Chapter Text
Brie Cheese Cookie was waiting for him as soon as he entered, her face having an entitled look.
“Camembert Cookie,” Her voice low, Camembert can feel her ominous aura growing.
“Let's go somewhere private, where other members aren't…looking.” She suggested, though it was more of a command than a suggestion.
Brie Cheese Cookie turned and walked elegantly towards the basement door, String Cheese Cookie immediately opening it for her to pass.
She walked downstairs leading both String Cheese and Camembert to follow, he reluctantly followed, leaving String Cheese Cookie to close the door behind him.
The basement was cold and carefully maintained, the air smelled faintly of paint and dust. Shelves lined the stone walls from floor to ceiling, each stacked with neatly arranged storage boxes labeled in elegant handwriting: financial records, antique silverware, ceremonial fabrics, family archives. Nothing was out of place.
Even the punishment room had to remain organized.
SWING!
A single light swung gently overhead, casting long shadows across the concrete floor. Somewhere behind the walls, old pipes groaned softly.
Camembert knelt near the center of the room, arms behind him. Unable to stabilize his head from the hit. His glasses sat crooked against his face, though he made no effort to fix them.
Brie Cheese stood several feet away, slowly tapping a polished cane against her palm. Her posture remained graceful, composed—the same posture she wore upstairs during banquets and public gatherings, where guests adored her smile and praised her perfection.
Down here, that elegance became something crueler.
“Look around you,” Brie Cheese said softly.
The cane gestured toward the shelves surrounding them.
“Every record accounted for. Every heirloom is preserved. Every flaw hidden before it embarrasses this family.”
She walked slowly between the rows of boxes as she spoke, fingertips brushing against the labels.
“Do you know how difficult it is maintaining something this large?” she continued. “People think influence comes naturally. They think respect simply appears because our name is old.”
She stopped behind him.
“It doesn’t.”
CRACK!
The cane struck sharply across his shoulder.
Camembert’s breathing hitched slightly, but his expression barely changed.
“Every inch of this family survives because someone is willing to make ugly decisions for its sake,” Brie Cheese said. “And I was foolish enough to believe you understood that.”
Another strike landed against his back.
“I trusted you with the Sacchar Pearl.”
Camembert stared at the ground, not daring to say anything.
Brie Cheese stopped moving, the silence afterward felt heavier than the hit itself.
Slowly, she stepped in front of him again. Her heels clicked neatly against the concrete floor.
“You know what your problem is?” she asked. “You confuse detachment with intelligence.”
Camembert finally looked up at her through his crooked glasses. “I’m…sorry.”
CRACK!
The blow hit hard enough to force him sideways. A few boxes above them trembled faintly before settling back into perfect alignment.
Brie Cheese exhaled slowly, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her sleeve afterward.
“Do you think I enjoy this?” she asked quietly. “Do you think I wanted our relatives whispering behind closed doors? Wondering whether the family is weakening because one of its own failed?”
She crouched in front of him, voice lowering.
“You were supposed to be reliable, Camembert. Cold, calculated, bold—fine. I could work with that. But unreliable?”
Camembert wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Brie Cheese stared at him for several long seconds, then she smiled again. Small, polished, terrifyingly controlled.
“We're not done yet until you bring the pearl back.”
Camembert stormed into his room, shutting the door, his body covered in bruises. Slightly trembling from the aftermath.
He walked in and closed the door behind him, with a loud sigh he lay down on his bed trying to forget the pain from the beatings.
“That filthy vermin, why is he trying to persuade me to join?” He mumbled to himself, his eyes drooping.
The sun was shining in his room, blinding him while he drowns himself in bed.
‘Witches, can this day get any worse?’ he winced
He stood up and closed the blinds, groaning from the pain. Shambling back to his bed and sat for a moment.
He couldn't really, that'd be against his entire family's linear rules. Hell, this is a major violence to his morals. But the more he thought the more his worries disappeared, until he made the bold decision.
“I'll just get close to him until he trusts me with the pearl.”
That was the plan, it's all set, a big risk for a big reward no big deal. If he can just get his hands on the pearl then he'll finally be fine from Brie Cheese's grasp.
Just…As soon as he heals from this.
He looks through his phone, updating that he won't be available the entire day. A few members left him
on read, closed his phone and placed it on his side.
He lowers his eyes, vision blurring. Tomorrow will be a better day.