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Baldroy was as smart as he needed to be. He knew he wasn't a genius when it came to math, he could only do the four basic equations. He knew he wasn't brilliant when it came to words, either; he was far too blunt and had far too less of a vocabulary to ever decorate his sentences or give himself the charm he knew most ladies preferred. He wasn't winning any rewards for his blunt hands, either, which seemed to know nothing of fragility and patience.
Though, he wouldn't discredit himself when it came to being a soldier.
Baldroy certainly knew he wasn't the best, but he knew he was very high on that list. He knew how the read maps, and he knew how to tell which of the men on his team was good for which position. When he looked at the way the enemy grasped their gun, Baldroy could see the strategy they were going for and could plan out a counterattack with a speed most of his commanders lacked. During those times, he would praise himself for being a worthy man. But, looking back, Baldroy would only feel dread when he realized he was only ever good at killing people.
Due to his brilliance in war ourshining theirs, the commanders would often punish him. Baldroy would only ever get the most shitty missions and lacked the power to get his voice heard when the higher-ranking people talked of plans. Baldroy had grown used to it. He didn't raise his voice anymore, he knew he would not be heard. Until...
"THAT'S SUICIDE!" he cried out, pointing at the map and starin at his commander.
He was ordered to lead the army to death.
Baldroy, no matter how much he gritted his teeth, followed the order. How he wished he hadn't. I he had protested more, he was sure he could've won more soldiers over and swayed the commander. They could have made a better plan and this... this wouldn't have had to happen.
That corpse to his right had once been his best pal Tom.
Tom had a fiancée and a little sister. Due to the tragic loss of his family at a young age, Tom had been forced to find a good job that could feed the women he left at home--and there wasn't a job that paid as much as one where you had to sacrifice your life. Tom would pull out two picture and kiss them both before every battle, one of his sister and him that was taken before the death of their parents, and one that showed his beautiful fiancée in rags but a smile worth thousands of diamonds on her face.
The corpse would never be able to see them again. Tom was gone.
He screamed as he held the body of Mark Wilson. Mark had been a few years younger but than him. He always had had a smile on his face and had always called Baldroy "brother".
Why did he have to be so good at staying alive? Why couldn't he have died with the rest of his army, why couldn't he rest in peace with them? Why had the enemy fled before killing him?
"My, my..." A strange voice interrupted his screams. Baldroy looked at the strange man in the black tuxedo. Was... Was this a hallucination? Was Baldroy finally going insane? "Ah, how grand; it seems you have finally stopped screaming."
"Who're you?" Baldroy tried to demand, but he was far too exhausted to have any bite in his words. He found himself hoping that the man in black would just finish him off just so he wouldn't need to carry the weight of being the only survivor. "What'd you want?"
The man chuckled. "War is a very interesting business, is it not? Despite you all being humans, all coming from the same ancestors... You all still fight these silly things and try to prove who is superior." Baldroy said nothing. The man sighed. "I suppose grief has quite the way of making people quiet... I shall be blunt. I have a job offer for you."
Baldroy exhaled harshly through his nose, a very pathetic imitation of a snort. "Why? How?"
"My employer has had his eye on you for some time now... We have been observing you. Your skills will be most advantageous to him."
Baldroy didn't really know what his thoughts had been after that. He guessed the sorrow and the hopelessness he felt were the ones doing the talking while his brain had grown numb. The next thing he knew, though, he was in England and trying very hard to take care of a child earl. The absurdity of the situation was not lost on him, though he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would.
Though... it did come with... oddities.
The first time he noticed something was amiss was when he had first attempted to cook. The entire kitchen was in shambles, soot and ash covered the entire floor. But then, just half an hour later, everything was as if nothing had ever happened. When he had asked, Sebastian had just smiled mysteriously.
Everything began to stack up until Baldroy couldn't no longer deny it. The inhumane speed and strength, the misplaced smiles, perfection in every degree, a coldness impossible for humans... It was clear that Sebastian wasn't quite a butler.
"It is most odd," Tanaka said with a knowing wink when Baldroy decided to share his discovery. "I always thought Sebastian's name was a coincidence."
"What about his name?"
"You see... That was the name of the long-dead family dog."
Well, that explained the glares sent to the Young Master...
After what happened in Germany, Baldroy decided he had to confront Sebastian about this. He knew it would be too dangerous to leave the child alone with him. He waited in the kitchen late at night, and knew that Sebastian would come to him. He was proven right when he heard a concerned voice. "Baldroy? Why are you not asleep?"
Baldroy looked at the creature wearing a human façade. He looked too perfect to ever pass as a human being, and his eyes had an unnatural glow to them. His cover was so easy to see through if you opened yourself to the possibilities. He plastered on a grin. "You must be tired after working so much for so long. Let me take over for the night and get some sleep yourself, Mister Sebastian!"
Sebastian stopped a few feet away from him. He was smirking. Baldroy realized with a chilling uncertainty that Sebastian knew he knew. Though, he guessed he shouldn't be too surprised. "Oh, no, I hardly ever feel tired."
"Nonsense. All humans have a limit, you know? The Young Master would be displeased to hear that you had overworked yourself."
"Is that not what a butler's duty is?
"No. But maybe being one hell of a butler exempts you from that type of normal expectation." Baldroy stared into the creature's unwavering eyes for a moment. Sebastian was enjoying this, and Baldroy had to admit that he wasn't alone. Sebastian shifted a chair in its original position.
"I would be careful around the kitchen, chef. While this may be your domain, the butler is still the one who monitors everything you do."
"I'm not leaving here," Baldroy said as Sebastian turned his back. "Who knows what the butler might do without anyone else around? Maybe he'll throw a young child into the next pot without anyone to stop him."
"Butlers are most unpredicatable, are they not? Pleasant dreams, Chef." Sebastian disappeared when he turned the corner.
"Fuck you," Baldroy replied, knowing that he was still listening.