It was Arthur’s turn to get slightly riled up. He unconsciously clenched his fist, looking resolved to uphold the words he had just uttered.
Although he did collect himself rather quickly, the subtle emotional change in his voice did not escape Evelyn’s attention, though she did not deign to voice her thoughts this time.
She stood up and returned to her usual self. “You have changed a lot, Master.”
“Depending on the situation, anyone can change.”
“I will still continue to believe that it’s not a natural change.”
The maid respectfully bowed and took a couple of steps back. Meanwhile, Arthur chuckled and resumed his training.
He paid no attention to the motionless and quiet maid, instead pouring all his attention and effort into producing a stable, resilient, and moderately large barrier.
The rest of the day, for him, at least, was uneventful but exhausting. In the evening, when the dinner was served, he turned to face Evelyn and, with his usual unreadable smile, said,
“Tomorrow, we will visit my lovely Wine Farm. Also, bring the undead to my room tonight.”
Leonis regularly visited his farm on specific days of the weak, and tomorrow was definitely not one such day. Nevertheless, Evelyn did not question his orders or let her curiosity get the better of her. The lengthy conversation that engaged in in the afternoon had revealed quite a few things to her and confirmed a couple of her initial suspicions.
She didn’t know what actually happened, but one thing was for sure, the man in front of her was not the real Leonis Sanguis. While she was baiting beasts on that fateful day, during the ambush, something she had yet to uncover had occurred to her real master.
However, despite being fully aware that he’s an imposter, Evelyn did not voice out the truth or directly confront him. She was curious about his motives and goals, moreover, eccentric as he may be, he was better than the real Leonis. No longer does she need to hear his constant verbal abuse or his incessant nagging.
In more than a way, it was a fresh take and a beginning of something new and slightly intriguing for the maid and her discussion with him earlier did bring light to a handful of things, such as determination to preserve his life and his antagonistic opinion about his fellow aristocrats.
…
Late at night, when all the servants retired to their quarters, Arthur was standing face to face with the dumb-looking zombie.
Since Arthur was no longer possessing Latif’s body, the zombie didn’t treat him like a master. He just stood there and wobbled his head left and right, trying to seem unresponsive.
“Quit with your bad acting. I know you can talk.”
Generally, normal undead like skeletons and zombies were incapable of talking. However, this particular one, which was a product of Latif’s necromancy ritual, was specially intelligent, but only to a certain degree.
“...”
“I told you to stop acting. I’m your master.”
Arthur stepped toward the zombie and glared down at him, a strange bloodthirsty aura emitting from him.
The zombie stopped wobbling and slowly raised his head, its hideous rotten eyes spinning in a disgusting manner.
“I may not look the same but I’m still Latif.”
“M-master?”
The zombie spoke with a croaky and hesitant voice, his body twitching for a moment. It definitely did not look like he believed Arthur, however, he was showing signs of fear, which was also unusual for an undead, supposedly devoid of emotion.
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“It must’ve been boring to be locked in the basement all day, right?”
If it’s one thing Arthur learned about this zombie, then it’s that it absolutely hates doing nothing for the entirety of the day. Latif always ordered him to stand guard at the entrance of the hideout, always instructing to never move an inch or drop his guard. Unfortunately, since danger never befalled Latif, the zombie was bored out of his mind… or what was left of it.
“It was verrry boring.”
The zombie grunted and childishly stomped his foot on the ground, but it only made Arthur’s grin wider. He patted the undead shoulder and said,
“Then it’s time to have some fun. Soon… soon, we’ll be having lots of fun. But first, you need to do a couple of things for your beloved master, okay?”
Looking slightly more excited, the zombie nodded his head and attempted to bow only to fall head-first onto the ground.
…
“Right here. Do you see this spot? Begin from here.”
Sadly for the zombie, he reluctantly followed his master back to the basement. There, Arthur pointed at a specific spot and urged him to begin, which he did only after complaining for several minutes.
****
“What a lovely day, is it not?”
Sitting inside his luxurious carriage, Arthur, with a bright face, was gazing at the clear blue sky and throwing unnecessary remarks.
Evenlyn, the only person accompanying him to the wine farm, was sitting across from him and slightly raising her eyebrow.
For no apparent reason, Arthur was in an extremely good mood. He was highly-energetic and was more talkative than usual, though, more often than not, his words and questions would be met with naught but an awkward silence.
The trip to his farm was relatively short and uneventful, which was exactly how Arthur wanted it to be. Upon his arrival, Arthur disregarded the farming fields and headed to the massive warehouse at the center.
Even when the servants greeted him, he merely responded with a simple nod before ordering everyone to leave.
Much to her surprise, when he entered the warehouse, he didn’t even let Evelyn follow him.
He stayed there for an hour or and when he reappeared, he returned to Wilsden, refusing to comment on what he did inside the warehouse.
“My dear Evelyn, your intense stare will eventually pierce holes into my face.”
Arthur looked at the maid and chuckled, seemingly enjoying seeing her bathing in curiosity but trying her best to hold it in.
“...”
“Would you like to know what I did there?”
“...”
“What to do? I can’t keep telling you everything. Let’s do it like this… you tell me a bit about your past and I tell you what I did. It’s an equivalent exchange of information.”
“My apologies, Master, but my past is not that interesting.”
“Hey! Isn’t that a subtle way to reject my offer? So be it.”
He shrugged and cast his gaze to the side, resuming his contemplation of the passing forest and the clear weather.
***
“Tighten the chains!”
Baron Lernon was standing at the edge of the room, his expression unimaginably ugly due to his accumulating anger.
Four of his best knights were also present in this basement, all of them in the midst of tightening the restraints of the growling and enraged ‘beast’ locked here.
“That bastardly hermit! He dared to run away with the research!”
The Baron was more furious than he had ever been. He just received a report that the hideout was burned and Latif disappeared. Lernon presumed that Latif simply escaped, which put him in a difficult position, especially since the Militant Inspector was coming in two days’ time.
“What am I to do with you?!”
He glared at his daughter, who, despite maintaining some of her appearance, was now like a starving beast. Her eyes turned blood-red and she grew sharp fangs.
She was half-way to becoming a Vampire but since she wasn’t provided with Blood, she could not complete her transformation.
Every week or so, she would succumb to her carnal desire and enter this enraged state, which forced her father to lock her in the basement and chain her to the ground.
“My Lord…”
The Baron, who was absent-mindedly looking at his dangerously growling daughter, was interrupted by a newcomer. The young Knight momentarily glanced at Julie before whispering something into Lernon’s ear.
“What?! Are you sure about this?!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“What the bloody hell is going on?! Latif was killed after attempting to kill Leonis? Why would he even try such a thing?! Damn it! Damn it all!”
Upon hearing the shocking and disheartening news, Baron’s anger rose to greater heights, so much that he had to release it by one-sidedly beating his half-crazed daughter.
With the knights restraining her, Julie was subjected to a brutal beating which subdued her rage and made her whimper on the ground and cover her head in fear.
Only after he vented his frustration did the Baron stop and leave the basement.
“Summon Leonis here right this instant! And tell him to bring me the body of Latif!”