Having to kick both Elowen and Myrsky out of the room for a few minutes, purely to salvage what little dignity I had left while getting dressed, I was finally left alone with my thoughts.

  And unfortunately, that meant I had to think.

  Really think.

  As much as it grated against every instinct screaming in my head, I had to keep my mouth shut about the incident. I would have to feign ignorance. Pretend I hadn’t noticed the precise chain of events that led to me being forced to big spoon boiling coffee.

  On the surface, the solution seemed simple.

  Complain. Confront Thosen about his hot-and-crazy daughter. Withdraw my troops. Force him back to the negotiating table. Slowly mend relations from there.

  After all, Valen’s usual method of rushing headfirst into women’s beds and expecting everything else to sort itself out had proven to be… problematic.

  If Elowen stabbing me with a pin and very likely wanting me dead wasn’t proof enough, Kaelyn’s little stunt certainly was.

  And these were only two of the six fiancées I had.

  Six women who, in one way or another, had all contributed to Valen’s eventual demise in the novel.

  So yes, walking away would’ve been sensible.

  Unfortunately, it was also no longer an option.

  If I were going to raise accusations, I should have done so immediately. Waiting and then acting offended now would only make me look like a spoiled noble brat throwing a tantrum. That wouldn’t mend anything. It would only burn bridges faster.

  At the very least, remaining here gave me an advantage I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

  I was close to the problem. In the middle of it, in fact.

  Well… wedged firmly between a wall and a hard place, truth be told.

  But still, better here than blind.

  Myrsky groaned inside my head, sounding thoroughly displeased.

  I replied dryly, staring out the window, fully dressed at last.

  she snapped indignantly.

  There was a pause. Then her voice softened.

  It was a devastatingly effective attack.

  Cute. Criminally cute.

  And just like in my previous life, where I lost every argument to cat memes, I was now losing to a Wyrm.

  With that surrender, I walked toward the door, careful not to move the freshly bandaged burns too much, and opened it, allowing both the flying Myrsky, Elowen, and her floating eyeball back into the room.

  “I expected you to have… fewer issues with nakedness,” Elowen said casually, entering the room.

  As she spoke, Myrsky coiled through the air, quickly swimming and flopping straight onto one of the large pillows on the bed, sending a quick ‘good night’ in my head before closing her eyes.

  A good distraction from the embarrassing issue Elowen didn’t let go of.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “It wasn’t like I called for you, Lady Elowen,” I pointed out, walking back toward the window. “I called for the healer, and you came along. It was you who stood and watched.”

  “Truthfully, a pleasant sight,” she nodded more to herself than me, before almost forgetting to add. “Seeing you in pain, not… other things.”

  “Other things?” I frowned at her, not wanting to feed into her masochistic desires too much.

  And it seemed to work wonders as she instantly pivoted to another subject she was more… comfortable with.

  “I’m telling you this for that poor woman, but you know it was not the maid who did it, right?” she asked.

  “I know.”

  She nodded at that as if expecting it, “So don’t you dare ask for some crazy punish- …you knew?” she asked, clearly shocked.

  I turned back toward the window, quickly weighing in on whether I should tell Elowen about it or not. But since she mentioned that it was not the maid who did it, I expected that she had already figured things out and was about to tell me either way.

  A surprising thing, one that proved that Elowen and mine’s relationship was improving, even if slowly.

  Which meant that it would be wise to show trust.

  “It looked like an accident, but it was too fitting to be one. It is clear who did it and the reasoning behind it,” I casually explained, my voice cold, distant, as I remembered the pure rage almost swallowing me at that moment.

  “And will you do nothing?” Elowen frowned deeply. “Why?”

  But I only repeated what I told her on our way to this place, meeting her eyes just long enough for her to properly understand that I was truly meaning what I was about to say.

  “I’m done doing things the old way.”

  She paused, studying my face from a distance.

  When she got her fill, or at least came to an answer to her unknown questions, she got up and, without saying another word, left the room.

  Later that evening, just as I was preparing to sleep, a gentle knock came at my door.

  Far too gentle. And far too suspicious for an hour like this, especially after everything that had happened.

  Truthfully, I had no desire to open it.

  But I did anyway.

  “My Lord, I…”

  The maid from earlier stood in the doorway, dressed in nothing but a simple gray nightgown. Her brown eyes remained glued to the floor near my feet, never daring to rise, while her dark hair spilled forward like a curtain, half-hiding her face.

  And immediately after hearing her trembling voice, every instinct I had screamed that something was wrong.

  “Why are you here? What’s wrong?” I asked coldly, straightening my back in order to hide the anxiety.

  But she stood silent just enough that she didn’t want to be here, just as much as I the opposite.

  As she stood there, paralyzed like a deer in the headlights, she held her hands tightly together, fingers trembling gently.

  In a sharp turn, I looked past her to my right, straight toward the closest corner in the hallway, expecting to see someone there, lurking.

  But there was nobody there. However, it was the same answer either way. Someone sent her here.

  As for the reason… not that hard to guess.

  Denying her entrance meant some form of punishment without my knowledge and control; accepting her meant that they expected I would punish her if given the right sort of opportunity.

  “Come in,” I said gently, making room for her to pass.

  She turned to stone for a moment, and I could swear I heard her gasp a small breath in as if terrified. Fight or flight was on in this poor woman’s body. And she could neither fight nor run away.

  Valen, from the simple reactions of the body, seemed to be just fine with the apology these dogs were sending me. And I couldn’t figure out which of the two angered me more.

  My own body’s reaction, or these people.

  I needed to find out who sent her.

  If by some chance it was Kaelyn who did this… thing, if she was the one who sent her here to test me after putting this maid in this position, then fuck this. Fuck the plans. And fuck this place.

  But it was too quick to judge.

  The only one who could give me the answer that I sought started trembling even harder the moment I closed the door.

  And for the first time since coming to this world, I let go of this double persona I had to play between Valen and me, instead acting as I was back on Earth.

  The same simple, casual man. Not the monster.

  “Please,” I said, softening my cold voice as much as possible, “Join me for a tea.”

  I knew she wouldn’t move much at my invitation, perhaps thinking that I would throw hot tea at her as payback, so I acted casual, taking the already prepared tea I kept drinking from and filling two cups I took from a nearby tray.

  Only after I filled both of them and placed both cups on opposite sides of the table, did I sit in my own spot and speak again.

  “Please,” I raised my open hand, inviting her again.

  Seeing what I did and knowing she couldn’t disrespect a noble too much without even more repercussions, she accepted with a quiet nod and took her seat.

  For minutes, neither of us said anything.

  I just sat there, drinking from my cup of tea and looking out the window, ignoring Myrsky’s questions about the situation. All the while, the maid grew calmer by the minute, seeing that I wasn’t doing anything bad to her.

  I still kept quiet.

  Not a word left my mouth for half an hour as I fought against the sleep creeping into me.

  After all, it wasn’t the most entertaining and eventful conversation I've ever had. And that was the point.

  Entertainment for me meant horror for her.

  So until she gathered the courage to speak first, I would stay still, enjoying the view of the stars above.

  However, as noble as I made my purpose seem, I… fell asleep soon after.

  Right on the damn chair.

  When I came to, the maid was gone, a blanket over my stiff body, and a single note on the table before me.

  ‘It was Thosen. And thank you. I will remember this kindness.’