"Welcome! Thank you so much for accepting my request to temporarily enter our service," the Viscount said warmly. He was the very man Rana had mentioned the previous day when she first told the trio about the job.
"The pleasure is ours, milord," Dayesh replied with a respectful nod.
The Viscount stepped aside slightly, gesturing to the young girl standing beside him. "Ah, by the way, this is my daughter, Hesha. She accompanies me wherever I go during our stay here."
"Hello, sirs. I am Hesha. It is a great pleasure to meet you all," she greeted them, curtsying politely.
At just twelve years old, Hesha possessed a soft, gentle face, striking copper-colored hair, and bright blue eyes that made her look like a delicate, living doll.
The three men bowed low, returning her polite greeting.
"I am Dayesh," he introduced, gesturing to his companions. "And these are Khafa and Ghoth."
"May I just call you all *big brothers*?" she asked shyly, her eyes lingering a bit longer on Ghoth. "I'm not very good at remembering names." Ghoth, ever stoic, seemed completely oblivious to her gaze.
"Of course you can! That is no problem at all with us," Khafa answered cheerfully with a reassuring smile.
At his warm response, a bright, happy smile lit up Hesha's doll-like face.
On the Road...
As their journey began, the father and daughter took their seats inside the comfort of the carriage, while Dayesh, Khafa, and Ghoth rode alongside them on horseback, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.
After a short while, the Viscount poked his head out and called out to the men, signaling for the carriage to come to a temporary halt.
"You there..." the Viscount said, pointing directly at Ghoth. "Hesha has taken a liking to you."
"M-me, sir?" Ghoth pointed at himself, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Big bro, may I ride on the horse behind you, please?" Hesha asked, peeking out with hopeful eyes.
"You might fall off," Ghoth replied, his voice tinged with genuine concern.
"I won't fall, I promise!" she insisted, clasping her hands together.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden request, Ghoth awkwardly looked over at his companion. "Uhh... why don't you ride with him instead?" he suggested, pointing at Khafa.
Khafa immediately looked away, suddenly pretending to be intensely fascinated by a nearby tree that had absolutely nothing special about it.
"But I want to ride with you," Hesha insisted softly, giving him a pleading look that was hard to resist.
Defeated by her persistence, Ghoth sighed and scratched the back of his head in mild exasperation. He finally relented, helping the young girl up to sit safely behind him on his horse.
Ghoth's POV
I could feel her eyes on me the moment we rode out of the mansion's gates. The kid hadn't stopped staring. *Maybe she's just struck by my good looks,* I thought, suppressing a smirk. *Too bad for her, though. My face only belongs to Sapphire.*
Because of that persistent gaze, it didn't really surprise me when she pointed directly at me, insisting on riding behind me on the horse.
She was quiet the whole way, her small hands tightly gripping the sides of my waist. Aside from the extra weight, it was a peaceful, uneventful ride until we finally pulled up in front of a massive estate.
Before I could even dismount, Khafa stepped up, politely offering Hesha a hand and assisting her down to the ground. Once she was safely on her feet, I swung my leg over and dismounted my own horse.
Immediately, the three of us scanned the perimeter. Our eyes darted across the grounds, scanning the shadows and the treeline for anyone who looked out of place or suspicious.
Once we deemed it safe, the Viscount, Hesha, and their carriage driver made their way inside the grand house. We stayed behind, taking up our posts outdoors.
"I'll be right back. I'm going over there to smoke," I told the other two, gesturing toward a quiet spot a few yards away.
Khafa raised an eyebrow, clearly caught off guard. "Since when did you pick up that habit?"
"I don't really remember," I lied smoothly. "Someone just taught me."
The truth was, I had learned how to smoke during those few days Sapphire and I spent together while she was on vacation. Just thinking about it made my chest tighten slightly, but I kept my face blank.
"Do you have an extra one?" Dayesh asked suddenly.
A sharp spike of nervousness hit me. Dayesh wasn't exactly the type of person you'd expect to ask for a smoke, especially not from me. "Yeah, I do," I replied, masking my unease as I reached into my coat and handed him one.
Dayesh turned to our other companion. "Khafa, you want one too?"
"I have asthma," Khafa replied flatly, crossing his arms.
Dayesh let out a soft, mocking chuckle. "Such a strong guy, and yet you've got asthma. What a waste."
To keep the secondhand smoke from drifting toward Khafa, Dayesh and I walked a short distance away. We pulled out our matches, lit the tobacco, and took our first slow, quiet drags. I let the smoke fill my lungs, watching it curl into the cool air.
The silence between us was heavy, broken only by the crackle of the burning tobacco. Then, out of nowhere, Dayesh spoke.
"Ahem. What exactly is Sapphire to you?"
I froze. I couldn't tell if the smoke had caught in my throat or if the sheer bluntness of the question made me choke. I coughed roughly, trying to regain my composure.
"What kind of question is that?" I rasped, shooting him a defensive glare. "You were the one who told me to stay away from her."
"From what I can see, you aren't exactly staying away," Dayesh pointed out, his eyes narrowing slightly through the smoke.
"She's the one who approaches me," I shot back, emphasizing the words. I was practically walking on eggshells here, terrified of getting cornered in this conversation.
Dayesh stared off into the distance, taking a slow drag from his smoke. "Hmm. I suppose she really doesn't like me. Is there something wrong with me, Ghoth?"
I didn't hesitate. "There's nothing wrong with you. Aside from the fact that you already have a child, and you're absolutely terrifying when you're angry."
Dayesh let out a dry, slightly amused breath. "You're incredibly blunt, aren't you?"
"I just stick to what everyone can see."
"This is so difficult. I've already fallen in love with her, but she doesn't love me back," Dayesh said, his voice trailing off into a heavy, defeated sigh.
You and me both, I wanted to shoot back. But the words remained locked away, whispered only in the silent confines of my mind. I was deeply in love with Sapphire too, but there was a massive, impenetrable wall standing between us. It didn't matter that we shared the same bed whenever our bodies craved it, or that she gave herself to me willingly without any force. In the end, it was just the body, not the heart.
I kept my mouth shut, offering no response. I just let the silence hang, waiting to see if he had more to get off his chest.
"What about you?" Dayesh asked suddenly, looking at me sideways through the smoke. "Do you like her?"
An icy chill shot through my veins, and my hands turned cold. I wasn't used to seeing him like this. Back when he led a whole faction, he was distant and untouchable. But now, with just the three of us left, I suppose he finally felt comfortable enough to drop his guard and talk like a normal man.
"I don't know," I lied. The truth was screaming inside me, I wanted to shout to the heavens that I loved Sapphire more than anything, but her heart wasn't mine to hold.
To deflect the sudden interrogation, I brought up a question I knew he wouldn't expect. "What if Jauna comes back one day? Didn't the man she ran away with pass away already?"
Dayesh stared at the burning tip of his tobacco, his eyes darkening with old memories. "I don't know either. I loved her once, yes. But the present is a completely different story. She was the one who walked away. A man shouldn't chase after someone who abandoned him."
"And what about Sapphire's situation? It doesn't look like she likes you either."
"My feelings for her are just different," Dayesh admitted softly, a rare, vulnerable expression crossing his face. "There's just something about her. It's as if she doesn't belong to this place at all."
*She doesn't belong here because she's from another world, just like us.* Sapphire had once confided in me, mentioning that Dayesh had no idea she was from a different time. She was terrified that if he ever found out, he would fire her on the spot. I kept her secret. Frankly, if she ever decided she didn't want to work anymore, I could easily provide for her. I'd give her everything she could ever need, if only she would love me back.
"Then go court her," I finally replied, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.