Chapter 16 || Disgusting

Chapter 16: 16 || Disgusting

Lyra sat on her bed with her back resting against the headboard.

A pillow rested on her lap, and she held an open book in both hands.

The room was mostly dark. The only lights came from the small lamp on the drawer beside her bed and the reading lamp on the desk across the room.

She turned another page.

After a moment, she reached toward the cup of tea sitting on the drawer beside her bed. She took a small sip before gently placing it back down.

Her eyes shifted toward Code.

He was sitting at the reading table.

But he wasn’t reading.

Instead, he was coloring something.

A white handkerchief lay spread across the table in front of him. He had bought it from the mall earlier.

Code held a red marker in his hand, carefully coloring part of the fabric.

After a moment, he put the red marker down and picked up a black one.

Lyra watched him for a few seconds.

A puzzled look slowly appeared on her face.

But she didn’t ask any questions.

...

Aria stood in front of her master’s room, dressed in her maid uniform.

She knocked lightly on the door.

There was no response.

She knocked again.

A few seconds later, the door opened.

Aria froze.

A girl with flowing brown hair stood in front of her, dressed in the academy uniform.

She wasn’t wearing the black coat, and the ribbon that normally went around her neck was missing.

The girl looked Aria up and down with an irritated expression.

"What do you want?"

Aria studied her for a moment.

Before she could answer, a male voice came from inside the room.

"It’s fine, Sophie..."

Sophie turned slightly toward the room.

"...That must be the slave girl."

Her eyes returned to Aria.

She looked her up and down once more.

"Right. She’s a Grent. Almost forgot."

She stepped aside and opened the door wider.

Aria entered.

The room was large, but messy.

The only light came from a lamp beside the bed, leaving most of the room covered in shadows.

Coats were scattered across the floor. Black trousers, shirts, ties, ribbons, and empty cans were lying around as if someone had simply dropped them wherever they stood.

Sophie closed the door behind Aria.

Aria looked around the room.

"You shouldn’t stare so much, Aria."

Aria turned toward the bed.

Another girl with black hair was sitting at the edge of it.

A boy with messy jet-black hair sat beside her. His hair was spiked upward in several uneven strands.

He was half naked, wearing only a pair of black shorts that reached his knees.

He slowly sat up.

His crimson eyes caught the dim light from the lamp. They were sharp, yet strangely distant.

The girl beside him spoke.

"Why are you just standing there? Greet your master."

Sophie walked past Aria and toward the bed.

"She clearly lack manners. I say you give her a bad rating, Cassian."

Aria said nothing.

Her expression remained calm.

Cassian raised his right hand. "Now, now. Let’s not trouble her. It’s her first time."

His voice was calm and casual, with a faint hint of amusement.

He looked toward the girls beside him.

"Why don’t you girl’s go back to your rooms..."

He turned toward Aria.

"... I need some time alone with her."

The second girl immediately clung to his arm.

"So soon? Let us stay the night. We were clearly having a party."

She looked toward Sophie. "Sophie can go. I’ll stay here."

She pouted.

Sophie frowned. "Hey , I want to stay here also. Plus..."

Her eyes shifted toward Aria. "I want to have fun playing with our little maid."

Aria’s expression didn’t change. "Don’t you two have places to be, things to do?"

The girls froze.

Aria continued calmly. "My master just told you to leave, so why are you still here?"

Sophie glared at her. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Aria held the sides of her gown with both hands and lowered her head slightly.

"I’m lord Cassian’s personal maid. Aria Nyre."

She raised her head and looked at the two girls.

"Nice to meet you all."

For a moment, neither girl said anything.

Cassian chuckled.

Megan slowly released Cassian’s arm and stood up.

"You?"

Sophie took a step forward. "Let’s show this Grent her place, Megan."

Megan nodded.

They both stepped forward.

Then—

"You both will do no such thing."

The girls froze.

Megan turned toward him. "But Cassian, didn’t you see how rudely she spoke to us?"

Cassian’s expression remained relaxed. "You girl’s should leave. It’s getting late."

Sophie turned toward him. "Cassian , this is serious."

Cassian’s voice changed.The amusement was gone.

"I won’t repeat myself again. Out."

The girls froze in place.

Fear spread across their faces.

Megan swallowed hard. "Y-Yes, Cassian. I’ll excuse myself now."

Aria walked over to the door and opened it wide before stepping aside.

The two girls hurriedly picked up their coats and ribbon ties from the floor.

As they passed Aria, both of them glared at her.

Aria closed the door behind them.

She turned around.

’Disgusting.’

Her eyes settled on Cassian.

Something about the way those girls had reacted bothered her.

’Those girls looked terrified just now... Who is he, really? Why are they so afraid of him? Is he... the Master of the Servitors?’

Cassian stood up and walked toward his wardrobe.

He passed directly in front of Aria.

Her eyes followed him.

Then she noticed something on his back.

A tattoo stretched from the nape of his neck all the way down his spine.

At the top was a dark circular symbol resembling an eclipse, surrounded by thin ornamental rings. Just above it was a small, sharp ornament that almost looked like a crown.

Beneath the symbol, the head of a dragon emerged.

It was long and slender, more like a serpent than a beast. Two long horns curved from its head, while a flowing mane followed behind it.

Its face was sharp and almost regal, with thin whisker-like tendrils extending from its sides.

The dragon’s body twisted down Cassian’s back, weaving from one side of his spine to the other.

Small scales covered its body, while thin clouds curled around it, making it look as though the creature were drifting through the sky.

The further down the tattoo went, the narrower the dragon became.

Eventually, its body disappeared into a long, flowing tail that continued toward Cassian’s lower back before ending in a small, symmetrical point.

Aria stared at it for a moment.

Cassian reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a red robe.

He slipped it on, covering the tattoo.

"The girl’s were right though. You should greet when you stand in front of your master, Aria."

He walked back toward the bed and sat down.

He didn’t bother tying the robe, leaving his well-built chest exposed.

Aria walked forward and stopped in front of him. "I forgot."

Her voice was cold.

Cassian looked at her."I see. You’re the type that forgets things a lot then... That explains why you’re in the Grent class."

Aria felt a small sting of irritation, but she didn’t show it.

Cassian stood up and walked toward her.

He reached behind her ear and grabbed the end of her hair.

Before he could do anything else, Aria slapped his hand away.

"I didn’t give you permission to touch me."

Cassian studied her appearance for a moment. "I like you better with your hair down."

Aria calmly tied her hair back again."I didn’t come here to hear your likes and dislikes."

Cassian chuckled. "The hard type..."

He walked over to his table and sat down in the rotating chair.

Aria frowned slightly.

Cassian switched on the lamp.

The warm light illuminated the desk and part of his face.

He slipped a hand into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out his phone.

He powered it on.

He didn’t even turn toward her.

"You shouldn’t just stand there. The room’s not going to clean itself."

Aria turned around.

Without another word, she began picking up the clothes scattered across the floor.

Cassian raised one finger. "Oh and get me a glass of water."

Aria clenched her jaw. "Yes."

...

9:00 p.m.

Lyra came out of the bathroom while adjusting her glasses.

She noticed the lamp on the reading table was still on.

She walked over to the desk.

A white card was lying on top of it.

Drawn on the card was a smal red train with black windows.

Behind it was what looked like a black dog tail.

Lyra picked up the card.

She stared at it for a moment before laughing.

"What is this? A train with a tail."

She turned to the next card.

It was a family portrait.

A man, his wife, and their two children—a girl and a boy.

They had all been drawn as stick figures.

Lyra laughed again.

She sat down on the chair and slowly looked through each of Code’s drawings.

Then she noticed another card lying on top of the mug she had given Code earlier.

She picked it up.

It read:

Thanks for the tea..

A small smile appeared on her face.

She placed the card aside before returning to the drawings.

For a while, she simply sat there looking through them.

...

Outside, the campus shimmered beneath the silver moonlight.

Street lamps lined the quiet road, their soft light falling across the pavement.

Most of the students had already returned to their rooms.

Code walked alone along the empty street.

He had changed back into his academy uniform.

In his hand was a metal container of Fitz Blast.

’It’s good I got to the mall before it closed.’

He took a drink from the can.

After lowering it, he stared at the container for a moment.

"I still prefer the cup version though."

He continued walking.

A shadow followed silently behind him.