Odette almost panicked when she was informed of Adrian's injury even though it was according to her plans. In other cases, such foreign emotions would have brought her joy, but this time she didn't feel the same way about it.
Odette considered it to be rather alarming.
For a second there, a tiny part of her wanted to reconsider letting him go through this and protect him. Just that alone was enough to frighten Odette.
That couldn't happen.
Terrible memories were evoked within Odette. They passed as flash, and she immediately locked them up, feigning they don't exist in order to keep up the image.
Gripping tightly on to her bedsheets, Odette closed her eyes and took in a deep breath in order to bring her turbulent emotions under control. It took all within her to suppress her desire to meet the boy.
She had a feeling— no, she was sure that something inside her would snap upon meeting him. Odette didn't want that. This would bring everything she planned to ruins.
This was a type of thrill she didn't need in her life.
The aching desire within her made her grab the pillow and throw it across the room. The pillow hit the vase, pushing it off the table and causing it to crash against the ground.
The loud sound spread through the place.
This wasn't enough to soothe the aggravation inside Odette.
She needed more. She needed blood in order to calm down.
Holding hopes that this would be distracting her, Odette grabbed on to her dagger and dug the sharp edge of it into her thigh.
At that moment, Odette was desperate to do anything to get Adrian off her mind. Deep down, she knew she would have to deal with great torture when she decided to revolve her life around Adrian, and she welcomed it.
But right now, it was getting too intense.
A burning sensation spread through her thigh. The red blood trickled out, staining her crimson dress. The shade of the dress made it hard to notice the blood.
Odette did very much feel the pain, but that didn't overcome the mess of an emotion inside her.
Odette wanted to look at the mirror and see the expression on her face. That extreme desperation must look really ugly on her. She must appear totally pathetic at this moment.
Laughs escaped from Odette's mouth as she fell back on her bed. Raising her hand, she covered her face with it, feeling helpless about her emotions.
"Odette Albinius, if you were not crazy before, you are really becoming crazy now," she said.
°°°
The little boy opened his eyes, and as the bright light hit the sensitive layer of his eyes, he closed them as a response before squinting them open to adjust to the intensity.
Adrian recalled how he was brought over to the infirmary, and once the doctor took a look at his injury, he bandaged it. Once he gave Adrian few medicines, he stepped away, leaving Adrian to his own devices. Following that, Adrian fell asleep.
As Adrian attempted to sit up on the bed, sharp pain travelled through his ankle, and a wince left his mouth. It appeared that he wouldn't be able to use his leg for now.
The noise made the doctor turn towards Adrian and then walk over to Adrian after getting up from his chair.
Raising his head, Adrian looked at the doctor and expressed, "Mister, my leg hurts even now."
"Your ankle will take about a week to heal," the doctor said, "given that you don't put any strain on it."
This made Adrian's eyes widen.
"Eh? A week? That's too long," he commented with a pout. After that, his tone turned hopeful as he expressed, "What about Lady Odette? Has she come to visit me? I wish to see her."
During his moments of pain, Adrian wanted to see the one closest to him, and that person was Odette Albinius.
Shaking his head, the doctor responded, "Lady Odette gave orders on taking special care of you. However, she didn't come to visit the infirmary personally."
Upon seeing how Adrian's eyes dimmed down on hearing that, the doctor felt pity for the child and added, "It is not exactly appropriate for the Lady to casually visit one at the infirmary."
"Oh. So, that's why she didn't come to the infirmary," Adrian understandingly said. But the sense of disappointment was still present in his voice.
"Then, when can I leave the infirmary, Mister? I really want to see Lady Odette!"
"I don't know about that. I will have to wait for Lady Odette's orders for that."
The seven year old girl stood at the door, watching Adrian. Her eyes were blank, holding no emotions. Her hands and clothing were stained in blood that didn't belong to her. A stroke of red was there of her cheek too.
In the end, she wasn't able to hold herself back from paying him a visit.