Part 4 - Special Little Brother & Failed Big Brother Series

oOo

Chapter 1 - The Golden Dawn

The chandeliers glistened as the soft rays of the morning light brushed through the arched windows of the Golden Dawn's dining area. The thin, white curtains billowed against the soft breeze as idle chatters rung through the room.

Langris was bent over the table, reviewing a pile of reports scattered around him. Next to him was an almost empty plate of cherry tarts. He picked one up and took a bite as he flipped through the next page of the report.

He scowled and tried not to let his irritation get the better of him.

Thankfully, the tables around him were empty.

Everyone could tell that he wasn't in the best mood and respected that. One of the perks of having a strong personality and terrifying magic was scaring people with it. If he had a choice, he would've stayed locked up in his room or his study, but Captain Vangeance warned him otherwise. Since he was forced out of confinement, he decided to simply bury himself in work so he wouldn't have to interact.

He can't do it, not after that social gathering announcing him as the new heir of House Vaude.

It was Finral's fault.

His brother had given up his responsibilities as the eldest son and even had the nerve to lie to him. Finral even changed his last name to 'Roulacase' without telling him and ran away with his belongings.

Langris grimaced, letting his mana flare in annoyance.

How dare he?

In his distraction, Langris didn't notice someone approach him.

The light from the archway had dimmed and Langris turned to look up. It was Alecdora. He was smug and cynical as always. His taupe colored eyes narrowed in mockery. Langris didn't need this on top of everything else. It was already a horrible start of his day and he just got back from his parents.

"Sandler," Langris greeted first. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"I'm only surprised." Alecdora scoffed. "After your promotion as our new vice-captain, I didn't think we'd find you missing for weeks."

"I didn't know you needed my guidance so much." Langris replied, mocking through his teeth in irritation. Alecdora was older than him, but Langris had rank. It was fairly easy to make a comeback. "Rest assured I won't be leaving any time soon."

Alecdora glared. "Is that so?"

"Yes," He smiled as sweetly as he could. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. As your vice-captain, I'm eager to see you do your work. And who knows… you might just get a decent promotion."

The whole room had gone quiet.

Langris had gone back to his work while Alecdora looked at Langris with seething eyes. Everyone who was listening had retreated to gossip with one another. Alecdora trembled in anger as his fists automatically clench.

The vice-captain lazily turned to him.

"You're still here?"

Alecdora wasn't foolish to challenge Langris.

With resentment, he backed away and moved to the other side of the room to have his breakfast. His other colleagues had joined him at his table, but no one mentioned the awkward turn that happened. Langris rolled his eyes. He really didn't need this on top of his already awful morning.

However, it did feel a little good to put someone in their place.

Langris grabbed another cherry tart from his plate and went back to reading reports. Yet after a while, Langris realized that he couldn't concentrate, not when he had a lot on his mind.

Today was awful.

Actually, ever since he got promoted, everything had spiraled out of his control.

His parents, who have always been an authority over his life, continued to control what his future would be. Even after his promotion, Langris couldn't escape their charge. He hated it. Then he lost his older brother, who he had trusted to step up and take his claim. And now, newly promoted, he had more crap to deal with because there were still a number of people who wanted to challenge his position.

"Vice-captain," Someone greeted.

The tone of their voice was challenging and condescending.

Langris sighed as he looked up from his work. He had a feeling this kind of treatment won't end any time soon. While the younger and new ones were easy to round up, because they respected his authority, the older members of Captain Vangeance's squad were a little… high-strung and difficult.

Safe to say, Langris was having a horrible day.

oOo

If the vice-captain was having a bad day, so was everyone around him.

David sighed, resting his chin on his palm as he flipped his dice around the table. It had been a couple of hours after breakfast, yet the common-dining area were still tense and gloomy. His blue eyes stared lazily at the far side of the room until he felt someone tap his shoulders.

"Letoile!" He greeted. "Where've you been?"

"Busy finishing my report," She tersely replied as she showed him the folder. "I need to give these to the vice-captain. Have you seen him? He wasn't in his study."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

With a sigh, David pointed to the far side of the room.

Letoile looked up and saw auburn hair. Langris was seated near the buffet table with numerous folders scattered around him. The seats surrounding his table were empty. Letoile tilted her head and blinked in confusion.

She asked, "Is something wrong?"

David sighed, "Can't you see he's not in a good mood?"

"I can tell." Letoile answered. "With all the backlogs on reports, I can't blame him, but humor me."

Okay, he did not expect that type of reply. "I'm just saying," David started. "Ever since Vice-captain Langris returned from his leave, he's constantly irritated. He would've locked himself in his room or his study if it wasn't for Captain Vangeance's orders to mingle more."

"So he's doing his work here?"

"Basically."

"Then I don't see the problem." She voiced. "He's eating and working. There's nothing wrong with both."

"He's terrifying." David nervously chuckled as he tried to keep his voice down. "He snapped at almost everyone today, even the ones who were just walking by to get to that side of the buffet table."

"You're seriously likening him to a guard dog?"

David just shrugged.

Letoile rolled her eyes as she rested her hand on her hip. "I'd be in a bad mood too if people won't let me work in peace. And I don't need a compass to know where that type of situation is headed." Then she waved the folder in her other hand. "I still need to give these to him."

"Do you have cherry tarts to offer?"

"Excuse me?"

"Cherry tarts," David repeated. "Peace offering."

Letoile grimaced. "Why would I need one?"

"For him." He laughed and casually pointed at Langris' plate. "Everyone left the cherry tarts alone to appease our dear vice-captain. He's calmer now that they've replenished the supply, so they're having the cooks make more."

"So," She shrugged. "He has a sweet-tooth. Most people do."

"Tell that to Alecdora, Jasper, and Victor."

"I know Alecdora," Letoile said, gravitating to the name. "What happened to him?"

"Our vice-captain chewed and spit him out." David said, spinning his dice around the table. "Look behind me; few tables to the right, by the entrance. He won't even move."

Letoile casually turned and recognized Alecdora, who was surrounded by several other Golden Dawn members. They were playing a card game, but he was the only one frowning. Letoile had worked with the guy before. She knew he had a temper, so it was a miracle that he wasn't causing problems. She turned back to David, who was smiling.

She wondered, "What did he do?"

"Alecdora thought it was a good idea to start the day with a joke. He made a comment about the vice-captain taking his leave after he got promoted. It wasn't pretty. The whole conversation backfired. Vice-captain Langris was already in a bad mood, so he told Alecdora to worry about his own promotion."

"And you heard that all the way from here?"

"It was quiet."

Letoile sighed, "And the other two?"

"Same thing." David shrugged. "They tried to congratulate him on his promotion, but it turned sour way too quickly. They're probably nursing their egos elsewhere. As for the rest… anyone that moves gets treated the same way."

"Have they nothing better to do than to antagonize our newly appointed vice-captain?"

"Beats me."

Letoile looked at Langris, who was still tense and annoyed. She sighed and moved towards him. David called her back, but she ignored him. She's not afraid of Langris. She didn't need to be. As she neared the buffet table, everyone in the room had gone silent. Letoile felt every eye was on her.

She stopped and greeted Langris.

"Vice-captain."

Langris looked up and stared at her.

"This was from yesterday's incident in Hecario," Letoile said as she handed out her report. "I've added details regarding the suspect and what magic items were stolen. I think we can easily narrow it down to the few I named."

"That's good news," Langris replied. "Thank you."

He blindly took the folder from her and placed it on top of the other folders on the table. Then he went back to his work. Letoile kept a steady face when Langris ignored her after that. It was her signal to leave. Before that, she noticed one last piece of cherry tart left on his plate and went back to David.

She voiced, "You're not wrong about the cherry tarts."

"I can't believe you survived." David gasped. "Without a scratch too!"

"He's not as bad as you think."

"Tell that to the others he flipped off. You're actually the first one he didn't give a snide comment on. So consider yourself lucky."

Letoile sighed. She knew Langris was high noble and he had a strong character, but to deliberately make enemies from your own squad? Yeah, she didn't think Langris was that foolish. She knew that in the Golden Dawn, there were equally strong personalities… and with how big their squad was, it was difficult not to cross paths.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her.

"Excuse me? Could you help us?"

David snorted and started laughing silently. Behind Letoile, there was a small line of people asking for her help. They each have a report to give, but were too terrified to hand it over themselves. Letoile twitched in irritation.

"Wimps," She called them.

If they were that terrified, they could always slip it into Langris' study.

Then again, she could've done that too.

oOo

Most of the day had gone and Langris was still annoyed.

Captain Vangeance was nowhere to be found and Langris had caved. Staying in the dining area had been a stupid mistake. There was too much chatter and too many people coming up to him to either congratulate him or ask him things he didn't care about.

He was also out of cherry tarts.

Langris grimaced as he decided to move back to his study.

If Captain Vangeance disliked the way he worked, they could always negotiate it. But Langris wasn't going to subject himself to torture. He carried his belongings and moved back to his study. As soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with several items on his desk.

"What the hell?" He gasped.

There were flowers and gifts on his table. There was even a bottle of wine wrapped in a pretty ribbon. Langris went in, closed the door with his foot, and placed the reports down on his desk. He picked up the nearest thing, which was the wine bottle and looked at the card attached to it.

Congratulations, Vice-captain Langris!

There was no name attached.

Langris placed it down to look at the rest and he realized that none of them had any names on it. The boxes were wrapped in different colors and he could tell it wasn't from the same person. He rolled his eyes and started opening them. He was surprised to receive all sorts of items.

He got a gold cufflink that had his house sigil engraved on it.

There was an expensive pen with lovely engravings, a mug, some flowers, a wine glass, and there was a gift bag full of fruits… there was even a box of baked cherry tarts.

As he went through the gifts, his irritation slowly disappeared.

While he believed most of the gifts were given by force or necessity, in the back of his mind, he believed at least one of them was genuine. Honestly, to think that some people cared, made his efforts as vice-captain less taxing and a little more freeing.

Still, there was a sting in his heart that can't be fixed.

He wanted to dwell on it, but then again… he knew he shouldn't. So for a while, he let that irritation fade and embraced the other overwhelming feelings. He looked at the pile of reports and sorted them out.

In the safety of his study, he allowed himself a small smile.

Maybe today wasn't a bad day after all.

oOo

"You can also check this story out on AO3"

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