46th Dawn - Family Feud

Tristan pesters me all the way to the lobby.

I'm already enervated from shoving him away, but then, at that very moment, a commotion has to take place. We're just about to reach the door when it suddenly opens with a bang. Someone barges in out of nowhere and starts making a racket, consequently grabbing everybody's attention.

"Baron Pierre!"

Employees and apprentices alike are now watching a certain blonde guy holler the director's name.

Eyeing his back intently, I recognize that this is the same person who chased me all the way to Ruben's restaurant before. Surprised, I only gasp at this realization. He seems to be furious about something just like back then. Seeing him act like a madman now, I think that my assumption about this guy reeking of bad news is true after all.

"Here we go again..." Tristan suddenly mumbled, eyes glued to the scene, much to my confusion.

Baron Pierre finally comes out as he continues throwing a tantrum. The Baron is standing in the middle of the staircase when he starts conversing with this unanticipated guest.

"What's the matter this time, son?" he calmly asked.

At this, my eyes widened in surprise. The Baron actually has a son.

"You know well why I'm here. Why do you have to get in my way every single time?!" the blonde bolted out, getting more and more piqued by the second.

I may not know a thing about him, but what I'm sure of is that he's definitely a short-tempered one. It's not good to get roped with a person like that. After all, son or not, it's impudent to shout at someone older than him.

As I keep watching in silence from his behind, I decided to ask Tristan to do some background check for me.

"Hey, info broker, what's up with him? Why is he picking a fight?" I questioned to which he only sighed.

"It's a long story... Our visitor there is Sir Alexander, son of Baron Pierre. He's younger than Miss Alessandra. I'm not sure about the reason why they're fighting now since it varies all the time. This often happens, though. The main premise here is that, Sir Alexander has severed his ties from them and got disowned some time ago. Ever since, this family has become quite scandalous."

Astonished, I find myself gaping at the revelation. Baron Pierre doesn't certainly seem like someone who'd disown his child for anything, unless this Alexander did something twisted. Still unsatisfied by his explanation, I ask Tristan to tell me more but he only returns an uninterested look.

"Why do you wanna know anyway? Getting caught up in this kind of thing won't do you any good... Oh, and by the way, don't just say that I'm an info broker so carelessly. You might put me into trouble," he replied, much to my dismay.

Though it's true that I may be prying, I just can't help but be hooked by his sypnosis. This whole family drama reminds me of a tear-jerking soap opera. Also, the fact that a noble clan can also be this flawed like any ordinary families is interesting in a way. I find it remarkable that these people aren't afraid of being divulged for who they really are. Then again, it's possible that this squabble is just so big that they can no longer care about public opinion.

"I already had my eyes on them but you really had to take it away again!" Alexander snarled, still fuming.

"Haven't I taught you before, Alex? If you aren't fast enough, they might get stolen away by others," Baron Pierre retorted, clearly amused.

"You say that but you're just really doing this to annoy me. You knew that I handed out a card to the gallery curator that time. You're aware that I wanted to buy those designs! And just like any other day, you always take it upon yourself to beat me to it!"

"You're naive, my child. This is all because you think business is nothing but a game. Just so you know, both the portraitist and the muse came to me first."

I had to double take at all of these. On second thought, Tristan's right. I might be better off not getting entangled in this.

After processing their words, I find myself piecing the puzzle together. Their testimonies somehow link with a personal experience of mine. If my guess is right, then this commotion probably has something to do with that contract.

"Say, Tristan, what's Sir Alexander's full name?" I asked tremulously, making him tilt his head at me quizzically.

"Alexander Carter."

Then, I facepalmed in disbelief. First was when he chased after me to the diner, then now was him being a potential recruiter. Unknowingly, we've seen each other for a couple of times already. What really took the the whole cake here is the fact that this guy is related to Baron Pierre and Alessandra all along.

"All of you are really underestimating me!" Alexander hissed through clenched teeth.

"Oh, you just realized?"

At this, everyone swerves around to see the new contender. Alessandra appears out of nowhere and is now leaning on the rails from the upper floor. With an indifferent expression, she starts exchanging glares with her brother. She then proceeds to berate him for being foolish and insolent. Though it's true that Alexander is being too brazen, her remarks are somewhat excruciating and punitive. Her way of going around this whole situation is too harsh.

"Grow up already, will you?" she sneered for the last time.

My eyes widened in flummox with that. Looking at her disapproving expression, I suddenly have feel some kind of deja vu. Then, that's when I realize that she said something similar to me on our first meeting. As I'm having these thoughts, I fail to prepare myself when Alexander turns around to leave.

Vexed, he's about to storm out of the headquarter when we suddenly meet each other's eyes. Eyes bulging in surprise, mouths agape - the two of us only mirror each other's confounded expression. At that moment, everything else stilled and was silenced.

"You're..." he trailed off, stupefied.

After what seems like an eternity, Alexander clicked his tongue before finally stomping out of the building. It took a few seconds before I came back to my senses. Then, absentmindedly, I rush after him.

"Sir Alexander Carter?" I called, making him stop on his tracks.

But then, he only flickered his eyes at me in miff before leaving me there, dumbfounded.