A tall muscular figure silently stood at the corner of the bedroom as it is enveloped in pitch darkness. The only thing that can be seen beside his wide silhouette is the pair of red glowing orbs, staring fixedly at the much leaner sleeping figure on top of the bed. The man then stealthily walks closer and sits at the edge of the mattress, making his porcelain skin finally be seen as it is hit by the faint moonlight that defining the lower half of his chiselled features, which showing a very amused expression.

For some time, don't know how long, the glowing orbs just continue to stare at the slumbering boy, who doesn't seem to be bothered because of how deep the latter is inside the dreamland.

Then, the man's long fingers which are decorated with a ring of their family crest on its middle one slowly stroke Noi's slender neck that is exposed behind the low-buttoned shirt. The boy's tanned skin and delicate Asian features looked very exotic to him as it was rare for such a young and dark beauty to be seen in this area. 

Stealthily, he brought his pointy nose to the nape of the boy's neck and inhaled the latter's natural scent. The delicious sweet smell of Noi's blood starts to infiltrate his nostrils, making the man faintly moan at how intoxicating the scent is.

The man's thin lips widely smile, feeling very much delighted to finally have an unexpected yet very alluring guest inside his castle. The baritone voice of his let out a chuckle and mutters, "Thank you for the present, Agnes. Never thought, your descendants will be this careless and unintentionally send an exotic little lamb for me to enjoy."

The intruder then chukles, this time with a lace of lust before continuing, "An ordinary surround by the specials will finally have its worth."

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After the hearty and super delicious dinner last night, the painter immediately went back to bed and snores away the night without blinking one bit. His doe-eyes don't even open until the morning sunray seeps into the bedroom and hit his beautiful face with the bright-blinding light.

Noi sleepily groans as he slowly turns his body to sits up on the bed. He let out another groan as his body still feels so sore, making him turn his head side by side in an attempt to loosen his strained muscle. Laying in a starfish position with tall pillows is not really a good sleeping position after all. That habit had caused him to have a bad posture, making him unconsciously hunch his back forward.

The boy looks down towards his own outfit and grimaces, noticing that he didn't take shower or even change his attire since he first arrived at this place. Ew.

Noi gets up and hurriedly go to the bathroom while taking off his clothes along the way and go into the shower to scrub clean his... 'ew' body since he feels so damn stinky.

Well, not that Noi smell or anything since this place is so cold that you won't be able to sweat if you didn't do anything. Just that he feels stinky for being lazy and not taking a shower.

Noi should really change his lazy attitude and become more diligent. Because soon, he will be a university student and lived in a dorm with the others. It'll be so embarrassing if he keeps on being lazy like this.

After feeling his body is super clean, Noi gets out of the shower, dry himself, and change his attire into a new set of clothes. He then completes his simple morning routine by raking his hair with his slender fingers as he doesn't bother to style his middle-length black locks. In his mind, combing it with your own digits will do more than enough since hair products are not good for your locks and scalp.

Yes, that's the reason. It's not because he's lazy.

Not long after, a series of soft knocks can be heard and he goes to open the door. A maid has already stood in front of the room and briefly bows to him. She then speaks without, again, directly looking at him, "Good morning, Mr Anson. I would like to take you to the dining hall as Master Balan is already there waiting to have breakfast with you."

Noi mutters his affirmation and follows the maid to the dining hall. The castle is so big that it literally takes almost 10 minutes of speed-walking; yes, the maid speed-walking without care; for them to reach the destination. That little exercise makes the painter who is not a sporty person, let out a series of pants a little bit and wipes the little bit of sweat on his forehead. Seriously, why does someone even need to live in a house this big? Maybe this Balan guy needs to consider having a bicycle or something to travel inside the property.

Noi looks at the maid that had stopped in front of the room with a confused expression. How on earth she walks so fast like that, but doesn't even pant or shed any sweat at all? Is he seriously that unsporty? Maybe he needs to work out more when he gets home.

The maid politely bows again to him and gestured with her hands to the dining hall, silently allowing the boy to go inside. Noi replies with his own small bow and goes into the spacious room which has a very long table in the middle of the room and 3 big-ass crystal chandeliers hang on top of it. It honestly makes the chestnut lips gaping open in amazement, seeing the 26-seater baroque-style dining table set and that impressive-looking big lamps decorating the already fancy room. At the head of the table, sits a... damn, grandpa is right. The head of the family's indeed handsome. Good gene.

At the head of the table, sits an overly handsome man with a tall-bridge pointy nose and a pair of thin lips, who is currently looking down at his own breakfast. His pale skin looks so clear and pure underneath the sunlight that seeps between the curtains from the rows of tall windows, illuminating the dim-lit room.

The man's perfect angular jaw and porcelain skin are in contrast with the attire that he wore, a dark grey almost black linen shirt with the frilly-looking medieval collar and black slacks, covering his tall and muscular body. A big oval-shaped red stone brooch with gold carvings around it is pinned at the centre of the collar. What an odd choice of clothes for this modern times, but the boy himself can't deny the man look very much handsome wearing them.

Noi can easily see that this man is not Caucasian nor Asian, looks more like a mix, honestly. And that fact alone can easily cross out Noi's hypothesis that all of the people here are racist. There's no way the servants are if the respectable person or even the master of this place is a mixed-blood. 

Then why do they look at Noi so weirdly? Is it because of the colour of his skin? But he has seen some villagers who have darker shades than him yesterday when he was on the way here. So it's also impossible.

Noi tries to not think about it too much and instead, observe the man in front of him again. There's a glass of red wine beside him as his veiny hands are now busily cutting a steak with the fancy-as-fuck gold utensils. The action caused the juice from the steak to seeps out to the plate, pooling the piece of meat with the liquid.

Noi tries to hold on to his expression to not accidentally grimacing. The boy looks at the man a bit weirdly when he notices the chosen breakfast menu. Seriously? Eating rare-cooked steak and red-wine as breakfast? How unusual. Won't he get a stomachache?

Suddenly, the man finally diverts his attention away from his plate and looks up to the silent boy with his black orbs. Noi suddenly shivers the moment the man set his gaze at him.

He doesn't understand why, but the man's oddly super dark eyes look so intense and a little too frightening for him. It even feels like the pair are stripping him off as the black orbs slowly looking up-and-down movement along his lean body.

Why do I feel like a prey meet with a predator that is ready to pounce on me? Is it because of his intense gaze?

Is this how you feel when you meet someone who has higher social status than you?

Yes, maybe it is. Must be because of the noble aura he's carrying or him being wary around me. As the head of a respected household, there's nothing wrong with observing a stranger that goes into your own house, right? Don't think of stupid things, Noi.

I'm sure he's not a bad person.

The man smiles at Noi as he stands up and offers his hand, "Good morning. You must be Bruce's son. My name is Balan Ragnvaldr-Brigh Blackburn, the head of the family. And you are?"

Just a split second, Noi thought the smile looks... but is it? maybe it's just in his mind. Why on earth does this man have any reason to smile in a creepy manner to him? Noi felt like he didn't do anything offensive to the man.

And Balan Ragen-what? Such a fancy-ass name. "Good morning, uh..."

The man briefly chuckles and repeat his name in much simpler way, "Balan."

"Sir Balan. Yes, my name is Noi Eirian Anson. You can call me Noi." the painter replies as he approaches the man and accepts the gesture as he tries to suppress how oddly cold than normal the man's pale hand is.

Well, maybe because the weather is so darn cold in this area, that's why this Balan guy's hands are oddly cold. Yes, that must be it.

"No need to use the honorific, Noi. Just Balan is enough," The honoured let out a smile as he nods and releases the latter's hand, "I thought Bruce is the one who is coming to do the job. Never thought his son will replace him."

Noi blinks, "My father suddenly injured his hand and unable to paint for a moment. He sent me here in order to replace him. I hope that's alright with you, sir."

"No, I don't mind." The honoured smiles and sits back while motioning the latter to sit at the right side of him, "Let's talk about work in my office after this, shall we? I don't think it's appropriate to talk about work in the middle of eating."

Noi nods and obliges, sitting at the seat that Balan offers. The maid comes and places the breakfast in front of him. Sunny side-up eggs with slices of bacon and sausages, with toast and jam at the side. A glass of orange juice and milk is also served for him.

Noi unconciously compare the English breakfast in front of him to Balan's.

"My diet is very different from other ordinary people. I can only eat rare-cooked meat and nothing else. A genetic disadvantage," Balan suddenly explains the moment he sees Noi observing his plate. Balan continues his eating, cutting the steak and put a piece into his mouth. The honoured turns to the younger man again, who is now looking at him with those pair of confused wide doe-eyes. Adorable.

The honoured raises the edge of his lips, "It's good."

Noi blinks and nods without saying anything as he tries not to think about how odd all of their interactions feel for him. Just finish the job and go home. I don't feel so uncomfortable staying here any longer than necessary.

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The storm finally arrives, darken all of the surroundings with its abundant cloudy skies. The maids hurriedly turn on the lights, which only faintly illuminates the baroque-style hallway that they are now currently passing. Noi finally takes the chance to looks around the interior, paying attention to the intricate carvings that decorate almost every corner of the building.

There are so many gargoyle statues decorating the hallway, facing towards their direction. The presence of the said statues makes Noi gulps nervously because it honestly makes the house feels more eerie than necessary. It unconsciously makes him mutters to himself, "Seriously, how old this building is?"

Balan, who quietly walks in front of him, surprisingly answers, "This castle was built around the ...10th century by my... ancestors. It has undergone several renovations as time passed by to keep it sturdy and avoid erosion since the walls are mostly made out of stone. Currently, there are 3 family members including me who live inside this building."

"Oh... where are they now? If I may ask?"

The honoured stops walking and face a tall door, which leads to the said office. He then turns to the painter with a smile, "One is currently outside of the village. The other is currently sleeping since it's not the time for him to wake up yet." and opens the door while motioning the latter to go inside.

Noi blinks confusedly but doesn't say anything and goes into the room. His doe-eyes widen slightly, seeing many taxidermied animals that are decorating the place. There are deer heads, full-body possums, and even a full-body freaking bear and many more inside the room.

He tries so damn hard not to grimace or even show the fear that suddenly tries to seep into his heart. Noi looks around once more and notices there's a gun, displayed on the desk not far from him.

Balan moves and turns on the fireplace in an attempt to warm up the space since the storm outside makes the room feels a little bit chilly. Once the fire has started and warms up space, the honoured straightens his posture and turns to the painter, who is stood still while looking around the room, "Now, can I ask you something, Noi?"

Noi turns his doe-eyes to the adonis, "Yes, sir?"

"Are you really Bruce Anson's son?" Balan asks with his black eyes piercing to the latter. the stare immediately makes the hairs of Noi's nape stand up and chills running on his spine. The feeling is very similar for a prey looking out at the predator, making his doe-eyes look at the honoured in wary. Noi gulps as he answers, "Yes, I am. Is there something that bothers your mind?"

Balan smiles, "Yes. Because there's not a single blood of the Anson's inside you. And," the smile changes into a smirk, "You look very tempting."

The fuck? Okay. Something is not definitely right, "Uh... what do you mean, sir?"