Blake, The Limb

Inside the Red Mansion:

A black-haired middle-aged man inside a vast room was staring at two pieces of paper with a very solemn expression on his face.

Some might say that this black-haired man's normal expression was solemnness anyway, and they wouldn't be wrong.

But this time, his expression was a lot more solemn than usual

While his eyes were darting from one report to another, he thought to himself

'Truly tragic, Fate is sometimes cruel indeed'

Despite his description of the situation as tragic, he didn't really feel sadness or sorrow about it.

To him, the situation was merely a slight inconvenience.

Sure, if it was in his hands then he'd not do it, but now that he knew that he had to do it, he didn't feel any remorse or hesitance.

He stood up, picked up the two reports, and exited his vast office.

Outside the office, the floor was bustling with life.

People were walking all over the place, paper flying in the air from one desk to another, and many agents replying to inquiries coming from every floor in the Mansion.

But the moment the black-haired man stepped out of his office, everything stopped.

As if time itself stopped, no one dared to make a sound, let alone utter a word,

All the seated agents stood up and all the walking agents halted in their place, as if the entire place froze.

The black-haired man locked the door behind him, which had a sign that read (Head of The Administration Department, Blake Edge.)

Most workers saw this man as the "Practical Lord" of the Mansion

No one expects the Duke to know anything about the workers of the Mansion or how things actually function, everyone knows that the Duke is always busy with political matters, his family, or cultivating his own power.

So who was the big boss if the Duke was rarely if ever seen by normal workers?

This mysterious man.

This man is the one who interviewed and hired every single worker in the Mansion, from Servants to Department Heads, not a single worker was hired in the Mansion without this man's approval (Except those requested personally by other Floor Leaders, and even then, they had to go through an interview by him.)

He's known to spend all the time in the Mansion, and he knows the name and job of every single person in the Mansion at any given time.

If he sees you doing anything that's even a little improper, then expect to get fired with a letter as soon as he goes back to his office.

Calling him the most strict boss would be an understatement.

That's why as soon as he was seen, everyone stopped what they were doing.

They were afraid that what they were doing would be considered "Improper" in some way or another, and then they'd get fired and lose the best job in the City.

He looked around him and then spoke in a deep, commanding voice

"Get back to your work"

Immediately, everyone continued what they were doing, but with a much more serious demeanor.

The entire floor's atmosphere became tense and to an extent

'Competent'

He felt satisfied by how hard everyone was working.

Slowly, he made his way through the floor and reached the elevator, then he entered it and ascended to the 10th floor.

He walked until he was in front of a big double door in the middle of the hallway then lightly knocked on it.

Within a couple of seconds, a white-haired man opened the door for him.

The white-haired man's eyes opened slightly wide for a brief second, he didn't expect a visit from this person at all.

But he didn't let it show on his face and said with a smile.

"Hello, please come in, Blake"

Blake replied with his deep voice

"Thank you, Sebastian"

Then he stepped into the room.

Blake walked until he stood in front of the desk at the end of the room, then the man sitting behind the desk addressed him in a neutral tone

"Have a seat, Blake"

"Thank you, Duke"

Naturally, that man was no one other than Ignatius Inferno, The actual Lord of the Mansion.

But what wasn't natural was the fact that since the door opened, Ignatius felt extremely nervous

If Sebastian was Ignatius' right arm, then Blake was his left arm.

He was by far the most dedicated, stern, and reliable subject among all the Mansion's workers and agents.

Blake has been by Ignatius' side for decades, and his personality never changed since the day he first met him more than a century ago.

Many times, Ignatius has tried to add Blake to his -Friends- category despite Arno telling him that Blake doesn't belong there.

Someone who has worked sternly for him for so long, someone whom Ignatius could sense honesty from ALL the time.

Certainly, someone like that should be a really good friend, right?

Well, no, turned out that it wasn't remotely right.

No matter what Ignatius said or how much he tried, Blake didn't have even the tiniest bit of emotions for him.

Whenever Ignatius tried to speak to him about friendship and human relations in general, all that he was able to perceive was apathy and indifference.

After decades of working together, Ignatius came to the realization that Blake had never been loyal to him.

Blake was only loyal to himself, and because he was loyal to himself, he was loyal to the job that provided him with what he wanted.

And because that job required him to be loyal to Ignatius, he was very devoted to it.

It took Ignatius decades to accept the fact that Blake saw him as nothing more than the job he had.

All Blake wanted was to keep the job, if that meant that he needed to be loyal to the boss, then he'd be the most loyal person in the entire world.

However, he never had even an ounce of care towards Ignatius.

Eventually, Ignatius gave up on the idea of getting closer to Blake as a person.

Honestly, Ignatius couldn't wrap his head around the situation.

'How can someone be so indifferent, apathetic, and aloof?'

It didn't make sense to him

'How can someone lack emotions to this extent?'

Ignatius could understand if someone was evil, or if someone was selfish and only cared about himself

'But if that was the case, there would be signs of things like greed, self-centeredness, or egotism'

But Blake lacked all of that, he was like a robot. A robot doing things in the most efficient manner without leaving even the tiniest trace of imperfections in any aspect, a robot that even Ignatius' perception couldn't decipher. 

No matter how hard he tried, Ignatius failed to understand Blake.

Nevertheless, he had to come to terms with it.

'This is who he is'

'Once again, I was a fool, and Arno was right.'

'I should've listened to him from the very beginning, after all, he knows Blake better ...'

'But heh, I guess I never learn'

After Ignatius came to that realization, he decided that it'd only be fair if Ignatius treated him in the same way.

However, that wasn't Ignatius' nature.

He couldn't consider people as tools that could be replaced at any time.

It wasn't who Ignatius was, he cared about his people.

He didn't feel good about willingly considering someone as hardworking as Blake a mere tool.

But he couldn't consider him a friend too!

After contemplating this matter for years, Ignatius came to a compromise.

Something between a friend and a tool.

A limb.

Ignatius considered Blake as one of his limbs, just like a hand.

Everyone loves their hands, but they are not friends with them.

If it's normal, then they will never try to alter, change, or replace it.

If it gets injured, they will do their best to treat it.

If it becomes harmful to the rest of the body, they will have to amputate it.

So while people considered Blake to be metaphorically Ignatius' left-hand

Ignatius considered Blake to literally be his left hand.

After Blake sat down, Ignatius asked in a neutral tone, trying to hide his nervousness

"What brings you here today, Blake?"