The following morning, Alfred rose early, as he always did, to oversee the affairs of the mansion. He left his room and made his way downstairs, only to find Elias standing in the middle of the hallway, playing butler. The young man had gathered all the servants and guards before him and was in the middle of delivering a speech that Alfred was far too irritated to listen to.
When Elias finally finished, he dismissed the servants and began assigning posts to the new guards. That was the last straw for Alfred. He descended the remaining steps with slow, heavy footsteps and walked straight toward him.
"What do you think you're doing?" Alfred asked, the frown line cutting across his usually stoic expression.
Elias smiled brightly, unfazed. "I'm only trying to lighten your burden," he replied. Then, taking a closer look, he noticed the dark circles beneath Alfred's eyes. "You look pale. Have you been having trouble sleeping?" he asked, genuine concern softening his voice.
