"Understood, Lady Odette," He responded.
The path she wanted him to choose was frightening. The thought of it made his hands tremble, and he clenched his hand tightly. However, more than what he had to do, the uncertainty of Odette's mood scared him more.
The rumors were widespread on how unpredictable and impulsive Odette was. These few days were enough for him to learn all the havoc she wreaked over the place. This gave him a constant feeling of what if he is the next target. What if he gets on her bad side?
That oppressive and suffocating gaze of Odette didn't help either.
"It is only right of me to reward you for doing such a good job. State your wish," Odette said.
Caught off guard, his eyes widened.
The mention of a reward did provide him with further comfort. When he did this, he never expected to get rewarded. In fact, there was a nagging fear at back of his head.
Joy arose in his chest, and he tried to conceal that from showing in his eyes.
This motivated him as well, stimulating his greed.
After careful consideration, he voiced out, "I want ten silver coins, Lady Odette."
Ten silver coins was merely a drop in the ocean for Odette. However, for a penniless child, the amount was considered quite a lot. Probably because of being cautious, he didn't ask for a larger amount.
The smile on her face widened.
"Ten silver coins it is then," Odette said, "And there is no need to be so tense. I really like you."
Those words of hers gave him some confidence. Maybe he would be able to keep on positively impressing Odette. He bowed to express his gratefulness.
°°°
Adrian opened his eyes, and when the bright light hit them, he clenched his eyes shut. His entire body felt sore, and a groan escaped from his lips as he squinted his eyes open.
Memories of what happened before he lost his consciousness flooded back into his mind. He could vaguely recall seeing Odette before everything turned dark for him.
Noticing that he was in his bed in the servant's quarter, it seemed that Odette had saved him. A faint smile formed on his face.
Thinking back to what happened had his features paling, and his hands trembled. A tear trailed down his eyes. The maid sitting beside him had realized he had woken up.
"Adrian, you are awake. How are you feeling?"
He cried, "Mother, I want my mother. I want to go back to my Mother. I hate this place. This is scary."
Adrian's cries were heart wrenching for the maid, Annie. A soft sigh escaped from her lips. No matter how much the child shed tears, there was no going back.
Extending her hand, she patted Adrian on the back. She wanted to comfort the child by saying everything would be fine, but that wasn't something she could assure. Every day, they lived on pins and needles here, not knowing when it was their turn to be gone.
"I will go and call for Lady Odette."
Seeing that Annie was about to stand up and walk away, Adrian immediately grabbed on to her garment and, with desperation lacing his voice, begged, "Annie, please don't go. Please don't leave me. I am scared."
Out of all the maids in manor, Annie treated Adrian the best. Because of this, Adrian grew to become quite attached to the kind maid.
"I-If, I-If you go, h-he will come. He will come and take me. Please, Annie," Adrian stuttered out while hiccupping.
A if thinking about what occurred in that dark and cold prison, horror crossed through those blue eyes of his. He would have thrown up if his stomach wasn't empty then.
Adrian's pained cries made Annie clench her hand into a tight fist due to her helplessness and flash a soft smile at the boy prior to voicing out, "You are safe now, Adrian. Don't worry. Lady Odette will get angry if I don't call her. Wait for few minutes, alright?"
The thought of Odette brought dread to Annie. With her cruel and unpredictable personality, Annie couldn't guess what Odette would do to Adrian. As Annie had grown to become attached to the child, she prayed no harm would come up on him.
With that, Annie left the room after one last glance at Adrian.