"A…secret?" Shalei looked at him strangely. "You will tell me Seth's secret?"
"Of course!" Keith thumped on his chest proudly, unaware that the corner of Shalei's lips had gained a disapproving tilt. "I exist to become the bone stuck in Sebby's throat, a bane to his existence. There's no way I would pass up such an interesting opportunity! Err…" Realizing that Shalei was only staring at him silently — that was quite scary, for some reason — Keith scratched his head sheepishly. "Are you not interested?"
"No." Shalei answered sharply. She had no idea whether she was overreacting but… to know that one of the closest people to Seth — his second-in-command meant that they must be very very close, right? — not only disrespecting his privacy but could also casually say things about Seth behind his back to Shalei, who was practically a stranger, was very unsettling.
If she were in Sebastian's shoes and found out that her friend was telling her secret to others without her permission, she would definitely be angry— no, disappointed. And it was a hundred times worse than mere anger. It was purely due to her strict upbringing that Shalei didn't lash out on Keith. This wasn't your damn business, Shalei, she tried to tell herself. Still, she couldn't help but pipe in. "I appreciate you coming out of your way to share a bit of your life and Seth with me but… if it is Seth's secret, he will tell me someday if he wants to. Understand?"
"Y—Yes!" Keith squeaked out, back ramrod straight.
"Now, if you'll excuse me." Mood dampened, Shalei stood up with a huff, inclined her head slightly toward the flustered Keith before stalking off to the direction of the mansion.
That was how Sebastian found her, less than half an hour later, having tea on the balcony alone. "Your Excellency." He started tentatively. "May I join you?"
Shalei merely gestured to the spot opposite her. Seth sat down and sought her eyes. Shalei almost laughed at how cautious he was. Alright, she was sulking a bit. But did she really look that scary?
"Keith told me that he has made you… angry and he feels very guilty about that. I have not been told the exact reason but if you want, I can bestow him a severe punishment to—"
Shalei stared at him incredulously. "No, severe punishment is not necessary." She heaved out a long suffering sigh and put down her cup on the table. She should have realized that this was how Sebastian was going to react, judging from the way he treated her. "There's no need to punish him, Seth." Shalei made sure to tell him firmly in case of any misunderstanding. "Yes, he isn't without fault but I… might have overreacted a bit."
Sebastian merely looked at her, waiting.
Shalei found herself unable to look into those piercing blue eyes otherwise she might blurt out something she would regret later. Too dangerous, Sebastian's eyes were truly so captivating. She looked down at her hands. It was delicate and smooth. The hand that had never experienced hardship before, totally different from everyone here. Even Patricia's hands were rough from housework.
"I'm sorry, Seth." She continued right before Sebastian could retort. "I am feeling… off-balance, after everything. From where I come from…" She shook her head, unwilling to go down that line of thought. "Now that I have the time to think clearly, Keith might have been joking with me, to get me to loosen up, to not make me feel isolated. It's kind of him whereas I have clearly taken his good intention in a wrong way. For that, I apologize. Please relay it to him, will you?"
A faint furrow appeared between Sebastian's brows and he looked utterly unwilling yet helpless to go against her plea.
For some inexplicable reason, a small chuckle bubbled out of her throat, dispersing the gloom she had been nursing within. As she had expected, being with Sebastian was really fun. He might be stern, taciturn and kinda imposing sometimes but Shalei really liked the calm aura around him. It made her feel as if everything would be fine.
She told him as much. "I really like you, Seth."
Sebastian's head snapped up so fast that a faint crack could be heard. His eyes were as wide as saucers, shock was evident within the swirling blue orbs. The ears that were peeking through his hair were tinted red.
Realizing what she had just blurted out, flush began to spread across her cheeks. "No, I mean. It's nothing like that…" Goddamnit, Shalei, what the hell have you just said?! Couldn't you restrain your mouth for once?! "I mean, you are dependable, skillful and mature. Having you around really calms me down… it seems…"
"I understand," he replied quietly. And did his shoulders just slump down? No, Shalei must have seen it wrongly. "I am grateful that you hold me in such a high regard, Your Excellency."
Shalei's heart was still hammering inside her ribcage and her face felt too hot to her liking. In the end, she could only pretend to lift the cup back to her mouth so as to not have to speak for the next few moments.
"Are you okay?" Sebastian finally asked.
No, not this question again. "Of course." Shalei showed a faint, impeccable smile. "Why am I not?"
"You are…" Sebastian was clearly searching for the suitable words and Shalei had a sudden premonition that she wouldn't want to hear whatever he said next. Fortunately, she was rescued by the noisy buzz coming from Sebastian's walkie-talkie. But remembering the last time when the device let out such a sound, Shalei tensed yet again, her grip on the cup tightening.
"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked tensely, already standing up.
"Captain!" It was Collin's voice, Shalei noticed. It was also him who had notified them of the Infected last time. Oh no, would there be another… "Captain, the trackers are back!"
Trackers. The patrolling werewolves and also, the ones assigned to scrounge for food. It's not the Infected, Shalei had just let out a sigh of relief when Collin continued,
"Please come to the first floor, Captain. It seems like they have brought some bad news!"