Chapter 13.
The Color of a Predator’s Skin
Adelen read his gaze and quickly responded.
“T-thank you so much for Master’s kindness. I am truly grateful. I won’t ever leave until I repay this grace! I won’t betray you either!”
The more life-threatening the situation, the more survival instincts shone through.
“Well… of course… if, later on… I’m really desperate to meet a real man… may I ask for your help then?”
And she didn’t throw away the lottery ticket that had rolled into her hands.
Right now, love was more urgent, but no one knew how her heart would change later.
Who knew? There might come a time when any man would do.
“…Sure, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Th-thank you.”
Adelen felt like she had gained the whole world just with her Master’s promise, but that wasn’t the case for Rakalt.
He wanted more concrete, visible terms. Rakalt crossed his arms again and started staring at Adelen.
“…”
Whether sweat or a waterfall was running down Adelen’s back, he didn’t care.
For Adelen, who had never received such a persistent gaze before, it was as if her whole body was being pierced by thorns.
As a child, she had longed for attention and eyes on her, but now that she was receiving them, it was unbearably painful.
Before long, night had fallen.
The baby started fussing, his eyes fluttering with drowsiness. Adelen’s eyes were also starting to close.
Only Rakalt’s eyes remained wide open, glowing fiercely.
It wasn’t right for the maid to fall asleep while the Master was still awake.
Adelen bit the inside of her cheek and tried various methods, like tensing her thigh muscles, to stay awake.
But their stamina levels were different.
“Gasp!”
She dozed off.
Her head bobbed, and she woke with a start, locking eyes with Rakalt again.
It was still early morning, with only a couple of small lamps lighting the dark room.
In the dim room, so dark one could trip over furniture if not careful, Rakalt’s eyes gleamed coldly, like a wild animal’s.
“Hic!”
It was the third time she’d met his eyes.
Even though it was the third time, each time felt like encountering a wild leopard, causing her to hiccup from fright.
“Hic, hic… gasp!”
Adelen checked to see if the baby had woken. The first two times she’d been so startled that the baby had woken up too.
“M-Master, are you still awake…?”
She had tried ignoring his gaze up until now, thinking speaking to him might make things worse, but she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
It was already well past midnight. Even after dealing with the crying baby all night, why was he still awake?
“I have things to think about.”
You’re not thinking of how to kill me, are you?
“…Oh, yes…”
Adelen stifled yawns and sighs, trying to ease the stiffness in her back and shoulders.
It was unbearable.
How could she, the maid, lie down and sleep when her Master was sitting so rigidly, staring at her?
“You didn’t sleep last night, either, did you?”
After wrestling with the baby.
He had looked exhausted when he came to fetch her, but at some point, he’d recovered his energy and was now wide awake.
Was there really someone who could recover without sleeping?
“One day is nothing. I’m resting right now, too.”
…There was.
But Adelen desperately wanted to get her Master to bed so she could lie down comfortably.
Or at least, if he could just tell her to relax.
But she didn’t expect that.
Not just her Master, but all masters seemed to think their servants could survive without eating, sleeping, or going to the bathroom. They hated it when any sign of discomfort showed.
“Isn’t it different from lying down and sleeping?”
“This is enough. I’m relaxed.”
“…”
The Master might be relaxed, but I am not.
But she had no more excuses to send him to bed.
It looked like she would have to endure until she collapsed from exhaustion.
Adelen slowly bent her back towards the sofa. This was her last desperate attempt to at least lean on the sofa’s backrest.
‘I want to lie down…’
But her body was more worn out than she had thought.
Before she could even complete her thought, Adelen fell into a deep sleep as if she had passed out.
* * *
The light seeping through her eyelids made Adelen open her eyes abruptly.
She had slept so deeply that she’d forgotten the time and place.
“Gasp!”
However, she was immediately aware of one thing: she was still holding the baby.
Her ribs hurt. The baby had been pressing his feet against them all night.
Adelen carefully twisted her body to free her ribs without waking the baby.
It felt like escaping from the paws of a predator.
With her ribs saved, she let out a silent sigh of relief, only to meet a predator’s sharp blue eyes.
“Gasp!”
The surprise wasn’t just because she’d met eyes with her Master this early in the morning.
It was because he was half-naked, swinging a sword.
She didn’t know whether to be shocked by the sight of his bare skin filling her vision or by the reappearance of the sword that had tormented her heart all day yesterday.
Having just woken up, her mind couldn’t decide. She froze, her mouth open, staring at him.
“…”
Rakalt noticed her gaze and glanced at her.
By then, Adelen still hadn’t closed her mouth. Her mind was still in limbo.
But Rakalt didn’t seem to care and returned to his practice.
The sword cut through the air again.
It was only then that Adelen regained her senses.
She had been mistaken for a moment, wondering if he had some kind of exhibitionist tendencies. But that was wrong. The thought that he was about to slice her with the sword? Also wrong.
He was simply training.
‘Training? This early in the morning?’
Adelen looked out the window, where the sky was still faint with the remnants of night.
It was so early that even the servants were just beginning to stir. That’s why she had woken up, out of habit.
At that hour, her Master was already up and training. Adelen was astounded by his diligence.
Who wakes up before dawn to practice killing?
‘He’s so diligent… It would be great if I wasn’t on the receiving end of that diligence.’
If she wasn’t worried about her own neck, she might have thought it was admirable. But having nearly died several times, she was now sick of even seeing swords.
Adelen felt nauseous despite having eaten nothing and averted her gaze.
“Master, did you cough? It’s Shend.”
Adelen jumped at the sound of the butler’s voice outside the door.
It wasn’t just her Master who was diligent. The butler had also been up early, ready for the morning.
Now it seemed like Adelen, the maid, had woken up the latest. How could that be…?
Suddenly, she felt the need to hurry and do something productive, but with the baby still asleep, there was nothing to do.
Adelen sat quietly, continuing her role of keeping still.
“Come in.”
At Rakalt’s command, the butler entered, noticing Adelen and raising an eyebrow.
“Adelen, you’re awake too?”
“Of course.”
Adelen smiled naturally. She heard her Master chuckle softly but didn’t look his way.
“How’s your wound, Master?”
The butler set down bandages and disinfectant on the sofa and looked at Rakalt.
“I told you, it’s nothing.”
Rakalt sheathed his sword and approached the sofa.
Hearing the butler’s words, Adelen also glanced at her Master’s body.
Now that she thought about it, the intruder had mentioned something about his wound yesterday.
She had completely forgotten because he didn’t seem injured at all.
Yesterday, despite being injured, her Master had swung a sword, carried both her and the baby on his shoulder, and stayed up
until dawn. Nothing about that was typical for an injured person.
Was he really injured?
Adelen stared at his side.
“…?”
And then she realised what she was doing, a beat too late.
At that moment, her eyes met his.
This chapter and the next 9 chapters will be done by Rumi, my colleague as per our collaboration. Enjoy ~
Slowly getting seduced
Hehe😏