Anastasia stared at me again in silent shock, she neither agreed nor did she refute my statement. She simply stared, her eyes roving up and down as she studied me like a puzzle she didn't know how to solve.
"You're very weird"
I simply grinned at her and continued to play with her hair, I wrapped more strands around my hand before I used it to pull her towards me, "Ow!"
I leaned my face against her and I whispered in her ear, "Let's be weird together...there are a lot of things I can show you. Things that are a lot more exciting than just now."
"I doubt a peasant would know how to have a good time, what makes you think I want to play with you."
"You'd be surprised by what I know...or maybe I should go to the Duchess" I made a sad face and forced out some tears, "and show her what you did to me."
Her lip quivered, Anastasia was still a child and she feared the consequences of her actions like most children, just the thought of me running to her Aunt made her scared.
"Don't do that...and don't cry" she looked conflicted and patted me on the back in an attempt to comfort me, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a peasant. Let's definitely play together."
"Great" I grinned, my tears dried up quickly. "Well then" I looked at Anastasia's green dress and I untied the large green bow around her waist and tied it around my neck, hiding the signs of her strangulation. "Tada, now no one will know...but that's only on the condition that you behave and have lots of fun with me."
She nodded agreeably but still said, "I'm against this engagement, but since you're not snitching on me, I guess you're not that bad for a commoner. Sure let's have fun together."
She shook my hand.
Her attitude was annoying but she would probably grow out of that. I found myself feeling a bit hyper, I thought I would get bored while dealing with Anastasia but that didn't seem to be the case. I thought Min Ho would be my only one but now I had another. It was like I had become some sort of Tamer, all these potential Killers were falling out of the sky and into my lap just waiting for me to polish them and bring out their demons.
I was certain I could turn Anastasia into a thrilling accomplice, I might not be able to manipulate her in the same way as Min Ho, but I would make her addicted to me; addicted to cruelty and pain.
Our mood after that was a lot calmer, and we ended up bonding a bit. She told me about every time she got angry and all the things she wanted to do the people she disliked from torture to pushing them off bridges. In turn, I told her about some of my own fantasies.
"You know when you were being rude to me earlier, I imagined grabbing a fork and stabbing you with it. I even plucked out your eyes and hacked at your brain."
She stared at me stunned, and then giggled, "What about now" she leaned forward and opened her eyes wide, "Do you still want to pluck my eyes out?"
I breathed and stroked her eyelid, "Yes"
Her pretty eyes made me understand why other killers kept body parts for their collections. I never felt enough attachment to my victims to keep a souvenir, but I strangely wanted to keep Anastasia's eyes in a jewellery box by my bedside table.
"What if I pluck out your eyes first?" she asked.
"You can keep them."
Anastasia burst out laughing, "I've never spoken about things like this before, you're so weird."
I smiled at Anastasia and didn't say anything. She probably thought I was joking, but she would soon learn that I didn't make many jokes.
We spoke for hours and I found myself actually enjoying the conversation. I was able to say anything to Anastasia, even thoughts I couldn't tell Min Ho because he was still a bit sensitive and viewed me as an angel. Anastasia had a rather twisted sense of humour and she also had worries that I understood.
She explained how she lacked a lot of empathy for the people around her, and how she never really felt sad when she thought about her parent's death. She confessed how she secretly found it funny when I cried earlier, and that she only apologised because she thought she had to and not because she generally cared.
At that point, the adults returned to the room, all laughing and chatting. Seeming a bit more energised than they had done a few hours before. They were loudly conversing until they saw us.
The Grand Duchess's expression was comical as her jaw went slack and her eyebrows raised at the sight of Anastasia and me sitting on the floor huddled together. Her eyes becoming wider when she saw Anastasia's large green bow tied around my neck.
"Whoa, am I seeing things, is the little menace actually making friends," Prince Boris said, immediately his brother, Prince Michael, elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.
"This is wonderful they're really getting along!" Alexis shouted with joy.
The Grand Duchess remained frozen for a few seconds, her brain seeming to buffer, but then her expression quickly went back to normal, she gave Anastasia an approving look and turned to Kang Seung, "I was worried since Anastasia can be a bit difficult but it seems like Ho is a great influence on her. She doesn't talk to other children and she's been struggling with a few things. So this is a relief in many ways."
Kang Seung grinned at me and gave me a small smile, he seemed drunk.
Laughter and chatter continued until late into the night. In the evening, as we went to leave, Anastasia held on to the sleeve of my blazer.
"Aww, she doesn't want him to go" Alexis laughed, "Now, Anastasia, you need to let him leave. You will be seeing your future husband tomorrow as well."
She shook her head and the whole place burst into laughter.
I turned and hugged her, making the adults hoot and whistle. I whispered, "I'll show you something very fun tomorrow don't worry, and I won't tell anyone about what you did."
She grinned, pinched my arm harder while whispering "you better not", and she let go.
The ride back was uneventful.
When we arrived at the hotel Kang Seung praised me for being a good boy and getting the Princess on my side, and then Min Ho escorted me to my room.
As Min Ho changed me and took off the bow he shrieked in horror, "What happened?"
I gave him an innocent look, "Something very fun."