Chapter Text
He ran. Ran as fast as he could.
It was four in the morning, the perfect time for him to reach his destination.
He used his strength to speed through the dimly lit forest, pale moonlight shining through the trees and onto his face for the final time before fading away at five , making way for dawn.
The further he ran, the clearer his view of a lake, rippling under the dark blue sky. Beside it sat a white altar resembling a gazebo. That's what he came here for.
His pace slowed down as he was getting closer to the altar. The pale man huffed in exhaustion before straightening his position and stepping in the marble altar.
In the middle was a small pillar, decorated with vines and white flowers. He gripped the staff in his hand tightly as he approached it with caution.
“O’ divine light, guide me to a new recruit of warriors, capable of handling magic and protecting us.” The man chanted, pointing his staff above the pillar. A few seconds passed, and an orb of light emerged from within the small pillar. He took a few steps closer, seeking an answer from the said orb.
He froze.
“.. Hwang Hyunjin.” The man in white muttered.
He thinks of the choice. He was quite close to the young butler. Perhaps a little too close. Indeed, Hyunjin is capable of becoming a warrior. Though Saint Prudence has recruited too many butlers from the Dubois manor including himself.
He shook the thought off his head. Maybe he can guide a butler. This is his first time being a mentor to a warrior, but it also might be the last. The man in white looked down, staring at his fingers. They were stained black.
Stained black due to using dark magic in an exceeding amount. That's when he remembered that this also happened to his own mentor, Saint Prudence.
The lady had used too much dark magic to protect the people of France and her warriors, leading to her falling deep within corruption. It wasn't possession, but her moral compass slowly pointing south as time went by. That led to her demise, being sealed in who knows where. Even the warrior in white isn't sure where. The events of that day also lead to him having to use dark magic to seal her away, causing his limbs and face to slowly be consumed by darkness.
The warrior silently wishes that he doesn't suffer the same fate as Saint Prudence while guiding his future apprentice. He must make sure of that.
He sighed. That should be put aside for now, he thought. He has got better things to do, that is serving the Dubois family at the manor.
Which is a task he never avoided in his many years of being a butler.
And thus, Le Sans Nom left the altar and hurried back to the Dubois manor just before the sun rose.
✦
The dining hall was filled with laughter, as usual. The Dubois had always found a way to entertain themselves while spending time with their family. Especially Alexandre Dubois, known as the ‘man of the house’. He was the best at making jokes during family gatherings.
Living in the Dubois manor was quite lively, according to Christopher. He had always enjoyed the laughter filling the dining hall as he stood near, watching and assisting them just in case they ask for anything, such as pouring more coffee. Even though he usually focused on the wealthy family he serves during breakfast, he seemed to pay more attention to someone else that morning.
Hyunjin silently giggled along as Alexandre made his wife and children laugh their heads off. Christopher's gaze softened as he noticed how Hyunjin's throat let out a hiccup after laughing, how his cheeks immediately became a soft red when he saw Christopher staring at him-
“Christopher, can you pour me some more coffee?” Maria called out to the butler beside her, interrupting whatever Christopher was doing. “Ah yes, right away.”
The blonde man hurriedly but cautiously poured some hot coffee into Maria's cup before placing it in front of the woman. She gave him a gentle nod in return.
The family continued to talk about their plans for the month.
“I forgot to mention something. We will all be going for a business trip in England, and we're only planning to bring along two butlers, Gabriel and Cédric. The rest of you are tasked to keep the manor clean and safe from anyone entering.” Alexandre announces to all 10 butlers in the dining hall.
“We will be leaving tomorrow. I trust you eight to take care of the manor.” The man continued. The butlers mentioned nodded, promising to Alexandre that they will try their best to fulfill their tasks.
But not Christopher. He had other things to do, along with the others, especially during midnight even though they're only busy around once or twice every week.
Christopher knows Hyunjin will stay awake until around 12 o'clock to sketch some portraits. He took that advantage to talk to him.
He knocks on the younger one's bedroom door before opening it, expecting Hyunjin to be awake. Thankfully, he was. The corners of Christopher's lips stretched out, letting out a grin from the older butler. “Good evening. May I stay here and.. Talk to you?” He politely asked. Hyunjin only replied with a nod.
Calmer than ever, Christopher stepped towards Hyunjin and sat near the edge of his bed. “What do you want to talk about, hyung?” Hyunjin faced his hyung with a smile. “Nothing much. I just want you to meet me at the porch in the yard tomorrow.” He replied with a hollow voice.
Hyunjin then started to stare at Christopher's hands. They were still gloved. “Why are you still wearing gloves?” The blonde froze in his place, unable to explain why. “I… you'll find out soon.” He chuckled as an attempt to hide his worries.
Christopher stayed much longer than Hyunjin expected. He sat near him, watched him sketch Jeongin, one of the youngest butlers in the manor. The ten butlers always treated him like a younger brother, and Hyunjin was no different from them.
The blonde butler admired the butler. He looked majestic like this. His hair was long enough to braid, his eyes usually lit up whenever he's excited, his lips looked plump and soft, he could kiss him at any moment-
Wait, what was he thinking? He was drowning in his thoughts about Hyunjin. This just felt weird when he thought about it. Surely Hyunjin didn't feel the same, right?
“Um, I'll be heading back to my room now. Goodnight, Hyunjin.” Christopher rushed to the door of Hyunjin's room, getting ready to go back to his room next door. “Leaving so soon?”
The older butler stood in his place when the younger interrupted.
“Well- ah- I won't force you to stay. Not like I was about to.. But go ahead, if you want to leave. Goodnight to you too, Hyung.” Hyunjin stammered.
Christopher wore an expression of relief as he turned around and gave the younger butler a tiny grin. Hyunjin replied with a soft wave, making the blonde's stomach filled with small butterflies.
Christopher closed the door and silently marched back to his room.
Meanwhile, Hyunjin returned to a page of his sketchbook, nearly filled with unfinished sketches of Christopher.
Surprisingly, Christopher slept quite early that night. He doesn't know why.
He woke up early to wash up and prepare to help the Dubois family around before they were sent off to the airport.
After the family's departure, the blonde butler paced through the hallways to enter the manor's yard. To his surprise, Hyunjin was already waiting for him at the porch.
“So.. What's the matter now?” Hyunjin questioned as the two sat down near a gazebo in the garden.
“You do know about Le Sauveur sans nom, right?”
“Well.. I have seen him out my window before, around an hour before you suddenly came to my room to ask why I wasn't sleeping yet.” Hyunjin recalls.
Christopher hesitated for a second, then finally took off the gloves of his uniform.
His fingers were stained black.
Hyunjin was stunned for a quick minute, until he finally realized what it meant. “You're Le Sans Nom?”
The older butler nodded.
“That's why I thought you two looked familiar. I should've known!” He curses himself for being too dumb to decide on that when he first drew them side by side.
He didn't know what to feel. He had always denied Le Sans Nom's existence. Finding out that he was the same person as the person he admired the most is.. confusing.
“There's a reason why I wanted to reveal this to you.”
Christopher gently reaches out to caress Hyunjin's hand on the table. His heart skipped a beat, but he never dared to admit that.
“I want you to be my apprentice as a new warrior. You'll join me and the others.”
…
Become Christopher's apprentice? Become a magical warrior? Join the other warriors?
Hyunjin never expected this.
“Can I say yes?” Hyunjin slightly panicked. Christopher only chuckled.
“Of course.”
Hyunjin chuckled nervously, then stood up to embrace the older butler.
“So, when do we begin?” Hyunjin asked.
“Perhaps later this afternoon.” Christopher answered calmly.
✦
Christopher's candle completely melted. He could only rely on the moonlight to help him see what he's writing on the sheet of paper.
He tended to write letters, but he always kept them in a box under his bed instead of sending them, unless the letter was for urgent issues.
Most of the unsent letters were for Hyunjin. He's too scared to admit it to anyone, even his closest friends. He could only let out his feelings through letters that he will never send. They still didn't satisfy him. This made him slightly irritated.
But this was the only way. He couldn't bottle up feelings for too long.
He was writing another letter about the young butler, when he suddenly heard a voice from outside his room.
“Who are you writing that to?” Hyunjin teased. “No one.” Christopher turned his torso to face Hyunjin. He looked adorable when he was tired. “Why aren't you asleep? It's 3 in the morning.” He questioned. “I have insomnia, I can't sleep really well.” Christopher replied with a reasonable answer. “Well then,” Hyunjin excuses himself, “I'll just go back to what I was about to do, good night.”
Christopher wears a soft and caring expression as the younger butler heads to the kitchen.
Christopher continued to write his letter, finishing it with a poem he dedicated to him and his signature.
He finally throws himself onto his bed, attempting to sleep despite his insomnia.
Luckily, he succeeded in sleeping. When he woke up, he immediately went ahead and stretched his body. That's when he noticed that he forgot to store the letter under his bed.
He rushed to his desk, only to find no traces of the letter there.
Oh no.
Did it fly away? Did it get taken away by someone?
Or even worse.. Did Hyunjin take it?
He's done for.
Thankfully it was only four in the morning. No one was up at that time, other than the owls outside.
He spent the hour before dawn screaming in regret, his soft pillows muffled the screeches.
Eventually, Christopher calmed down and went to wash up in the bathroom.
Surely no one would think much of the letter, right?
Hyunjin absolutely did.