Scar

In the control room of Swan Castle the second...

Lancelot focused on the monitor showing his little sister and that damned scar-faced marksman sitting together on the comfy couch. Thanks goodness he updated the CCTV cameras so that he could hear the audio unlike the ones last year.

"Eh? What's wrong, Grangey?"

Guinevere tilted her head, she was visibly confused.

"Nothing. But I find the ghost beautiful." Granger smiled more broadly, his laughter were threatening to burst out of him.

"The heck?? This guy is a weirdo confirmed!" Lancelot murmured. The ghost was anything but beautiful! She was scary and creepy as hell!

"Eh?! Beautiful?? All the people who saw the video was freaked out. Just look at the goosebumps on my skin!"

"Yeah, tell him off sister! Cringer should get his eyes checked!" Lancelot beamed proudly.

"She's not creepy to me. I think she's cute." Granger shrugged and then he chugged down the remaining drink.

"Huh?! Cute?! Is he insulting the great eerie ghost lady of the kitchens?! Is he trying to be cursed or something?! The hell!! Do it alone Cringer and don't get my little sister involved!"

"You, good sir, have a weird sense of aesthetics." Guinevere gave Granger a judging glance and also finished her hot chocolate.

"That's right! Go sis! Burn him, bURN HIM!!"

Granger chuckled when Guinevere put the empty cup on the tray.

"What?" Guinevere raised her eyebrow. Lancelot as well did the exact same thing. They really are siblings.

Granger fished out his own phone and snapped a picture as well. He laughed his heart out as he showed the photo to Guinevere, who then pouted to oblivion.

"Hey-- hey!! Don't just take my sister's picture without her consent! She might be cute but that's not right-- err...well she did the same thing to Cringer earlier but whatever..." Lancelot abruptly stood up, almost knocking the swivel chair down, but soon sat back down when he contradicted himself.

"Ugh. Oh no!" Guinevere hastily wiped the chocolate mustache on her upper lip.

"What? What's happening? Where's the zoom in button! Zoom in!" Lancelot panicked as he hovered the mouse on the settings.

"Revenge is sweet huh, Granger?" He heard Guinevere clicked her tongue as she looked at zoomed up on her picture.

Lancelot couldn't see what the outcome of the picture was but he knows Guinevere will be cute. She's always cute and pretty no matter what she does. And because of that, it makes him worry. She has many admirers but they're not good enough! All men are wolves! Except for himself of course.

"Guini wait...there's still some chocolate left on your labial commisure..."

Lancelot's gut churned. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Huh? What? Where? Here?" Guinevere touched a spot on her upper lip.

Lancelot's mind was in disarray.

"Why is she touching her lips?! She shouldn't do that in front of Cringer!! All men are wolves!" Anger and frustration was piling up on Lancelot's mind. He know this trick so well since he always do it whenever him and Odette goes out to eat.

"Nearer-- y'know what. I'll just get it for you."

"!!!??" Lancelot couldn't even utter a single word. His mind stopped working.

"Oh. Okay. Thanks Grangey."

Guinevere knelt, facing Granger. He then cupped Guinevere's cheek.

Lancelot's eyes bulged out when Cringer's face inched nearer to his precious little sister's. They looked like they were about to kiss-- wait.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Lancelot leaped from his seat after screaming and ran out of the room. He has to stop Cringer from eating up his sister's face!!

"Master, we have important guests below." The Swan Butler stopped him from his tracks.

"What?! I'm on my way of saving my sister. Tell them to wait." Lancelot was itching to slash his sword in Granger's throat.

"I'm afraid not, sire. It's His grace, Tigreal. And two Honorable Leonins."

"Ack!! Why is he here?! I was told about the Leonins but not him! Fine. Let's hurry and get it over with! This old man is so troublesome! Ugh."

×

The two of them both flinched when they heard a manly scream.

"Huh?"

"My, that surprised me. But it sounded like my brother?? He probably saw his reflection in the mirror again haha!"

"Hey-- stop talking, you might bite my thumb off."

"Oh my! Sorry, Grangey." 

Granger tilted her chin up. Guinevere felt like this has happened before. Seemingly conscious of how their faces were inches away from each other, her face reddened. She was embarrassed but for the reason that his skin was healthier and prettier than hers! His flawless porcelain like skin puts her pampered-since-young face a shame.

'Why is the world unfair?! Granger has longer eyelashes than mine. And he doesn't have pores nor blackheads.' Guinevere eyes scanned Granger's face.

'Gosh! What if my blackheads appeared without me knowing? Is my face oily now? I have to know his skin care routine!!'

"Done." Granger said and used his red tongue to lick the thumb he just used to wipe the chocolate.

Badump!

Guinevere's heart beats faster than usual. Guinevere got goosebumps. She knew this situation happened before! The sense of dejavu was strong.

'AAAAHH!! What do you mean 'Badump'?! You stupid heart!! This is not right!! And don't you dare compare Granger's tongue to a strawberry again, you naughty brain!!' The fangirl Guinevere smashed the thoughts of her beating heart. And she sucker-punched her brain inside her imagination for thinking nonsense.

Once again, her face became red as tomato.

POOF!!

Guinevere finally turned into her tsundere form which she had been suppressing ever since she became friends with Granger. She says mean and tactless things when she gets very flustered. She didn't want him to see this childish side of her because it was one of the reasons why she didn't get along well with her peers in her academy days.

"Y-You...dummy!! Don't do that ever again! You should stop that habit of yours. Don't just lick the crumbs you wiped out! Other people would find it weird. You're so shameless, stupid Granger!!" Guinevere berated sternly as she punched the Granger's shoulder, but he only laughed it off. Her punches were indeed heavy but he was used to the pain so it was tolerable for him

She finally showed the side he had been aching to see. The side of her that he met years ago in the dark forest.

"I can't promise you that, Guini."

"Promise me!"

"No."

"Grrr!! I'm going to make you promise myself!"

Without warning, Guinevere used her quilt to wrap it around Granger and tackled him down. Granger, who didn't anticipate the girl's weight, fell on his back. Guinevere was sitting on top of him, making sure both his arms were on his sides and that he wouldn't shake her off. So only his head was free from the quilt trap.

"What the--?! Huh? Guini...??" Granger looked up to her in a daze. Guinevere's knitted eyebrows together with the fierce glint in her eyes made her look more attractive in Granger's point of view. Was he hallucinating? His mind was in a mess. And it didn't help that his headache resurfaced.

"Last chance, Grangey. Promise me not to do it ever again." Guinevere punched the spot next to Granger's head, intimidating him into submission.

Granger finally snapped out from his musings when he saw the hole beside his head. Right, he thought. An angry Guinevere is not to be trifled with. It has been so long since the last time he saw her this angry. He had to calm her down or else, he might become her punching bag.

"Okay, Guini. I promise," Granger said with utmost sincerity. Guinevere's face instantly brightened.

"But I can't help it because you're a messy eater." Granger smirked, teasing the red-faced girl on top of him. But instead of becoming more angry, the girl on top of him sulked.

'Well...Granger's not exactly wrong. My etiquette teacher will be so disappointed right now if she sees me eat.' Guinevere couldn't even refute the ruby-red eyed guy below her. She was reminded of the times she ate out with him.

"Argh!! I hate that you're right. Ugh! I'll let you off the hook for now." Guinevere huffed but she didn't left her spot.

"Since you've been shameless today, I'll be shameless as well!" Guinevere tried her best to make an evil grin.

"What--!?"

Guinevere suddenly grabbed Granger's face and examined it. Granger's eyes widened in surprise and his body went rigid. Their already awkward positions is all the more awkward now that Guinevere purposely inched her face close to his. Thank goodness for the thick quilt, or else and accident may have happened.

Granger's mind became calm all of a sudden.

"Your skin is so soft! What cleanser do you use? How about the toner? Sunscreen? Moisturizer? Any sleeping mask recommendation? Seriously your skin is flawless! Except for the scar." Guinevere rambled on but stopped when Granger's eyebrows furrowed.

"Ah I don't mean it in a bad way so you don't have to worry, this one adds the mysterious effect on your handsome face, Grangey! Seriously it looks cool. By the way can I touch you scar?" Guinevere gushed. An idea suddenly popped inside Granger's head.

"Oh my! I'm sorry, Grangey. I got carried away." Guinevere was about to retract her hands but Granger held on to it. One of his arms finally escaped from the quilt trap.

"No need to apologize, Guini. You have my blessing to touch it." Granger lightly smiled.

He guided Guinevere's hand to the scar on his left eye. Her light touch to the scar gave him burst of feelings. His ever sensitive scar didn't even hurt like it used to whenever someone tries to touch it. Her touch felt cool. It always has. Just like when she patted him for the first time or when she first touched his face during their unexpected tea party months ago. All the pain in his head and body vanished instantly.

"It still looked like a fresh scar like mine. It's still red. I can lend you my scar removal cream..."

"It's okay. It won't vanish. It's not a regular scar anyway."

"Eh? What do you mean? Does it still hurt?"

Guinevere's fingers followed the line of his scar, from the top of his eyebrow to below his eye. She heard of the story of how he got the scar from Mister Alucard one time when they waited for Granger to finish up his brawl game. Mister Alucard was telling her the stories behind his his battle scars and compared it to Granger's. And then he proceeded to tell her Granger's past but she didn't pried further because they weren't that close yet at that time. And she didn't like hearing sob stories because she easily cries.

"You know I had this since I lost my family to a demon, right?" Granger started.

"Oh! Um...yeah. I'm sorry about that...Mister Alucard told me." Guinevere blinked her tears away.

"Ugh. Alutard is such a chatterbox. But you really don't have to apologize, Guini. Anyway, that very same demon gave this cursed scar to me, giving me perpetual headaches and nightmares hence the dark bags under my eyes. But it stopped when you touched me." Granger laughed his misery out.

The scar was a painful reminder of the night his family perished from the hands of the abyssal demons. But thanks to that, it made him the person he is today. And got the revenge he rightfully deserve by slaying the same demon years ago.

"Awwe Grangey...wait--" Guinevere was about to cry when she digested his words.

"You said it doesn't hurt now that I touched you?? Huh?? What? When? Why? I don't have any healing powers though..." Guinevere was puzzled.

Granger's scar had more story than she actually thought. Cursed scars given by abyssal demons are rare even for demon slayers. And Granger got it when he was a little boy!

"I don't know why as well, but pain vanishes when you touch me." Granger shrugged.

"Oh! So that's why you keep asking for head pats huh?"

"Yeah. Sorry for experimenting on you. I was trying to confirm my suspicions. But I honestly wanted you to be my friend so please don't misunderstand, Guini." Granger's ruby eyes sparkled with sincerity.

"Apology accepted. But woah. I can't believe I'm a walking aspirin for the Death Chanter!" Guinevere giggled as she poked Granger's scar.

"Ooh! Now my interest is piqued! I shall research on it and do some experiments. And you, my dear friend, will be honorary lab rat!" Guinevere nodded to herself.

"Uh, okay." Granger nodded reluctantly. Guinevere's smile was eerily odd.

"Ah-- that's right. I almost forgot my mission." Guinevere remembered her goal! She pinned Granger's free hand next to his head and grinned maliciously.

"Huh?"

"Now, answer my previous question and I'll let you go unscathed." Guinevere taunted.

"What is your skin care routine?"