"Rustle, rustle, rustle!"
Warm water gushed, steam curling thickly and wrapping around the young man's body.
Louis let out a breath, slicking his hair back. There wasn't a trace of timidity or fear left on his face.
His lips curled into a smirk as he recalled Athena and Joshua's barrage of words, secretly thinking that once his rescue mission succeeded, he would throw them into Leo's cage and let them taste what the enslaved people had endured.
"This damned era, just slapping things onto people like sticking on stickers," Louis cursed inwardly, shuddered slightly, and quickly toweled off before dressing and stepping out.
As Athena's plaything, Louis enjoyed privileges far greater than those of ordinary slaves.
He even had his own room—not a small one either. In fact, the bathroom alone was nearly the size of the shabby rental he had lived in before.
Thinking of how Aboli had once crammed herself into that place with him, Louis couldn't help but admire her a little. For most people, that would've already felt like true love.
But Louis's true love was money and a big house. Aboli's true love, on the other hand, was severed heads.
Exhaling a long breath, Louis threw himself onto the bed. His thoughts drifted to Sylus from earlier—Sylus hadn't seemed to recognize him. Moreover, from their conversation, Sylus genuinely believed that he had been pursuing Athena and had always taken the initiative.
Louis couldn't help but recall specific theories from the original novel. It wasn't hard to deduce that Sylus's memories had been tampered with.
But Sylus's mind wasn't simple. There was no way he could have forgotten everything so cleanly. There had to be some kind of "switch" to make him remember. Where that switch was, though, Louis had no idea.
Or perhaps there was another, more specific possibility—if Athena had stored Sylus's memories somewhere, Louis could find them and return them to him.
And then... then naturally, following Sylus's original plotline in the novel, they could wipe this twisted family out in one fell swoop, smothering it in poison gas until nothing was left!
Sylus, after all this, you'd better reward me. One house won't be nearly enough!
Meanwhile, in Athena's office, Sylus watched her with furrowed brows, his gaze deep and unreadable.
From the moment he awoke, he had remembered no one but Athena, the one he loved most—it was only natural.
In the deepest recesses of his memory, he loved Athena as if she were his very life. He suffered in his pursuit of her, while she remained like a distant moon, far beyond his reach.
She was the youngest master the Aurellan family had ever seen—the one who had taken over in its crisis. She revived it at the fastest pace in history, even elevating the Aurellans to a new peak.
In his mind, there was always a flood of praise directed at Athena—both his own and that of countless others.
And he—he was nothing more than a third-class citizen. That was precisely why his pursuit of her had always been a distant dream.
But after he was injured because of her, she had actually accepted his advances.
Although... Sylus truly didn't feel like the man who would sacrifice himself for anyone.
Yet the facts stood as they were. More than that, when he first opened his eyes and saw Athena, when her silvery-gray hair brushed against the edge of his hazy vision, his heart pounded uncontrollably, as though he had been given a second life. That trembling—there was no way it could be faked.
He really did love her. Sylus had known that from the very first moment he awoke.
But after witnessing Athena's actions today, Sylus couldn't help but feel doubts gnawing at him.
Athena wasn't like the image he had always carried in his heart of his beloved—the one he loved was supposed to be as pure as moonlight, someone who shouldn't even know love. Even if he himself was unworthy of her, she should never love anyone—not even him!
So how could she pay attention to some man she had only met once, a man with nothing but a face to his name?
Well… maybe not that effeminate at first glance. But Sylus was sure he could knock him out with a single punch. Someone like that was absolutely unworthy of Athena!
The more he thought about it, the hotter his head grew, a searing pain building inside. His whole body was restless, aching for something to vent his fury on.
Athena rested her chin on one hand, idly twirling a golden fountain pen with the other. Her gray eyes settled on Sylus.
She didn't even need to guess—she knew exactly what Sylus was thinking. She had long been aware of his twisted thoughts.
But this was a gamble she had to take. She couldn't simply indulge Sylus's warped desires. He needed to be trained.
A dog should obey its master, not bare its teeth and make demands.
"You're still dissatisfied with me, Sylus?" Athena's voice rang out—light, clear, almost gentle.
Her words snapped Sylus out of his turbulent thoughts. He lifted his gaze to her.
Athena suddenly rose to her feet at that exact moment, stepping before him. Tilting her head up, she looped her arms around his neck.
Sylus's eyes went wide, his face flushing crimson. But almost as quickly, his heartbeat steadied, sinking into an eerie calm.
This feeling… it wasn't right. It wasn't the same. What was different?
Could it be… that he himself wasn't faithful? The very thought made Sylus want to tear himself apart.
"What are you thinking, Sylus?" Athena suddenly pressed her lips softly to his cheek, whispering the question.
Sylus restrained the urge to wipe his cheek clean. Turning his head away so he wouldn't have to meet her eyes, he murmured, "I'm not worthy of you, Athena."
Then, gently pushing her aside, he bolted for the door like a man fleeing for his life, the thought of his own unfaithfulness shredding his heart into pieces.
I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy of love. I deserve to die.
"What's wrong with him?"
The assistant had just entered the room, carrying a new report. Clearly, he had caught sight of Sylus's panicked, fleeing figure.
With an utterly expressionless face, he said, "Judging by that look, he seems like he's about to go off and die."
At that, Athena curled her lips into a mocking smile. She extended one hand, and the assistant immediately lifted his chin and rested it in her palm, closing his eyes, his face as impassive as ever.
Athena lazily scratched at his chin. The gesture was more like petting a cat than handling a dog.
With complete indifference, she murmured, "Then let him die."
When Athena first captured Sylus, her first thought was to kill him.
But he was a great weapon—a blade that had served the Aurellan family for many years—and he was undeniably compelling. Because of that, the older men of the family had urged her to keep him alive.
To Athena, Sylus's existence or death didn't matter much. She was confident that with her own ability, even without Sylus's help, the Aurellan family would remain at the very top.
Smack!
Athena suddenly struck the assistant across the face. A clear handprint immediately blossomed across his skin, the muzzle mask even knocked askew, pressing against his features.
Blood trickled from the corner of his lips, but despite the evident pain, he didn't say a single word. His expression didn't so much as flicker.
"Get out," Athena said, bored.
The assistant instantly turned and left the office.
The fountain pen glided over paper again, but Athena's mind wandered to the little kitten she had picked up earlier today. She found herself unexpectedly looking forward to finishing work.
Come to think of it, when she had first taken in her assistant, she hadn't felt this sort of anticipation. She couldn't help but wonder—just how long would this little kitten keep her entertained?
"Achoo!"
In the warmth of his air-conditioned room, Louis suddenly sneezed. Sitting up, he rubbed his nose. "Who's talking about me now!"
Knock, knock, knock!
Just then, his door rattled with knocking.
Louis narrowed his eyes, rose to his feet, and went to open it.
Outside, Joshua had been kicking at the door out of sheer boredom, only to remember that this room was under Athena's ownership suddenly. Clicking his tongue in irritation, he had no choice but to stop. Just then, the door swung open—and the sulky look on his face instantly melted into a radiant smile.
He tilted his head at Louis and said sweetly, "Good evening. Do you want to go out with me?"