Against the wall just past the bed were two floor-to-ceiling black boxes, those were quite a bit thinner than the one across from the bed. In between them sat a thick box resting on its side, reminding her of her bureau and wardrobe back at the castle.

Across from these was yet another black box. The main difference was that this had a large glass front, which showed bottles of alcohol through its translucent surface, marred by what looked like gold lines and curves inside the glass itself. Resting beside the alcohol cabinet was a small table, roughly waist-height.

Large and circular rest a white table surrounded by ten chairs, causing Lucia’s eyes to pop open in surprise. The chairs and table resembled the ‘pairs’ on the other side of the room, and in the middle of the table rested a short, strangely shaped tree. It was bent in a manner Lucia had never seen before, with delicate, tiny, pink flower buds sprouting from its otherwise naked branches.

Behind the table and chairs was a black rectangle hanging on the wall above the door, though this one was only about two arm’s length in width. On the walls to either side of the doors were black shelves filled with more plants, small statues, and other objects she couldn’t identify.

Shifting her gaze up, Lucia couldn’t stop the quiet gasp from escaping.

Running along like a strip down the middle part of the ceiling was nothing!

Well, no, if it had been nothing, then surely she could have felt the wind. Unless the wind couldn’t blow so high up, above and inside the clouds as they were?

After a few moments to calm herself, Lucia decided that this must instead be a type of glass that was incredibly transparent. On the outer edges of the glass ceiling were more of that white, translucent strips framing the entirety of the sky she could see above her.

Though, unlike with the mirror, these strips were bright; as if miniature suns had been captured and caged inside their terribly thin and frail bodies.

“What do you think? Does it suit your tastes?”

Luther’s deep voice from right in front of her caused Lucia to flinch, her gaze dropping from the ceiling almost guiltily.

“A, ah...yes,” she whispered, a bit embarrassed to have been caught gaping at everything around her. Suddenly, she felt quite like how she imagined a simple farmer must feel after arriving at the capital city of her old home.

His sculpted, bare chest was the first thing she saw. The soft black hair over his already onyx-toned skin was nearly impossible to see, but she’d felt it on her cheeks and hands a few times already.

“Lucia?” Luther called out, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Jerking her gaze from his muscular chest to his handsome face, Lucia’s cheeks only grew redder as her voice broke when she tried to respond. “Y, yes?!”

Mouth twisting in a grin, Luther reached out for her left hand. “Come over here and rest for a bit, sweetling.” He led her to the loveseat she was standing next to, sitting down beside her.

Pressing her back against the cushions, her lips shaped into a small ‘O’ as she felt the soft embrace of the furniture. “Oh, what if I fall asleep here?” she unconsciously muttered her worry out loud.

Honestly, Lucia was still tired from being dragged out of bed. It was just, with all the crazy things that had been happening in the past two hours, there hadn’t been time for her to rest.

Choosing to save her some face, Luther ignored her unintentional question and turned his gaze to the door on the right side of the room. “How much longer do you want me to wait?”

Lucia stiffened at the evident irritation in Luther’s voice, all thoughts of sleeping temporarily fleeing. Her hand, still locked together with his, squeezed inadvertently, causing Luther to glance down at her.

“I’m not angry at you,” he quickly clarified, reaching out to brush back a stray strand of hair behind her ears. “I simply have subordinates with a bit more personality than some. They like to give me sass, from time to time.”

From the other side of the room, the sound of a door opening was followed by Lilith and two men walking in from the right side, passing up the circular table.