"Mademoiselle? You keep getting distracted, may I be your reasons?"
Smirking, he chortled yet again with his wistful, contrasted-coloured mask.
My face remained unfazed, although he was actually quite right.
"Might be, tell me Soo-Hyu-!"
Suddenly, he leapt to halt my speech by settling down his white gloved hand on my mouth, leaving me flustered.
"Ah! Please, only address me with that when we are in private. It's a name I love being addressed by you only. Can't have many know of it."
I glared him down, causing him to stumble back and create another boundary between him and me, yet his mouth wouldn't stop.
"Ah...that gaze made my heart thump wildly. Aren't you a killer, madam?"
His soft snickering left me flabbergasted with diguest.
"You are being quite a flirt today. All I did was feed you a meal..."
"A meal that also filled my heart, haha."
"He just happened to hear some stories about you from Ororon and Tremious." The young maiden with violet flickering pastle hair and perky ears interrupted whilst walking past us. My eyebrows were lifted up, and I asked.
"Is that right...?"
"Stories of bravery from Ororon and stories of foolishness from the Red Dragon, all that adds quite a charm to you, Mademoiselle."
His guffaw heard by all in the estate, and my ears flushed with embarrassment.
"Enough talking, get to work clown, if you wanna stay."
The sheer coldness from his announcement made the clown labelled man cackle in fury. While the man whose hair shimmered in deep forest green glared him down.
My throat felt dry in a blue, and an awkward rueful laugh sounded out from my dry lips. I got up immediately and circulated my thoughts to get away as if I were the one who was called out by him.
"Umm... where did Tremious go again...gotta look for him."
***
He watched her run off to a path he didn't require to take. He knew she was avoiding him, but it all started because of himself. A coward, that's what he cursed himself with. His eyes clouded with sorrow and furrowed. His emerald eyes glinted along the sunlight, yet deep within those pupils; anyone could tell what he was feeling.
A mixture of longing and misery, for the heart, he held so tight so that it wouldn't crumble with pain and the only thought that ran through him countless times.
"Why?"
He could only stare the back of her and the shoulders that were willing to carry his burden, or did he imagine it?
Nonetheless, guilt filled him whole. He troubled her enough, so why couldn't he let her go. Their bond so well made that he was ready to shed blood for her. However, he would for the party members too.
And yes... that man added more trouble to his plate. A man who crashed out of nowhere and stole his show. A clown, awful one at that. He finds it difficult to understand why the party had formed a liking towards him. In Dermis's eyes, he is just an eyesore.
"Aniel...."
He called out again, but she was too far to hear him. His desperate calls were unheard, and drastically, they were heard by the clown instead.
"The madam doesn't fancy you much, it seems."
Dermis scoffs and repels with a glare.
"What would you know? You have only known her for two days."
"So far that I can see, she rather talk to me than you."
Dermis steps back, clearly a defeat. The emotions were clearly sketched in his face, that enough gave the clown an upper hand in that moment.
He giggled mockingly and pronounced.
"You aren't really important, huh?"
"So you only speak in that witless tone in front of her. You try so hard to please."
Dermis smirked and walked off, leaving Willdom shooting daggers at him with his scowl hidden under his mask.
***
"Tremious?"
I called out to him, and he faced me while enjoying the drinks from the Usagiko estate, watching the pond. He replied to me in his usual unfazed manner.
"Oh, you're back. Rather, if you didn't, though, but welcome back..."
"Haha... what jumbled words, can't you just be honest?"
"How would you rephrase it then?"
"Something along the line of....good to see you again." I replied while sitting next to him.
"You ask too much."
He stopped facing me and started sipping from his glass. I smiled, finding him oddly funny and continued.
"It's been a while since I sat and talked with you like this."
"Serpan stew..."
"Haha...that was the last, right?"
He replied with a quiet hmm, offering nothing more.
"You still haven't fed me the stew, you said you would."
"Soon...."
"...."
Silence filled the air once more, and I bit down on my lower lip. Still, I was adamant about having a small talk with him.
"So... I wanted to ask, why do you stay in this form?"
"Recall that I mentioned I'm laying low right now. This works as a good disguise."
I released a soft, airy laugh, and he carried on.
"You prefer that form, yes?"
As if seeking to turn my own words against me, he faced me and breathed out a chuckle.
"You surprise me sometimes."