"Your home?" Maggie looked at me in confusion. "Where is your home? I've never heard you mention it."
"My home is in a very distant place," I said. "It's a nomadic tribe. I left temporarily to escape from the plague. Now that the plague might have almost dissipated, I want to go back and have a look."
"Since the plague was so rampant, presumably your parents are no longer alive," Maggie said unhurriedly. "You won't be able to see them even if you go back."
"Not necessarily," I said. "I escaped with them to avoid the plague at first, but we got separated on the way. However, before we got separated, we made an agreement that if we got lost, we must return to the original tribe to meet."
Perhaps it was because I had told so many stories to the children that I could now fabricate stories quite skillfully.
Finally, Maggie said that if I wanted to leave, I had to get the consent of Lord Aaron De. If he agreed, there would be no problem on her side.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief. I was only half-confident about leaving. I hadn't signed a contract of indenture with the people here and believed that I still had personal freedom; however, not signing a contract of indenture didn't mean that I had complete freedom. I had already seen how overbearing these people were. They had power and wealth and had absolute control over an ordinary person's life or freedom.
In the evening, I carried a large pile of clean bed sheets and clothes and entered Aaron De's room. I sorted and placed the bed sheets and clothes in the exquisite cabinet, and then summoned up the courage to walk up to Aaron De, who was half-lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
After taking a deep breath, I said to him, "I have an agreement with my parents, so I have to leave. If you need my blood, I can cut it out with a knife right now and put it in a bottle. You can put it in the ice cellar and it will surely stay fresh and can be drunk at any time."
He was still half-lying on the bed with his eyes closed, as if he hadn't heard my words.
"My family is waiting for me," I said as carefully as possible. "You know, family reunion is very important."
He remained lazy and unresponsive. Finally, when I was about to leave the room, he suddenly opened his eyes and ordered, "Prepare hot water for me. I want to take a bath."
I turned my head and saw his cold eyes. That icy expression made me suppress the anger that was about to flare up. A wise man knows better than to fight when the odds are against him. Now he is the master and I am the servant. Can I oppose him? In order to please him and achieve my goal of going home, I had to be patient and reply meekly, "Yes."
White steam was curling up in the magnificent and spacious white bath. The vapor was swirling around. Several maids were standing by the pool with their heads bowed, holding clothes and bath supplies. I was one of them.
The man had been in there for half an hour and still seemed to have no intention of coming out.
I was getting a bit restless. Why was he still soaking for so long? Didn't he soak enough in the hot spring before? He should be disgusted with taking a bath by now. I planned to mention this to him when he was in a better mood after his bath.
"Lady Annabelle is here," a maid announced respectfully at the bathroom door.
I was startled. Then I heard Aaron De's magnetic and alluring voice reply, "Let her in."
"Yes."
Annabelle walked in gracefully in a magnificent silver dress. Her face was still as pretty and charming as a doll's. Her tender face with a bit of baby fat made people want to kiss it. She came up to Aaron De, took a towel from a maid's hand, and crouched down docilely to gently scrub Aaron De's back.
"Your Lordship, are you comfortable?"
"Hmm." Aaron De replied casually with his eyes half-closed.
"Your Lordship, when shall we enter the palace? Mother sent a message yesterday asking when we could enter the palace together," her soft voice was like a beautiful clear spring. After a pause, she added, "Earl and Lady Oksana are also in the palace now."
Aaron De's body suddenly moved slightly. Soon, he opened his eyes. In an instant, I saw a hidden smile flash across his eyes. It seemed like sarcasm, or cruelty, and faintly, there was also a hint of fierceness.