Lit sparsely along the long hallway, his confidence resurfaced as he looked at the emptiness budding around. Despite that, his heart hammered against the chest, as though wishing to rupture out of its internal confines.


    In the distance, the double doors that he had seen quite a lot the past few days glimmered out to him. Following the warm lights through a somewhat staggered breath, with enough of them escaping his nose, the doors finally appeared next to him.


    He turned around to face them apprehended, coming to a halt as he glanced furiously at the metal in the middle. Frozen in time, he was stuck inside the corridor despite its plentiful sizes. Staring at the fine wood making up the entry, the man finally steeled himself before moving the muscles of his left arm.


    Three precise, orderly knocks crawled out from beneath his knuckles, leaving him to ponder through the deafening silence. Replacing the non existent melody, his heart rang out with cadence, somewhat soothing the man.


    However, underneath the beatings, the doors flinched eventually, creaking initially before silently moving inwardly, a soft voice welcoming him. “I’m sorry for making you wait,” her tongue spoke as her image revealed itself before his eyes.


    Her face seemed gentler, lighter tones blending into her bluish skin, making the pink eyes stand out beneath the night’s expanse. His sight moving below the nose, he saw the lips that matched her hair, which flowed straight whilst lightly glistening.


    “No,” he replied after taking in the whole of her beauty. Glancing lower, her attire came to view, especially the glowing necklace he had witnessed during the ball. Going down further, he saw her stand in the slender dress that clung directly to her body, leaving space for the neck to show itself fully, together with parts of the shoulders. “I didn’t wait,” Lutiel added finally, already back at her eyes.


    However, the matt lips raising themselves along the face to form a crescent smile, she quickly reacted to the words. “I can’t tell if you’re playing a gentleman or not, but either way, please come in,” said Zyponia, gesturing with her right arm whilst her body turned to the side, pointing inside the dully lit bedroom.


    Humming in confirmation while still oblivious of the room in front of him, Lutiel made sure not to bang the glass against the doors, carefully walking inside. Though, he staggered once he stared at the unfoldment of void whilst the doors clicked shut behind him. Standing next to the girl that disappeared in the dark, he couldn’t even witness any star peer through the many panes.


    Before he could ever know it, something brushed against his fingers as his hands became empty of the bottles. Taken away by who must have been Zyponia, he was about to voice his thoughts, however, the sudden flash blinded his reasoning.


    Petrified, the man swiftly stared at the shimmering crystals hanging from above the floraly painted ceiling. Pondering at the tens of little, translucent rocks that shone their hearts out, Lutiel couldn’t help but look down at the girl portrayed by the chandelier. ‘Have I never noticed it?’ He asked himself, however, his mind quickly shook out the belief.


    Instead, it prioritized the lady, along with the orderly laid table she stood beside. Adding faintly to the atmosphere, tall candles conveyed their blue thoughts, sitting snugly in the paleish candlesticks sprawled across the round table.


    On top of its blank, fine fabric that resembled the snow, a few gray-white, metal cloches of varying sizes rested, reminiscent of the seal around the wine bottles. The flasks themselves could already be seen around the table, standing one against the other in a row.


    Near the main two cloches, by far the largest of them all, silverware sat in a docile manner. Beside the knives on each side, sleek glasses sat calmly, ready to have wines poured in. Meanwhile, on the cloche’s left side, a napkin matching the flames carried a fork atop.


    Donning luxurious, violet cushions on their seats, with lines of silver that crawled along the wooden frames of the two chairs, they sat under the table against each other.


    “How do you like it?” The girl asked suddenly as all of the scenery ingrained itself within his mind.


    ‘Is this what she considers a proper talk? It’s too much even for a date,’ he stared with wonder before locking eyes with the demon lady.


    “It looks great, my lady,” he spoke with vague intensity, making the girl stagger slightly in her approach. Although hesitating, she kept a meek smile at him, to which Lutiel swiftly corrected himself. “It looks fabulous, Zyponia,” he added at the end, receiving a beaming, satisfied smile around her face.


    “I’m glad you like it,” she said, the man finally starting to walk over to his lord. Eventually stepping close enough to reach out to her, he grabbed upon the top rail, pulling it away from below before gesturing to the girl.


    “Thank you,” she added with a dainty tongue. Promptly watching as the man went over to his side before pulling out the chair carefully and sitting down, she once again took over his ears. “I’m sure you’re confused about everything in here, but we still came here to have a conversation. It’s just easier to talk over good food and alcohol,” she said before his eyes flinched around the table.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The cloches trembled for a brief period, quickly moving up by themselves before floating through the air into the disappearing darkness of the bedroom. Briskly gone, the man could finally witness the plate in front of him, upon which a stunning dish garnered his focus.


    Staring at the dark brown surface along the top, with scattered spots of blackness entwining, the steak glistened from the piece of herb butter melting on it. Sliced beforehand into strips that covered almost half of the plate, he witnessed the deeply pink wall that scattered throughout its insides.


    Then, he followed to the side, where minute potatoes lay stuck in their wrinkled skin, filled with seared spots all around. Also glistening from the herby butter, they filled out the plate, though still leaving an empty area, reserved for the small, metallic boat filled with a crimson, silky sauce hidden beneath a smaller cloche that also flew away.


    “Should I pour it over the plate?” He asked suddenly, making the girl stop heading for her own boat.


    “Yes, but try it first,” she replied to his inquiries, the man’s eyes swiftly looking at the glistening sauce. Taking hold of his knife, he dipped it inside. Dripping initially before leaving the tip covered, he didn’t hesitate to try it.


    Immediately, as the sauce spread around his tongue, the man shut himself, looking twice at the middle of the table with eyes more open than usual, all under the amused looks coming from the front.


    “Is it good?” She asked with a dim smirk, having grasped the handle of the metal boat. Moving it along to the plate identical to his, Zyponia poured it at her steak, just enough for it not to spill over to the fair ceramic.


    “Yes,” he spoke, nodding his head lightly. Gripping the handle, he followed the girl’s motions and poured it over the meat. However, before they could indulge in the dinner, his sight followed the girl’s right arm. Coiling her fingers around the neck of the bottle, she took the one closest to her.


    Immediately, as she twisted the silvery cap and opened the wine, faint aromas lingered throughout the space, filling their nostrils sharply, yet with a pleasant warmth to them.


    Staring at the bottle she was preparing for use, Lutiel restrained himself from using the fork or knife.


    Taking her glass, Zyponia eagerly filled it out to roughly just a finger’s width away from the center. Before she could gesture it out to him, her guest already moved it over to her, the alcohol pouring out steadily from the bottle while unveiling its green glass around the top.


    Within a few breaths, the opened wine went back to its prior place before the duo held up their glasses, sipping onto it firstly.


    ‘Ugh,’ Lutiel wanted to spit it out instantly, feeling the harsh sensations on the tongue, however, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. With a creased forehead, he waited as the aftertaste receded down to a mellow harmony grazing along his taste buds.


    “It may be a bit strong for you, but it''s good, no?” She asked after a larger sip flowed down her, some of the lipstick smearing along the glass’ rim.


    “Yes, although I don’t know when was the last time I drank wine, I’m sure I haven’t had any better,” he judged while staring at the swirling, bloody fluid inside his glass.


    “I see,” she muttered whilst putting down the liquid and filling her hands with the silverware, the man following. The two quickly diverged, however. Zyponia stabbed the meat, portioning it with silent grace. On the other hand, the man played out a bit harsher, dragging his knife and fork through the plate rather than cutting the meat.


    Nevertheless, the two came out to the same result, moving their forks with a piece of meat around them to chew it away. Sitting up straight, the two steadily cut through their dishes, sometimes combining the ingredients while other times eating one thing at a time. Sporadically, they also washed the flavors down with the wine. However, not long after they had started, the human-demon duo halted themselves almost completely, especially Zyponia.


    Slowing down, Lutiel briskly raised his head up, the voice of the lady reverberating inside his ears. “You know, Lutiel, I’m sorry if I came off as heartless at first,” she opened her lips suddenly, after having swallowed everything from her fork. “To be truthful, you caught my interest from the moment the cage in the slave auction was lifted up. There was something about you I couldn’t see within other humans on the continent.”


    “Yes?”


    “My chest halted for a moment when I saw your person, and something internally told me to get you no matter what, however, I stopped myself. As cruel as it may sound, I needed to see if you could put up a proper fight, so I waited to see.”


    “Then, does that mean you have stopped the fight even if I lost, but showed good potential?” He thought for a second before asking, swiftly receiving a nod in confirmation.


    “Yes, that was my plan in the first place. I was sure you were going to lose against him. But, you only intensified my desire to buy you out after winning the fight.”


    “Then, I will also say something. I didn’t see you as heartless. Sure, you seemed cold, but more importantly, it felt like you were avoiding meeting or just talking to me. Well, except for the time you slapped me,” he said without holding back the thoughts, however, his eyebrows furrowed quickly at the unexpected reaction from the front. Immediately, her face soured vaguely at the mention.


    “I’m sorry about that, all of that, I just-” she hesitated, rubbing the handle of her knife whilst avoiding his eyes. “You see, other than the fact you are my first slave, I was never this intimate with another human before. And I don’t know how to be a ‘proper’ slave owner, so I just used physical intimidation to act like one.”


    ‘Ahh,’ he exclaimed internally, as though cold water washed over him. Staring at the troubled mien around her, he couldn’t help but wonder. ‘Why have I never thought of that? She is practically in the same position as me. Wait? First?’


    “First?” He asked out loud, her face almost already back to normal. “Wasn’t there a girl slave that ran away?” His voice trailed out, to which she promptly nodded.