"Ah... what a pity. Then, I can't let you live."
"N-no! P-please, listen to me first!" Edna exclaimed frantically.
The man stopped moving and waited for Edna to speak her last words.
"Hm ... you see, Sir," Edna took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She then clasped her hands nervously. "Sorry if I sound arrogant. I-I did accidentally see what happened inside. But I promise to keep my mouth shut."
"Hm? Why?"
"Because you and I are the same."
"What do you mean?"
Edna looked around her and came closer so she could whisper. This was her biggest secret. She didn't want anyone to accidentally pass by and hear it. "I had also done the same thing last night. I'm on the run right now."
The man stepped back and sized up Edna from head to toe.
"A child like you killed someone?"
"I didn't do it on purpose! So, sir… I promise to keep what I saw earlier a secret in exchange for… you to help me leave this kingdom?"
The man frowned, then let out a chuckle.
"You are just a ... boy. Wouldn't it be easier for me to kill you?"
Edna was taken aback upon hearing that. Her face turned pale. She touched the man's hand and held it tightly, preventing him from taking out his sword.
"I can do anything. If you need a servant, I can cook, wash clothes, clean the house, look after the horses, make refreshments, tea, coffee, or whatever you want!"
"Hm …"
The man thought for a moment. He really needed a servant because lately, he was unable to serve his master. He was often overwhelmed with other work.
"A moment. Let me first ask my master. Don't think about running away. I can look for you even if you bury your body in the ground."
"No, sir. I promise I will wait here and not move an inch of the ground I am walking on!"
The man nodded, then turned to leave Edna. Edna's breath got heavier. She was frightened out of her wits. This was the moment where Edna's fate was decided, whether she could escape or her life would end on the ground she was stepping on.
Edna remembered the red-haired man who looked coldly at the corpse before him. She felt intimidated. The master of the blonde-haired man appeared sinister and menacing. The man could have ordered his subordinate to finish her off on the spot.
The blonde-haired man had already entered the carriage where his master was waiting. This could be Edna's chance to escape. Earlier, she was able to run away from the pursuit of adult men, and she could just do it again.
Edna was about to lift her foot to run away, but the carriage door opened again and the blonde-haired man approached her with a wide grin. Edna returned to her feet as she promised.
"Well, you did well."
"Huh?"
"By not moving from where you stood as you promised."
"Ah, th-thank you," said Edna, embarrassed because she was suddenly praised, even though a few seconds ago, she was about to run away again.
"Okay, my master said that you can be his servant. We just need to take you away from this kingdom, right?" asked the man.
"R-right! I can be anything."
The man held out his hand. "My name is Luca. What's your name?"
Edna shook the hand quickly. "My name is Ed-" she thought that it was possible the Westfall family already searched for her whereabouts using the name Edna.
"Ed?"
"Eden. My name is Eden."
"All right, Eden. We will return to our temporary residence. Since my master still has something he needs to do in this city, we will probably stay for about five more weeks before leaving this kingdom. You can help Master at his residence."
"Five!?"
"Why? Is it too long for you?"
"Um ... no, no, no, sir! I can wait for five more weeks!"
"That's very nice of you, Eden."
"Thank you, Mr. Luca. I'm so grateful you could help me."
The blonde man named Luca held out Edna's beret that she left at the church earlier.
"No problem. As fellow criminals, we have to help each other. And please just call me Luca," he said with a chuckle.
Edna then drew closer to the carriage. The opened carriage window revealed the disinterested face of her new master. Edna politely bowed to greet the man.
"Thank you for your generosity, Sir. I, Eden, will be your servant from now on."
After introducing herself with a new identity, Luca told Edna to sit in the front with the coachman. Edna nodded and followed Luca's orders. She sat near the coachman who was ready to drive the carriage.
Edna sat uncomfortably. She had to cover her face as their carriage passed through the crowd, afraid that someone would suddenly recognize her although she had cut her short hair like a man.
Inside the carriage, Luca positioned his body to sit more comfortably.
"You have agreed to it?" asked the red-haired man in a cold tone.
"Yes, My Lord. As you said, I can't read her mind like other humans. Her head was empty and foggy like she didn't want to be read by me."
"Okay, then you take care of her. I don't want to have anything to do with humans. They are disgusting."
"I understand, My Lord."
***
Edna arrived at a quite large residence. She got down and stood beside Luca. Her new master, the mysterious red-haired man, got down from the carriage. He took off his robe and threw it at Edna, just like that. Edna was startled when the large, heavy robe fell on her body, obscuring her view until it was pitch black.
Luca just chuckled and helped Edna to get out of the entanglement of their Master's robe.
"It looks like I have to leave you. This is our temporary residence."
Behind them stood a fairly large building. A mansion bigger than the Westfall residence. It looked dusty and abandoned. Edna's skin crawled at the sight of it. Long tendrils covered almost all the walls, while fallen brown leaves piled up the entire ground.
"Sorry if it looks scary. This mansion is a the inheritance of an old friend of my master. We only have to stay in this place for a few weeks, so we didn't really think about the state of the mansion."