Capítulo 45: Chapter 45: Time... for a Glow Up?

"Ah, fuck! Master Lucian. Y… you surprised me! I'm... I'm sorry for my language!"

After talking with Emilia and Harvey for a little bit more, Lucian just decided to go straight back home so he could use the rest of his spare time to work on the cure for the Rot. Unfortunately for Lucian, he was not able to concentrate much since he was feeling a little odd for breaking his new routine.

He has, after all, already set his mind to his new schedule, and all of a sudden they were asked to go home. And so, instead of working on the cure with a clouded mind, he thought it would be better to just spend some time with Maeve and Malenia — only for him to absolutely scare the life out of the caretaker, Hannah, as he entered Maeve's room.

"You should have called when—" Hannah was currently washing Maeve when Lucian entered the room. She was about to welcome Lucian, but completely forgot about the pail of water resting on the bar cart right beside her and accidentally bumping it, "No!"

Hannah instinctively stretched her hand to catch it — but of course, she was only human, she wasn't actually able to do so and the only thing her body could do was react by closing her eyes and tightly grip the washcloth she was holding. She waited for the noise and the splash… but nothing really happened.

She then very slowly opened her eyes to peek, only to see Lucian standing right in front of him.

"Master… Lucian?" Hannah stared at Lucian's face for a few seconds, only now realizing how blue his eyes were. Of course, Hannah quickly brought herself back to reality before looking at the pail, only to realize that Lucian caught it before it could spill anything or fall to the floor,

"Ah!" Hannah quickly grabbed the pail from Lucian and carefully placed it back on the cart. She then quickly fixed her clothes and brushed her auburn hair back to make sure they were still cleanly tied up.

"I apologize for scaring you, Ms. Caretaker," Lucian leaned his head to the side to look at Maeve, "I did not expect you to be in Maeve's room."

"N… no," Hannah let out a very deep sigh of relief while holding her chest, "I'm the one who should apologize, Master Lucian. And… and thank you for catching the water. It… it would have been bad if I spilled it since I just cleaned the room."

"Hm," Lucian then looked around Maeve's room — and her previous room in the apartment couldn't even be compared. Her new room had plenty of space, and not to mention there was natural sunlight coming through the windows.

"What… are you doing home so early, Master Lucian?" Hannah once again breathed out a sigh of relief.

"We were dismissed early, Ms. Caretaker."

"Uhm…" Hannah could really only blink a couple of times as Lucian was still standing right in front of him, "...Do you want me to cook you something? I'll just finish bathing the young lady and I'll prepare something for you, Master Lucian."

"No," Lucian shook his head as he finally moved away, "Please, just focus on Maeve for now."

"Hm," Hannah smiled as she soaked the washcloth in her hand, but could not help but look at Lucian again as she noticed that he was actually holding a guitar, "That… I didn't know you play the guitar, Master Lucian. Were you… going to play the guitar for the young lady?"

"Yes," Lucian nodded, "But I will come back later once you are done, Ms. Caretaker."

"Oh, no! Please…" Hannah shook her head while very gently lifting Maeve's hand and washing it, "...You don't have to mind me, Master Lucian. It's—Ah! She's smiling!"

"Hm," Lucian was about to leave the room but he also noticed the smile crawling on Maeve's face.

"She'd probably be disappointed if you don't play her a song now, Master Lucian," Hannah softly giggled, "...And she'd also be mad at me for kicking you out. That… that was a joke."

"Hm, very well," Lucian nodded as he grabbed a chair and sat on the other side of the bed opposite the caretaker.

"Oh…" Hannah smiled as soon as Lucian started playing the guitar. She didn't expect Lucian to be that good — he was playing a children's song that was quite popular with the kids nowadays, "W—"

And then, Lucian suddenly started singing.

"H…" Hannah could not help but just hold her breath as Lucian's euphonious voice almost caressed her ears. Her pores opened up on their own, almost as if her body just wanted to absorb each silky word and syllable that was escaping Lucian's lips.

The only thing she could really do was stare at Lucian, not even realizing that her hands stopped washing Maeve.

She had already been with Lucian for a week now, and she had never seen him smile or even express a single emotion — he was stoic, extremely so, and almost emotionless. But right now, it was almost as if she could feel everything he was feeling.

Her head started to tremble as she felt everything that Lucian was trying to say to his daughter, and as soon as the song was done… tears trailed down her cheeks.

"Are you alright, Ms. Caretaker?"

"Hm? Oh!" Hannah gasped as she quickly wiped the tears from her face, sniffling several times while doing so, "I'm so sorry, this is so embarrassing. I just… I'm sorry."

Hannah forced out a smile before continuing to wash Maeve, "That… that was very beautiful, Master Lucian. Thank… thank you for sharing that moment with me."

"...It is Maeve's favorite song," Lucian just blinked a couple of times before nodding and looking at Maeve, "I am sure she is happy that you like it too, Ms. Caretaker."

"She's… very lucky to have you as a dad," Hannah sniffled again; the smile on her face becoming real as she also looked at Maeve, "And… of course, your… your wife too."

"Hm," Lucian stood up to give Maeve a kiss on the forehead before walking away, "You are also very good at your job, Ms. Caretaker."

"Well, I kinda didn't have a choice — I have 3 younger siblings. No mom, and a dad that's busy with everything," Hannah chuckled, "I guess… I was just born into it, you know?"

"I see."

"I'm going to cook you a meal after this, Master Lucian, and then give Lady Maeve a sponge bath too, or… do you want to do it?"

"No," Lucian shook his head as he headed for the door, "It is fine to just take your time, Ms. Caretaker, I will eat at the usual time I have my dinner — and I have a meeting with the Hall Master's father before that."

"Hall… master's father?—Oh! You mean Elder Quinn?" Hannah nodded as she continued to wash Maeve. But before Lucian could step out of the room, she once again quickly looked at Lucian, "Ah, wait!"

"What is it, Ms. Caretaker?" Lucian turned around, only to see Hannah looking at him from head to toe.

"I… apologize in advance for saying this, Master Lucian, but…" Hannah squinted her eyes as she finally settled on Lucian's unkempt hair and patchy beard, "...You are not meeting an Elder of the sect looking like that, right?"

"Hm?" Lucian blinked a couple of times before checking on himself, "Is there an issue with—"

"Yes!" Hannah let out a small groan, "Wait for me to be finished with the young lady, I'll make you look presentable, Master Lucian."

"You do not really need to do that, Ms. Caretaker."

"That's right, I'm your caretaker, Master Lucian," Hannah nodded several times, "And that means I should also be taking care of you — if the Elder meets you like that, he might think I'm not doing my job properly, so… please?"

"...Okay."

"Yes!?" Hannah breathed out in excitement, "I'll go get my shears and borrow a razor from the others after this, please just wait for me in the living room!"

"Shears… and razors?" Lucian blinked a couple of times as he glanced at the almost sinister smile on Hannah's face,

"What... would you need them for, Ms. Caretaker?"