Chapter 81: The Confusion In The Hallway
Whoever had been listening could not bear even the smallest crack in Aveline’s voice, and the faintest ache she tried so hard to hide.
That presence lingered only a mont longer... and then quietly withdrew.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Aveline blinked, startled. With Hamilton tucked close to her, she walked toward it and opened it cautiously.
A maid stood outside, holding a tray laden with delicate sweets and a warm glass of milk. Her posture was perfect, her smile polite, her gaze lowered with practiced grace.
"Milady," she said gently, offering the tray. Then she bowed.
Aveline froze.
"Milady, there is a private bath on the floor above," the maid continued. "If you wish, I can prepare a warm bath for you. I will also attend to all your needs during your stay. Please ring the bell if you require anything."
She gestured toward the cord beside the bed and stepped back, still bowed, waiting for Aveline’s response without once turning her back.
Aveline stood there, stunned.
It had been a long ti since anyone had spoken to her like this. When she had entered the tavern earlier, no one had treated her with this kind of care. Sothing had changed.
"Yes... please," she said at last, still unsure if this was real.
Why would she refuse a private bath, prepared just for her?
Monts later, she found herself on the floor above.
The bath chamber felt like sothing out of a dream.
A large wooden tub stood at the center, filled with steaming water that shimred softly under the glow of strange crystals embedded in the walls, crystals Aveline had never seen before. Their light was gentle, almost soothing to look at, casting a faint, healing warmth across the room. Thin trails of fragrant incense curled through the air, mingling with the scent of flowers scattered across the water’s surface.
It felt... unreal.
Aveline hesitated only long enough to ask the maid to wait outside. Once alone, she slipped out of her clothes, her movents slow, almost cautious, as though she feared the mont might vanish if she moved too quickly.
Hamilton remained perched nearby, watching her with quiet attention.
When Aveline finally lowered herself into the water, a soft breath escaped her.
Warmth wrapped around her instantly, seeping into her skin, easing the stiffness in her muscles, loosening the ache that had settled deep into her bones after the long ride. She leaned back, closing her eyes as the water gently lapped against her.
The faint sound of the soft slosh of movent, and the distant crackle of incense, soothed her in ways she hadn’t realized she needed.
Her back still ached, but now it felt distant. Manageable. Familiar.
For a while, she simply stayed there, letting the quiet take her.
Letting herself forget.
Forget the long journey. Forget the questions. Forget the person who kept slipping into her thoughts when she least wanted him there... the one who could still make her chest tighten without warning.
For a little while, she allowed herself that peace.
And when she finally stepped out of the bath, wrapped in warmth and softness, she felt lighter.
Refreshed.
Almost as though the weight she had been carrying had loosened its grip, if only for a mont.
Aveline stepped out of the bath, her body still warm and loose from the water, her mind pleasantly hazy with exhaustion. The heaviness in her limbs pulled at her, urging her toward sleep.
She got dressed in he rnight gown and threw a robe above. She just wanted to go to bed and have a good night’s sleep.
She barely made it a few steps out of the bath chamber before she nearly walked straight into soone.
At first, all she saw was... skin.
Pale. Luminous. Almost unreal.
She stopped abruptly, blinking as her gaze lingered, caught in a strange sort of fascination. The robe the person wore was slightly open at the chest, and the exposed skin looked impossibly smooth—soft, almost translucent, as if light itself lived beneath it.
For a mont, Aveline forgot everything else.
Forgot where she was. Forgot who she was supposed to be.
She just... stared. And then, she stared so more, just to make sure she was awake and not dreaming.
And then, slowly, curiosity pulled her gaze upward.
The line of the chin was refined, delicate. The cheeks were smooth like polished porcelain. The lips... they were softly tinted, almost glowing, shaped with a kind of effortless perfection that made her pause a second too long.
Then the nose. It was straight and elegant.
And the eyes... They were crystalline. Clear. Frad by lashes so pale they almost disappeared into the light.
Her breath caught.
The forehead curved gently, serene and composed, and above it fell hair unlike anything she had ever seen. It wasn’t quite white, not entirely silver, not even properly blonde. It shimred between shades, catching the light in a way that made it seem almost otherworldly.
And the glow...
For a fleeting, absurd mont, Aveline wondered if so celestial being had simply wandered down to earth and taken human form. Maybe the Lord of the Light, god Vaelis himself, had descended and sohow crossed her path?
And then another thought, far less graceful, crept into her mind.
Her stomach gave a strange twist.
This person... so perfectly ford, so different from Theron... with his darker features, his sharper masculinity, his grounded presence...
What exactly was she looking at?
Aveline blinked, her thoughts stumbling over themselves.
Is this a man... or a woman?
That... being... looked down at her.
And the expression on that face that was cool, distant, and bordering on disdain, should have been enough to snap anyone back to their senses.
But Aveline didn’t notice.
She was still far too srized.
"Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?" she asked.
The words slipped out so easily, so honestly, that even she didn’t realize what she had said until it was already too late.
The ethereal stranger’s brows, which had been drawn tight in faint displeasure, slowly relaxed.
"Beautiful?" he repeated, a soft, amused chuckle following. His voice was deep—unexpectedly so—resonating like a low vibration through the quiet hallway, although the smile didn’t reach his eyes. "That is the first ti I have heard that."
Aveline blinked.
That voice...
So he was a man?
Her mind struggled to catch up with what her eyes were seeing.
How could such beauty belong to a man? It felt... unfair, sohow.
Before she could stop herself... before propriety or common sense could intervene... her hands moved.
They landed against his chest.
Lightly at first. Then... not so lightly.
As if she were trying to confirm sothing.
And then, with the sa baffled seriousness, she glanced down at herself and, completely forgetting her own lack of endownt, made a quick, comparative check.
There was... very little difference.
Aveline’s confusion only deepened.
Sowhere behind her, unseen... Theron’s hands clenched into fists.
What is she doing... with that man?
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