Rion and Odette sat in the middle of the crowd at the front of the stage. Anwen took them to see a fashion show held by Levin Jerry. Kaven and several other young men were already on the stage, showing the collection of winter clothes and the latest fashion models made by Luminous tailors. The voices of the girls calling KC while clapping their hands could be heard loudly as Kaven gave his best smile at them. “He is really popular,” Anwen muttered, and Trish glanced at her with a complicated expression. Rion smiled and gripped Odette’s hand tightly. He always felt uneasy being in the crowd. He was worried that he would have a relapse, but knowing that Odette was by his side, Rion felt at ease. However, his expression changed to a strange one when he saw Odette’s eyes sparkling with one corner of her lip slightly lifted up. The girl was looking at a man on the stage who was showing off the clothes with a wide open collar, revealing his muscular arms and broad chest. “Ahem.” Odett
*** “Forgive us, Your Highness.” Amy and Mara fell down. They kissed the floor while begging for forgiveness in front of Cristela. The old queen's brows furrowed in deep thought. She wondered who was the one that had kidnapped and interrogated Amy and Marta about Odette’s background. “Please get up,” she said after a moment of silence. The two women raised their heads and sat cross-legged while looking at Cristela, who was standing in front of them. “Can you tell me the characteristics of that person?” “No, Your Highness. The man and the people he was with covered their faces,” Amy explained. “But I know his voice well,” Marta chimed in. Cristela fell silent again. She was really curious as to who wanted to reveal Odette’s identity. “Forgive us, Your Highness.” Marta and Amy hit
Rion watched Odette silently in the doorway. “... Dario dumped Celestial after his goal was achieved. He even disowned Odette as his daughter.” Cristela’s words rang in his mind. After he heard Odette’s past, Rion's chest felt stuffy. He didn’t expect Dario to do something terrible like that. All this time, he saw Dario as a father who loved his daughter very much. Dario adored Rose, but he dumped Odette. Rion's heart ached thinking about it. After a long silence, he walked in. His arrival made Odette turn around and smiled. “How was your work today? Are you going to work late again tonight?” “No.” “Working hard is good, but you have to take care of your health too,” Odette said cheerfully. However, her face became serious when she saw a flat expression on Rion’s face. “What is it?”
*** “Mmh….” The sun’s rays made Odette’s sleep restless. She tilted to the side and felt something strange from her position. Her hands fumbled and felt something rough. It was slightly wet below. Like… like grass? “Huh?” Odette opened her eyes and found herself leaning against someone’s body. She looked up and found Rion’s face smiling at her. “You sleep well, Duck. Um, I mean... Odette?” Hearing this, Odette immediately opened her eyes wide because she realized that the one who was currently with her was not Rion. “Lu-Lucifer...” The man smiled warmly. Odette hurried to get up, and another surprise greeted her. Around them were trees with yellow leaves and dry grass. “Wh-where is this?” She was confused, then she slapped her cheek once. “Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. Come on, wake up. Odette. Le
Odette sat opposite Lucifer. The man told her that he was out to buy lunch, and she asked where Lucifer bought it. Lucifer told her that he got it from a seller not too far from the house. “There’s a seller in this place?” “Yeah. The townspeople make bread and sell it.” “A town? There is a town in this place?” Odette tried to find out where she was, and Lucifer nodded. “What is the name of the town?” “I don’t know.” Lucifer shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to tell Odette. He then told Odette to eat, but the girl still wanted to ask a lot of things. “You… bought this? When you came here, did you bring money?” Actually, Odette wanted to ask, where did you get the money from? However, she had to be careful when she spoke. She couldn’t offend Lucifer. “No.”
The city of Estia was a small town in the west of the capital. Odette found out that Lucifer took her to the outskirts of the town. A secluded place and a bit far from the crowds. Ever since Rion opened his mana seal, Lucifer also took advantage of it. He dashed back and forth like the wind. Now, Odette understood why she didn’t wake up at all when Lucifer took her to a place quite far from the palace. The night had arrived, but Rion still hadn’t come back. It made Odette very nervous. Odette and Lucifer were in the town right now. Lucifer said he wanted to look for food and other daily necessities. He forbade Odette to come, but Odette insisted on going with him. Odette said that she was afraid to be left alone, even though she was worried that Lucifer would abuse the food seller or other sellers again. Before looking for food, Odette told him that the first thing they had to do was to find
Odette turned her face away as Lucifer was about to kiss her. Her brain thought about the impact she would get if she let Lucifer go further. The alter could get addicted and keep wanting the same thing. It would become z motivation for him to keep showing up and put Rion to sleep. She must not let Lucifer take Rion’s place as the main personality. Odette felt trapped. If she pushed Lucifer away, she was worried that the man would get angry and hurt her, or Lucifer would leave that place and hurt other people out of anger. It would make Rion feel very guilty when he woke up later. She had to come up with an excuse to get out of the situation. Odette let go of Lucifer’s hand that was wrapped around her waist, then distanced herself from the man. “Why?” asked Lucifer, staring at her intently. “I… I don’t want to do it,” she said while observing Lucifer’s face warily. Odette was worried that her
Rion could hardly believe it after listening to Odette’s story. Lucifer had taken over his consciousness for almost twenty-four hours. Worse yet, Lucifer kidnapped Odette while the girl was sleeping. Damn it! “But that asshole didn’t hurt you, did he?” “Rion, the man you call an asshole is yourself. I told you not to hate him." Rion just stared silently at her. The man looked very reluctant to do what Odette said. In the end, Odette sighed and changed the subject. “Are you okay? I was so worried because you suddenly disappeared. I was looking for you everywhere. I am so scared right now.” “Sorry. I didn’t know you were here,” Rion said regretfully, hugging Odette and kissing her again. “Rion.” “Hmm?” “Do you know whose house this is?”