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“Stop kneeling down before us. Stand up and talk like a normal human.”

The ice-cold command from Silas caused Amelia and Cassius to flinch, halting their conversation. Even though he hardly talked, his stiff voice made Amelia a little nervous. She unleashed Cassius’s arm and stood up from the ground, wiping her teary eyes.

“Hey… Silas. Easy, man! You are making her nervous…”

Silas ignored Cassius’s words, continuing to glare at Amelia.

“Before I let you stay here, tell me why would we let you do those things for us? Even though it was our call to bring you here, it’s not like we are asking you to cook or clean for us.” He shoveled his rigid questions at her, intensely staring.

Amelia lowered her eyes and sighed heavily.

“I… I understand, Mister. It must be hard for you to trust the words of a stranger but you both are my life saviors. At this point, I have nothing to lose anymore.

Out of kindness, if you allow me to stay here, I won’t stay idle. I don’t really have anywhere else to go. In exchange for shelter, I can cook, clean, or really anything for this mansion. It must be too much to ask but, I will prove my worth to you—”

GRROOWWLLLL!

Suddenly, before she could complete her sentence, a loud growling came from her stomach, causing all three of them to flinch.

Flustered, she caressed her stomach and stuttered, “I-I am s-sorry. A-Actually, I… I hadn’t eaten anything since last night. T-That’s why… I guess I am hungry.”

She fidgeted.

“Pfftt!” Cassius burst out in soft laughter watching her flushed face.

He sarcastically remarked, “That was loud for such a small stomach, you must be really starving. Well, to be honest, I am getting hungry too, and watching my food before me, it’s really raising my appetite.”

Hearing his cheeky and absurd response, Silas tossed a cold glare at him. His honest comment made him quite fretful but most importantly, innocent Amelia couldn’t understand what he exactly meant by his remark and stood baffled.

“H-Huh? Pardon?”

Flashing a cordial smile at her, Cassius tried to ease the situation, “Haha. I was just kidding but I guess it’s a bad time to make such jokes. Anyways, I think I can order some food for you and–”

“No, it’s fine! I can cook a meal for all of us!” Before he could finish off his remark, Amelia blurted out aloud, enthusiastic. “It’s breakfast time already. Please show me the kitchen and leave the preparations to me.”

Watching her ocean blue eyes shimmering with vibrant energy, without a second thought, Cassius smirked, amused. However, Silas still had a stiff look on his grimace without any hint of a smile.

“Fine, if you insist. Let me take you to the kitchen. Now, I’m excited to have a meal cooked by you.” Cassius lifted his arm, asking her to follow after him cordially.

“But—” Her voice trailed off as she glanced at Silas with a nervous gaze. From her timid expression, it seemed as if she was still waiting for his approval to let her stay there.

“Do whatever you want, but make sure not to bother me. I don’t like disturbances.” Declaring his cold verdict, Silas went ahead to rest on a couch located a distance from them as if he intended to avoid them on purpose.

However, his permission was all she needed. Amelia happily started following Cassius to the kitchen.

Walking together, Cassius constantly sneaked glances and tried to act cordial around her to make her feel at ease.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about him so much,” he said. “He pretends to be cold and blunt, but deep inside, he is a nice man. Probably nicer than me.”

“I know, but for me, both of you are nonetheless angels.”

Amelia’s eyes glimmered fondly.

“Honestly, words aren’t enough to express my gratitude. So, I will show it with my gestures. And yes, I am quite good with frying pans.” She chuckled.

The more Cassius heard her answers, the more it amused him.

He continued staring at her intensely for a few seconds and pondered, ‘In this modern human world, how can someone as naive as her, even exist? How can she be so happy while offering herself as a slave to us? I guess she puts her faith too easily in others. But either way, that’s not bad for my plan to go accordingly.’

…

“Aren’t you enjoying this a bit too much, Cassius?”

Sitting opposite to each other at the dining table, Silas sternly asked, staring intensely into his impish face.

Hearing his question, Cassius flashed a wide, devious smile at him and sneakily glanced at the kitchen from where tumbling sounds of utensils were audible, indicating that Amelia was cooking up a storm for them.

Smirking on his own, he whispered, “I am still confused at this point, Silas. Should I feel guilty for taking advantage of her naive self or should I pity her for getting entangled with diabolical creatures like us? Either way, she interests me!”

“But what if she gets suspicious about us?” Silas pushed the rim of his spectacles higher. “We have to protect our identity in this human world. And getting a human involved in this mess… I am not sure about how it will go.”

“Ah, Silas, you always think too much! If she ever tries to cause problems for us, we can finish her off anytime.” Cassius winked at him, whispering about his ill motive.

“TA-DA! Breakfast is ready!”

Both of them flinched a little at the sudden soft voice coming from behind and as they glimpsed around, Amelia was already approaching the table holding two perfectly served platters in her arms. The appetizing aroma from the dishes filled up the large room.

She had made plenty of food for them in that short period of time and they appeared utterly delicious just from the scent! Amelia cordially served them as if she was a host herself and they were the guests. Both of them were a bit dumbfounded to find her so pleased with serving them.

“I hope you will like my food. Please savor it,” she said with a smile.

However, the table was quite huge and the first seat of the table, which generally belonged to the head of a family, was kept vacant. Cassius glanced at the seat once and smiled mystically at her.

He said, “Well, we can’t start eating yet.”

“Huh? But why? Did I make any mistakes?” Nervous at his response, Amelia fidgeted.

“To be honest, actually, we both aren’t the only residents in the mansion. There is also another important person living here with us. And until he joins us in the meal, we can’t start it,” he politely responded.

Baffled at his remark, Amelia frowned her brows and curiously inquired him, “Really? Who is the other person?”

“Aziel.”

In a cold, stiff voice, Silas mentioned his name in a heavy pitch, without uttering any word further as he stayed composed. Being a little nervous around him, Amelia didn’t dare ask any further.

At that moment, a sly idea hit Cassius’s mind again as he cleared his throat.

“Well, he hasn’t come down from upstairs since morning. I am a bit worried if he is unwell or something,” Cassius said. “So, would you mind visiting upstairs in his room and handing over this meal to him? He must be starving too.”

“Of course! Please tell me where his room is!” she exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Perfect!” Cassius clapped his hands. “Just visit the second floor and at the end of the hallway, you will find a room with two giant, copper doors closed. That’s his room.”

“Alright!” Flashing a determined smile at him, Amelia portioned another serving of the meal and ascended the stairs in a hurry.

“Have you lost your mind?” Silas hissed at Cassius once Amelia was out of earshot. “Why did you tell her to go visit his room!? Don’t you know what will happen after?”

Cassius was busy staring at Amelia from behind with an evil sneer on his face. He replied, “I am aware of what will happen… and that’s why I am keen to see the result!”