A thorough rundown of Kiyomine's room had yielded quite the remarkable prize: wine bottles filled with, presumably, wine. Except they didn't. After cursing out all the academy authority figures under the sun, Kiyomine had gotten down to business. At least these people had been kind enough to provide him with grape juice. If they weren't going to give him real alcohol, then he was going to make some.

And that's how he found himself in the kitchen on his quest for yeast. There was no chance Hope's Peak would leave around any wine yeast, so baking yeast would just have to do for now. Kiyomine figured he would just have to think of a way to get the rest of the sugar out later. He'd probably also need a juice bottle, and there were more than enough jars to keep him from having to dump all the juice out in the sink. That would've been such a waste.

It was just after Kiyomine had finished his preparations that he heard someone's call for assistance, but he had never been one to run in and help others on command, so he lingered in the kitchen, taking his time to wander over to the fridge. He was more interested the fact the door needed to be held open than by the fact someone needed help. It didn't really matter in the end anyway, since a boy Kiyomine recognized as the Ultimate Actor had rushed in to save the day. Might as well leave the hero business to the more experienced.

"Hey, what's this I hear about holding open a door?" the spiky-haired brunet asked with lazy nonchalance as he drew near, empty juice bottle in hand. It might've just be easier to take a look around himself, but he figured he might as well ask, even if he was probably interrupting something.

Fridge? Did that mean you could only... Yeah, that was most likely the case. Peaking over Bello to catch a glimpse of said door, Kiyomine let out a quiet huff upon confirming what he'd just learned. Huh, seemed like a pain. He was going to have to be careful.

Though Kiyomine was ready to slink away now that his business in the kitchen was finished, Shirayuki's words had him pause and turn in surprise. Well, if they were so kind to offer... Joining the two at the table with a quiet word of thanks, the hedgehog set his things aside to drain his chalice of water and to listen on pleasant conversation. He had been sent here to try and be more social, after all.

Listening to Shirayuki talk sent a wave of respect through the ordinarily apathetic Kiyomine. Shirayuki's story reminded him too much of his own living situation but reversed, and by the time the butler had finished with his tale, Kiyomine's gaze had shifted from detached interest to something close to fondness. Though he was quieter and less excitable than Bello was, the spiky-haired teen offered his own response in a quirk of the lips and a light tap to Shirayuki's shoulder. "Sounds like you've had it tough."

Then it was Bello's turn to share his story, to which Kiyomine only nodded along, cutting his eyes away to the tabletop. Because what could he say about a meeting with royalty? It seemed everyone at the mansion was amazing in a way Kiyomine was not. Shirayuki didn't seem to think so though, modestly dismissing his own achievements, and immediately, the actor leaped in with a lecture that had Kiyomine rolling his eyes almost hard enough to strain himself.

Ah yes, so Bello was one of the optimistic, a trait that wasn't exactly bad, but not something the hedgehog could entirely approve of. "Oh put a cork in it," Kiyomine hissed at the actor, eyes flashing, "Only the truly talented have the luxury of saying that." Staying at this mansion, being admitted to that school was proof enough that they were the cream of the crop, and because they had never known the taste true defeat, they could say insensitive things like this.

Maybe Shirayuki needed to hear those words. Maybe they would even make him feel better. But the words had Kiyomine's blood running cold, and he clenched his hands around his goblet hard enough to make the knuckles go white to keep himself from grabbing the actor by the collar and bruising the other's precious face. Kiyomine was here to make friends, not to break the nose of the first person whose ideals didn't agree with him.

Forcibly prying his hands from his goblet, Kiyomine flashed a grin that was probably more teeth than humor. "Now as you were saying?" he asked with a forced politeness. "Something about performing for a princess?"