: Mellisony’s Illness

While Kayda and Dimitri were having a battle of the glares, Clouse, Gerrin and butler Stevens were silently staring at the side.

Clouse and Gerrin were used to Kayda's bullheaded behavior by now after spending three days with her, but butler Stevens was surprised by her rashness.

He had been with his lord throughout the young man's entire life. He was quite accustomed to his coldness and aloofness that set others on edge.

So seeing that such a petite young thing was equally staring down his icey master, he was initially startled but was experienced enough to school his expression seamlessly.

Just when the tension between the two seemed to be on the edge of snapping, Dimitri gave a defeated sigh.

With a tilt of his head, he told Kayda to follow him into the mansion as he walked away.

Gerrin had something to do so he went off into another direction while Clouse had disappeared a little after Kayda and Dimitri started the stare off without anyone noticing.

When Dimitri walked towards the mansion, Kayda stayed rooted to her spot.

She didn't like to gamble. And following this man was a bet she wasn't liking the odds of.

Seeing that she wasn't following, butler Stevens paused to look at Kayda.

"Young miss, please follow us inside."

His tone was very polite, spoken in the Zedrulian language that she could understand. And she couldn't find anything wrong with it.

It unnerved her how easily these people seemed to hide their intentions.

The butler's eyes were clear and kind, to the point she almost trusted what she saw with her eyes and not with her gut.

But she knew better then to be deceived by looks.

With a glance at the vast land of forest surrounding the mansion, she was tempted.

Her legs were even burning and urging her to take off.

But looking back at the wide frame and broad back of Dimitri's that was getting smaller and smaller, she swallowed her desire and hesitantly took a step forward.

She didn't like gambling. And the odds were greatly against her.

But even then, she wasn't one to back down on a promise. He got her out of her near death situation when he could have easily left her to fend for herself.

She would repay him the due amount he deserved. If he dared to try and take more, she wouldn't hesitate to burn the place to the ground.

With a small fire in her eyes, she followed him.

It was only far later in her life that she realized that this decision did not only just shape her future, but led to an uproar to take place in all of the five centeral continents.

On the way, Kayda took a glance around and memorized the hallways and turns just in case she needed to make a quick escape.

She noticed as well that the mansion wasn't lavishly decorated. In fact, it was quite simple.

There wasn't jeweled lights or golden candle holders. Nor priceless relics lining the hall or golden framed banasters.

The mansion was simple, with an introquent painting hanging on the wall every here and there. With a modest decor, it almost looked cozy.

But Kayda didn't feel cozy. She was on guard, cautious of every door and person that passed her.

They had walked for a while to what could be the innermost part of the mansion.

For some reason, she thought that it looked brighter the deeper they went. There were more windows and little lanterns lining the halls.

Looking out one of the windows, she noticed that there was a private courtyard. Unlike the simple but elegant entrance shrubbery, the small courtyard was brimming with flowers and plants. Little birds flitted about on small wings.

It was beautiful and lively, a strange contrast with Dimitri's apathetic personality that chilled someone's blood.

Dimitri stopped with Kayda a few steps behind him, keeping her distance.

Standing in front of them was a door with two maids standing on each side of it.

On each of the maids, there was a dagger. The dagger was skillfully hidden in their outfits but Kayda was sensitive to these sort of things which aloud her to notice the hidden weapons.

With a nod, Butler Stevens opened the door.

Before it had even opened half way, Kayda instantly knew something was wrong.

The air inside the room wreaked heavily of herbs and dust.

Unlike the brightly lit hallways, the room was dim, making the air seem like a heavy fog of miasma.

Once the door was full opened and they walked into the room, Kayda noticed a figure.

Sitting on a wheelchair in front of a slightly opened window was a small girl.

Her frame resembling Kayda somewhat with an unhealthy skinniness that caused her cheeks to be slightly hollow and her eyes sunken.

It wasn't as bad as Kayda but even then, she could still feel a slight twist of her heart looking at the young girl that blankly seemed to look out the window as if her soul had left her.

And she was all to familiar with that look.

Taking a step forward, Dimitri went to kneel down in front of the girl.

"Mellisony, I'm back."

His voice was completely different. It was soft and gentle, losing all traces of his previous coldness.

Honestly, it slightly unsettled Kayda.

The girl on the wheelchair looked over to Dimitri.

And as if her soul was suddenly reunited with her body and mind, her eyes became full of life as her face immediately brightened with a huge smile.

"Big brother!" Lunging forward, she almost fell out of her wheelchair as she tightly wrapped her thin arms around Dimitri's neck.

"Your back! How long are you staying this time?" Pulling her face away, she looked at him with all seriousness but you could still feel the love in her eyes with the slight uplift of the corner of her mouth she couldn't hide.

Dimitri gently pulled her arms from around his neck and softly sat her back down properly in her wheelchair.

"Longer this time."

Hearing his words, Mellisony once again radiated a bright smile that was blinding in the dark and gloomy room.

"My lord."

Taking a glance over her shoulder, she saw a man who had his hand over his chest in a polite bow.

When the man stood back up, she got a look at his face that was almost as handsome as Clouse's. But unlike Clouse's playboy kind of looks, he looked more like the scholarly type of man with a pair of silver spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose and his long hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail.

His hair was darker than Clouse's as well, as it was a darker blond. To be honest though, they could have been related with the similarities between them.

Dimitri looked at the man who suddenly appeared and stood up, but he held onto Mellisony's hand which made her proudly smile.

"I brought someone who could possibly help with Mellisony's sickness."

The room went silent at his words.

Dimitri and butler Stevens expressions didn't change but the same couldn't be said for Mellisony's and the scholarly man.

Kayda narrowed her eyes as she looked at Dimitri.

The whole time she had been here, they were speaking the eastern language which she couldn't understand. But when she felt Dimitri's eyes land on her, she knew she was the subject of the conversation. And she didn't like the thought of them scheming right in front of her even if she couldn't understand a word they were saying.