After walking for ten minutes they reach one of the several restaurants in the capital: "Bretwell's".

The intense smell of cooked meat filled the nostrils of the new customers, allowing their hunger to take its rightful place. As Ophelia and the young man opened the door, a small bell swung, announcing their arrival to all the people inside. The room was filled with men whose clothes resembled fighters as they spoke loudly about their achievements in battle. 

'Knights...?' Ophelia wondered as her eyes glanced through the men meticulously. They were covered with scars and by their attires and rough speech it was clear they were mercenaries. 

"Order anything you'd like," she states as they both sit on a secluded table in the corner. The slave's eyes were drawn to the several plates on the thick wooden tables as they sparkled with desire. 

"Welcome in! What would ya like fellows?" a maiden in her mid-twenties appears with a warm smile on her face as she began stating the several dishes available. The boy looked at Ophelia, suspicious of her goodwill. 

"Go ahead," she reassures him. He points at the opposing table where some men were drinking heavy beer and eating some roasted chicken with white rice. 

"And for you miss?" her smile was perfect for a waitress as it made someone feel comfortable and warm. 

"A glass of water," Ophelia states right before looking out the window. She couldn't bring herself to eat anything right now, not after remembering that monster and his doings. It was a miracle she wasn't throwing up from the nerves. 

"You should eat," the boy says with a worried expression on his face. He knew he couldn't trust this girl as she was nothing but a mere stranger who happened to be extremely kind, too kind to be real, but, as his eyes looked at her thin figure, he couldn't help but feel restless. 

"And you should know your place," she declares as her cold eyes glared at him. 

"Enjoy!" the waitress arrives while placing the food on the table right before twirling away to another table. 

"You won't get any energy from looking at it," Ophelia states as she realizes the slave was not eating anything, instead, he just looked at the food as it was a delicacy from another world. After hearing her words, he gulps and begins eating. The environment had become lighter but there was still a big distance between the two, "What is your name?" 

"Jade," he answers after taking a big gulp of the beer. His eyes looked as if he had something to ask but he knew better. The slave had come to realize that there was a thin line separating him from his master. He felt that the young girl, standing before him, was nothing more than a wolf without a pack, a lonely, sad, and hurt wolf that didn't allow any proximity. 

'He is a fast learner,' Ophelia smugs as she notices his resolve blocking his curiosity. 

"I will explain everything soon," she reassures him right before taking a sip into the water. Jade nodded and continue to eat as if nothing else around him mattered. 

An hour passed and we leave the restaurant. The mercenaries didn't care about the new customers and so they were able to have a relaxing meal. They begin walking but Ophelia soon stops at the doors of a small tailor shop. She didn't want to catch the attention of nobles so she was purposely avoiding the high-quality market, where the prices are exorbitant and the quality nothing more than a luxury. 

"Good afternoon!" an old man in his seventies walks towards the door as he sees them get inside. 

"Mister, we are searching for some clothes for him," she states as the man smiles warmly. 

"Of course miss! What type of clothes would you like?" he questions as he heads towards the back of the store. Ophelia begins explaining that she would need all different types of clothing, from training uniforms to tuxedos, "Well, let me take your measurements," the man removes Jade's hood and gasps as he sees the slave collar and his platinum hair. 

Every noble that tried to sell slaves ended up having their titles revoked some years ago due to the influence of new aristocrats that come from more common backgrounds. Of course, even after pleading to the King for a new change in the Kingdom's laws, they were just ignored and so the slave-trading business continued, however, due to their influence they quickly shut down the majority of the sources. Nowadays, one can only purchase slaves in the Garden since it is pretty much untouchable. 

"Is there a problem?" Ophelia glares at him but he just awkwardly smiles. 

"Not at all, miss! Let's get started then, shall we?" he guides Jade to the center of the store and begins measuring his body. 

"Make sure to leave some gap since he is underweight," Ophelia states as she observes them from behind. 

Some minutes later the man heads towards his small warehouse and brings out some already fabricated clothes. She begins looking through them carefully. 

"We'll take this one for now," she states as the old man gives Jade the clothes. He looks at her, confused but ends up dressing it either way. 

'Why is she doing this for me...?' he felt confused and conflicted as he couldn't find any reasoning behind the young lady's actions. 

"Deliver the rest of the clothing to the Wharton's estate," Ophelia states as she places a bag full of coins on top of the man's counter, "This should suffice for the product and the traveling expenses."

"Yes, milady!" as he noticed the abundance of money this woman had he understood she was not ordinary and so, he quickly corrected his approach. 

Jade covers himself with the hood once again and they both head out. The sun was beginning to set. 

"We'll have to come back another time," she lets out a sigh right before walking towards the outskirts of the capital. 

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Ophelia states as they reach the green fields that surrounded the capital. Merchants traveled back and forth as their eyes watched the horizon closely, "So I will explain them now." 

The slave's eyes were looking at her, watching her with suspicion and interest simultaneously. 

"I am Ophelia Criswell, daughter of Duke Alvin Criswell," the skies began turning darker as the wind blew softly, "Do you know the noble families of Ashen?" 

"No, master," he states as he tries to recall any useful information regarding the people that inhabited the kingdom. 

"It can't be helped, I will teach you but not now," she states right before sitting on the grass, "What else would you like to know? Feel free to ask."

'Did she just...?' Jade observed her strange behaviors, 'She gave me food and clothes... Now she sits on the floor... What the hell is going on?' he couldn't comprehend what was going on in her mind. 

"Why only three years?" his eyebrows were furrowed as he waited, impatiently for an answer. Jade knew what rich people wanted from slaves, he heard it all from the man that captured him. 

'Woman want us as their play toys, she must be the same,' he thought.

'His reaction... Does he think I will get rid of him and buy a new slave?' Ophelia couldn't help but find the thought of this miss-communication hilarious.

"I will die when I turn eighteen," she states after getting up. A harsh wind blows and her hood is removed, allowing her raven hair to float. Her crystal eyes looked at him as if they had no attachments as if her words were nothing but the truth. 

"What...? How do you know?" Jade didn't want to believe her words. Deep down he knew that something was not right, something was different, and that her words weren't empty but still, he couldn't bring himself to take it for granted.

'Of course, you think I am crazy...' Ophelia lets out a sigh. 

"Because it has happened nine times," she realizes that this was not enough to make him understand and so, she proceeds, "Every time, on the night of my eighteenth birthday, a fire breaks out and I die."

"How is that possible master?" he frowns while trying to find the logic behind my words. 

"I don't know Jade, but this is the truth and in three years, I will die again," as Ophelia's hair flew with the wind and contrasted with the orange-like sky, her light skin sparkled and, for the first time, the slave sees a faint painful smile on her lips as her eyes hid her overwhelming pain. He couldn't bring himself to look away from that pitiful girl, numbed by her own despair.

'This girl... She...' he couldn't think straight yet his body had the sudden desire to protect her from harm's way.

"Jade, you are mine. I won't treat you wrongly without reason, I will reward your good deads and you can live freely after I die," Ophelia lowers her torso right before touching the slave's face and seeing his eyes widen in surprise, "Until then, don't betray me. Your eyes, your ears, your mouth... Your whole body is mine," she straights herself again and removes her hands from his soft skin, "Devote yourself to me."

Without thinking, the slave places himself on one knee and grabs Ophelia's hand. His other hand was placed on his chest as his hood falls down from the wind, allowing his silver hair to sparkle with the last rays of the sun. 

"From now until you wish, I shall be yours and yours alone master," his eyes showed his resolve, and then, after stating these words, he kisses the back of her hand, respectfully. 

'If you betray me you will regret it, Jade...' Ophelia thinks as she glares at him coldly, suspicious of his easy devotion. 

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 Some hours before 」

Bradley's trip to Criswell's mansion was quicker than usual since he ordered his servants to be as fast as they could. By taking the fastest horses and a somewhat dangerous shortcut, he was able to arrive more than half an hour earlier than usual. His soul was impatient and frustrated.

'I have to get rid of her...' Bradley didn't want to be engaged to Amanda Criswell anymore. He considered her an eyesore, a boring woman who was a tad bit charming. 

"Duke Criswell, you look splendid," after waiting in one of the rooms for half an hour the Duke finally arrives, followed by his servants.

"Thank you, Lord Bradley. How've you been?" after sitting down on the couch parallel to his guest's divan he politely smiles. Alvin was aware that he was unsatisfied with the situation he was put in but he continued to act as if he knew nothing of the matter, in fact, he was being nicer than what he usually was. 

"I've been quite well until today morning. I woke up with a terrible headache. Might you know anything about it, Duke?" Bradley's polite expression turns sour. He wasn't here for games. He didn't want to waste any time in this house if Ophelia wasn't present.

"I have no idea what you mean, Lord Bradley, in fact, I thought you would be thrilled after hearing the good news!" the Duke continues to play the role of a fool, as he always had done. 

"Good news? Well, Duke, it seems you haven't heard indeed the good news!" his charming fake smile and his ice-cold eyes made a shiver run down the Duke's spine as he realized something was not right, "It seems like one of your businesses has been having a great revenue for some months, I wonder why?" 

"We are lucky to have great employees," he states while trying to survive the harsh pressure Bradley was putting on him. 

"Of course, that is the core of business!" Bradley smiles coldly, "I'm sure the crown would agree," the tea the Duke was drinking was coughed out with this sudden statement.

"Are you implying something, my lord?" he was trying his best to stay composed.

'There is no way he knows...' the Duke knew he had been careful. No one besides himself and his most trusted servants knew about the scheme he was working on, in fact, he made sure to clear any loose ends, 'Did he found some documents...?' he couldn't understand how Bradley knew that he was hiding profits from the crown. 

"Of course not, I wouldn't dare," Bradley drinks a bit of his tea while glaring at the man. 

'So if I cancel the engagement he won't rat me out, is it...?' the Duke placed the teacup on the table as he felt his frustration grow. He needed Amanda to be married to Bradley and Ophelia to be with the Wharton's, that was the plan all along, 'So what went wrong...? At this rate, everything will be ruined!' 

"Father!" Amanda loudly enters the room as if she owned the place. She spots Bradley on the couch and her eyes sparkle with pleasure and anticipation. 

"My dear Amanda, please behave yourself," her father intervened as he knew of the sensitive topic they were discussing, even then, Amanda, as spoiled as she was, didn't care. 

"Aren't you happy our engagement was moved? Now everything will be done in just three months!" Amanda sits right beside Bradley and grabs his arm lustfully. She knew how to seduce men, she had done it countless times and that man right there was the cherry on top of the cake.

"Let go," Bradley's voice is heard but Amanda ignores it, grabbing his arm tighter, "I said, let go," his tone is louder this time, and as her eyes lock into his she felt a shiver run down her spine.

'What's wrong with him?' she thought as she quickly jumped away from him feeling the fear crawl through her skin. This wasn't her Bradley, no. This was someone else, someone she didn't know, a stranger, a cold man whose heart was covered in darkness, nowhere close to an angel.

"I hope to hear your reply soon, Duke," Bradley gets up as Amanda remains quiet in her place, her face filled with frustration. He places a soft pat on her father's shoulder and leaves.

God knows how much Bradley had restrained himself not to break Amanda's skull in two as he had fantasized in the morning. She annoyed him to the point of exhaustion.

'People like her are better off dead' Bradley thinks as he enters his carriage once again.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

After some time Bradley arrives at the Wharton's mansion and somehow he wasn't expected.

'I did send her a letter earlier though...' his mind kept wandering back to Ophelia, that little girl that always managed to get the best of him while slipping off his grasp constantly.

"I'm sorry milord but the miss isn't here. She went out, however, she told me to give you this" a young, attentive maid delivers the letter Ophelia had written.

[Lord Bradley,

I am glad you are finally settling down with my sister since she is very fond of you.

I am also deeply allergic to tea, just the thought of it makes me nauseous so I hope you will forgive me but I will have to decline your invitation.

Have a safe trip home.

Ophelia Criswell]

Bradley grabs the letter strongly, making the thin paper crunch between his fingers. A frustrated laugher leaves his body as he finished reading the contents of the letter.

'Ah... Ophelia... You make me go insane...' he thought as he pulled his hair back.

"I shall prepare the carriage milord," Bradley's coachman states as he arrives from getting some water to the horses. 

"Who is going home?" his eyes were cold and he grins right before heading inside the mansion.