I stood there in a daze while watching his interaction with Master Valter's men. The way they address him shows how much respect they have for him. Despite the disgusted look on their faces as they gathered the dismembered bodies of the criminals, none of them let out a single sound of disgust.

It was off-putting even for me but I held it in. And soon enough, the streets were cleaned without a single sight or stench of blood remaining.

"Should I escort you to your estate?" Jakob turned to me.

"I think it would be best to let her stay at our place, Jakob. It's late and all. I'll inform your father tomorrow of what happened. I don't want him to lose some sleep over this. He has some important matters to do tomorrow, after all." Faram Valter, head of House Valter, cut in.

I bowed my head to greet him but he immediately waved his hand,"There's no need to greet me like that, Lady Aira. You must have been traumatized by this experience. Why don't we head back to my estate? You must be tired after all this," he led the way back.

I followed behind them for a moment and stopped on my tracks, "Just as I thought, I think it would be better if I just go home, Master Valter."

"We could do that too, but I hope you accept my hospitality, Lady Aira. This is an important matter and what's more is that this happened near my estate. If your father learns of what happened tonight, can you imagine what he would do? Not only that your House will not get a wink of sleep, he might also trouble the entire city and its people. We can't have that happening now, do we?"

It is just as Master Valter said. My father can be hot-headed and unreasonable at times. And most of the time, he can go overboard.

I bowed my head upon realizing what Master Valter was concerned about. There's no way I can trouble the entire city just because of me. Although I do want to get back at the people who turned their backs on me while I was being abducted, I don't want to disrespect my savior.

"I understand. I will stay in your estate for the night." I told Master Valter.

His lips arched up for a smile and continued walking. It was until we were about to reach the gates when Jakob called out to me, asking if I was really okay. I shrugged his worry off with a smile but that doesn't seem to be convincing.

"I don't understand. What are you doing in that part of the city in the dead of the night?" said Jakob, turning to me, "Is it because of what I said back then?" he asked,

There's no need for me to keep it a secret from him if he already has a rough idea as to why I was here in the city. As someone who was saved, lying to my savior is the last thing I want to do. So I nodded my head, confirming his suspicion.

".....Yes." I mumbled.

"How can you do something so dangerous? If you're just curious, you should have just asked. There's no need to resort to such a thing. Not only you endangered yourself, you might worry other people because of what happened."

His words were warranted. What I've done was foolish.

I clenched my fists and turned to him, "I just want to know you more. I figured that our visits during the day was hindering your training so I thought I could observe you from afar without your knowledge would be okay,"

"..............."

I thought it was okay to say such a thing. It was already too late when I realized I sounded like a stalker. Before I knew it, Master Valter was also staring at me in silence. My face instantly heated up and I turned my gaze away with my eyes wandering all over the place out of embarrassment.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"I didn't know you're that hardcore, Lady Aira." Master Valter chimed in place of Jakob's silence.

At this point, I don't know what to say. I'm too embarrassed to even let out a single word to defend myself. For the time being, I just wanted to disappear for a moment.

"So that's what it was. I think you're mistaken about one thing, Lady Aira. I'm not really bothered by your visits during the day. As long as it's not hindering my training, I'm fine with it. Your other companions can go overboard sometimes but it was thanks to you keeping them in line that I'm able to go with my training like usual." Jakob slowly turned his head the other direction and said, "Well, I do enjoy your company. So that's that."

Unlike the streets in the city, the pathway towards the Valter mansion was bright thanks to the multiple torches within every 3 meters. It came to me as a complete surprise. The sight of Jakob's cheeks, albeit faintly, were flushed. He was embarrassed.

"...What? You can get embarrassed too?"

I immediately covered my mouth out of surprise since I might have offended him. I was ready to get told off but nothing happened. He just kept facing the other direction. Because of the complete silence, the atmosphere becomes awkward until Master Valter breaks the silence with his laughter.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! I didn't know you could say something foolish, Lady Aira. Of course Jakob can feel embarrassed! He is human just like everyone else!" Master Valter held his stomach. "This is really funny. Look at Jakob, he's too embarrassed to even face your direction!"

Apparently, he finds my remark utterly amusing. I didn't know Jakob was capable of showing such an emotion since he is always so indifferent without a single change in his expression. But to think it would be proven wrong so easily.

"It is just as my senior said, I'm capable of showing emotions just like everyone else.The reason for my constant indifference in both face and voice is due to my inherited blessing. I may look calm and collected but inside I'm a complete mess and panicking. That's just how it is to me." he explained.

I can't help but sympathize with him. To think that he's going through the same situation like the rest of us. I somewhat feel guilty for my initial impression of him.

"...Sorry, I didn't think that you're just like the rest of us." I bowed my head.

"There's no need for you to apologize. It can understand where you are coming from. I can only take the blame since I just kept quiet about it."

This time, he turned over to my direction. And as if to reassure me, Jakob's lips arched slightly, showing a faint smile. I was caught up in the moment after his smile caught me off guard. And by the time I returned to my senses, I was being bathed by female attendants. After that, I was escorted to my room.

"Please call us if you need anything, Lady Aira." said the attendant, opening the door to the room.

The room next to mine suddenly opened and I saw Jakob all cleaned up. I was confused and surprised at the same time. I did not expect that the room I'll be staying in is right beside his.

"Looks like you're ready for bed. It's already late so you better go to sleep now." he said, turning to the people standing beside me, "You guys too. It's already late and you have to get up early tomorrow."

"But we have to stay up in case Lady Aira needs anything."

"I'll take care of it since I'll be staying up, anyway."

"Huh? Why are you staying up when there are guards outside?" I chimed in after hearing his absurd remark.

"I apologize Sir Jakob, but I agree with Lady Aira. Not to mention, the master might get angry."

"If those are criminals, there's a chance that they will strike back. The night is their favorite time of the day, after all. And don't worry about my senior, I'll take care of it."

"We understand, Sir Jakob. Thank you very much for your generosity. We will excuse ourselves now, Sir Jakob, Lady Aira, good night."

The attendants left that instant. I thought for sure they would argue but they didn't offer that much resistance and just obeyed his orders. That was really surprising since attendants tend to do the job given to them all the time regardless of the difficulty.

I wonder for a moment what made them accept his words with ease. It's then that I remembered the incident and how many lives he saved in this mansion. It must be the turning point for their complete faith in Jakob. Before I could organize my thoughts properly, Jakob told me to get some rest.

"You might be a little busy tomorrow. So it's better to get some rest as soon as possible."

"I understand. Then I'll be going in first. Good night to you, Jakob."

"Good night."