Time passed slowly.
Ezrahl was as elegant as ever, intently being immersed in his work, and sometimes glancing at Aesther to make sure she wasn't ditching out and doing random scribbles on her notebook.
She would have resorted to that and made sure her beautiful artistry left an impression on all his prized possessions.
But he was too close for her little rebellious act to work.
While Ezrahl remained cool and calm, Aesther was resting her head overhand, and almost clutching her hair from frustration by the time noon arrived.
Her fingers were exhausted and her arm was stiff. The barely recovered body of hers felt much more torture from being forced to remain in a position.
But voicing out her troubles would have made her appear weak.
Ezrahl was doing the same things as her if not harder, she refused to appear any less.
Within no time she will master her mana again, she will show him how he can not have everything. She will rip him into―
"Enough," Ezrahl's low voice was soft as he placed his brush down, "It's time for lunch. Let's go."
Aesther was first to leave the manor. She stretched her arms outside and breathed in the fresh air to relieve some of the soreness. She wanted nothing more than to get away from Ezrahl as fast as possible.
However, as they were already together, it was only natural for the to enter the Dining Hall together as well.
The realisation only made Aesther feel heavier.
She can not let her emotions out carelessly in front of Ezrahl. If he gets suspicious, her life would be over way too soon.
And until then, Aesther had to do many things. She must get stronger, must end things before they become worse―but it was not possible. Not yet.
As they filled their plates, Aesther complained to the cook about how he should try making dumplings sometimes and then they sat down at a round table which was the furthest from the crowd.
They started their lunch in peace and it paused after Ezrahl gave an annoyed look to Aesther.
"Can you not tap your foot so loudly?"
It was hard for her to remain still in his presence.
Aesther sweetly smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Of course."
She slurped a spoonful of soup, it brought back old memories. The cooks of the castle were not really reliable but the soup was the best they could do. It was bland but sometimes edible.
Aesther slurped another spoonful, not failing to notice the shift in Ezrahl's gaze. He didn't welcome such a noisy meal.
"Mmm!" Aesther lightly moaned with closed eyes, "This taste is truly heavenly."
It was trash.
Ezrahl silently continued his meal but now there was a small crease between his brows.
"I wonder what they used this time," Aesther continued to chat, "They say anything can be used in Hunter's Pot. Someone brought piles of spinach from the villages one time and ugh the result was so bitter!"
The crease grew a little further and she could see him restraining himself from making some cold comment.
Aesther sighed, "I just hope they didn't use that thing this time. There were rumours that the old cook once used balls of an Ox―"
Ezrahl placed his spoon down on the table with more force than necessary. His eyes were glaring at her as Aesther looked back with oblivious innocence.
"Don't speak," his voice was laced with frost.
Aesther blinked and then sweetly smiled, "Of course."
She settled on slurping the soup even after it was cold and just to make any form of noise, she pretended that dish was the most delicious thing ever made.
Aesther lightly moaned again.
"Don't do that either."
"Oh, I am just enjoying the food!"
His gaze was cold.
There was another sweet smile, laced with a sincere innocence that Ezrahl was now finding hard to believe.
"Of course," she said.
It gave her a small sense of accomplishment to make him lose his cool like that.
Ezrahl seldom liked noisy meals.
Having finished her bowl of soup and rice. Aesther spread the salted fried potatoes over her plate. She then added some pepper and extra sauce over them to create a quick savoury dish.
The potatoes looked messy and she ditched the spoon this time to use her hands.
And the peace was once again short-lived.
Aesther didn't know why exactly she did this either, but in this lifetime, she liked to bother him at every possible chance.
Ezrahl noticed that although Aesther had stopped making sounds, she was now eating with her hands.
Her fingers were covered with shiny sauce and it dripped from her lips as she ate the unnaturally spicy food. Her lips were very red by now, a blush spreading over her cheeks from the spice she loved but couldn't always handle.
Aesther felt awkward under his eyes and by this time, he wasn't the only one looking at her. Their little arguments caused more curious gazes to steal glimpses.
He noticed that too.
She was about to say 'of course' to his expected response when Ezrahl leaned a little and spoke in a rough but low voice. His words carried the coldness of winter, and his gaze pinned her down darkly.
"If you wish to continue that, then you can," he said, "scram."
Aesther's gaze lowered, the lashes lightly quivering as if to contain her emotions. She appeared even more delicate like this, and hurt as if she had been wronged.
"Do you hate me that much?"
"..."
"I am really sorry."
Ezrahl looked away.
The frustration was still obvious over his handsome face but he didn't say anything more to that and after glancing at Aesther once, he stood from the table.
"I am full."
With those few words, he simply left.
Aesther was grinning on the inside. It brought her great joy to see him like that but there was little relief to the repulsive hatred she carried for him.
In her reborn life, Aesther could forgive anyone. She wasn't here to be shackled in small differences and conflicts of the past.
But Ezrahl…
Before he dares to ruin her life and this world, she will make his breaths stop. He was still too weak compared to the monster Aesther had fought in her previous lifetime.
"Do I continue arithmetic?" she asked as they entered the manor.
"No."
He replied only a single word and took her to a library. It was small compared to the one within the castle but still carried some nine―ten large bookshelves that surrounded the room. They were as high as ten feet.
"Dust every book here," Ezrahl said indifferently.
Aesther's eyes widened in panic. She opened her mouth to say something when he added.
"And catalogue them."
Her face went pale.
"You have the whole night."
She hesitantly glanced at the library and then at Ezrahl.
Their gazes met, he appeared composed and calm but she could see the hardness evident within his dark eyes. And somewhere in those endless depthless, she caught a flicker of the domineering aura of the emperor he becomes in the future.
There was that same unreadable darkness, something that always made her heartbeats halt and simply stare at him.
If only things were a little different, he knew worse ways to punish her.
She hastily looked away, unable to understand the sudden racing of her heart.
Ezrahl gestured at the gardens outside, they were long abandoned and no one really used them. Yet he had to say those ruthless words.
"But first, you will clean those gardens."
"Wait―what?!"
That will take too much time and effort!
Aesther wanted to complain but he gave her a cold shoulder and left. She clenched her fist tightly as she glared at the small library. It now felt way too big.
But then her lips formed a small curl.
She had a perfect idea to ruin his day.