The place where Elise was standing at now was a narrow passage with open walls on right and the left side. Seeing Maroon from afar, she wondered what the butler was doing with hands on the shovel in the bright afternoon.

Seeing the butler from far, she reminded of the image when it hadn't been too long when she entered the castle. There, she saw Maroon holding the shovel at night. The scene she saw now was almost the same like that night, like a carbon copy of what she remembered with the difference was that beside Maroon there was a body covered in a wide fabric now was a plotted plant that was about to be moved.

"What are you watching so intently?" Ian's voice appeared beside Elise and her eyes rolled to the side to meet his face where his lips was just a paper away from her. Ian twisted his lips but a narrowing look took place on his eyes as he watched Elise staring at Maroon, "You are so curious of him that I began to worry," there cane the concerned tone from him that alerted Elise of the green emotion that brew inside him.

"I was curious because Maroon is the oldest working member in the castle," replied Elise, her eyes looked at Ian's lips to be bewitched by the thoughts forming in her mind, Elise didn't know why and how could her imagine run wild when she knows nothing about sexual acts. 

It was because Ian had talked nothing but bed, thought Elise, and there was the time Ian had pushed her on her bed.

Ian, meanwhile was curious to ask, "Where did you know that?"

"Mila told me," replied Elise. Mila was the most knowledgeable woman in the castle who seemed to know the secret of the castle. The reason why Mila was the oldest here must because of her short words and how she never spill the rumors she wasn't supposed to. "She told me about more things in the castle. I heard there was a guest," she started the talk, "Is it your friend, Ian?"

Ian shifted his eyes to his surrounding, delighted that there was no one so Elise could fall him by his name. It was not his intention to hide their relationship. Things are meant to hide when their are full of defect and would risk him. But Elise was not a risk, and even if there was a risk he had to take, for her, Ian was willing to do things to the extreme.

"I don't have friends, in hell friends are first to stab you." Ian watched Elise's eyes filled with question.

Does this mean the friend Ian brought was a Demon? The question raised in Elise's mind, because from the way Ian out his words, it sounded that way. Or did he simply meant his words as it sounded? That he didn't have friend?

"Do you think you need friends, Elise?" came Ian's next question, the question surprised Elise. "I remember you have three friends. The stableman, and the two maids, except Curly because he is an animal."

Elise smiled when Curly was mentioned. The dog was a moment of her past, where she first came to the castle to revive the first ever gift from Ian. Recollecting of gift, Elise remembered the handkerchief she had made for Ian that she stored in her drawers until the Winter Ball came.

"I think when one do not have family and siblings, what comes after to stay beside the person are friends. I head since I was young that humans are never alone, as they are dependable people who need others to live in," answered Elise, her eyes meeting Ian was pure and straightforward, a gaze which he like, "Do you think you need friends?" she repeated the question at him.

Elise didn't know much about Ian despite their relationship progressing. She had only seen glimpse where Ian told her of the past where he killed his father. At first like no others, she was shocked but she could tell that somewhere there must be a strong reason for Ian to kill his father.

Ian broke his gaze to see the garden where bodies were buried under before turning at her, "I don't. Until now I believe that and to have people beside you only increase the risk of them betraying you. I have been betrayed a lot and I can tell that it's easier to not let people close to you since the beginning than to accept them and got hurt from their betrayal."

There was a tone that Ian used which sounded detached to Elise. Betrayal was not easy and she knew from her previous experience where her aunt had sold her. When she had hoped in her aunt, believing that this time she would have a life like normal people, she was sold as a slave.

Elise was not one to hold grudge but she can't help to feel hate against her aunt she trusted before; and deep down, she didn't feel it was wrong for her to feel so. If her luck stroke had been off a little, someone else would have bought her, someone who wouldn't treat her kindly as Ian did.

She knows what happen when a person become slave, sometimes they became worse than a mindless doll as their spirit and hope shattered. While thinking Elise whose hand was holding the pillar didn't realize the spot where her hand touched had crumbled.

"Isn't it hard?" Elise then asked Ian. She saw him looking at her with the eyes of questioning, "I mean to be alone. How long have you stayed alone?"

Ian didn't expect the question and regardless he took time to think, "Let's see... is the people in the castle counted as not living alone?"

Elise paused before saying, "I want to know both. Before you live in the castle and after." 

There was close to nothing that Elise know about Ian, and she want to know more about him. She could tell a few from bits story of his words but not enough to chew. Somewhere, Elise could also tell that Ian didn't tell her of the past because he wang her to be the one to ask; to be curious of the past he had which worked well.

Ian twisted his lips, "I had this castle made not soon after I was elected as the Lord. The person elected me is the authorities, they passed away though."

"From age?" Because they were speaking about nine hundred years ago. Unless they had the same circumstances as Ian, Elise doubt they could live over centuries.

"No, by my hands," Ian dropped the truth casually to receive Elise eyes blinking as if she was trying to attest that her hearing was still well and peachy. "They were getting tad to nosy and greedy bunch for money taken from the taxes of the townsfolk who live here. By getting a new Lord who had just taken a seat, they thought I was blind not to know what they stolen from me."

"Corruption," said Elise, who looked awed. She was surprised by the death but then, Ian had killed people in front of her eyes before, and she accepted the killings he did in front of her was not the first time. Somewhere in her mind, she had accepted it. 

But there was a different reason for the admiration glint from her eyes and it was of how Ian had chosen to protect Warine from the corrupted authorities. If not, would the land be as peaceful as it is now?

Ian, who also noticed Elise smile can't help but to chuckle. He could tell from her expression her admiration but she was wrong. Since before to this point of time, Ian didn't care about others. The reason why he had chosen to kill the authorities was as the reason he said. 

In the past, Ian had a worse bloodlust than now, he could still remember how he would kill one whole village. Although there was a reason for it and he didn't kill people purely for his amusement or to vent his anger, it didn't change the fact his hand was bloody, thought Ian while looking at Elise. 

Ian said to Elise, "If my memories don't fail me, it was about eight hundred years ago when I took the Lord seat. Soon after that I live here. It wasn't so lively in the castle at first," Ian's eyes that were red looked at her with a soft gaze as if hiding the evilness lurking underneath for her. "The place was as it is now, just tad newer with ivy leaves covering the walls."

"Ivy leaves?" questioned Elise, she was interested to know how the castle looked in the past. Ian told her the castle looked the same was it why the bricks looked old with molds? She noticed that the place seemed unaffected by age from outside but she spotted the corners had gotten old, as if it was renovated before.

"Yes," Ian replied, his face turned at her for the black lock of hair he comb behind his head to fall slack beside his ears. "As I left it there without servants or gardener, the ivy leaves took a toll on the walls by growing all over the places as if there is no tomorrow. Maroon was the one to decide cutting the leaves as it was a bother."

"Has the place been renovated?" she asked and Ian nodded to reply. 

"Once, I had to leave to visit another place for years." Where did Ian had to leave for years was the question that added to Elise, but she didn't ask. "It was about ten years of visit I was not there but someone took care of the castle. It was at that time that the castle was renovated."

"But the person missed one place," Elise said and she saw Ian shoving his questioning brows at her.

"Where?"

"The walls on the third floor of West wing, was that on purpose? I remember that the walls looked old and molding," while the other places was covered by wooden walls, that place alone was made up with bricks and it confused Elise for the reason of why.

"That was on purpose. That wall is an entrance to a different room," different room? "You have never entered that place before. When times come I will bring you there," offered Ian. "Perhaps when we catch the essential thing for that section of place." What he needed was bad humans in need of punishment.

Was it a secret passageway? Elise heard and read a few times in book of how most castle would have a secret passage for them to use to run away without known by others. Although the term to escape didn't fit Ian, she can't help but feel curious over what she had not seen before. "I would like to."

Elise then recalled something and her hand rummage on her pocket. It was the key that had rusted and seeing it Ian's lips set in a smile.

"What's this?" He asked her.