'Cause you know it don't matter anyway

Nick was surprised to see that in spite of Octavia’s coldness, she prepared exactly what Vivian had asked for breakfast. An assortment of fruit pastries sat in a glazed mountain in front of the heiress, practically dripping with sugary goodness. The brunette gazed ravenously down at the pile of sweets, all but licking her chops.

And Octavia even poured her a glass of orange juice.

“Will there be anything else?” The butler asked calmly, looking at the two of them.

Vivian giggled.

“No, Octavia, this is just fine!” She said, her prior bad mood completely evaporating. “You may go, have the rest of the morning to yourself.”

Octavia nodded slightly. “Are you sure, young miss?” She asked. “You do not need me to bring you your bib? Or feed you by hand? I can chew your food for you like usual if that’s what-”

“Why are you saying stuff like that?!” Vivian exclaimed, her face turning red. She glared furiously at the taciturn woman and then turned to Nick. “Ignore her,” the silver-haired girl hissed. “She’s just being difficult, I don’t… need that stuff.”

“As you say, Lady Carrington,” Octavia said politely, placing her hand over her chest and lowering her head in a bow. She turned and left the dining room.

“I don’t!” Vivian snippily called after her.

Nick just quietly chewed his pancakes and pretended like he wasn’t hearing any of this. And yet, Vivian quickly remembered his presence and turned to him with a sigh.

“…Ignore all that,” the heiress said with a rueful laugh. “Octavia is just messing around. This is what she does, torment me like this. Probably because I refused to give her a raise.”

The lilt in her voice showed that was a joke, but Nick still could tell that whatever was going on between Vivian and Octavia was a lot more serious than just a raise. Their relationship had always seemed a little weird to him, but now that he had a front row seat it was even stranger.

“…So, a bib, huh?”

At the same time, Nick couldn’t avoid pushing the envelope juuuuust a little bit. It was so unusual to see Vivian on the defensive like this, considering she was usually so composed and put together most of the time. Of all the women in his harem, he would have considered her to be among the hardest to rattle, and yet Octavia had clearly gotten under her skin.

“I don’t wear a bib!” Vivian laughed. “She’s just teasing me because she knows she can get away with it, that’s all.”

The heiress pouted, and took a bite of one of her pastries. Immediately the sourness in her face drained away and her eyes lit up with glee. “…Mmmf! It’s sho good!” She swooned, cradling her cheek as she chewed her food. “Octavia, you’re really just the best!”

Nick felt a smile touch his lips as he watched Vivian gush over her butler’s baking skills, even though Octavia wasn’t present to hear them. The clear adoration in Vivian’s voice was obvious; in spite of how laid-back she was, anyone with eyes could tell that her love for Octavia was something she took very seriously.

“So how long has Octavia been working for your family?” Nick asked. It was an odd topic of conversation for what was supposed to be a date, but he felt that out of all possible subjects, this was something that could get Vivian to open up and have an honest discussion without any airs.

The hearty laugh she let out convinced him he was on the right track.

“She delivered me when I was just a little sprog, as a matter of fact!” Vivian informed him.

Nick nearly choked on his breakfast. “Wait, seriously!? That… huh?!”

He knew Vivian was a few years younger than him (23 to be specific) even though she carried herself with the maturity of a peer, or maybe even a senior. But Octavia looked like she could be younger than his stepmother! How old was she…?

“I’m kidding,” Vivian giggled, delighting in seeing Nick squirm like this. The heiress shook her head. “Well, it honestly feels like she has been with me my whole life, though.”

“Really?” Nick couldn’t imagine what that was like. Back when he was younger and first learned about his stepmother’s background, he’d asked Amelia if she had any servants growing up, and received a very crabby look in response. But Vivian talked about it like it was nothing at all.

The heiress waved her hand back and forth. “She’s always been amazing since as long as I can remember,” she boasted. “That being said, her people skills could use some work. I mean, I love her, but come on.”

She picked up her glass of orange juice and gave it a little swirl. “Going to all the trouble of hand-squeezing this juice for me, and what did she say before? ‘Tap water’? Come on, she could be a little more honest.”

Nick thought that they could both stand a little more honesty in their relationship, but he didn’t say anything. “It sounds like she’s an amazing butler,” he said.

“Well of course, she works for me, doesn’t she?” Vivian said with pride. “For someone to be the personal butler of the Vivian Carrington, they have to be no less than the best in their field.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Lady Carrington.” Octavia suddenly appeared with a fresh pitcher of orange juice, making Nick jump. “I always endeavor to live up to your expectations.”

“Oh, yeah?” Vivian crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her seat while the butler topped off her glass. “Then why are you always so cold? You could stand to be a little nicer to your mistress, you know.”

“I endeavor to live up to your expectations, Lady Carrington, not your self-satisfying delusions of grandeur.”

“Feh.”

Vivian playfully stuck out her tongue at the silver-haired woman as Octavia departed, and Nick didn’t fail to notice the forlorn expression the flickered across the brunette’s face when Octavia wasn’t looking.

“…Vivian, I think you should be more careful about what you say,” he said quietly, earning him a look of surprise from the heiress.

“…Oh, Nick… come on now.” Vivian leaned forward with a sly expression on her face. “I know I’m a playful gal, but I’m quite careful, you know that.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, but… saying something like what you did before… I don’t know, I think it could have hurt Octavia without her even knowing it.”

He half-expected Vivian to jab back with a statement like “Hurt her? That woman is an ice-cold battle axe, nothing hurts her!” But she didn’t.

She just looked at him with a quizzical expression.

“…What do you mean?” There was a note of frustration in her voice, like she was angry with him, but the concern and desperation more than eclipsed it. She seemed frightened that she really had upset Octavia somehow, which was a good sign.

Unlike most billionaires, Vivian was willing to accept the possibility that she had done something wrong.

“I know you probably didn’t mean anything by it… but what you said before, about how your personal butler needs to be the best in their field… I don’t think that was the right thing to say.” Nick wasn’t sure what he was saying was the right thing to say, either. He had a long history of putting his foot in his mouth while talking with women, and part of him knew that this would undoubtedly be no different. Starting date with criticism like this? What was he thinking?!

…But he needed to say it.

“Don’t you think that could be taken by her as a sign that you’d be willing to replace her if she stopped being the best?”

The expression on Vivian’s face looked positively heartbreaking.

“That will never happen.”

This time, both Nick and Vivian jumped in their seats. Octavia had appeared once again with a tray of pastries, and a disarming look of disinterest on her face, as if the notion of Vivian firing her didn’t faze her for a second.

“Octavia…” Vivian murmured.

“Lady Carrington is not so merciful as to free me from her service over such a matter,” Octavia said simply.

The roll of Vivian’s eyes together with the snort out of the side of her mouth evaporated all the tension in the room.

“Furthermore, Lady Carrington could not afford to let me go. I am the only one who knows where her backup nightlight is store-”

“Okay I think that’s enough,” Vivian said, loudly clearing her throat. She turned to Nick and flashed a rueful grin. “See? I’m touched you’re so concerned about Octavia, really, I am. But she knows me better than anyone else. No matter what, I’m never letting her go.”

“Indeed, young miss,” Octavia said with a nod. Nick could make the faintest hint of affection in the older woman’s voice, which relieved him greatly.

I doubt I’ll ever fully understand the relationship between the two of them. But the important thing is that they look happy together, I guess.

“Besides, you’re just talking nonsense, as if Octavia could ever fall short compared to anyone else!” Vivian scoffed, finding the entire premise of Nick’s concern to be laughable. “You clearly don’t appreciate just how skilled she really is. She isn’t like any other servant, as a child she was raised by a pack of butlers in the wild, you know!”

What the hell is a pack of wild butlers!? Nick stared at Vivian in bemusement as the heiress cackled wildly at her dumb joke.

“It is as you say, Lady Carrington,” Octavia said flatly. Her eyes looked even duller than usual; clearly Vivian had told this joke in her presence before. “Would either of you like anything further for breakfast?”

“No, we’re fine, Octavia, thank you very much,” Vivian said with a smile.

Octavia turned to Nick next. “And you, Lord Nicholas? If the meal is not to your tastes I can prepare something else if you would like.”

“Huh? Oh, uh…” Nick looked down and realized he’d hardly touched the delicious breakfast Octavia had prepared for him. While Vivian had been heartily scarfing down pastries throughout the conversation, he’d been too concerned to focus on eating.

He quickly shook his head. “No, your food is delicious, really! I just, uh…”

“Perhaps you were too captivated by Lady Carrington’s beauty?” Octavia suggested.

Nick had no idea what to say to that. But Vivian looked at her butler with stars in her eyes.

Vivian waited for Octavia to leave the room before hopping up from her seat. The starry gaze she’d aimed at her butler’s back quickly shifted to a gleam of mischief and she skipped around the corner of the table to confront Nick directly.

“Finish up fast, okay?” She patted him on the shoulder. “We’ve got some work to do today, after all.”

“Oh?” Nick had almost forgotten that this was supposed to be his date with Vivian. He’d been enjoying getting to know more about her so much so it had slipped his mind that they weren’t just here to have breakfast.

He quickly finished his food (thankfully it hadn’t gotten too cold) and went to go join her on the couch. For some reason, she’d seen fit to leave the table and watch him eat from behind his back.

“So after breakfast, you just stare at your guests?” Nick asked as he sat down. “The rich really do live different lives than the rest of us.”

Vivian laughed. “Oh, Nick… you’re quite a card. Good thing I know how you’re dealt with.” Her eyes glimmered as she leaned forward, and for a second he thought she was moving to kiss him. But he knew better. This was Vivian he was dealing with, after all, and indeed, rather than kiss him she pulled her face back a second later and pursed her lips into a pout.

“…You didn’t fall for it. What a shame!”

“If you’re trying to make my heart skip a beat, you’re going to have to do a lot better than that,” Nick bluntly replied. “I’m not so easily shaken.”

He’d been walking on eggshells for the last few days due to Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s aggressive pursuits. Compared to that, he could handle the playful heiress’s tricks.

At least, that’s what he hoped anyway. But Vivian was clearly taking his statement as a challenge, and the twinkle in her eye suggested as much.

“Well… lucky for you you’re so cute, even if you don’t get flustered as easily anymore,” she said, pulling back and stretching her arms over her head. She hopped off the couch and turned her back, giving him a nice glimpse of her taut butt sculpted by her tight pants.

Nick was a little too slow to glance away, and when he raised his head he saw Vivian looking back at him.

The gleam in her eye said “I knew it” before she even mouthed the words.

“Like I said before, I’m still a bit new to this whole ‘Dream Alley’ thing, so apologies in advance if I can’t give you the perfect date of your dreams,” Vivian said, walking across the room without even checking that Nick was following her. He had to scramble pretty fast after her, too.

“I don’t mind,” Nick said. “I’m already having a good time.”

That stopped the heiress in her tracks. She turned and looked back at him with a bewildered expression on her face.

“…Really?” She asked. “But… why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s not the fancy bed you woke up in, I’m sure. And judging by what you picked out this morning, you clearly don’t care much about the wardrobe I carefully selected for you,” she pointed out, indicating to his outfit.

“Ouch,” Nick said, placing his hand over his heart and pretending to be wounded.

Vivian smiled. “Come on now old sport, you know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, you make quite the fine figure dressed like that, but… it’s clearly just something you threw together. And while my girl can beat that wife of yours in any cooking contest you choose, I don’t think the fancy breakfast is what won you over either, since you had to be prompted to finish it, so… what’s going on?”

She studied him with a scrutinizing gaze. “If it’s not the big mansion, nice clothes, or delicious food that’s got you by the heart, could it be… little old me, perhaps?” She touched her cheek and pretended to swoon. “Why Nicholas!” She crooned in an exaggerated voice. “You’re just such a darling fellow, saying something so bold and charming!”

Nick had a pretty good idea what she was doing. By exaggerating like that, she could put up her guard while at the same time fishing for compliments. It was a trick Rose frequently did herself, though he suspected it was coming from a different place where Vivian was concerned. And while with Rose the right move was usually to deflate her ego if she was getting too full of herself, with Vivian…

“That’s actually right on the money,” Nick replied, earning him another surprised look. “I don’t care about the clothes or the food, but seeing you have a good time like that, just joking around with Octavia, it really made me feel closer to you. Like you were letting me in on the joke a little. I appreciated that.”

Vivian’s face twisted into an expression of surprise, but only for an instant. Then in a flash she was back to her usual playful grin, but her face was a little pinker than he remembered.

“Well aren’t you just the charmer, then?” She giggled playfully. “No wonder you’ve got so many decent young ladies back home pining for you, dropping lines like that?”

Nick found her choice of words to be curious. Back home? Is she really thinking about the island as her home after only one round?

“Well, if it’s me you want to learn more about, then you could have just asked,” Vivian said, sticking out her chest. “I’m an open book.”

Vivian might have been telling the truth about being an open book, and she might not have been. But regardless, Nick was certain that there were a couple pages in that book that were definitely still glued together.

But that was fine. Vivian had made it abundantly clear on their first date together that she wanted to take things slow and get to know him before they could get married.

That’s what she’s after in this, I’ve gotta remember that. Marriage. She had expressed that the very first day they met.

Vivian narrowed her eyes. She caught the drift in Nick’s gaze, and knew he was thinking about something else, instead of sharing the moment with her.

“…Do you remember what we talked about, last time we were here?” She asked, trying her best to sound casual even though the topic was quite serious.

Nick had a feel he knew what she was referring to, and nodded. “Your inheritance.”

Vivian smiled. “That’s a good boy,” she cooed, like she was speaking to a cute puppy. Which was kind of how she’d referred to him back then, now that he thought about it. “Exactly. I need to find a nice man to marry, if I want to get my hands on my family’s money. Which was why I agreed to come to this island in the first place.”

Nick nodded. That had been the terms of their relationship. “And do you still feel that way?” He couldn’t help but ask. After all, he didn’t want a transactional relationship, even if he was already married to someone he loved.

If Vivian wanted to marry him, it was going to be because they had a genuine romance. Not because she needed his name on a couple documents for her lawyers.

A sly smile crept across her lips and she leaned forward, angling her gaze to look up into his eyes. Her expression was inscrutable.

“…I wonder…?”

Nick felt a twist in his chest. That look right there was answer enough. She may have been playing around, but… no. Her feelings for him hadn’t reached that point, there wasn’t anything real between them.

Not yet, anyway.

Strange. It’s almost like I’m trying to seduce her instead of the other way around, this time. After being pursued by so many women in his harem, it felt odd that this time Nick was the one aiming to get Vivian to fall in love with him.

Or at least, he was going to try and have a genuine relationship with her. Bizarrely, he felt that they both owed it to each other to at least try.