章節 21: The Dull Brown Eyes
Edna wanted to thank her master, but she remembered the rule not to speak without permission. Moreover, before Edna had the courage to break the rule, Maximilian had already disappeared, going back to his room.
The girl's shoulders dropped in disappointment. All she could do right now was turned towards the kitchen and prepared breakfast for her master.
Breakfast time had long passed. As Luca had said, if Maximillian skipped breakfast, then Edna just needed to bring some food to Maximillian's room and put it in front of the bedroom door so she wouldn't disturb her master.
With an injured hand, Edna forced herself to cook something. At least this was a form of her gratitude. She had troubled her master a lot during her stay there.
Meanwhile, Maximilian had just finished taking a bath. He sat by the window, looking at the east where the sun was rising gallantly right ahead of the window of his room. He squinted his eyes as the sun seemed to challenge him to have a duel.
However, a movement outside the door shattered his thoughts. A shadow moved silently and disappeared swiftly. No knocks or calls. Maximillian knew that the shadow belonged to his servant. Because in the mansion, there were only the two of them.
A few days ago, Maximilian found out that one of the prostitutes that Luca had brought for him was resting in one of the rooms in the mansion. The smell of the woman's blood was very disgusting. Maximillian, however, was too lazy to kick the woman out. He let her stay the night and the next day, there was no more human scent other than his servant.
It was better. He didn't care if the prostitute left the residence seriously injured. At least that human knew this place wasn't a free inn.
After confirming that his servant would not knock or ask permission to enter his room, Maximilian opened his bedroom door. There was nobody there. As he turned around, he saw something near the door.
A tray contained two plates and one bowl. There was a teapot as well as a glass. Beside it was a white note. Maximillian looked down to read the writing on the note.
'I'm sorry to bother you, Sir. Also, thank you very much for your generosity in bringing me to the clinic.'
Maximillian read the writing once more and frowned. For some reason, he felt that he saw someone behind the ugly face of his servant. The attitude of the boy was very similar to that person, the only human friend he had. A human who was aware that they were no better than dragons.
Seeing his servant being polite like this made Maximillian tolerate the boy a bit.
"That boy… What secret lies behind the fog that envelops you? You make me a little curious," he muttered.
Maximilian crumpled the note and threw it away. Even the food that Edna had painstakingly prepared was left untouched. The man was not in the mood to eat human food. He wanted to hunt. It had been several months since he arrived on this continent, and he didn't hunt like he usually did.
Luca kept forbidding him to transform into his original form because it would cause a commotion. Maximilian decided to lay down on the bed while waiting for news from his subordinate, Luca, who had not yet returned.
***
The night fell. Edna looked out at the garden where her master was sitting all by himself. Her last task for the day was to prepare dinner. She made a different menu. With an injured hand, cooking became a real pain.
It took twice longer to finish making dinner. Edna set aside some of it for herself after her master finished his dinner.
Edna then carried the food silently. She placed it on the garden table and poured hot tea into a cup. After serving them on the table, Edna took a step back to wait if her master needed any more help.
Standing at the end of the garden without speaking became a habit for Edna. She was forbidden to speak before her master allowed her, thus she closed her mouth as much as possible, even when she wanted to yawn.
Since taking the medicine given by the doctor at the clinic, Edna easily felt sleepy. It was probably the side effect of the medicine. After ten minutes of standing, Edna yawned for the second time and her master was still holding on by not speaking at all.
Usually, she would busy herself trying to hear the conversation between her master and Luca, but today Luca was nowhere to be seen, and the garden was getting quieter at night.
"Eden," her master called, making Edna move her body quickly. This was the first time her master called her name. Edna wasn't sure what to say.
"Come here," Maximillian called by moving his hand to gesture to Edna to come closer to him. Edna positioned herself one step behind her master's back.
"Come here, don't be so scared. Sit in front of me," said Maximilian.
Instead of feeling at ease after getting permission to sit, Edna was even more terrified. Her master wasn't someone who would be this kind. There must be something the man wanted, like last night, when he burned her hand. What else did Edna have to sacrifice just to survive and leave this kingdom?
Edna waited for a few seconds, but her master still buttoned his lips. She immediately occupied the empty chair that was usually used by Luca. The girl hung her head low, not daring to see her master directly.
"I will allow you to speak on condition that every time you want to speak, you must ask my permission first."
Edna squeezed her bandaged hand nervously. She nodded slowly.
"And… I want to ask about a few things. Raise your head and look at me."
Edna looked up quickly. Maximillian looked straight at the boy's brown eyes. They were still filled with fog. This was the first time he met someone whose mind couldn't be read.
Maximilian stared into Edna's eyes longer than he should have. Edna's brown irises looked boring. They were ugly and dull. Nothing special, but Maximillian kept looking into those pairs of eyes to venture deeper and deeper.
He only realized that he had been staring into a human's eyes much longer than he should when Edna cleared her throat awkwardly.
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