A step away from the butler, he brought out his left hand, briskly swishing through the air, arriving behind the right ear. Just as all of this was happening, the human simply rolled his eyes at the arm, his body screaming from inside to break loose.
Yet, nothing ever happened. Instead, the man with no horns grazed his hand against the ear before bringing it back to his chest.
Instantly, whatever had immured him tore apart, making the man jump back to the door and hit against it. With heightened breaths, he stared ahead as his brows furrowed, glaring at the shining, gold coin in the man’s possession. Quickly, Lutiel grabbed himself by the area where he brought the coin out, trying to feel for anything, but only ending up with a fuddle instead.
Then, he stared intently at the coin, on which a grinning face glistened brightly. Opening his eyes wider after recalling a certain feeling on his palm, his mouth moved suddenly.
“You’re that old man,” he said, pointing at him, but the man simply threw the coin before catching it in the air, all while a faint smile hovered on his face.
“Maybe I am, or maybe that was you from the future, who knows,” he said, opening the same hand, but the coin no longer remained there. “I do have to say, you’re an interesting one. A kind of its own, if I may say that,” cackling near the end, Rudrik revealed his back to the man.
Watching as he walked away towards the shelves, Lutiel’s blankness didn’t say anything, his mind wrecking havoc instead. ‘What is he up to? No, what was that coin?’ Yet, before any answer could come up, the one in front of him spoke anew.
“If you’re thinking about that coin, don’t worry about it. It didn’t do anything harmful to you, I think. It just extracted some information about you. What do you think, should I say about it to Zyponia?”
Widening to the utmost brink, his eyes shook at the man. ‘What does he know?’
“No, don’t think I will,” he muttered, rummaging through the shelves looking for something while Lutiel’s breath steadied itself back to a slower, but still hasty pace.
“Oh, right, don’t worry, it’s just some physical measurements,” turning his head around, Rudrick winked at the restless human.
“What did you mean? The ‘interesting’ part. What do you mean by that?” Still with a straight face, he asked.
“That depends on what you find interesting. At least for me it is,” he said, not turning around whilst constantly looking for something through the wooden shelves.
“I want to know. I’m interested,” said Lutiel while the man stopped at the same time, having spotted the thing he was looking for.
“That’s good then,” his voice spread through the room as he turned around, sitting down under the table once again. “But, well, I was going to tell you anyway.” With a prominent smile, Rudrik glanced up at the human brooding a befuddled expression.
Before the creased forehead of the butler could speak up in any sort of way, he added on. “I will be blank, I never thought I would have witnessed a human to hold so much magical energy. You see, I was interested in you ever since it got out that you will be going to the ball-”
“What?” Lutiel jerked in with a sudden question, for the man who raised an eyebrow.
“What? Did you not know you were going?”
“Why do you know?”
“What do you mean ‘why do I know?’” The man asked, sharing a confused expression. “Everybody that will be there knows that Zyponia is bringing her boy servant. It’s probably the main attraction for all of the demons, especially the guests from the voyage.”
Voyage? Guests? Attraction? What the hell was he talking about? Lutiel’s insides muddled themselves, grinding and churning at the unknown.
“Ah, maybe I told you a bit much,” Rudrik muttered under his nose, only to ease the matter. “Ah, well, who cares.”
Once again, Lutiel''s eyes twitched in consternation. He understood nothing the man was spouting. “Who are those guests you were talking about? And why am I some attraction for them?”
Looking at the human while taking out a clean, white sheet of paper, he placed it on the table before opening his lips again. “I already told you enough about the first part, but I can explain the second. It’s simply because Zyponia has never had a male servant before. She always made do with female ones. It’s a special occasion for those who know her, alongside the ball itself.”
‘No wonder Raeyine helped me understand so much.’ He mused while lowering his head slightly. Locking his eyes towards the man, who began pouring some mucous, blue liquid on the paper, he parted his lips once again.
“Sorry for interrupting earlier. Can you continue?” He asked with a face that regained its apathetic composure.
“Sure,” Rudrik muttered, keeping a pen against the paper while starting to scribble away at it. “But first, turn around. I will explain as you do, but I can’t let you see this right now.”
“Why?”
“You will understand later,” he spoke mysteriously, but the man listened, turning around to face the doors without any fuss in the blood.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
“As I was saying, I was interested in you already, but it only intensified after I saw you in person. The energies inside your heart were being kept, unlike a normal human, so I planted a coin into you,” he spoke softly, letting each word settle inside his head.
“And now, after a few days, it changed. The average energy is higher, as though you had trained and strengthened it, despite being a human.”
Immediately, as the statement rang in his head, Lutiel recalled the weird metal Zyponia and Camilla watched him exercise with.
“I touched a certain metal. One that mysteriously siphoned energy out of my muscles only by touching it,” he said right after the man stopped, but it made his silence lengthen.
“I see,” he said calmly, however, without expanding on the topic. “Regardless, it’s strange, almost as though you were a half-demon, but that is very much impossible.”
‘Am I like this because of that bubble? I can’t see any other option, but it’s not like I’ll understand what it was just like that.’ Pondering on the useless questions that he would never get answers to, at least on his own, Lutiel felt a sudden waft come from beneath towards him, swaying the sleeves of his jacket.
“From the very composition of your muscles, as well as the beats of your heart, it’s all odd. With the same mass of your muscles, a normal human would be about half as strong. On the other hand, your heart beat is slower, yet the flow of blood is fiercer, as if your body is unconsciously using the energy to strengthen its functions,” letting out his voice as the air inside the room started to whistle, Lutiel didn’t dare turn around.
“Is that bad?” He asked, only to receive a hearty chuckle from the man behind.
“It might be, but it might also be great. It all depends on you,” he spoke with a calm undertone, a breath’s silence spreading prior to him continuing. “I already assumed it on the streets, but she told you about magic already, hasn’t she?”
The human stood in silence, voices conferring in his head whether he should reply. However, it didn’t take long for him to follow with the question.
“Yes, she did,” his voice crawling to the back as he nodded, Lutiel’s eyes widened as he heard another question.
“Why do you want to learn it?” The voice traveled through the room while the airs receded away, dissipating almost completely. “Is it because you want to help your brethren? Or are you simply interested in those otherworldly powers?”
Crushed by the deafening silence, the man repeated the question in his head countless times, only to stagger off-track.
“Why should I trust you? For all I know, you could mutter it all out to her after I leave-” his voice tumbled through the room, shattering up into tens of pieces as he shut his mouth, looking at the man sitting underneath the table in front of him. ‘Huh? But I hadn’t moved around.’
Despite the murmurs in his head, his eyes collected themselves onto the folded piece of white paper, its sharp edges practically glistening to him under the warm light from above. Floating up, they saw Rudrik’s soft smile, his eyes partially closed as he handed over the paper.
“Because you already have, from the moment you gave the apple away. You don’t need to give me the reason. I already feel like I know it. Just take it, but remember, don’t open it immediately, find space and time for it.”
“What is this?” With perplexion emitting through eyes around his emotionless face, Lutiel continued staring at the piece.
“Your clue to that power, or at least the beginning of it. Though, unfortunately, you’re most likely not going to ever be capable of using it.”
“Why are you giving it to me, then?” His question lingered in the air while the man stuck a finger to his chin, acting like a storm was going through his mind.
“Because I want to see what comes out of it,” he spoke with a grin stuck to his face, having already taken off the finger and rested it on the table. ”The rest is up to you. You can either open it up, or burn it away, it’s your choice.”
“Can it kill me?” The slave asked suddenly, making the other’s eyebrow rise high up. Though, a moment after, it came to serenity. With a constant smirk lying on there, the response went out.
“What do you think?”
Silence shrouded against the man whose sight lowered down at the paper, as if something within lured him forward. ‘Why does it feel like the moment that bubble appeared?’ Standing frozen in the room, he wondered.
Nevertheless, as seconds passed, finally, Lutiel’s right arm moved forward, following his intuition. Yet, as he grabbed and pulled onto the folded paper, the grasp of the seller remained. Quickly glancing up, the man’s eyes were no longer smiling, a serene contrast settling.
“Don’t lose it. Keep it in your pockets on the inside of the jacket and don’t show it to Zyponia or other servants. Got it?” His voice clamored through Lutiel, who instinctively shook his head into a nod. “Good, I’ll be demanding your thanks in the future, if we do end up seeing each other. Now, let''s talk about the item Zyponia requested.”
Suddenly pulling away on the paper, the slave yanked it out of his grasp before tightly keeping it shut. While Rudrik once again stood up from the table, he discreetly followed his orders, placing it into the pockets inside of the jacket.
Meanwhile, the seller was once again skimmed through the shelves, this time on the other side of the room. However, with a much easier time, he quickly brought out something in his hands.
Wrapped up in a burgundy cloth, its size came to a rough forearm, just slightly less than the man’s. Nonetheless, he brought the twisted fabric forward to the table, promptly placing it on top of it before glancing up at the slave, whose gaze incessantly shone upon the veiled item.
“It seems like you’re interested,” he spoke with a slight chuckle as his body turned to the shelf filled with powders and liquids of all shades. Placing his hand on a certain, dark red powder sealed with a cork. “Sadly, I can’t show you what it is. That would be far too dangerous, even for a human like you.”
However, the words didn’t stop Lutiel from staring. ‘What is this? It’s almost screaming to get my attention.’ Goaded by the thoughts, he continued watching as the man sprinkled some of the powder onto the cloth, promptly clinging to it without any aid of a glue or fluid.
‘Yet, not the same as the paper did.’ His head muddled itself with unexplainable intricacies, quickly stopping his state once Rudrik moved the item towards him, handing it over with delicate care.
“She already paid me, so all you have to do is bring it to her, understand?”
Nodding his head, Lutiel held the sparkling cloth firmly, making sure his grip and footing didn’t wane.
“Then go. And don’t search for me tomorrow at the ball. I won’t be participating.”
“How did you know, the-” his question was cut briskly as the air around him took on a change. Brazing briskly against his cheeks, he saw the streets once again, the same gloomy ones as before stepping foot into the shop.
Under his puzzlement, Lutiel took a step forward before turning at the building, however, the doors weren’t there anymore. Instead, a facade of a deserted building replaced it, the paint on the stone wall fading and stripping away.
Looking down at the wrapped up item in his hands, he could only exhale a deep breath before heading for the carriage.