Breakfast

Irene noticed Ayana's great mood when they sat together in the dinning table for breakfast in the morning. Ayana was not smiling, but Irene could feel the happy atmosphere around her.

Ayana was indeed happy because she found another interesting old book yesterday. The ancient book contained theories about the three zones in Atlan. She had heard various hypotheses about this, but she never found a book that specifically explaied about this issue.

She had been curious about this since she moved to Zone B, why the two zones were so different. The brief explanation couldn't satisfy her until she found the old book. It was indeed a good finding. She can feel satisfaction when waking up in the morning even though she did not sleep that well. 

"Is something good happening? You look so happy," Irene asked while observing Ayana's face.

"I had a good sleep lately," Ayana lied naturally with a slight smile. She can talk more comfortably with Irene now since Irene always spares some time to have breakfast and dinner with her. Irene did not eat much, and Ayana also knew that she did this because she wanted to get close to her. Maybe before this, Irene rarely eats anything. She knew that food was not the main source of energy for the vampire.

"That's great then," Irene looked at the innocent-looking girl beside her with a satisfied expression. Almost a week has passed since Ayana came to the castle, and the girl was very obedient. Jason Walsh, the head of security even said that Ayana did not even seem like she wanted to go to the maze at all from the way she behaves. 

At first, Irene was worried that Ayana would do something troublesome like get inside the maze or approach some forbidden place inside the castle. Although, the girl still looked as obedient as before after six days, which made Irene sigh in relief.

It seemed like her speculation about Ayana was wrong. Irene just hopes that the girl will never change since an obedient girl is easier to control than a rebellious one.

Irene did not finish her breakfast as usual and called the butler.

"Luca has finished his mission and will arrive tomorrow morning. Prepare for his arrival," Irene said to the butler.

Irene, who gave several instructions to the butler, failed to notice that Ayana's hand paused for a moment when she heard the news about her new husband's arrival.

The topic made her lose her appetite.

After dismissing Nico, Irene turned back to Ayana and noticed the change in the girl's mood. The atmosphere around her totally changed. She was not happy about something. Irene also frowned and wondered what might have caused Ayana's sudden mood change. 

Oh, lord! How could I be so inconsiderate? Ayana must be so shocked because she heard that I mentioned Luca's arrival. That's right, normal humans were usually intimidated by Luca's presence.

"Are you okay, dear?" Irene asked, pretending like she was really worried about Ayana's condition.

"I am okay," Ayana answered with a stiff smile. Ayana's expression was like a signal of confirmation to Irene's suspicions. The girl was afraid of Luca. A sly smirk formed on Irene's lips. Since Ayana was afraid of Luca, she did not need to worry that the girl would approach Luca soon. Moreover, she might be able to control Ayana using Luca. It would suffice to scare her a bit as long as she was not too terrified of Luca. 

This kind of thought brought a smile to Irene's face. The expression has then gone just a second before her regretful tone was heard, "everything will be fine, dear. Luca would not hurt you if you did not approach him carelessly."

Ayana raised her eyes and met Irene's understanding eyes. Ayana was so confused and did not understand why Irene suddenly mentioned Luca's name. seeing that Irene was waiting for her response, Ayana just nodded her head with a slight smile on her face. 

"By the way, it seems that you will be quite busy today," Irene commented, trying to change the topic of their talk. 

Ayana nodded her head in agreement. She would be quite busy after this.

Yesterday, Irene introduced her to a woman who will be her new teacher. The woman initially would only teach Ayana to play the piano. But then, Irene realized Ayana's lack of knowledge of table manners and ethics. She then called another etiquette teacher to teach Ayana in those two courses which resulted in Ayana's packed schedule. 

Irene looked at Ayana as the girl slowly drank the juice in her glass. 

Irene has to admit that Ayana looked elegant in whatever she did. The way she moves was smooth, and her calm manner made her appear more graceful. Only after spending some time eating with Ayana, Irene recognized that the girl took random utensils from the table to eat some dishes.

Ayana seemed like she had no idea why there were different shapes of utensils on the table.

Irene almost choked on her drink when she saw Ayana use the steak knife to spread the butter on her bread. When she asked the girl why she used the steak knife, Ayana said with innocent eyes that she liked to use it since it looked sharp.

Irene almost burst out laughing at that time. She then understood that Ayana didn't learn about this. She just used any utensil she liked.

Irene smiled as her head quickly made several plans for Ayana. Vampires did not enjoy eating human food, but there is some food that they like. And when they enjoy the food, they would usually do that to show their knowledge in a table manner. They would behave elegantly and use the tools on the table properly. Irene only knows for sure that Ayana might be invited on such an occasion in these two years. So, it's better prepared than regret it later after another breakfast or dinner with some influential people.

Irene then introduces Ayana right away to her new ethic teacher just after a few hours. Ayana would have to meet this teacher 2 hours a day for six-day per week. They would adjust the schedule when Ayana starts school.

Irene was satisfied when she looked at Ayana's improvement. She was using the right utensil and applied everything she learned yesterday correctly. 

"By the way, Dear, I have chosen a guard for you. He will keep you safe when you go outside the castle," Irene said as she signaled her hand to the butler. The butler nodded his head, and a second later, the door to the dining hall was opened. 

A tall well-built man walked inside the room. The man then directly walked toward the table and stopped beside Irene.

The man bowed down to Irene and then turned to Ayana. 

Ayana could feel the sharp gaze on her skin. She could feel a hint of hostility from the way the man looked at her. She started to get used to receiving this kind of look after marrying Luca. She could guess that the man saw her like that because she is a human. 

"This is Sebastian. He is one of the best soldiers that we have. He only lost to Rainy and failed to be a White colonel, so you don't have to worry about the qualification."

Ayana scanned the man briefly. His appearance was more than ordinary since he has a defining jaw that makes him seem masculine. His sharp red eyes show his strong determination. His body proportion was perfect in the black troop uniform. He would definitely pass as a model with his looks.

"It would be an honor to be your guard, miss," The man said with a stoic expression. He approached Ayana and stretched out his hand, wanting to take Ayana's hand.

Ayana realized the old-fashioned gesture and quickly stopped the man with her hand. She knew that the man would kiss the back of her hand as a greeting

"It's okay. You don't have to do that," Ayana said calmly, rejecting the man's greeting.

Ayana could see the relief in Sebastian's eyes after she rejected the greeting. The man clearly hated the idea of kissing her hand. Ayana could also see from the man's eyes and posture that Sebastian was reluctant to be Ayana's guard. He hated to work as a bodyguard for a human girl.

Irene frowned when she saw their interaction.

"Please take care of me, Sebastian," Ayana said after pausing for a minute.

"You need to familiarize yourself with him since he will be the one to escort you outside," Irene said as she looked at Ayana, waiting for some response.

"I understand," Ayana answered. 

"It is settled then," Irene said as she dismissed the guard.

Ayana felt the uneasiness in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. 

She used to move alone by herself. Just thinking that someone would watch her all the time and might be spying on her every move outside makes her tired even before she steps outside the castle.

Moreover, she also caught the blatant dislike in the man's eyes when he looked at her. It was like he wanted to degrade her with her eyes. 

Ayana was curious about what was causing the man's hatred. Was it because she was a human? or was it because of something else?