Chapter 81 - A Date With A Devil (1/2)

”It's nice to get out once in a while, isn't it?”

The Young Master unexpectedly spoke up all of a sudden. Mary had been distracted with other thoughts when he'd spoken up and was surprised. She hadn't noticed until now, but his voice was starting to sound different than she was used to. It was deeper now, matching his more muscular frame. His voice just then had been a steady, confident rumble that stopped her wandering mind.

”Indeed,” She agreed without inflection, ”It is.” To her, it didn't much matter. Walking around was a habit of her now, she didn't have any strong thoughts on it.

She replied to him shortly and quickly went back to passively watching the shops and people who drifted by. She'd tried to discreetly move away several times already but he refused to let her leave his side so she took to studying whatever happened to go by or seem even the slightest bit interesting. Anything, really, to take her mind off of the pleasant heat of his hand around her waist and that amazing scent teasing her nose.

She was no young girl anymore. She had experienced many things in life throughout her long existence. But even then Mary was not used to being held like this, and certainly not for so long. As far as she could remember, she'd never been in this situation.

Her past lovers were never the type, she supposed, to be this affectionate. To feel the need to be close to her.

Therefore she wasn't sure how to deal with the Young Master's strong, yet gentle, hold. Being like this simply unnerved her, making her feel awkward and out of place.

From how he acted right now as he thought her Vera, it was obvious what sort of relationship the two had together. This was deeply worrying. Those two couldn't be together for various reasons. She knew the Dragon race had different sensibilities, but Mary wasn't one of them and she was certain the Young Master wasn't truly like them himself either in that regard. Odd as it is, the Young Master had always only been himself. He wasn't forged by his mother or father, it seemed like who he is now is who he always was and always would be.

He wasn't the same as Dahlia who was easily influenced and turned strange due to her Vera's pranks or Muriel's rare teachings.

The Young Master may have a violent reaction if he knew the reasons Mary was currently worrying over his relationship with her daughter.

It may have seemed otherwise, but Mary never approved of or supported her daughter's affection for the Young Master. She simply never got in the way.

This is because Mary always felt guilty towards Vera. She didn't wish for the girl to repress her feelings and end up how she herself did. But that outcome seemed to have been made for her the day Mary transferred her experiences to the young sapling.

Expressions were already difficult for them but Mary thought that maybe Vera would be capable of smiling more if she'd never had those memories given to her. The thought made her feel she'd done her daughter an injustice, and thus caused her to not be overly mindful of Vera's antics towards the Young Master these past years.

Mary felt sad for her little tree for she knew her own jadedness had also been passed down. Not only that, but her cowardice too.

Vera was held back by Mary's fears and insecurities. She'd doubt and worry and think the worst even if she knew nothing of the sort would be likely to happen. Mary's shortcomings had become her's.

That's also why she didn't put an end to her strange ways of seeking the Young Master's attention as they grew up. She understood, on some level, that nothing would come of it. She felt safe in that knowledge even as the guilt ate at her.

Of course she wanted her daughter to be happy with the person she likes. But the person she liked couldn't be her's, and in all honesty, even shouldn't.

Muriel's plans for him were something they couldn't intrude upon.

Besides that, a pairing like their's was dangerous. What if she couldn't hold herself back? What if she tried to drain him, even on accident? Then Muriel would have all their heads and her friendship with Mary wouldn't cause even a second of hesitation. Her son was everything to her, even her love for her daughter Dahlia were perhaps mere leftovers from her love for Damien.

For example if one harmed Dahlia she would be furious to the extent of wiping out families, kingdoms and continents. But if someone were truly capable of harming the Young Master, and did so and the woman found out, entire realms would become hellscapes.

Both were incomparable to Mary's relationship with the woman. To Muriel they were master-servant first, former lovers second, friends third. All three were replaceable if it came down to it.

It's a good thing Muriel didn't know the truth of Vera and Basil or else they may all have already been killed.

Not to mention, if the Young Master himself ever found out after this point he'd no doubt be disgusted. Then Vera would only get hurt, and Mary didn't want that either.

Maybe it was her fault. Mary thought it'd end as a youthful infatuation, albeit an unconventional one. It seems that wasn't the case. She couldn't have imagined they'd start dating like this.

How this all came about was the big question. She'd never be able to open up so much on her own, not to him. It's likely the Young Master himself is the one to have taken the lead. As is his nature. Still, he'd have to have been swayed by something that girl did. As for what it was, that's what Mary was curious about.

Only once she finds out the depth of their relationship could she do some damage control.

….She thought this, but somewhere deep down she understood how much of an excuse it was. She had full justification to step in as soon as she knew they had any kind of man-woman relationship at all.

But she hesitated in spite of that. And the longer that arm held onto her like she were some sort of precious jade the longer she did. Perhaps it because she wanted this for her daughter and didn't wish to ruin it even though she knew she had to.

This sort of genuine care and concern was rare, after all. Vera is lucky she had it, Mary thought. Some people spend their whole lives without.

”Being loved by the person you love. It's surely a very comforting thing to experience, I would imagine.” Mary spoke absently.

Damien peered down at her strangely. ”Why would you need to imagine it?”

She was still far away and answered him without thinking. ”You can't know what you've never had. In that case, all you can do is imagine.”

The words left him quiet for some time.

”Say, wanna do something fun?” Damien had felt the woman's melancholic shift in mood. It'd been growing for a while now and he couldn't bear to see it continue, especially after that comment. So, he had an idea.

”Oh?” Mary turned towards him. ”What did you have in mind?”

”Every play badminton?”

Her curious tilt of the head was all the answer he needed.

***

” Now just use the racquet to hit the shuttle across the net, like this.” Damien tossed the shuttle up into the air and lightly tapped it with the wood-and-vine racquet. It arched high and picked up speed as it fell. As it rose the heat was getting to him so he stripped off his coat and unbuttoned his shirt in a haste, throwing them to the side for the time being

When he looked back he found Mary watching quizzically as the shuttle made its way down. It was heavier than a normal shuttle as it was made of dense wood and the further down it fell the more dangerous it would become.

So while it looked like the woman was in a daze while staring up at the fast-approaching shuttle, Damien was still confident in Mary's excellent reflexes, strength, and overall athletic capaba--

”Ku!”

The thing hit her square between the eyes and knocked the woman back a step. Her head fell back and she slowly hit the ground.

”Oh hell. ” He cursed and ran at her. ”Are you alright?”

The woman's head was now sporting a small red mark. Her face didn't change but her eyes were a tad more watery than they were a moment ago.

”I'm fine.” She rose unsteadily to her feet, patting herself down with a calm and orderly manner. ”Perfectly fine. Why do you ask?”

”Your nose…” To be clear, it was bleeding. The dry heat combined with the impact must've ruptured a few blood vessels.

Mary put her hand to her upper lip and was greeted by a sticky wetness. Her finger came back red.

She quickly pulled off the handkerchief tied around her neck and used it to stop the blood.

”....The impact.” She stated. Damien nodded as that was exactly what he was thinking a moment ago.

”How did that even hurt you though?”

”I created it extra firm to withstand our strength,” She replied evenly without a single shift in expression.

”Why didn't you move?”

”That….” Mary didn't explain and simply turned her head. It was too shameful to admit that she got distracted. It surely looked like she was staring up at the shuttle, but that was just a cover. In truth, when the Young Master was undressing she only looked up to avoid being caught staring at his form. Before, she'd never run the risk. Now, though….

He really filled out quite nicely, is all she could say.

But she was still able to see him in her peripheral and just that was enough to ruin her train of thought. She entered a sort of mindless state for a moment, which was just long enough in turn to get hit by that accursed ”shuttle.”

Not that she was really injured. Even that red mark didn't hurt. As for the bloody nose, she had no clue as to why that had happened.

”Let's continue.” Mary picked up her equipment and gestured for Damien to get back in position.

The young man had made her take them to the Dry Lands, specifically to one of the large oases he and his would-be wife, the Undine, had created some time ago. Then with his help he'd had her make these strange things,

Originally he'd wanted to cut up her dress and make a makeshift ”bikini” top, apparently a very short shirt that left the arms and midriff exposed during outings like this one...but she strongly refused as that was far too unbecoming. Exposing so much skin was unthinkable, right? She didn't like the heat here but she could withstand it without complaint. Plants could grow in any environment, after all!

Mary considered herself quite resilient.

So she only allowed him to make a slit to either side of her dress. This was expertly done with him even taking a small sewing kit he kept on him and hemming the edges. It was also embarrassing being so close to him while he did so, but she endured. And though it needn't be said, this was of course just the kid she'd helped raise, her Young Master whom she'd taken care of even as a wee babe. It went without saying she felt nothing more than a sense of impropriety at his actions thus far and by no means felt any other sort of weird things regarding his proximity and thoughtfulness.

”It's coming, Young Master. Prepare yourself.”

”Nn. Hit it as hard as you can.”

Nodding silently, Mary threw the shuttle. She timed it perfectly, her eyes turning dead serious. She jumped and used a bit of force, lightly hitting it with the racquet in her hand.

Damien felt his scalp tingle.

BOOM!

A great shockwave resounded throughout the desert. He was almost too slow to respond but luckily raised his racquet just in time. He used it like a shield. As soon as it hit the shuttle an amazing amount of force slammed into him. His hands turned numb, having just been shocked to their core.

The force didn't stop with him and continued through his body, kicking up all the sand around him. Damien thought he heard his bones crack, or maybe that was his internal organs turning to much. He nearly fell to his knees but stubbornly refused to go down.

Meanwhile, the sand shot up into the air and scattered in the wind.

He tasted iron. Damien realized that blood was starting to pool in his mouth and even dripping from his nose.

Mary's face turned ghost-white. She was by his side in an instant. ”Young Master, are you okay?” Her entire body seemed to have turned cold as she watched him.

…..The entire realm was going to become a deadzone!

He shook off the pain and gave her a bloody grin. ”Now THAT'S what I'm talking about. Alright, this game just got a whole lot more interesting. Come on, let's play.”

”Young Master, I don't believe that's a wise--”

Ten minutes later, through much coaxing, reassurances and bugging, he finally convinced her to have another go.

After a while of learning how to control her strength and although they both caused several more breakings in the sound barrier and ruined the landscape, she eventually realized that this game was, in fact, actually quite enjoyable.

She had fun.

***

”Young Master, what's the meaning of this?” Mary felt a tug on her hand. Needless to say, it was Damien.

”We have to wash off all the sand.” He answered simply. ”Besides, it's the perfect weather for a swim.”

Damien grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the water

Mary pried her hands and refused to go a step further. ”That's quite alright. I don't much enjoy swimming.” She spoke tersely.

”That's fine. We can play in other ways.” The Young Master wasn't one to give in easily.

”I thought we were to rinse ourselves.”

”Two birds, my cute little tree. One stone.”

Knowing she was incapable of escaping the matter, she resigned herself.”Very well.” She sighed. ”And what did you have in mind this t--?” Her face was pelted with a wave of water.

She was shocked. The water was cold and she sneezed to eject the invading liquid from her nostrils.

Memories floated to the surface, which she quickly shoved away. She glared at the youth balefully. ”You little--” Splash. ”Chu!” Another tiny little sneeze.

Damien thought it impossibly cute.

”Sorry, what was that?” His voice was riddled with amus.e.m.e.nt.

”You're such a chil--” She raised her arms just in time. ”Stop that!” Her tone was frigid.

”Or what?”

Mary brushed back the hair from her eyes and leveled a heavy gaze at him. She immediately struck out, sending a giant tsunami his way without remorse. ”That.”

Damien was pulled into the water and popped his head out a moment later. He wiped the excess from his hair. ”You realize, of course, this means war.”

”Of course, Young Master. After all, peace was never an option.”

***

After a far too long a time pelting each other in the face with water, the two were now thoroughly dirt-free and once again wandering the streets with their clothes dried.

”My hands look like prunes.” Mary's mouth curved downwards ever-so-slightly. ”Where to now?” Mary had, by now, almost completely forgotten what her original purpose was.

Damien stifled a yawn and saw something that caught his eye. ”I have a good idea.”

He grabbed her hand and ordered a carriage. ”Where to?” An old driver with a neat goatee asked.

”Haytham University.”

”Why would we be going there?” Mary couldn't help being curious.

”You'll see.”

His words brought her an impending sense of doom.

***

Sure enough, she was right.

”Young Master.” Mary suddenly spoke up.

The young man's eyes were locked onto her own. ”Yes?”

”It's hitting me.” The words, delivered by that dauntless, ever-composed face, were as calm and smooth as a frozen pond. Yet despite this, both the woman's neck and ears were going a faint reddish hue.

His grin was downright evil. ”What's that?”

Mary refused to reply.

”I'm always amazed by them.”

”What's that?” She sourly repeated his words.

Your eyes,” He clarified, ” They're stunning, like the most brilliant emeralds. I never want to look away.”