A few minutes later, Anna left the room together with Ruby.
Instead of going right, which brought them to the common room, they turned left, following the hallway that flowed into a large, wide red carpet staircase with golden railing.
It was a perfect set up for anyone who wanted to make a grand entrance into the grand hall.
From the resting point on top of the staircase, Anna observed the bustling activities below. She noticed that the empty grand hall was now decorated and occupied by shiny, glittery, and one-of-a-kind stuff. Not a single thing was of commonality. At this, she could only sigh, marveling at the displays of wealth.
Having seen enough, Anna left the spacious resting area and descended the stairs. Halfway through, she halted. Her eyes landed on the area near the staircase. She noticed that Mr. Gunnar was talking to a man supporting himself against the stair's carved newel.
She went down further and realized that the man he was talking to was Dominic - the one who cast the longing spell on her body.
"Miss Anna, is something wrong?" Ruby asked from behind, and Anna shook her head.
"Let's go," she said, glancing at Ruby before walking down the rest of the steps.
With Dominic inside her mind, Anna realized that a strong feeling of desire stirred inside her. She bit her lower lip, trying to ease the longingness through the pain. Like a curse, a spell could be nullified by pain.
Anna tasted sweetness inside her mouth and realized that she was biting her lips too hard that it started bleeding. She licked her lower lips, making sure no trace of blood could be seen on it.
"Father," she called Mr. Gunnar once her feet stepped on the marbled floor.
"Anna!" Mr. Gunnar exclaimed. "We were just talking about you," he said and gestured for her to stand beside him. Anna complied and stood at his right side.
"Anna, meet Dominic. He came here to look for you."
The blank expression of Anna changed the moment she saw the man.
"It's you!" she gasped in shock.
"Miss Anna, nice to meet you again," the man smiled at her and held out his right hand for a handshake. Anna smiled and nodded with a slight blush.
Seeing them being familiar with each other, Mr. Gunnar was surprised. "Anna, you remember him?" he asked, pointing at Dominic.
Anna shook her head, not shifting her gaze away from Dominic. "I don't, but he visited us while in Chamrose," she explained.
"I see. So you forgot even your best friend," Mr. Gunnar voiced out in disappointment.
"Best friend?" Anna muttered as she continued staring at Dominic. She looked away in bashfulness when he too looked at her. The curl at the corner of his lips didn't escape her sight of view. Seeing the smirk, anger bubbled within her, dancing side by side with the intense yearning that was catalyzed by the longing spell.
'Damn it!' she cursed inside. She had to act smitten, or else this man would notice that she could counter the effect of the longing spell.
A few pats on her shoulder returned Anna to reality. Mr. Gunnar's croaky voice echoed in her ears. "Anna, you may not remember this, but Dominic was once your best friend," he said.
"Really?" she asked, acting surprised again. She looked at Dominic for confirmation.
"We are, and I'm here because I'm concerned about you. I believed that if we reminisce about our past friendship, you might remember something," Dominic replied with a smile.
His voice was soothing to the ear, but not to Anna, it made her stomach churn in disgust. She recalled their first encounter, which failed to translate the so-called friendship they have between them.
"That's good! Anna, why don't you show him around?" Mr. Gunnar looked at Anna expectantly.
Turning to the man she called 'father,' Anna agreed with a subtle nod. "Sure. I'm actually on my way to the botanical garden. Do you mind accompanying me?" she looked at Dominic, eagerly waiting for him to answer.
"My pleasure," Dominic replied, and Anna could feel her lips curled slightly. For the first time after coming to this world, excitement filled her body. She knew herself well, therefore, she understood where the enthusiasm came from. It was from the mere thought of teaching Dominic a lesson.
Today, she must pay back everything that he had done to her body!
After bidding farewell to Mr. Gunnar, they left through the back door and made their way towards the botanical garden. Silence accompanied them as they continued to walk on the route that narrowed the more they ventured into the mansion's backyard. They finally stopped once they saw a small gate.
"You chose such a good location. No one will hear us here," Dominic's voice broke the circle of silence between them.
Anna didn't respond, instead, she instructed Ruby to open the gate. Once the gate was open, they walked inside, witnessing different types of rare plants and flowers. Their shoots were reaching the sky and met at the center, creating a domelike shape.
"Beautiful," Anna praised as she walked further in, leaving Ruby behind.
"Ruby, isn't this beautiful?" she said, turning around only to see Ruby lying on the grass with her eyes closed. Beside her unconscious body was Dominic, looking at her with an evil smirk on his face.
'Damn it!' Anna cursed inside. She made a thorough plan on how to get back at Dominic, but she had forgotten to put Ruby in her own equation. Her plan to lure Dominic to an isolated place was a success, but now Ruby was involved because of her careless, irresponsible act.
"Ruby," she muttered her name while running to her. However, a hand stopped her from moving forwards. She knew it was Dominic because his familiar voice spoke from behind. How he appeared behind her was clear as the day to Anna. This man was indeed someone who possessed a powerful bloodline because no one else could move at a fast speed as he did.
"Relax, I just let her sleep a little. I don't want an outsider listening to our conversation," he explained while making sure that Anna was facing him.
"Tell me the news that I wanted to hear, and I might reward you with something good in return," he said as his cold fingers traced the outline of Anna's lips.
Anna closed her eyes as she tried to remain calm. She peeked at Ruby and noticed her chest moving up and down. The indication of life was enough for Anna to refocus on the man that was holding her. The proximity between her and Dominic made her heart pound hard as if it was going to leap out of her body.
Her situation right now was like walking on a thin thread of life. She had a plan, but if she didn't grasp the perfect timing to execute them, Dominic might get suspicious of her. Moreover, she couldn't cope with the longing spell for long, especially with the presence of the man himself.
Therefore, she couldn't afford anymore mistake.
"I'll tell you everything later. Right now, h-how about we do something else?" Anna said, while coquettishly reaching for the hair stick in her hair. She pulled it out, shaking her head a little to make sure that her hair fell perfectly on her shoulder.
Seeing this, Dominic laughed. His eyes were eyeing Anna from head to toe.
"It seems that the longing spell is working well. But considering your memory loss, let me remind you again. I will not bed you until I marry Avery. So tell me, what's the verdict?" he said, touching Anna's chin before tilting it up. Seeing her biting her lip, Dominic unconsciously licked his lips. Despite his strong words, the desire in his eyes remained unhidden.
"Heh!"
A chuckle left Anna's lips the moment she saw the lust on Dominic's eyes.
"Why are you laughing?" Dominic narrowed his gaze while tightening his grip on Anna's slim figure. He hated it when a woman who was a slave of his looked at him in a demeaning way.
"I asked, why - agh!" Dominic groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He lowered his gaze and saw Anna pulled something out of his left chest. Her action made him groan once again.
Looking at the source of the indescribable pain he was feeling, his eyes widened when he saw the red stain on his favorite blue shirt.
"Y-You!" Dominic finally understood what was happening. He was stabbed, and the culprit was the person who was degrading him with her gaze. He could see the weapon she used. It was the hair stick she pulled out of her hair earlier.
But how? The effect of the longing spell should make her unwilling to harm him, no?
"I'll kill you!" Dominic shouted in anger. He grabbed her neck, intending to end Anna's life, but the pain in his left chest increased as time went by. Unable to hold any longer, his hold on her neck loosened as he stumbled to the ground.
"Hmm, that was easy," he could sense a hint of ridicule in her comment. He mustered his strength to look at Anna only to see her looking back with a cocky grin on her face. It was unsettling, mostly when he met her dark amber orbs. The look she gave him was one of superiority, making him feel like an insignificant person.
Dominic grunted as he used his hand to support his body from kissing the hard ground.
"H-How..did... You?" he asked in between gasps.
He noticed that the more blood left the cut in his chest, the weaker he got. He found it hard to believe because, for someone like him, getting hurt to this extent was impossible. The reason being the fact that he was not a normal human being but a superhuman!
He was born as a Noblebloed, a powerful bloodline that could rival even heaven. So, how did a mere stab make him incapable of summoning his power?
While Dominic was trying to figure out everything amid the pain he was experiencing, Anna breathed in a lot of air. She was relieved to be able to pull off one of her plans without a hitch. She stared at the hair stick coated in crimson color, and a smile that was eviler than Dominic appeared on her face.
"For someone like you who possesses a powerful bloodline, you're quite...weak?" Anna spoke as she moved closer to Dominic, whose face was as pale as a ghost.
"I bet you have no idea that pain can nullify a curse for a short while? What more a spell?" she said in a low voice. A grin on her face.
"What are you talking about? No, what have you done to me?" Dominic spouted as he crawled backward, trying to create a gap between them. He couldn't understand a single thing Anna was saying because the disadvantageous situation clouded his judgment.