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“And here goes the last one,” Syalis muttered with a heaving breath as she placed the coffin down on the ground and near to the open storage area. It was where Leo kept the excess supply of coffins, right in his bedchambers.
Patting away the bits of dust and dirt (and perhaps the torn rotten flesh from zombies) that came with carrying these items, she raised her head and had a thorough look at them.
Ten additional coffins, she counted. Some stacked together like a round of Jenga, some others scattered about.
A day of hard work and it was over. Well, for now.
And then, she mused to herself, ‘this much should keep Leo from carrying and taking them here for a few days. Unless…’
She trailed off, her gaze moving to the side. A knowing look reflected in them.
…Unless she ended up dying or stealing them to her cell by means of an inevitable habit, of course.
‘Or perhaps a mix of both,’ a continual thought that came to mind while a slight smile of vague meaning surfaced into her face.
But no, that won’t do. She made a vow to herself, starting from today.
“In the case I do those,” shaking her head furiously, she stayed firm, “I’ll also be the one to transfer these coffins here!”
As a concluding effort, Syalis brought a fisted hand to her chest and huffed out in unwavering determination like a lady of her word would. If she couldn’t uphold such a promise, then what would be the point of making one in the first place?
She nodded to herself one time. Then, two times. Finally, three times after.
When she let her hand fall to the side, her eyes turned to the one that started all this. That one couch was in her sights.
A step forward, then another and another. She walked closer to that comfy large seat, dainty fingers now pressed to her hips. A firm line had shaped her lips as her vision heightened and solely focused on that particular thing.
In there, as she stopped in her tracks, instead of it free of anything but the cushions positioned at each end…
There were these little things. A cluster of white peels scattered around the couch, they’d surely stick to your clothes if you so chose to sit on any side.
Tilting her head slightly downward, she picked one of them. The corners of her lips tightened, just from staring at it. “He’s used another pack of pain relief patches, huh…”
She twirled the tiny plastic around a couple times before pushing it to the palm of her hand. At the very middle of it…
And she closed her fingers, curling the thing into a ball. Her knuckles turned white as she did so.
If the Teddy Demons, who would often assist Leo with applying these patches to his back, hadn’t told her any of this…
Then, she wouldn’t have known. Not at all.
By the time she had come to this room at the usual time, he would’ve already tidied up his couch…
While so never telling her his discomfort, smiling gently like always. As if nothing was wrong.
At that thought, she clenched her hand more. Her eyes glared down at it as if seemingly burning holes into it.
After a while, she ceased such actions upon acknowledging this fact.
“Thankfully, now that I know,” she told herself, the weight in her chest gradually leaving, “I’ll deal with this myself…”
Indeed, that she will.
.
.
.
As Leonard removed his hat and shoulder straps and placed them by a clothing rack and corner table in an orderly fashion, he wasn’t sure what to make of today’s events.
Strangely enough, his work went uninterrupted when usually, there would be some bizarre incident delaying it in the process…
But no such thing had happened that he and the others finished early. Even his subordinates went out all merry after doing their shifts.
“Let’s go out and have a bloodbath!” was what he heard from one of the more senior-ranked vampires. All complete with them carrying a cart full of blood banks for their party.
He chuckled softly at the memory. Though it came to a halt the moment he realized something else: the culprit behind every said bizarre incident…
‘The Princess, hm…’
And what was more, the Princess seemed oddly quiet about her motives and actions. Having known her for several years now, that only meant trouble was brewing in the shadows. Well, normally…
And yet, as far as he could tell for today, she didn’t end up dying nor did the guards scream about a castle-wide incident occurring…
‘It’s really strange,’ he thought to himself, a finger or two tapping at his cheek, ‘that my work went by like a breeze…’
As he mulled over this, a pair of indigo eyes had wandered around said private quarters, all so inattentive…
Until that was no longer the case.
Leonard blinked his eyes for a good two minutes, just to be sure that his terrible eyesight wasn’t making him see things.
Except he wasn’t and there were ten additional coffins, that he recalled not carrying all the way to here, by the open storage area.
Even if it wasn’t him, but instead his subordinate who had done just that…
Surely, they’d leave these ones out at the entrance door. Waiting to be taken inside by him, the owner of this room.
At that reminder, he felt around his shoulders. A careful hand surveying around until…
A corner of his lip curved to a side, a little puzzled at such a confirmation. That yes, he remembered it right.
Right now, the absence of muscle pains was even more apparent to him. Even his back wasn’t slouching in an awkward state, as if molded by the very thing constantly on his back.
Nope, there was none of that.
‘How ironic,’ Leonard thought with a sigh, ‘I’m so rarely in a good condition and yet, it feels somewhat odd. Foreign, even.’
Almost instantly, he waved it away or at least tried to, wanting to be grateful about it. What good will it do him to feel anything else other than gratitude, much more a pessimistic emotion?
Despite his thoughts, however…
That unpleasant heaviness settled in and grew ever so slowly, something akin to a budding plant taking its roots. Though he didn’t like it one bit, there was no way of shrugging it off. A stubborn thing, it sure was.
But of course, he knew exactly the reason behind this.
‘The Princess,’ he cast his eyes down, holding back his breath for a moment. The feeling stayed rooted, much to his dismay, ‘because she’s not out and about, I didn’t get to see her today…’
It was ironic, indeed. He’d gotten so used to her going around and causing destruction in her wake…
That he would often forget that she can just be as quiet and still like this. Well, if she wanted to. Not needing his assistance or anything of that sort.
Not needing him at all…
Leonard paused from his thoughts at once, placing a hand to his chest and a mouth releasing winds in deep breaths. Admitting such a thing had stung. Much more than he expected.
But then again, as he had mentioned not long before, what good will this do him to keep feeling this way? None, right?
‘Forget it,’ this feeling can remain for how long it wanted to. He won’t budge.
While attempting to ignore its entire existence, he moved on to another matter. ‘Whoever they are, they did me a favor by placing them here. But…’
He scratched the nape of his neck, looking at the coffins with mild distress.
“The scattered ones are fine. But why the building blocks arrangement for some others? If one of them falls off and get dents or worse, get damaged, it’ll be my salary that’s going to suffer,” finally, he said to himself. With this, he can get to working.
He strode towards the storage area, his eyes looking ahead. Sharp and focused.
Even though his steps started out steady and strong, they became more and more soundless and hesitant the closer he got. How could he not when he glimpsed a few strands of silver sticking out from one of them?
He knew whose hairs it belonged to. After all, he’d comb them so many times that he was well familiar at the sight and feel of them.
Something that he could only admit with a sense of boyish shyness (despite his already advanced age as a demon).
And when he got to that one coffin without a lid, there was no mistaking it. His breath caught in throat, his eyes kept blinking in initial confusion…
Until his mind had fully registered of what was happening;
The owner of those luscious locks was right before him, slumbering well as if she had lain on the sweet comforts of a normal bed instead of an old wooden coffin meant for public use.
It was all because of that peaceful look on her face and the light snores that escaped her lips. That denied the very meaning of normality and common sense.
If it was her, everything else meant differently.
At that, he couldn’t help the smile spreading over his face and that annoying feeling had slowly gone away.
Strangely enough, the sight of her put him at ease. Like always.
“Oh, Princess,” he whispered out, a giggle or two accompanying the lightness of his voice, “what am I to do with you?”
She continued snoring, unbothered by the world around her.
His smile still remained, but it wavered a bit once he noticed that the Princess had fallen asleep without a blanket on her. He lifted a brow from that notice.
How odd, she always had a blanket with her in the case she found the perfect bedding for the day to sleep on. That hardly ever occurred unless…
‘If she’s so exhausted to even bother,’ he contemplated, quickly browsing through all the things he knew about her so far.
Then, it clicked into his head, ‘then she must’ve been the one to carry all these coffins here.’ He gave a side glance to the coffins and then back to her, some sort of expression surfacing in his face.
Confusion once more as to why would she do such a thing…
In immediate protest, however, Leonard shook his head and cleared his mind of such trivial thoughts. That wasn’t so important at the moment.
On the other hand, what was important right now was that he provided the Princess with a good amount of warmth. A blanket to keep her from shivering against the cold.
He could see her fingers twitch now and then, same went for her sock-covered toes. It made his chest heavy with worry.
The underground level wasn’t exactly equipped with a proper heating system as many of its occupants were of the zombie, vampire, and spirit race and most of them would much prefer some coolness as well as the darkness.
Not to mention, the winter season started weeks ago, causing this area to be much more freezing than it should.
At this rate, the Princess could get sick!
Not wasting any time, he turned around and marched towards his bed. Still, he kept his steps at minimal volume, quiet yet quick like a mouse.
When he reached said destination, he whisked away the extra blanket and rushed back to her side.
As he went down on one knee, he unfolded the large cloth, spreading it out as much as he could. Carefully, he then placed it over her slumbering form.
The few places that spilled out of the coffin, he made sure to tuck in those very loose ones to her sides. All secured yet comforting.
‘It may not be as fluffy and high-quality as the blankets she uses,’ once the task was done, a relieved sigh came out of him, ‘but it should provide that same warmth.’
There, he stayed for a short while, still kneeling before…
A few lifts to his lips and eventually, he returned to smiling.
Although he was in a hurry to wrap a blanket around her, for seconds of his head turning…
He’d seen it; his couch was clean and even fluffed up compared to the leftovers of a mess he’d left behind.
Inhaling, then exhaling a little. He said in a hushed voice, “thank you, Princess, for what you did today.”
Whatever her intentions were, he was touched by her kind gestures regardless.
With a slow nod to himself, Leonard got up to his knees and turned around, deciding to let the Princess sleep in peace–
Only for a sudden force to pull him back. Shifting a startled pair of eyes, he saw a hand had latch themselves onto his wrist.
“Leo.”
And he could only blink. The force of that pull had surely brought his knees down to the ground, for someone so petite her strength amounted to many of the adventurers he fought back then.
“P–Princess, you’re awake.”
“And you’re back rather early,” was her reply, her hand letting go of him. The traces of her touch still marked in his wrist, causing his heart to quicken its beat.
He tried calming it down. But thankfully, on the outside, his face was in tranquility as if what she did hardly affected him.
Thankfully.
“Well, do you want me to–”
He stopped once he noticed her back hunched over, more so than usual and…
One hand on her shoulder, fingers digging deep into her skin. Not to mention, the slight narrow of her brows and tightened lips.
He knew that look very well.
“Princess, are you alright?”
“It’s just that… my back and shoulders feel sore.”
“Do you want a massage?”
At his words, her face lit up and then had her back to him the next second. “Well then, have your way with me,” she said in a sing-song voice…
To which he returned with a sigh, so used to her odd mannerisms that he was no longer too troubled by it…
“Princess, can’t you at least try to sound less misleading? When you say things like that, people will misunderstand,” but not enough to overlook it without a lecture.
“Hmmm….”
Of course, she wasn’t going to listen to him.
Letting out yet another sigh, he placed his hands on her shoulders. His eyes averting now and then, not wishing for his focus to linger too much on the parts he was massaging.
He’d surely collapse on the spot if he did.
‘Nonetheless,’ he thought, with a smile so light-hearted and yet, accompanied by a heart that wouldn’t stop beating too quickly for its own good. He ignored the latter, ‘I’m glad to be of help to her…’
Arranging the coffins will have to wait (even if it meant his wallet will suffer the consequences). For now...
He'd love to spend his time with her. Just like this.
It was all he could ask for.