Arthur watched Laura leave to return to her duty with an absent look in his eyes.
He wanted to reassure himself that Matilda wouldn’t be at the mansion for very long.
But considering that she had hastily brought her daughter to join her in the mansion, he doubted that would be the case.
It was more likely that he would no longer be the butler of the mansion before she would leave.
Even before getting Master Davian’s approval to be here, she had already begun to act like the mistress of the house.
He needed to watch his steps now more than ever.
Arthur continued on to his room, needing to just sit in the quiet darkness of his room for an hour or two to prepare himself for the future.
On the other side of the mansion, Matilda was making her way to her daughter’s room to share the good news.
"You can wake up now, Savannah." She walked right over to her daughter’s bed.
Savannah immediately sat upright with curious bright green eyes. "How did it go mom?"
"Davian said we could stay here for as long as we want," She narrated with a smug expression.
Savannah beamed at that, "How did you manage to convince him? You’re just too good..."
Matilda didn’t gloat too much about that, falling silent while her daughter complimented her on being the perfect mastermind.
But Matilda knew that there was more at play, and even though they were allowed to stay at the mansion infinitely, that could change at any time.
"Try not to be a nuisance to your cousin, and let me know when you’re leaving the mansion." Matilda concluded their conversation and left her daughter to herself.
She hoped that she could get them to be more than acquaintances. If Savannah and Davian were to cultivate a good relationship with each other, it would go a long way toward cementing her plans.
But for now, the only thing she could do was watch and wait.
Working double time and barely getting any sleep on his trip came to bite Davian in the ass.
Because as soon as he cleaned up after his trip, exhaustion hit him like a sack of bricks.
The reason for his endless well of energy wasn’t even at the mansion, so he crashed hard, falling dead asleep.
It meant that he was in the mansion at the appropriate dinner time.
Now, usually, this wouldn’t be an issue because he ate all his meals alone.
But when Arthur came to inform him that dinner was ready, he was reminded as he stepped into the unfamiliar hall that he had visitors over.
He paused at the entrance, "Why is the grand hall being used?" He asked his shifty butler who had insisted on bringing him here.
Matilda sat on the table with her daughter across from her, a nervous smile on her face.
"I made the change, tradition is important." She explained.
Davian walked in, and instead of sitting at the head of the table, which was left empty for him, he sat in a random chair at the other far end.
"Have meals served in the usual dining room, " He said instead to Arthur, ignoring Matilda’s words.
Savannah immediately shot to her feet and brought his plate over to him before Arthur could do so.
She did the same with her plate and plopped herself right beside him.
"I never really liked big dining rooms ," She leaned closer to him, "It’s so hard to talk because of the distance."
Davian shot her a look, easing off when she wilted under him.
"Sure." He muttered, wondering what kind of response he was supposed to give to her statement.
He didn’t care for their presence, but he could try to be polite at the very least.
"If you’re both going to sit there, you might have as well sat closer to the food." Matilda fondly scolded.
It was easier to just give in then, Matilda rising to her feet to signal to Arthur to move their plates back to their rightful positions.
"How was your business trip, Davian?" Matilda asked with a smug little smile.
They were all at the dining table, eating together just like a proper family.
"It was fine," Davian responded, starting to get irked by how chatty his dinner was.
"Are you, by any chance, looking for a personal assistant?" Savannah nudged herself into the conversation. "I’ve always wanted a job that involved a lot of traveling."
"I’m not." He gave her an equally flat response.
"Personal assistants are a liability," Matilda chimed in, "It’s good you don’t have one."
"Diana doesn’t seem to think so." Davian muttered, more focused on his food than the conversation.
Savannah let out a heartbroken gasp, "It’s Savannah. You don’t even know your own cousin’s name."
"It’s sad that you both didn’t get to grow up together," Matilda interjected. "It’s understandable that you would be unfamiliar with each other."
Savannah fell quiet at that, still hurt that Davian didn’t know her name all this while.
"The only way to remedy that would be to spend more time as adults." Matilda was quick to suggest.
Davian frowned, "But I don’t need a personal assistant."
"Not as a personal assistant," Matilda was quick to correct, "Something less serious, like having meals together."
"Sure," Davian agreed without protest.
He could only have meals with them if he was in the mansion, and that was unlikely. But Matilda didn’t need to know that.
Matilda beamed at his agreement - today was going far better than she would have hoped.
She shot a knowing look at her daughter, who promptly stopped sulking and immediately renewed her efforts to have a conversation with Davian.
If things went on this way, in less than a week, she would have established a proper relationship with the Mafia King.
Then, all she needed to do was gain his trust. When she got to that point, she would be unstoppable.
How fortunate that Davian cut all personal ties with everyone and chose to stay alone.
It meant that infiltrating into his personal life was far easier than she had previously thought.