When the Seraphs Cry

The Portrait

October 4th, 1986

Mansion's Dining Hall

The guests were already greeted, so it was time for some tea.

But the tea was late...

Having the guests talk about making it for themselves was an embarrassment for the host. Aoi bit her lower lip in frustration at the ineptitude of the servants who were taking too long.

The servant, Akane, having no idea what was happening at the parlor, came in pushing a dish cart with tea cups. Aoi giving her a death glare.

"E-Excuse me" she announced not knowing what she did wrong. "The tea is here".

"Akane-chan" Shinya greeted. "It's been a while".

"Oh" she said shyly with a bow. "Welcome..."

"Leave the chat for after you've set the table" Aoi said coldly.

"I'm, I'm sorry, Madam"

The servant vowed so frightened that eventually she lost her balance and bumped against the serving cart, making some spoons fall down. This just made Aoi's expression even worse.

Aoi, as the person in charge of today's conference, allowing that clumsiness from the servants to be exposed like that, was a total humiliation.

"Hey Aoi" Goshi called. "Aren't you being a little harsh? She's trying her best"

"I'm not being harsh"

"That's a nice smell" Mito said calmly.

She was trying to lower the tense mood, but at the same time, she was glaring coldly at Aoi. The rest of the adults followed her and the tension completely evaporated.

While everyone was having a chat, Akane managed to set the table and leave silently.

"It wasn't your fault" Narumi was waiting for her.

"So, you were watching..."

The truth was that, indeed, it wasn't Akane's fault. The tea had been delayed because of some problems in the kitchen. It was Seishiro's mistake.

He wasn't satisfied with the first result, and obviously someone like him couldn't give that type of tea to the special guests, so he wasted time making it again. Knowing that they will be mad at him because of the delay, he pushed the task of setting the table to Akane.

"It's alright, Narumi-kun" Akane gave him a kind smile. "I don't mind".

"Akane" Sayuri called her from the other side of the corridor. "Please, hurry back to the kitchen".

There was silence.

"Is something wrong?" she asked kindly. "Did something happen?"

"Akane" Narumi replied. "She did nothing wrong, but they..."

"Stop it please Narumi-kun" Akane interrupted. "I'll immediately return to work, please excuse me".

Akane left, followed by Narumi. Sayuri knew fact that Seishiro disliked them and have been making their lives impossible since he joined, also they are hated by Aoi. She felt sorry for them, and that she couldn't do much about it.

October 4th, 1986

Guesthouse

12:00 PM

While the adults were having their discussions, us young ones, were having fun at the guesthouse. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.

"Pardon me" a female voice said timidly. "Your meal is ready".

"Oh, Akane-chan" Yoichi recognized her and opened the door. "Come in".

She was a servant; whose age was about ours.

"Ne, ne, Akane-san~" Shinoa approached her. "Do you remember Yuu-san?"

"It's been a while since the las time we met, Yuu-sama" she smiled kindly and made a small vow. "I'm Akane"

"Oh Akane" I waved at her. "It's been a while. Good to see you too"

It's also been 6 years since the last time I saw her. She used to play with us sometimes when we were kids.

"Shall we go to the mansion?" the servant asked. "You're probably hungry".

Under her guidance, we headed to the mansion...

October 4th, 1986

Mansion's Entrance Hall

As we entered the mansion, another servant was waiting for us. I remembered her, Shigure, one of the oldest servants.

"From here, I shall take Akane's planes and accompany you" she said after she greeted us.

Akane bowed and saw us go.

We started following Shigure and... I found something that I didn't remember from years ago. It was an awfully big portrait, which was hung in front of the main stairs. It was charming and without knowing, I had stopped walking.

"Hey guys" I said. "Did that painting used to be here?"

"The last time you came here; it wasn't there" Kimizuki responded.

"It got hanged just two years ago" Yoichi said.

"In April, two years ago, Tenri-sama ordered an artist to paint it" Shigure added.

The portrait matched with the Mansion vibe, and the person on it gave the room an elegant touch. I wasn't able to guess his age, but he was young. This person had a radiant blond hair and didn't look Japanese at all.

"So, who's him?" I said pointing at the portrait.

"He's Mikaela" Shinoa answered. "The sorcerer"

"Sorcerer?" I asked.

"Didn't you ever hear about him, long ago?" Mitsuba asked.

"Oh..."

The Mansion is surrounded by a big dark forest, and for preventing us to go into it, the adult always told us a story. There's a terrible sorcerer in the forest, so you must not go in, they said. He's the master of the forest.

That unsettling feeling of misfortune that I felt when I knew that the Island's God's shrine got destroyed came back. At that time, I knew something. The ruler of the island weren't the Hiragis, it was the sorcerer.

Mikaela.