Nirvana old estate...
"Miss Reina I have prepared warm water for...you?Kyaaa!"
The startled maid dropped on her knees trembling.
"What's wrong Anne?"Reina suddenly stood up from the window seat.
" What's that miss?"
"What's what?"
The trembling maid pointed at the black and white fur tail under Reina's dress.
"It's nothing you should be afraid of," she reassured the poor maid who was scared to death.
"What's the commotion about?" Orion rushed inside with a few other knights.
"It's nothing dangerous. Lev, you can come out now."
The knights raised their swords cautiously stepping forward.
They heard a small fearful cry.
She lifted her skirt a little to let it out.
"A tiger cub?"
"It's not just any tiger. The rare species in Atlanta. It's a white tiger with red eyes." she described
The small frightened cub once again hid behind her. She bent down and stroked its fur.
The cub waved its paw into her hair.
"Ah!Not the hair Lev." She tried to pull back her hair from its paws.
"Lord Orion. What should we do?," One of his trusted knights asked anxiously awaiting his decision.
"These are the species that hunt most definitely killing the person who takes their babies from their pack. Worst of all they only reside in the territory of Nirvanas."
-"It is no wonder that Nirvanas own the deadliest regions of the country. The coldest days of the Northern range. I don't want to remember them.-"
"Leave us alone."
"But my Lord!-"
"All of you leave the room. Alex, you guard the room.No one is to enter unless I permit."
"...Understood."
There was a brief silence in the room which shattered after every millisecond with the ticking of the clock as they stood facing each other.
"You need not keep up with that appearance if you are feeling uncomfortable."
After a few seconds, she hesitantly took off her wig.
-"Blonde unexpectedly suits her better."
"D-does this color does not suit me?" She asked not making eye contact.
"You should be thankful for having such beautiful hair, my lady."He indifferently replied to her.
"Is my appearance skeptical to you?" She raised an odd question.
"No."
"...Thats a relief."
"To be honest they look elegant when the warm sunshine reflects them. They suit you well. So you must cherish them."
His answer caused her to blush deeply.
-"He is too honest!"She thought shaking her head.
"About this cub. I don't understand how and from where did you get it from."
"I-I found it among the marigold and rose bushes in the west garden.." She responded hastily.
"Sigh*I don't know how it came here but it is not a good idea to keep him here any longer. The mother would track down the smell of her cub and there might be a high risk of us being attacked by them."
He walked closing in the distance between them. He was much taller than she expected him to be. Her head barely reached his neck.
She slowly backed away as he drew closer trying to protect the cub in her arms from his approach.
"Please reconsider your decision, my Lord."Her efforts were growing useless.
He ignored her pleading and reached for the cub and was about to seize it from her grip when the cub suddenly cried in pain. He retracted his hand for a moment as she collapsed on the floor hugging the small animal.
"Don't tell me..."
He recognized the foreleg was wrapped in a bandage.
He kneeled on one leg to examine the wound on its leg. She instinctively backed away when he tried to touch the cub's leg.
-"The wound is quite deep. It may be suffering from fever as well."He assumed.
-"But she won't let me touch it. It is hard to deduce that my hypothesis is true. Moreover, she is trembling like a cub."He imagined her being a kitten surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves.
"Miss Reina." He called out to her this time in a softer voice to which she flinched in response.
"I know you are trying to heal it. But if you will stay like this it will cause us more trouble than before."
"It looked like it was trying its best to survive out there despite being chased by something worse. Please don't throw him out there." She tearfully looked up.
-"I am worse when there is a crying woman in front of me. I don't know how to console a crying woman in the first place. Sloane, what did you think when you appointed me to look after her? "He sighed half pissed off.
"Miss Reina please look at me." He put his hands on her cold shoulders that were still trembling.
"My job is to protect you from anything that may bring you harm. I swore this to the lady of the house. Henceforth it is hard to let my personal feelings interfere with my task."
"Sir Orion.When I saw you interacting with her ladyship. The way you talked to her, smiled at her, and even how you looked at her, were like how an older brother would treat his younger sister. You have a relationship like that of a family. I thought you to be more of a virtuous individual who cared about the injured and those in need."
"..."
"Please tell me. Was I wrong when I thought about you that way? Please answer me, Lord Orion!"
There was complete silence once again. He looked at those dazzling silver eyes which desperately were looking for hope reflecting his past self.
He looked at the cub moaning in pain in her arms as his grip around her tightened.
-"It hurts!" she bit her lip not to make a sound.
-"If Sloane were to see me or the marchioness...What would they say when they see this pathetic side of me? I was an eight-year-old orphan picked up by the marquess from the slums of the capital outskirts. Only because of my ruthless skills and being a merciless killer I was acknowledged by him. At that time the marchioness who was pregnant with Sloane was kind enough to adopt me as her son. I was given good food and expensive clothes and even my room in the main building and a high-class education was given to me despite my lowly origins. Yet I only ever cared about money and survival. Spending those eight years of hell I can never forget how I was tortured. Mercy is a sweet word to my ears..."
"M-My L-lord? Cou-could, please..."
He realized that he had her in his grasp for longer. She was trembling more than before unable to bear the pressure and force from his grip causing her to nearly faint. He loosened his grip around her letting her regain her posture.
"I apologize!...can you breathe? You are ice cold."
"Y-yes I am fine."She tried to get up finding support as she held the cub carefully who then was soundly asleep but staggered nearly falling over.
- "What? I didn't fall?"
She opened her eyes realizing that she was being carried in strong arms and gently laid down on the bed.
"The cub!"She tried to get up but was forced back into the bed.
"I will send a doctor for you. And as for the cub...I will set an appointment with the vet."