Evening breezes already started to flow when the carriage left Nilana right outside the manor, also leaving a thousand of new found memories to her. Nilana sighed before approaching the front iron gate.
Ian had left a note to the chauffeur, which the chauffeur gave to her. And it read, "Miss Nilana, if I happen to be present when you arrive, there's no need to trouble yourself. However, should I not be at the manor, you'll find the keys to the main door within the buckets at the bathhouse. — Ian"
She found the main door locked.
He's not here yet.
She thought to herself. Therefore, went straight to the bathhouse, a feeling of slight disappointment lingering within her.
She found the sparkling keys inside one of the wooden buckets, outside the bathhouse. Also found a wet black cloak clustered outside the washing corner. Trails of faint red water dripping from it.
Frowning, she made a mental note to herself for washing the cloak after making the dinner. When she got herself inside the manor, she found it expectedly dark and without a brink of noise. As she lit up the candles, a familiar smell hit her nose. Earlier, because of being so paranoid and scared of her situation, she didn't give that much focus to the minorities. But she knew this smell, the smell of earthy undertones. Nilana sniffed again. It was a musky burst of citrus with sandalwood. She swore she never smelled anything or anyone this good...
Suddenly, both of her eyes went wide.
He smells like this.... she pondered. Ian...he was here.
Tiptoeing upstairs, she knocked on Ian's door. One knock. Two knocks. Three knocks.
"Mr Ian?" There was no response.
Still content with the fact that he was here, in the manor, with her, Nilana went up to her bedroom. Two things greeted her when she opened her bedroom door.
The cat. And a pair of shining boots.
.
.
.
Having to meet Dylan at the very starting of his day was enough exhausting for him. Though the next few hours were... quite exciting. It wasn't his kill day, but Dylan insisted on him slaughtering the two guards of the great general of Windspire, just to give General Vender a head start of what's coming. Who knew the young crown prince of Amadeus would be this wicked?
Ian dry chuckled to himself, irony in his tone. He was busy planning for his next kill in 2 weeks when two weak knocks fell upon his door. Reflexes took the best of him. He quickly blew his candles on his desk and reached for his sheath.
Another knock. He almost took out the half of his sword then...
"Mr Ian?" Nilana's faint voice reached his ears.
She sounded curious and tired. Releasing a sigh of relief, he put away his sword and covered his head with his hands.
A gush of guilt flowed over him. And he didn't even know why.
I could cut her in half if I wanted to.
He thought to himself. Even the thought of it made him want to puke his bile out. He was ruthless, and she was undoubtedly a problem to him. If she found out about his real identity, her loyalty will be for her own Kingdom, not him. Even if she didn't, she'd be an easy trace to him.
Thus, all of it was a losing game for Ian. And getting rid of her seemed easy as an initial plan, not that easy when it came to execution.
1 month. He will keep her for a month. Yes. Then he'll send her somewhere she's safe and be done with her. 1 month it was.
He stood up from his chair before heading for his bed. He was too tired and too stained with blood right now for his mind to function properly.
.
.
.
Ian awoke because a certain sweet smell of an unknown dessert assaulted his nose buds. He wasn't used to these smells of food lingering within the radius of his house. He had been living here for 2 years, and never felt he belonged here. Everything else was perfect for him: the flower beds, the back garden, the unnecessary pond, the enormity of the manor, its location being remote to the presence of mankind. It was all meant to an end. A convenience to his plan, to unleash the monster he was.
Getting up from his bed, he changed into a silk robe after throwing his bloody black doublet into the furnace of his bedroom. He then made his way to the staircase. As he ascended, the sugary smell grew. To his wildest surprises, his stomach growled. He couldn't remember the last time his appetite was so strong that he felt hungry. He ate food, for the sake of gaining energy. Never thought of it as a luxury. Now Nilana was making it hard for him.
He spotted the blonde hair tied up in a bun; her back faced to him as she rolled down the dough. She wore the same white dress and a pair of white shoes.... which he clearly didn't buy for her.
A faint feeling of jealousy bubbled inside him. He was too skilled to mask it.
Did a man court her while he left her to explore the town herself?
"Who gave you those shoes?" his tone turned out more bitter than intended to.
Nilana flinched at his sudden presence. She slowly turned her head around. "Oh! You're awake! Earlier today, I had a dessert from a street vendor. It was highly recommended. It was so delicious that I couldn't resist making it."
Highly recommended? By who? Ian narrowed his eyes internally while keeping an indifferent face.
"Who were you with?" He asked, his voice demanding answers.
"Lady Azure!" Nilana exclaimed as she went back to baking. "She took a liking to me and gifted me these shoes! We met at the steam house and so much happened afterwards." She smiled at Ian. "I also found the boots you bought for me, Mr Ian." His gaze met hers. "Thank you." She mouthed.
And Ian felt as if his heart melted a bit.
"Here!" Her tone excited, she handed a hot cinnamon roll to him. "Have a taste. The first batch just came out of the oven."
His hand burned under the hot cinnamon roll, but he kept looking at it. Unaware of what to feel. After a few seconds, he took it to his mouth and indulged in the cinnamon roll, one mouthful at a time. The warm, gooey center of it melted in his mouth. The flavors of cinnamon and sugar danced on his taste buds. With each bite he took, the cinnamon roll seemed to get better, if that was even possible.
"How is it?" Nilana's doll-like auburn eyes bore into him with curiosity and nervousness. It was her first time making this, after all.
Taking another mouthful, he finished it, "It's…edible." He mumbled while chewing.
Maybe 2 months. He'd keep her for two months.