FILIP went along with Reyna. He actually took him around the whole estate. More like Isaac thought that Filip had a beef with witches. Like didn't all exorcists hate witches. But he was indifferent.
Something big was going on because the chefs in the cooking looked like they were throwing a feast. There were different kinds of food Isaac had never seen before.
One of the chefs must have noticed the drooling boy by the door because he gave was offered some.
It was a bistecca fiorentina. It was basically steak, which he finished in under two minutes.
Filip just smiled as Isaac ate, until it got on his nerves.
Isaac was about to ask for seconds when Filip stopped him in his tracks.
"What?" he asked.
"We don't have time for this."
He dragged Isaac out of the kitchen.
They went to the garden next.
"Are you hosting some kind of event?" Isaac asked seeing people setting everywhere up.
"The Annual Gomez Fahion Week," Filip replied without turning around.
Isaac had no idea of what he was talking about.
"Simply put, we display various works our designers have prepared for the event," Filip replied as if reading Isaac's mind.
He suddenly remembered what Reyna had told him when he was in the infirmary.
"Is Reyna one of your designers?"
"Reyna?" Filip asked. "I guess you could call her that, but whatever she does doesn't seem to reach Mother's standards."
His expression and the tone of his voice changed at the second part of the sentence.
"Aren't you going to ask why?" Filip asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope."
There was obviously some family beef that Isaac didn't want to know about. He'd learnt to mind his own business after his parents died.
"That's weird," Filip commented. "Most people would want to know."
"But her works are going to be on display, right?" Isaac asked. He wanted to change the subject before his curiosity became intense.
"Yeah," Filip replied as he collected a tablet from a delivery guy and signed.
They seemed to be delivering some fabrics.
The person carrying the bundle was no taller than Isaac. He was around his age, too, but Isaac couldn't get a good look at his face because of the towering bundle in his hands. All Isaac could see was that he had olive skin, some tones darker than his own, and had black hair, which was covered by a cap. He wore a face mask and only his brown eyes were visible.
"Where do I drop this?" he asked.
"They're for Reyna," Filip noted. "Isaac, can you please take them to Reyna. I would normally have any other person carry them but everybody's busy."
Isaac looked at the bundles and at Filip. He had no problem taking them to his sister, but the problem was that he couldn't carry them alone.
Filip didn't seem to notice the problem as he had moved to other things.
"I can't carry them all Filip," he replied.
The delivery guy offered to help, but Isaac couldn't possibly allow a stranger into Reyna's house without their permission.
"You can take the kid with you, but you've got to keep an eye on him. There are people walking up and down the house today so Mother wouldn't mind."
Isaac reduced his load, and together, they went back to the mansion.
"Don't you have any other deliveries today?"
"No, this is the last for my shift," he replied.
Isaac was about to ask why he wasn't in school, but he was going to violate his 'none of my business' rule.
They reached Reyna's room and Isaac knocked twice.
She told him to come in, and he opened the door with his elbow.
Her room was more of a mess than it was an hour ago.
"What -?" Isaac asked.
There were different pieces of clothes everywhere and the mannequins seemed to have doubled in number. Leo and Lisa were moving from one side of the room to another under Reyna's commands, helping her with pieces of stray fabric and moving the mannequins.
She was too occupied with her work to notice Isaac and the delivery boy beside him.
Isaac coughed, and she turned around. She seemed as if she just noticed that he had come in.
Her eyes brightened as if she were happy to see him, but Isaac knew it was the bundles he was holding that she was interested in.
"Who's he?" Lisa asked, referring to the delivery boy.
"He delivered Reyna's package," Isaac replied.
"Why's he here?" Lisa asked, being nosy as usual.
"You're making him uncomfortable," Leo said quickly and walked over to take the bundle from him. "Don't mind my sister. She can't just mind her business at times."
He nodded his head and started to head out the door.
Isaac was about to escort him back to the entrance when somebody dragged his collar from behind.
"Nope, you're not going anywhere," Reyna said behind him. "I need you here."
"What about -" Isaac asked.
"You know your way out?" Reyna asked.
The boy nodded and walked out of the room.
* * * * *
Quinn sighed as he closed the doors.
Internally, that is.
He was warned that the kid with the Joshua Charism, Leo, was the one he should be most wary of. Under normal circumstances, he would have been more expressive to avoid looking suspicious. He might have even spoken but once he entered the room he knew it was going to be tough.
He had to keep quiet because Leo was known for his sense of hearing. If Leo had heard his voice, it would have been a pain in the neck. He even had to be aware of his own heartbeat, but he was out of the room.
"Hey!"
It came from behind him.
Quinn panicked for a second and regained his composure, preparing for the worst-case scenario. He turned around and was face to face with Leo.
Pin-drop silence filled the hall.
He could feel Leo assessing him.
After about ten seconds, Leo threw an envelope to him.
"It's more than your weekly pay, right?" Leo asked. "Sorry, monthly allowance if I'm correct? Don't ask me why."
He walked inside and left Quinn in the hallway.
He opened the envelope and saw a bundle of fifty euros. He smiled to himself and pocketed the envelope.
It was a bonus. He didn't expect to make extra cash.
His expression hardened.
Maybe, just maybe, that ignorant person up there finally sent a little luck on his way.
Now comes the fun part, Quinn smiled to himself.