like an hour, even just minutes,...

Then, V remembered what Maria told him earlier:

Oh, how time flies,...

Time,... flies,...

... indeed.

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✒ @la-vita and @micaelagua . ✒

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#devil may cry 5 #vitale sparda #p.s. i love you #v x reader #v x you #chapter 3 #maria

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