Those once bright blue eyes of his showed signs of trauma. The incident had clearly shaken up the boy, stealing away that vibrant light. That delicate body of his shuddered, and his features were pale.
Odette felt pissed at that. She wanted to be the one to take away his innocence.
"Do feel scared?" Odette asked.
Tears glistened at the corner of his eyes as he started, "Lady Odette, it was really scary. T-That man, t-that man, h-he beat me up. H-He said he will kill me. He won't be coming for me, right? I don't want to go that dark room. It is scary there. I don't want to be here. I want to go to my mother. Please, Lady Odette. I want my mother."
Odette clicked her tongue in annoyance.
The child clearly knew his mother passed away yet was so desperately crying for her.
Him crying for his mother caused those memories she buried deep in her to emerge. She used to cry out for her mother and to leave this place until she learned the hard way that she was trapped here. Only then did she learn that only by finding something joyful, her living here would be meaningful.
"Your mother is dead. It's impossible for her to come here or you to leave. You are stuck in between these walls until the day you die," Odette coldly said.
Those harsh and realistic words made the boy stop crying. He raised his head to stare at Odette, and those teary eyes of his, for a second, made her feel strangely exposed and vulnerable.
'How amusing.'
"Am I stuck here for forever?" He questioned, tilting his head slightly.
His eyes were blank as though all the hope had been drained out. He tightly clenched on to his bedsheet. Disbelief crossed through his features.
Then, in a quivering voice, he questioned, "W-Why? Why can't I escape from here?"
Odette smiled. "Because this place is a large prison. There is no way out of it once you enter."
"But you can leave a prison. I did earlier," Adrian pointed out.
"That was because I rescued you, and I was stronger. And this mansion is more frightening prison. Not anyone can leave it, and there is no one to rescue from here." Odette subtly frowned.
"But it's not impossible, right?"
Odette scrunched up her nose and flicked on his forehead before saying, "Why do you keep on arguing with me? Yes, it can't be considered impossible, but do you think you can easily leave?
For that, you need to become more terrifying than this mansion. You have to make it so that all that is there in this mansion trembles at sight of you. A weakling like you can only dream."
"Terrifying?" Adrian questioned.
"Do you remember those monsters from the stories your mother told you?"
He nodded.
"You have to become those monsters to survive and leave this place. Not just any monster, you have to be the worst one," Odette explained.
"Can't I be a hero? Aren't heroes stronger than monsters?" Those innocent eyes of his irked Odette.
Becoming a hero was a beautiful idea, but only the chosen ones are able to succeed on that path. In the end, one is forced to become a monster.
"A hero? But isn't there only one hero?" Odette questioned, raising one of her eyebrow.
"But can't you be that hero, Odette? You are pretty and strong. I like you! I want you to be that hero," He commented.
Odette's eyes widened for a second. Is this why everyone adored innocent children? His naïve words made a chuckle escape from Odette's lips before she expressed, "Didn't you want to be a hero?"
"Both of us can be heroes. That's why, let's become strong and escape this prison, alright?"
Odette had an incessant urge to tell him about how she rewarded Dennis— the one who was responsible for his imprisoning and torture. It gave her a thrill to imagine that expression of his being distorted after looking at her with those bright eyes.
But there was a slight reluctance in her that took bud.
She brushed it away, believing that it was due to the timing not being perfect. She wanted him to build more trust and dependence in her before crushing it all up.
More than blood, it always brought her enjoyment to see one's spirit being shattered.
He pouted.
"What are you doing? Promise me quickly," he urged.
Odette knitted her eyebrows, voicing out, "What an audacious child! I can have you punished for ordering me around."
Giving her a cheeky grin, he commented, "But you won't. Odette likes me as well. Now, do you promise me?"
"A promise?" Odette mumbled, "That would be funny when you will want my blood on your sword."
"Hmm?"
Seeing how the boy recovered his spirits made Odette purse his lips into a thin line. He was stronger than she assumed him to be initially.