1 Venus Fly Trap

Jayus Dahl was known to be a mad dog. He is a Mad dog. Always have been, always will be. Who could ever love someone so violent? Someone so filled with putried hate. Someone so venomous. Someone so mean.

Son of Marquess and Marchioness Dahl, with eyes bloody red as the sharpest of rubies, a beauty among the world's finest treasures, and a personality as rotten as the world's filthiest trash. People would often stare in awe at having seen first sight of Marquess Dahl's only son, endless praise often swam in a bout of seas of his looks and the rumours about the kiss of god under his eye in the disguise of a beauty mark. He looked like a prince straight out of a fairytale, but those fantasies shattered almost immediately as soon as he opened his mouth. Then his first party ever invited quickly became his last. If one were to choose whether which one were easiest to care for, between him and a Venus flytrap, the latter would easily win. A Venus flytrap is only pretty to look at.

Still, this did not mean his downfall. Jayus is known to be exceptionally great at many things, anything that did not include interacting with people. This was the only problem which brings the Dahl family to their current problem. Inside the Marquess estate held an on-going fiasco as four people sat in a room. The shards of broken glass on the ground, the wine stain on the wall behind Viscount Deborah, and the shocked faces worn by every person except for one. Jayus Dahl. Only Jayus was not shocked by the sudden turn of events, having been the one to throw the wine glass in the first place. His parents looked up wide eyed at their son from where they sat, turned to his clenched fist, then back to his burning eyes throwing blazing daggers at the conceited man across him. There, wine dripped from the wall, all over the floor and on parts of the carpet as Marchioness Dahl silently grieved knowing her lovely carpet would never be rid of that stain.

"It's okay, Delilah. Now you have a reason to buy that carpet you've been wanting to get," Marquess Dahl, a man with long black hair confined in a singular braid that stopped to his ankle, and dark skin immediately came rushing to comfort his wife amidst the chaos, he held her close to him as she wiped her tears. Jayus paid no mind to this, it didn't seem like he could hear or see anything at all. In that moment, he only saw red.

This won't do. Jayus unclenched his fist, nail marks dented his skins as soon as he released but then the Viscount's words replayed in his head like a broken record and immediately balled up his fists again. Seething with rage, he straightened up and dusted off his clothes, a complacent smile made it's way to his lips, erasing all traces of a snake bearing it's fangs. He was running out of cups to throw.

"I'm sorry, my hand slipped." Jayus said, in the most sickeningly sweet tone, sweet enough you could almost taste the venom lacing in his throat. The viscount thinks he can just waltz in his home as he pleases and expects him to accept his proposal for a marriage of convenience? As if. Who does this man think he is to even dream of being lawfully binded to the man blessed by god? Viscount Deborah's ego has become rather suffocating.

Shards of stray glass shattered in a crunch underneath Jayus' shoe as he stepped towards the viscount whom stood shaking on his spot after he narrowly dodged the bullet of a glass. Every second Jayus took to close the distance between the two of them, an entire decade of the viscount's life flashed in his eyes. In his case, an entire four seconds has passed. Murky eyes filled itself to the brim with fear, having heard of this stunning man's reputation meant knowing what exactly he was capable of, and if that meant burying the viscount alive with no trace leading back to Jayus then the viscount should start digging his own grave. Red eyes turned to look at the man infront of him, eyeing him up and down before staring deep into those dark eyes.

"Viscount Dorabeh...was it?" Jayus was a man who knew when to throw out a glass of water in a drought. That paired with a double-edged sword for a tongue. Gaining a praise from him was a blessing from god, and having him even remember your name was like finding a well in the desert. So you can imagine how amidst the fear and shock from the Viscount's shaking legs was a momentary flicker of joy on his face as he stammered to answer this debonair of a man.

"Ye....yes! Uhm...Your Grace. That is me...no- It's Viscount Deborah, your Grace!" Viscount Dorabeh immediately corrected after replaying the words in his head but quickly came to realize that Jayus had purposely gotten his name wrong. He shut his mouth. This was it. If ever he does not return, may the gods send a sign for locating his corpse.

"Yes right that. Listen, in the last hour that you've come waltzing on and about in my house, saying this and that, I still can not comprehend this genius idea of yours. So please, with all your light and knowledge, I hope you come to understand if I ask you wait for my reply on that proposal, yes?" Jayus swatted the tiny speck of a glass that landed on the viscount's shoulder. Every word was a bite. A mouthful of poison, but with what braincell Viscount Deborah had left in his head, he was pleased to not have been turned away. The wine glass which had almost shattered on his head earlier was long forgotten with just a few words. People were so guillable, so easily pleased with just a few words. So easily trusting.

Happy with this response, Viscount Deborah spared no time to happily agree as he packed his stuff and left, never noticing not even for one second how none of the Dahl Residents went to see him out. Really, some people were just such simpletons.

"Ah fuck, really." Jayus slumped on the seat across from his parents as he grabbed his father's glass of wine and drank whatever was left of it.

"Hey watch your language in front of your mother!" Marquess Dahl scolded after failing to snatch back his stolen wine glass. He tried once again but Jayus was quick enough to move the hand which held the wine glass to the side, away from his father's reach. And again. And once more. An irk mark gradually grew on his forehead, teasing to pop at any moment. Feeling a little guilty after that stunt he pulled, he tossed the wine glass back to his father who effortlessly caught it as he filled his glass with wine. Seeing such Father-son combo, Marquess Dahl could not help but chuckle. Then she turned towards her son at the end of the coffee table with a more serious look on her face.

"The Viscount's offer does not seem like such a bad offer, no? Partnership with him would mean some ownership towards his supplies and a hand put into his business if the cards are dealt right," Viscount Deborah was never a man of great wealth in the entire continent, much less even within the empire. However, during one of the Viscount's vacation, he stumbled upon a small cave by the mountain side. What caught his attention more was the shining gems that gleamed within that cave. That was his very first jackpot. Soon, the word got out how Viscount Deborah found very rare gems, immediately taking out whatever money he had to legally own that land by the cave. Such rare beauties were now sold to be so expensive and unaffordable only very few people ever got their hands on it.

To say that a marriage contract with Viscount Deborah was not at all bad would be an understatement. It would have been a dream come true. It was only a matter of time before the viscount would come to make a name for himself in this world. There were already a few nobles seeking to make an investment in the viscount's new Jewel Business.

Bah! Even if the world were to split in fours if Jayus refused the proposal, he would refuse! If they paid him everything with what that teeny tiny little minery would be worth, he would rather jump from the heights of that split world! And if Jayus refused, he'd send the Viscount letters of rejection just to add salt, vinegar and bleach to the wounds!

"No mother, a deal with the Viscount would just be choosing a rotten rope. Viscount Deborah doesn't know how to deal with cards, you've seen his hands. They're clumsy," Jayus took a swig at the empty bottle of wine, his eyelashes lowered as his eyes sent daggers towards the man who emptied the bottle- at his father's conceited smile. Still, the Marquess turned towards his wife, a confident smile on his careless and mischievous, bearded face.

"He's right, Delilah. I once played with the Viscount at the casino a while back. He yelled out 'Fullhouse!' , can you believe that?" Marquess Dahl ranted as he mimicked Viscount Deborah's voice.

Jayus finished Marchioness Dahl's untouched wine, having known his mother has sworn to the heavens she would never touch another glass of wine for the rest of her life. "What game were you playing?"

"Blackjack." Needless to say, the Viscount gathered more than 40 points that day.

"Can you believe it, Floran?" Days have passed since that incident in regards to the viscount's sudden visit, still the memory would occasionally pop up on random occasions and Jayus would throw a fit. It was the first time ever in his life to have someone make him feel so little, so unimportant, that they would disregard his status and do as they pleased. He hated if things did not move in ways he wanted. It threatened him. And things that threatened him were dangerous.

"Does this mean things have not ended well?" Floran flipped through the pages of the academic book in between her fingers. The gem on her ring shining a deep red as Jayus voice echoed out of the ring. Circling and underlining words and phrases she saw were worth to note. At one word, she stopped, adding a question mark beside it before she spoke again, cutting off whatever incomprehensible conversation Jayus had with himself.

"Hey, does the word 'inunderstandable' exist?" Floran tapped the page with her pen as she wondered out loud. On the other end of the ring, Jayus was also perplexed at the word, hand lifted towards his lips as he talked towards the ring. "Yeah, sure. That helped to let me know the state of the Academy these days. I hope you guys still make it for another semester." Never minding his words, Flora shook her head as she closed the book and casted it aside, taking another book made by another student as she checked it's contents.

Green eyes squinted in itself as she began to read the first paragraphs "The Herlum is a gem with black edges and sharp like the sharpest knife. It is black and could cause damage due to its sharp-" She shut the book, never even getting halfway in to the paragraph before she screamed, tearing her hair out as she cried. No more. If she had to do this one more time, she won't be able to make it.

Jayus stood in shock, hand flying as far away as he could push as the piercing bloody cry deafened his ears. The Academy which Floran had managed through numerous generations is a top school in the entire world. People from different families and different countries would fight tooth and nail for a spot inside that Academy. However, not many people would get accepted to go there, even bribery seemed like cheap change in the eyes of the Academy. So you can imagine the struggle Floran must be going through every year for the past decades.

"I won't bother you anymore. I'm hanging up," Jayus reached to take off the ring but the glowing emerald called out to him by the last second.

"Wait, wait! You are going to the Emperor's Party in a few weeks, right? I'm going to be there. The Emperor sent an invitation to make sure specific guests would arrive," In a raspy voice, Floran spoke up. It was almost a miracle she still had a voice after that cry.

"Yes, I heard. I'm coming since House Dahl was also personally invited but what's the occasion?" Taking off his shirt, he changed into his robes as he dropped to his bed.

"Whaaaa-t? Didn't you hear? Duke Eckleis is coming back. I have to go now, I gotta wrap this up if I want to enjoy the party. Goodnight," The gem on his ring crumbled immediately as the call ended, the specks of dust of the gem evaporating into thin air, leaving no indication of a call ever made. Floran had already ended the call without waiting for him to say goodbye. He sighed, taking off the ring and tossing it on the night stand beside his bed.

Duke Eckleis was coming home. The Emperor's Errand boy and best friend. It's no wonder the Emperor was so eager to hold a grandiose party. Still, it had been years since the duke had disappeared into an expedition sent by the Emperor.

I wonder what he looks like now.