Eliza stared blankly at Dylan, her face flushed and her heart palpitated wildly. This gesture of Dylan's was a common form of greeting and yet when performed by him, why did it seem so charming and seductive?
"Miss Eliza?" Dylan called out to her, seeing that she was staring off into space.
Eliza snapped out of her daze. Eliza, Dylan's voice calling her name echoed in her head. She smiled, thinking that it had a nice ring to it. "Just call me Eliza. There is no need to be so formal."
"Then, Eliza must call me Dylan too." Dylan agreed without much of a thought. After all, he hadn't been born in a noble society and was more comfortable with a common form of speech.
Eliza inevitably found herself blushing again. "Yes, Dylan."
Dylan paused momentarily before letting out a dazzling smile. His beautiful pair of odd coloured eyes narrowed with joy and his face, glowing with happiness. How long has it been since someone called him by his name? Too long, it has been too long, such that even the mere utterance was able to elicit such delight that came from his soul.
Unaware of her deed, Eliza foolishly smiled, thinking that Dylan's smile was prettier than it was before.
"Did you want to eat something?" Dylan asked, gesturing towards the table of food.
"Uh, yes. I was feeling a little peckish." Eliza replied. She couldn't simply reveal that she came because she was attracted by his appearance, could she?
"What would you like? I'll get it for you." Dylan smiled and very gentlemanly suggested. He had a very good impression of the young girl now. Not only did she call him by his name, she also didn't give him a cold shoulder, like everyone else did. Even the maids kept their distance, so Eliza was an existence that served to alleviate the intense pangs of lonesomeness that tortured his heart.
"Just, just some bread is fine." Eliza muttered.
Dylan grabbed some bread and placed it on a white plate, along with cheese and some pasta. He gave it to Eliza with a sweet smile, "Eliza is too skinny. You have to eat more."
Eliza's blushed but didn't take his words seriously. She knew what this type of creature was called, 'flirt'. Her father warned her to be careful of such creatures if she didn't want to be eaten. Eliza rigidly received the plate with her hands and stared stupidly at Dylan. "Thank you."
"No worries. I'm just happy to have a friend who doesn't care about my status or birth." Dylan laughed.
Eliza tilted her head with confusion. To have attended her party means that he must have a relatively high status and yet the boy spoke with such deprecation of his standing in high society. If she recalled correctly, he introduced himself as 'Dylan von Kaiser', meaning that he was a part of the Kaiser household, a marquis family. Wait, Kaiser? Didn't they only have two male heirs that were her age? This boy was clearly older than her, how could he be the twins? Plus, she'd met them before.
Eliza felt her brain fry from the thoughts. The dim-witted fool ultimately decided to just ask Dylan about it. "You're a part of the Kaiser household? I thought the twins were the only male heirs. But you look so much like Uncle Alex, so you must be a Kaiser."
Dylan let out a cold sneer. "I'm an illegitimate child. The lord took a liking to my mother before he had thrown her out on the streets with a child. But it seems that he was worried that the twins wouldn't be able to fulfil their roles so he brought me back." Dylan didn't know why he was telling this to this little girl, but his bottled-up emotions burst all at once and he began to spill out his origin story.
Half-way through, he had somewhat expected the girl to start looking at him with disdain and mock him for being an illegitimate child. However, from the start to the end, she never changed her expression, showing patience and attentiveness to his story.
"You do not disdain my origins?" Dylan asked.
Eliza shook her head. "Why would I? It doesn't matter who gave birth to you. My mother said that a person's worth is not determined by their heritage but rather their character and moral conduct. I don't really get it but I think it means that I shouldn't treat people based on status."
Dylan gazed into Eliza's eyes. She spoke with such honesty and seriousness, it didn't seem like she was lying. He let out a laugh, only a pampered and sheltered princess would be able to think like that, for commoners and lower nobles, the background of a person was most frightening, as a slightest wrong doing could result in their death. Yet Eliza's words carried a sense of warmth and kindness that felt incomparably gentle. To live by such ideals, wouldn't that be pleasant?
"That's naive and idealistic, but I like it." Dylan chuckled.
Eliza also smiled. "My mother was a commoner so she understands how it feels to be ostracised by others. That's why she raised me to be kinder and stronger than anyone else."
"She sounds like a nice lady. My mother was also like that. The most beautiful and kind person in the world." Dylan smiled.
Eliza was peeved by his comment that his mother was the nicest and most beautiful person in the world, it was clear that her mother was the most beautiful and kind person in the world! (Damn, that was annoying to write! SO MUCH REPETITION) Eliza pouted and ignored his false statement, taking into consideration how relaxed he now looked as compared to before.
"I've taken a likening to you, so I'll be your friend from now on. If anyone bullies you, just tell me and I'll take care of them." Eliza declared fiercely. Her small face bursting with resolution and determination.
Dylan laughed, not taking her serious. "Then I'll take you up on the offer, Eliza. You're my first ever friend."