He Didn't Mind

The moment the game was over, everyone, except for Devin, cleaned the dining room then the lobby where they played games.

Everyone was in a good mood! Even though they cleaned after the party, they had a lighter heart as they enjoyed the day since it ended with a bang indeed.

Tiring as their day may seem, they enjoyed the evening and it will be one of their memorable moments that they can go back to.

"Aaah," Edwin exclaimed as he tied the trash into a knot to secure it. "I wish we could have this kind of event even just once a month," he suggested, making everyone who heard it nod in agreement.

"It was such a nice evening! It made me take off the thoughts I was having for a while," Martha chimed in and Gwen squinted her eyes at her mother.

"What were you thinking about, mom," she asked and Martha gave her a playful grin.

"How to deal with your mischievous acts!"

Everyone who heard Martha laughed as they continued cleaning the mansion.

"So this was your first time having such an event in this mansion," Ava asked as she was sweeping the floor with a broom.

"Yup," Arvid answered as he carried the other trash and put it aside in one corner. "As I heard from the others, they stayed here for more than a hundred years but only now did they experience real fun," he added, making Ivar nod slowly.

"Yeah... and the unusual thing is, even our master joined in with us. Interesting how he is competitive, right," the Dominion commented, making the others laugh at his statement.

What Ivar said was correct. As they were playing throughout the game night, they noticed that they learned a lot of things from their master such as him being competitive and him being frugal when it comes to money when he is in fact, very rich.

Old man Gladios chuckled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm then sat on the couch.

"This... I had such an enjoyable night!"

Even though he said that, it was evident that he was tired. Angeal furrowed her brows as she sat beside her grandfather feeling worried. She pointed up, indicating for him to go to the room and rest.

Frey put down the cloth she was holding to wipe the table then knelt down in front of the old man.

"Angeal is right. You have to rest, gramps," Frey suggested with sincerity in her voice and this made the others chime in.

"You can rest, Gladios. You have done enough and it is already late," Edwin added, making the old man sigh then gave them a small smile.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, this old man is weak," he remarked, making the others shook their heads in disagreement.

"It is indeed late. Go rest. We understand," Ivar said as Angeal stood up and helped her grandfather up then escorted him back to his room to rest.

"As for you," Arvid started as he looked at Frey. "I have to bring you home," he added, making Frey blink her eyes a few times as she stood up abruptly.

'Did I hear it right? He's going to walk me home?'

"Yeah, it's late at night now. Let Arvid escort you back," Gwen agreed as she got the cloth from Frey's hands then continued cleaning the table.

"It will just be quick. Text Angeal that you have gone. She'll understand," Arvid added as he wrapped his arm around Frey's waist, surprising her.

They had never interacted like this since they were children. They were best friends ever since and since they started to pretend that they were dating, and when he rescued her in front of the grocery, Frey started to see him differently as a man.

'Oh no... this is dangerous,' Frey thought as her heart doubled its pace.

"Wait," Frey hesitated as she put her hands on his broad chest, to make a little distance between them. "Why are you holding me?"

Arvid raised a brow at her, as if she said something stupid.

"We are going to teleport in front of your house. Duh!"

"Oh."

Frey gave herself an internal facepalm as she forgot that Ivar had powers as an immortal.

'Stupid Frey! Think rationally, for goodness sake!'

In just a blink of an eye, the two of them already disappeared, leaving the other immortals behind. They continued cleaning up before they head on to their rooms to rest.

It was an enjoyable night indeed!

***

Angeal walked about inside the maze as her hands clung on to the shawl that was given to her by Martha. She couldn't sleep, so she decided to take a short walk in one of her favorite places in the mansion.

Angeal knew the maze too well. When she was a child, she got lost in it and ended up being rescued by Edwin when he heard that she was crying. Since then, she explored the maze with Gwen as she grew up, making her memorize every corner and every turn of the maze.

The reason why Angeal considered the maze as her favorite was because in the middle of the maze was a garden swing and another beautiful fountain which had the Greek goddess Aphrodite in the middle, along with beautiful roses that surrounded it.

The moment she reached the middle of the maze, Angeal stopped in her tracks when she saw another person sitting on the garden swing. Her eyes met his, making the girl's heart beat fast.

The Soul Eater was before her eyes.

Angeal instinctively bowed in front of their master then without waiting for his signal, she raised her head then cocked her head to the side, curious as to why he was here.

Devin raised an eyebrow at her then spoke.

"You couldn't sleep?"

Angeal nodded as she walked towards him then she pointed on the garden swing's seat as if asking for permission to sit beside him.

'This girl... she seems to be talking with me comfortably now.'

Devin scooted to the side, giving Angeal a space for her to sit beside him. The girl smiled then gladly sat down as the both of them stayed there in silence as the swing rocked back and forth, them looking at the bright moon that shone above them.

The Soul Eater stole a glance at the girl beside him. She was staring at the sky and it reflected how beautiful it was in her eyes. He also recalled what had happened a while ago so he spoke again, feeling concerned about Angeal.

"Feeling better now?"

Hearing him speak, the girl blinked her eyes a few times. After a few seconds, she then now understood what he meant.

He was pertaining to the incident that happened before they went home.

The girl frowned as her eyes showed pain. She got her phone from her front pocket then typed in her app to answer his question.

"It was scary... but I am grateful that you came."

With that, the girl was teary eyed as she remembered the fear she felt hours ago. She tried her best to smile then spoke, even though she didn't have a voice.

"Thank you," she mouthed and it was enough to melt their master's icy heart.

Devin looked away, not knowing what to say. They sat again in silence as they watched the night sky in peace, finding each other's presence calming.

As the minutes ticked by, Angeal was pulled into her thoughts of what had happened a while ago. She recalled how Devin forcefully ate their souls, making her remember what was told to her by Gwen and Martha about his curse.

Once he takes their lives by force, it would lessen their master's lifespan.

Realizing what he had done in order for him to save her, Angeal felt pain in her heart. She knew that she was just a mere human... but Devin did a grievous act just for him to save her.

And he didn't mind it.

Feeling a pang of pain in her heart, Angeal looked down as she clenched her hands on her clothes.

"What's wrong," Devin asked and this made the human girl look at him with sad eyes. The Soul Eater was taken aback to see her eyes watering.

"H-hey," the immortal stammered, not knowing what to do. He thought that Angeal was crying because she remembered what had happened a while ago.

Hesitantly, he put both of his arms around her, trying his best to comfort her.

"Don't think about it anymore. It is over. You're safe now," the Soul Eater said, giving the girl the difficulty to hold back her tears.

Angeal cried silently as she hid her face on his chest, her free hand clutching on to her chest to soothe her pained heart.

'No... it's not that. Don't do something so risky that would lead you to end your life.'

But the girl couldn't say it—she found it difficult to say it... as the thought broke her heart into teeny tiny pieces.