Chapter 11

Kai switched off the light and pulled the curtains at the sides before opening the windows. "I'm not aware of her plans or daily schedule, sir, so I do not know." 

Kai dusted off his white gloves and straightened his tailcoat before approaching Zach. 

"Can't you come up with another response? I've already heard that several times."

"If you're unaware of her schedule, then tell me more about her."

Kai tore his gaze away from Zach's marred hands which reminded him of the humongous scars he saw when he first assisted him to bathe. No matter how many times he think about it, the amount he had was not normal.

Throughout the centuries he had lived, he had seen men return from war, scarred and injured, but his was too much, especially in the present time. "Sir, I think it would be better if you personally ask madam about herself."

"Then at least tell me what she's fond of."

"I'm not aware, sir."

Zach turned the chair to face him. "Are you a new hire?" he said. The tone of his voice was as calm as before.

"No sir, I have been working here for more than a decade."

"Then how come you do not know?"

"Madam is seldom home. When she's here on weekends, she asks for many things."

"What do these things point toward?"

Kai massaged his temple. Ever since Sonia assigned him to take care of Zach's needs, he had been pestering him with questions. What's worse, he asks randomly whenever he has a chance, to the point he even heard him ask, 'When will Miss Sonia return?' in his dream last night. 

As much as possible, he doesn't want to disclose information about Sonia to a potentially dangerous man, but Zach's getting on his nerves.

"Care and comfort," he said forced, deciding to monitor Zach instead.

"You finally disclosed it. Here, take this." Zach placed a mini gold bar beside the table and leaned back.

"Sir, you're giving this to me?"

"Mm, take it and go. I want to be alone for a while. Lock the door when you leave," he said, well-informed about gold's value on earth.

"Then I won't hesitate." Kai raised the gold, making it glisten against the morning light. "I'll add this to my collection."

After the door closed, Zach waited until he could no longer hear Kai's footsteps. Then he stretched his dominant hand. "Erne, open up," he said, but nothing happened. He could still feel the table in front of him and the chair he was sitting on. 

'Are dimensional spaces perhaps against the laws of this world?'

'Right, Erne is a dimensional ring that requires magic, but I broke a taboo, so mine was sealed. However, if Miss Sonia really desires care and comfort, the dimensional space within that bracelet is perfect for her. That bracelet is designed for non-magic users too, so she would be able to use it.'

Zach ran his hand through his hair that has gotten softer as days passed. 'Since I have nothing else to offer, and Miss Sonia wants the best I can give, that's the best choice. Now the problem is entering the dimensional ring.' 

Zach stood. He walked around the room with baby steps as he pondered about it. 

'Blood…'

'Should I give it a try?'

He swiped his cane from left to right, to navigate his way to the cabinet in the corner of the room. Then, he took his dagger and went back to the study table. Right after, he removed the ring on his middle finger, made a minor cut on his pinky, and smudged his blood on the ring.

"Erne, open up," he said, but nothing happened.

'Is the blood not enough?' he thought before searching for a small container with a dip. After several minutes, he found one and placed the ring on it. Then he made a cut on the upper portion of his wrist. 

'All the magicians who checked my condition said the same thing. They cannot heal me with magic, and there's an abnormal amount of mana residue in my body, so if I soak the ring in my blood, it might work.'

Zach brought the container closer to his cut to ensure his blood wouldn't be wasted. Then he dipped his forefinger and waited till the ring was soaked. 

"Erne, open up," he whispered. 

'Still, nothing?'

'So my blood only works on plants. Huh?'

'What should I do now?'

'The best I could offer...'

'A service...'

'Care and comfort...'

"Companionship," he concluded. 'But unlike me, she probably has someone she can share her worries with, someone with whom she can be her true self, someone she can freely converse with and fully rely on.'

'I'm just assuming, but I hope she really does have someone like that by her side. Otherwise, that's just sad.' Zach took a neatly folded handkerchief. He wiped the blood on his finger and tied it to his wrist to stop his bleeding. 

'I'll be adding more requests though so offering companionship alone won't suffice. It'd be better to give her the bracelet.'

He sat and removed his black hoodie jacket, revealing his loose shirt and prominent collarbone.

'Life force, should I use it?'

'My life will be in danger next month if I fail to convince her anyway. So why would a deduction of a few years matter? Besides, before I came here, I have already given up on full recovery. Regaining my sight was already a lost cause.'

'For now, I just want to survive, return home, and bring my state back to its former glory or even to greater heights. Once that's done, I can be at peace.'

Without hesitation, Zach drew a bit of magic with his life force as its fuel. Then he directed it to his fingertip. With how large his mana pool originally was, he inadvertently activated a mana wave that spread up to several miles away, enabling him to get a three-dimensional mental image of all the beings and structures within that field.

Several meters below him, he was able to detect one person with the build of a male, so he assumed it was Kai.

Outside Sonia's mansion, was a well-structured garden filled with plants, birds, and insects. Further, there was a mansion as large as the one he was staying in, and inside, there were people, lots of them, but what stood out was the three-dimensional figure of a woman at rest. She was brimming with energy the rest didn't have.

Beyond the mansion was an endless forest, and further, he could not see.