So, Kilian didn't answer immediately. Instead, he simply smiled, a slow, knowing smile that was both gentle and utterly confident, letting the silence hang heavy between them.
The silence stretched, thick with unspoken questions and profound tension.
Kilian's smile held steady, a silent challenge in his eyes.
Finally, he spoke, his voice low and calm, cutting through the quiet.
"Let's make a simple deal, Elara." He held her gaze, unwavering.
"Let's both take turns asking questions and answering as truthfully as we can, I think 3 questions each is enough until we are both satisfied."
"What do you say?"
Elara, still pinned by his gaze and the shelf behind her, felt a tremor run through her.
The sheer audacity of his proposal, coupled with her deep-seated confusion and apprehension, left her breathless.
Yet, there was no escaping his piercing stare, no real choice but to agree if she wanted answers.
She swallowed hard, nodding almost imperceptibly. "Yes," she managed, her voice a strained whisper.
"Great," Kilian said, his smile widening with genuine pleasure.
His hand reached out, gently stroking a stray strand of her curly hair from her face, his touch surprisingly tender.
His tone shifted, softening, laced with a genuine admiration that made Elara's cheeks warm despite her nervousness.
"Before answering your question, I must say, I really didn't expect you to figure it out this soon, Elara."
"You are not just cute, dedicated to your work, and talented, but you are also smart, very smart."
"You never failed to impress me today. That's why I gave this necklace to you," he said, his fingers gently touching the onyx gemstone at her throat.
"Because I don't want you to hate me more than the real, stupid Kilian has been doing to you before."
Elara's eyes widened further, her brow furrowing at his last words.
"Real stupid Kilian?" she echoed, her voice barely audible, a mixture of bewilderment and a nascent understanding.
Kilian's smile faded, replaced by a grimace that held a hint of disgust.
"Yes, Elara. I'm not the real Kilian."
His voice dropped, a raw edge entering it.
"I woke up in this pathetic body this morning with a massive hangover."
"My god, what did he do last night to end up in a state even more pathetic than his own body?"
He shuddered slightly, a vivid memory flashing in his mind.
"The vomit, the alcohol bottles, the glass shards... it was disgusting."
The confession hung in the air, weighty and fragile between them.
Elara's gaze was fixed on Kilian, her shock slowly giving way to a desperate need for answers.
Kilian, seeing her turmoil, offered a small, patient smile.
"So, my turn now, right?" Kilian said, his voice gentle.
"Elara, when did you start to suspect I wasn't just being weird this morning, but that something else was going on?"
Elara took a shaky breath, gathering her composure.
Her eyes, still wide, met his.
"At first," she began, her voice a soft, uncertain murmur, "when you acted so... respectfully towards me, I thought the hangover was so severe this day that you simply had no energy left to even be angry."
"But you weren't just calm, you were respectful, sweet, and you kept complimenting me for my actions."
A faint tremor ran through her.
"But the biggest reason, aside from your kind and bizarre actions," she continued, her gaze dropping briefly to her clasped hands, "is probably because you kept calling my face beautiful."
Her cheeks flushed faintly as she remembered his words.
"The past young master would have never done that."
"He even ordered me to never show my face to him first thing in the morning and always to kneel and bow my head and he would often throw his alcohol at me if I ever disobeyed him even a little."
"You didn't even get mad after I dropped your bleeding foot this morning."
"So that's why she was kneeling and never looked at me earlier." Ethan thought.
She lifted her gaze, a profound vulnerability in her eyes.
"Your touch was warm, caring, but most of all, intimate."
Kilian listened, his smile softening as she spoke.
A pang of unexpected sorrow for the 'real' Kilian's past cruelty, and for Elara's suffering, flickered through him.
He reached out, his hand gently cupping her face, his thumb brushing lightly over the delicate spray of freckles on her cheek.
"I really was that obvious, wasn't I?" he murmured, his voice tender.
"Your face, your personality, your actions, they are all beautiful, Elara. Don't ever let anyone's words bother you again."
"You just have to listen to mine."
Elara looked him directly in the eyes, her own welling up with unshed tears.
A small, tremulous smile, fragile yet radiant, touched her lips.
She slowly lifted her hand and gently, almost reverently, touched and held the hand that rested on her face.
Kilian squeezed her hand reassuringly, letting her hold his.
"Let's do two more questions for the both of us, Elara," he said, his voice calm.
"Your turn."
Elara's gaze was steady, her earlier tears now simply a sheen in her eyes, replaced by a profound curiosity that cut through her fear.
The agreement for questions and answers hung in the air, a fragile bridge between them.
"My turn," Elara said, her voice firmer now, her breath steadying.
She looked directly into his eyes, not backing down.
"Who are you really, or what are you?"
Kilian's brow rose in surprise at the word "what."
A soft chuckle escaped him, and a mischievous glint entered his eyes.
He decided to play a little, leaning in conspiratorially, a playful smile on his lips.
"Before I answer that question, let me use my second question first. I'll let you guess what you think I am."
"So, Elara, any guesses? I'll give you three."
Elara blinked, a flicker of bewilderment replacing her intensity.
She hesitated, then asked, "A ghost?"
"Wrong," Kilian replied, his smile unwavering.
"Two more."
Elara considered this, then, a new thought dawning, she asked, "Are you some kind of high-intelligent monster?"
Kilian let out a theatrical gasp, pressing a hand to his chest.
"Rude!" he exclaimed, though his eyes sparkled with amusement.
"But wrong again. Last guess."
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly, a deeper, more unsettling possibility forming in her mind.
"Are you a demon that is possessing Kilian right now?"
Kilian's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a look of genuine surprise.
His smile faltered for a bare second, then he chuckled, shaking his head.
"Wow, Elara, I'm sorry, but let me use my third question now, haha!"
"That's not how it works! That's cheating!"
Elara protested, a rare hint of exasperation in her voice, though a nervous laugh escaped her too.
Without replying to her accusation, Kilian's expression sobered.
He approached Elara again, closing the small distance between them until he stood directly in front of her, the bookshelf still at her back.
His gaze was intense, piercing, demanding an honest answer.
"What would you do if I told you that I am a demon that's possessing your young master?"
His voice dropped, low and serious.
"Are you going to tell his family and get me exorcised or killed?"
"What would you do, Elara?"
Elara looked up at Kilian, her face a mixture of vulnerability and unexpected steel.
"I'm sorry," she began, her voice gaining strength, "those guesses were so wrong. I don't even know why I thought of them."
"Because there's no way that a man as respectful, kind, and sweet as you could ever be considered a monster or a demon."
Her grip tightened on his hand.
"But if you are indeed a demon... I would never sell you out."
"I would rather serve a demon as kind as you than that monster in the flesh of the young master I had."
Kilian's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise crossing his features.
He had anticipated her loyalty, but the fierce conviction in her words, the stark contrast she drew between him and his predecessor, resonated deeper than he expected.
He had heard precisely what he wanted, and more.
"I know using my all of my questions like this might seem wasteful," Kilian thought, his gaze unwavering on Elara's earnest face.
"But I needed to make sure that Elara is loyal to me, not to her past young master."
"I need her to be entirely on my side, to trust me completely, and to follow all my orders and demands without any hint of betrayal."
A quiet satisfaction settled within him.
"And I know now that she won't betray me anymore, at least not anytime soon."
***
/I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If its alright, please drop a comment or a powerstone to help me keep making this world bigger!