❦
Rin slapped Yoka across the face.
The maid was kneeling next to Rin's futon where she made her report. Her head snapped to the side and a red print blossomed on her cheek.
'Do you know how hard it was to get a poison that mimics the symptoms of alcohol poisoning?' the young mistress snapped. 'You ruined everything!'
She pulled the covers of her blanket over her head and burrowed into her futon.
An amused smile tugged at the corners of Yoka's mouth. 'He was taking too long to die.'
Rin kicked her blanket away and sat up. 'You're just making excuses to consume his soul.'
Yoka laughed. 'I didn't.'
The young mistress narrowed her eyes. 'Don't lie to me.'
Yoka's smile faded completely. She reached out with one hand for Rin's chin and tilted her face so her ink-black eyes met her light-grey ones.
In a husky whisper, she said seriously, 'Ojou-sama, I would never lie to you.'
Rin was trapped in the shapeshifter's soulless eyes for a moment before she remembered herself and swatted the maid's hand away.
She raised her chin. 'Yoka, you're not allowed to betray me.'
Yoka's plain face seemed to flicker once and Rin thought she saw a familiar beautiful face with long, flowing hair. But when she blinked, there was only her plain-faced maid's sincere expression in front of her.
'We made a blood oath, human girl,' her maid said to her. 'Even if I wanted to, I can't betray you.'
Suddenly, the weariness of the evening battle with the officials bore down on her like a heavy weight and all her anger vanished into thin air.
Yoka tucked her back into her futon. 'Sleep well, Ojou-sama. We can continue playing these games tomorrow.'
Rin let herself be nestled back inside her fluffy osmanthus-scented futon and wrapped in her silk blanket.
But when Yoka blew out the light and got up to leave, she grabbed her hand. 'Don't go. Stay here until I fall asleep.'
The shapeshifter was about to mock her when she continued, 'It's an order.'
[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]