♛♢♣♡♠♛

If Elliot could be honest, he wanted to see Dark-Hair right away after the tattoo session. Though, he had no time. Well, from the start, he was only allowed a few minutes a day.

Today was no different; he planned to go to meet Dark-Hair right after waking up—oh, well, after breakfast, at least.

Elliot took off his sleeping wear to change into another decent outfit. His mirror showed a reflection of his body—and his newly added tattoo. Axel asked why he did not tattoo himself on the back to make it less visible, but upper arm was hidden enough. It was not like he would go around shirtless, anyway, and his outfit consisted of a lot of long-sleeved shirts.

He moved around, trying to get a look of his new art from every direction. It looked fine—still too cheesy to his liking, but still cooler than he expected. The tattoo was still wrapped in some kind of cling wrap—Elliot did not know what the material was nor the name of the material. The new tattoo stung to the point he could not wash his arm.

He huffed, continuing to put on his attire carefully—just a little contact with his skin hurt! And then, the Marquess of Alskar left his own room.

♛♢♣♡♠♛

On his way to the captive’s room, though, he passed the library—which intrigued him for some reason, even though he was never much of a reader. Elliot stopped his track in front of the library, looking at the closed double door. As though possessed, he made his way inside.

Well, before anyone mocked him for finally taking a liking on reading—no, he had not. He only decided to pick up a few easy-to-read books for Dark-Hair. That boy had been locked up in a small room with little to no entertainment—well, zero entertainment—and it would be a matter of time before he went insane.

Also, he came without knowing what else to talk about. Doing one-sided conversation took a toll on his mind. He had to continuously come up with something to say, or everything became awkward. At least, by giving Dark-Hair a few things to read, he could busy the boy in captive while also keeping him company. Maybe, he could catch him off guard and get him to talk.

So, he picked up three children book and one fiction for him. Not to be rude, but he did not know Dark-Hair’s level of education—at least, he guessed he could not be much of an intellectual. After getting some stuffs, he strolled to Dark-Hair’s cage.

♛♢♣♡♠♛

When Elliot opened the door, he found Dark-Hair laying on his bed with head hanging on the edge. Same exact position as yesterday. He huffed; the corner of his lips formed a thin apologetic smile. Well, he could not help feeling responsible for Dark-Hair’s immense boredom.

Dark-Hair glared at the sight of Marquess of Alskar—his warm greetings, Elliot supposed.

Elliot pulled the same stool, throwing the books next to the laying boy on the bed. The books caught Dark-Hair’s attention, and he sat up to look at the books. The covers were adorable and colorful, Dark-Hair was fascinated. He took one that caught his attention the most—a lot of color! Beautiful!—and flipped through the pages. It did not take two pages for Dark-Hair to frown and pursed his lips. Too many words! He threw the book away.

The young master was surprised. He blinked in confusion, looking at the thrown book and the boy alternately. That book was a children’s book! He picked up the book, looking through the pages. Yeah, he did not mistake it for an adult book. “You can’t read?” he asked carefully, glancing at Dark-Hair who was mesmerized at another colorful cover.

Being asked that question, Dark-Hair clicked his tongue and shrugged; his lips formed an ironic smile. Elliot took it as the Dark-Hair not knowing how to read. Well, that was quite a surprise.

Elliot flipped through the pages again. The drawings in the book were enchanting, and Dark-Hair seemed to take a liking on them. “Do you want me to read it for you?” Elliot offered, glancing gingerly at the boy whose attention was fixated on another set of picture book.

He expected another rejection, but, to his surprise, Dark-Hair darted his focus to the young master. His innocent eyes sparkled in hopefulness, while his mouth gaped open in excitement. His expression was saturated with joy that could no longer be hidden.

Upon realizing his own excitement, Dark-Hair averted his gaze away, covering his face with his hand. He was embarrassed to look excited for such a childish thing. Elliot could not help but laughed. He opened the picture book’s first page and showed the picture to Dark-Hair, all the while narrating the sentences inside the book like a storyteller. Dark-Hair listened and looked at the drawing excitedly, as though a little kid.

It was not something Elliot had expected, but it was a joyful moment regardless.

♛♢♣♡♠♛