After cleaning himself and a change of fresh clothes, Hadrian took a seat at the dining table.

Plates of freshly cooked food were already assembled by the time he came down.

There was a small note on where he normally sat.

The small paper was waiting next to a plate, and it says ‘please enjoy’ in elegant, cursive writing with Lionel’s name at the bottom.

The man was not only good at his job, but can think ahead of his clients, a rare quality to witness in most people.

Lionel knew of Hadrian’s schedule and would order food again (since he had yet to do a bit of shopping), and so, he went ahead and did it for him anyways.

Noting to give the man a small raise as per his gratitude, Hadrian just took a bite out of a toast with scrambled eggs on top when –

PAT

PAT

– he saw a certain redhead make her way down the stairs.

Quickly and subtly, he took in her movements and noted that her ankle had already healed.

He also noticed something else.

Her movements were smooth and efficient.

No energy was wasted as she made her way to him, her worn-out black boots padding softly against the carpeted floor.

Even though she was not sneaking and seemed to be in no hurry, he was certain that she had been trained extensively in espionage.

Her footsteps literally made no noise, even as she walked down the stairs.

The only reason he managed to hear them still was due to his sensitive hearing.

Hadrian would muse on the matter more if not for the expression on her face.

It was still bright in the day, yet the girl looked displeased already.

Idly wondering what disturbed her morning, Hadrian adopted a calm and polite demeanor the closer she walked to the table.

Swallowing a piece of toast and bits of scrambled eggs (both of which were perfectly cooked), he gave a small wave of greeting.

“Well, good morning. It’s nice to you walking properly now.” Hadrian said in Russian with a small smile.

The girl seemed to have other plans as she stopped in front of him with a scowl on her lips.

“Where were you?” she demanded, staring him down with her dark green eyes.

Hadrian blinked, ignoring Maya blissfully digging into her meals beside his plate.

“Pardon?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

The girl looked taken aback, eyes widening for a second before she shook her head, as if to shake off a trance, and glaring back at him again.

Hadrian wondered if she was bipolar or something, given how quickly her emotions changed.

“I went looking for you all over this place, but I didn’t find you. So, where were you?” She gestured to the penthouse, frowning as she did so.

“By the pavilion, exercising.” Hadrian said, pointing in the direction of the glasshouse pavilion.

“Pavilion?” She glanced to where he pointed at, and she stared at it with a curious expression.

“Yes, I was there since morning.” Hadrian paused as he leaned against his seat with a thoughtful expression, utensils still in both hands.

“Since late dusk, actually. Then, I went upstairs, got cleaned and changed into some new clothes. Now I’m here, eating breakfast with Maya.”

He turned to her with a smile.

“You’re welcome to join us, by the way.”

Looking a bit off guard by the additional details he gave her, the redhead blinked a few times before her face morphed into an expressionless façade once more, which seemed to be her default mask as he watched her take a seat to his right from the corner of his eyes.

Her movements were almost robotic, as he took note of her somewhat tense frame.

Curiously enough, she didn’t immediately reach for any of the food on the table.

Instead, he was rewarded with the sight of her looking at every single dish with narrowed green eyes, guarded and suspicious.

Hadrian sighed in his head as he noticed what she was doing.

Just from this sight alone, he can already tell, caring for the young girl was going to be a wild rollercoaster experience for him.

“None of these are tampered with, I assure you.” Hadrian commented, smiling wryly when the redhead turned to him in surprise.

Slowly, she seemed to accept his response with a nod to herself and, carefully, reached for one of the plates and helped herself with the food.

Breakfast was a silent but comfortable affair.

Their utensils and the soft sounds of Maya eating her food were the only noises that occupied the table.

“…”

At least, it was comfortable for Hadrian as he simply ate another helping of breakfast (soufflé pancakes with strips of bacon on the side, and fresh orange juice to drink).

His little red-haired companion looked relaxed as she ate and drank, but she also seemed a bit tense.

‘Like a cautious kitten ready to bolt…’ Hadrian observed, wryly amused by the mental image.

It was only when Hadrian stood up (having finished eating) and gathered the empty dishes did he spoke to her again.

“We’ll speak about business later. Let me clean the dishes first. You can go wait by the lounge.” Hadrian paused, staring at her for a few moments before he tilted his head and muttered under his breath, much to the redhead’s confusion. “Ah, yes, that reminds me…”

Laying the empty dishes gently by the counter, Hadrian walked around the dining table, passed a confused-looking redhead (who had stood up from her seat, for some reason), and up the stairs.

Since his guest was not inside, he entered the guest room and grabbed the tray with empty plates and a glass.

Other than crumbs, there were no leftovers on the plate, which pleased him inwardly that his guest ate all the food he prepared for her last night.

He was also glad to note that the little redhead was most respectful in the room that he gave to her.

Most things in the room were untouched, apart from the pillows, the duvet on the bed and the curtains by the window.

He was about to leave when he noticed that the redhead in question suddenly appeared by the door, Maya following her.

Hadrian knew that Maya was just being her usual clingy self.

But unexpectedly, the redhead seemed to have followed him out of curiosity as well.

“I told you to wait for me by the lounge. I just came here to get these, after all, since I couldn’t last night.” He gestured to the tray with empty dishes in his hands.

Exhaling through his nose, Hadrian walked past the girl, mindful not to step on Maya as she began to follow him.

“If you’re so inclined on following me around, you might as well help me wash the dishes while you’re at it.” Hadrian called over his shoulder, regardless of her decision.

There was no need for him to since the staff would take them downstairs in an hour or two, but having travelled on his own from time to time in the past (despite his privilege status), Hadrian’s personal ethics adamantly refused to be coddled more than he already was.

The free breakfast spread might be Lionel’s doing, and he was grateful for that, but washing the dishes and easing the burden on the staff was the least he could do.

A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the sink while she was beside him.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

There was a two feet distance between them, one that the girl made on purpose, but Hadrian didn’t mind as he simply went to work on cleaning the dishes while she waits for him to dry them (which he instructed her to do as he got started) with a white towel that he gave her.

Maya herself was sitting by the dining table, watching them work patiently with her tail lazily swishing back and forth in idle curiosity.

During the chore, Hadrian mused aloud.

“You know, I can consider this little help you’re doing for me as a favor returned.”

Hadrian smiled faintly as he saw her blink in surprise from the corner of his eyes before turning to look at him with an incredulous expression.

“What? You’re already doing something anyway, so you can run along after this, if you like?”

“You can’t be serious.” She said in monotone.

Her face remained expressionless, but the skepticism was obvious in her voice.

“Quite the contrary, I’m not jesting.” Hadrian said, smile widening at her annoyed glare.

“Drying dishes is not a proper repayment. This is just a chore.” She pointed out in a deadpan tone.

“Maybe for you, who says it can’t be one for me?” Hadrian calmly retorted, bright cyan eyes alight with amusement.

“Well, for me, it’s not a suitable way to return a favor.” The redhead said again with a firm tone.

Getting nowhere to argue with her, Hadrian sighed and merely turned back to washing the dishes.

“Why are you so insistent about this anyways? It’s not as if I’m in a desperate need of that favor of yours.” Hadrian asked as he lifted a glass up and inspected it for any leftover stains or dishwashing soap.

“I told you before. I refuse to be in debt to anyone, anymore. That’s why I’m doing this…” The admission was delivered quietly.

But there was a mixture of emotions in them that made them powerful, resolute in their form, despite the low volume of her voice and the somber expression she wore as she said it while looking at her reflection in the window’s glass in front of the sink.

Looking at the redhead for a few moments, who looked deep in thought, Hadrian turned his gaze away and sighed.

Troublesome girl…

...

----------------------------------------

...

With the dishes clean and dry, Hadrian left them on the trolley to be sent back.

Walking up the stairs, he went to his study and retrieved a black briefcase before exiting the room and returning to the lounge where the redhead was waiting for him.

He had to be quick in going to his office since the young girl seemed not quite content with waiting for him downstairs.

In fact, when he returned, she seemed ready to follow him given the impatient look in her green eyes.

Sitting down on a single chair, Hadrian placed the briefcase on the coffee table and opened it. He then pulled out a few pages of paper with a black paperclip at the top corner.

“I suppose this is a good time as any.” The former King of Lucis mused aloud, prompting a curious brow from the redhead seated on the couch. “Tell me, little spider, have you seen the news recently?”

“No, why?” The red-haired girl shook her head slightly in negative, a thoughtful frown on her face.

Blinking in surprise, Hadrian turned to look at her.

“There’s a TV in the guest room, you didn’t use it?” he asked, raising a brow.

The girl simply looked confused as she stared at him in return.

“TV? I didn’t see any TV there.” She said, skeptical.

Hadrian blinked a few times, then closed his eyes as he sighed in exasperation.

Since this world’s era was still in the early 2000’s, modern devices such as flat screen TVs were not yet widely common.

Unfortunately, Crown Plaza and other establishments like it under his family’s purview were ahead when it comes to advance technology.

The hospitals and research labs owned by his family were far more advanced with their equipment and medical research.

“Did you notice a black rectangular glass hanging on the wall in front of the bed?” Hadrian asked, chuckling when he saw her pause for a moment before nodding. “That’s a television.”

Surprised, the girl blinked a few times.

“Really?” she asked, monotone but curious.

“Yes, really.” Hadrian nodded with a wry smile. “Look over there by the fireplace.”

He watched as she turned her head to where he pointed.

“That’s a television also. You’ll see devices of that shape around Crown Plaza. This hotel and other branches of it from all over the world are somewhat ahead when it comes to certain technological devices. Perhaps it might advance even more in the future. Anyways…”

Trailing off, he grabbed the remote (which happened to be on the table, behind the briefcase) and turned on the TV.

The screen immediately came to life and showed a news channel.

A female news reporter began to speak in detail about a certain building he had visited yesterday.

“– breaking news, a large fire has begun in an urban district of Moscow yesterday around late afternoon. Under half an hour, four buildings had already been burnt down and another three had been heavily damaged. The fire department sent a group of five to contain the spread, but according to the reports, they all had trouble extinguishing the flames. People on site had interviewed some of the firemen and they think that it was no ordinary fire.”

“– the police have been called and arrived at the scene, as it was discovered that some of the buildings involved in the incident were found to have relations with suspicious illegal activities. Over fifty people were apprehended by the authorities, and more were being chased after due to having been seen escaping from the area after the police’s arrival last night. The chief of police has stated that they will be monitoring –“

After that particular news, he muted the TV and placed the remote back on the table.

Turning his head to the left, Hadrian was not surprised to see the little redhead watching the news with an observant expression.

“Hmm, let’s discuss what we just heard. The building that that female reporter mentioned in the news, that was the marketplace. I’m sure you’ve noticed it just by the location of the building alone.” Hadrian continued when she turned to him and nodded in confirmation. “Well, there’s no roundabout in saying this, but I did that.”

For a few moments, it was quiet before she blinked once, twice, then her green eyes widened as she finally processed what he said so casually.

“Huh?” was her response.

“The reason… well, there’s no actual reason other than the fact that most of the people pissed me off there.” Hadrian shrugged, aware but ignoring the incredulous stare that he received from the redhead.

“What were you doing there?” she asked, brows furrowed in thought as she tried to make sense of his reason.

“My target was deep inside the building, so I went in there and killed him.” Hadrian glanced upwards in thought as he continued in a musing tone. “Some group of mercenaries tried to get in my way though. I had no quarrel with them, but they decided that avenging some filth was worth throwing their lives away. As a result, I was forced to cut them down as well. Then, I lit a fire in one of the rooms in that building before I left, and the rest is history.”

Hadrian ended his brief story with a satisfied smile that seemed to stun the redhead into silence for a few moments before she snapped herself out of trance.

“You had a target there? And you just burned down…”

She looked at the TV for a second before continuing her summary.

“… almost burned down the entire marketplace because you didn’t like the people there. That’s it?”

“Yes, pretty much.” Hadrian smiled, dimples showing, and nodded.

“Okay…” The girl muttered as she leaned against the couch, a mixed expression of dumbfounded and disbelief on her usually stoic face.

It was quiet for a few moments as Hadrian let her have some thoughts to herself, then he broke the silence once more.

“Now, you’re wondering… what does that have to do with you? Why would I tell you about my recent activity when we only just met? Why indeed.”

Hadrian smiled as he watched the redhead slowly tense, and her face became impassive again as she turned to him.

“Real answer? It doesn’t relate to you at all, but it will be if you continue to push this favor of yours to me.”

“What do you mean?” she asked after several moments of silence.

“I’m saying that you should walk away after I withdraw this favor of yours later on.”

Seeing the realization dawning in her eyes, Hadrian nodded and continued.

“Yes, I have work for you. But unfortunately, that’s for later. I have yet to receive my next mission, you see. For the meantime, you can stay in the guest room until it’s time for the next assignment. Oh, and here.”

Hadrian threw the few pages of papers with a clip-on on the couch, next to the spot where the red-haired girl was sitting.

“What’s this?” she asked, wasting no time grabbing the papers, and reading it with a keen expression.

“It’s a contract. To make this deal of ours official, even if it is just temporary.” Hadrian explained briefly with a small smile.

It was good foresight on his part to have the contract printed in Russian instead of English.

Otherwise, he would have to translate the details of the documents for her.

"It's just a favor. Why go this far?" She raised a curious brow as she looked at him above the papers she was still reading in her hands.

Hadrian shrugged.

Using his right hand to support the weight of his head, he leaned back in the chair and crossed his leg over the other.

“In my workplace, we prefer assurances and official documents to the deals we make.” he said vaguely, not elaborating any further than necessary.

By the skeptical expression on her face, the redhead seemed to think that he was simply being dramatic.

But as she read the contents, Hadrian was treated to an amusing sight of her brows rising as she seemed to have come across something surprising.

“… does this say that my memories will be erased if I tell someone about one of your secrets?” she asked incredulously.

“It’s proprietary tech, so don’t go and tell people, understand? And just so you know, it works both ways. The penalty also applies to me if I tell someone about one of your secrets. The contract exists to protect both of us, and create a measure of trust between the opposite parties. Temporary as it is, I figure that this is the best way to start our first and final deal.” Hadrian explained, smiling faintly as he watched her blink a few times.

And he did not lie.

The contract may be magical in nature, but it was also not a lie to consider it as a piece of advanced technology.

In his eyes, magic was an area of study that has its own systematic structure and rules, much like natural science in that regard, albeit more advanced and mysterious in its origin.

The clause regarding vanishing memories was true.

If either of them was to inform other people about the other’s secret, the contract will (literally) turn red.

That’s how Hadrian will know whether she is worth trusting.

While he has no intention of telling other people about redhead’s secret (if he does find something about her), can the same be said with the young girl?

He only met her, after all, so he does not have a full grasp on other facets of her personality yet.

And while she does not seem to be the kind of person to tell people, the contract was more of an insurance to keep his own secrets safe.

Knowing the workings of AEONS, it might take a few days before another mission gets sent to him, which would mean a few days of living with the girl.

Thus, who knows what she would see while living with him until the next assignment.

Hadrian would rather not leave it to chance, and so, the contract was made.

He designed it in a way that it would only involve him and her.

It was more of a personal contract from him, rather than the ones prepared by AEONS.

Expecting that she might need some time to think it over, Hadrian got up from the chair and walked towards the stairs, Maya immediately following him.

“Looks like you’re having second thoughts. If you need time to think, sure. You can even stall it for a day or two. I already signed the contract, so I’m waiting on you now.” He said over his shoulder, ignoring the padding of feet from behind him as he climbed up the stairs.

“Where are you going?” The girl asked, following him into the master bedroom.

“Outside, to buy groceries.” Hadrian said as he grabbed his coat and wore it. “As good as the food here in the hotel is, I prefer to cook my own food. You could even say I just miss cooking for myself.”

“I’m coming with you.” She announced, a firm expression on her face as she placed herself in front of him.

Hadrian paused, then looked at her up and down.

“In that? With the clothes that you wore yesterday?” He blinked as a thought came to mind. “Wait, have you even showered yet?”

Despite her great control over her emotions, the redhead could not prevent the rising heat on her cheeks and the sheepish expression that crossed her face.

The sight was adorable enough for Hadrian to give her a few pats on the head –

SMACK

– which was promptly smacked away by the girl.

The annoyed glare she sent him did not even bother Hadrian in the slightest.