As we made our way towards the foyer, Bennett slowed down his pace to take the entire scene in. "I guess that concludes the wedding tour for now." His grip on my shoulders tightened. "Which only leaves the dress fitting."

Dress fitting... I'd rather we didn't. I doubt he'll let me pick my own wedding dress anyway. He just wants to dress me up like a doll to his exact liking.

Checking to see if the coast was clear, Bennett leaned in close to whisper. "But there is one last thing I could show you."

I felt a chill run down my spine. He didn't wait to hear my response as he led me down a narrow hallway towards the locked cellar door. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a rusty key and gleefully opened the door.

It was dark. The only source of natural lighting came from a small, cracked window. Apart from that, the room managed to remain just barely lit by a flickering ceiling light. How ominous...

Based on the fact that the cold brick walls and whistling pipes were covered in dust and cobwebs, it was safe to say that only Bennett had access to this room. He must be hiding one big secret if he won't even allow staff down here to clean it up.

As we approached the bottom of the creaky staircase, I was taken aback by Bennett's... extensive collection. There were rows of shelves that all displayed an extensive array of poisons.

I raised an eyebrow at Bennett in confusion. He chuckled in response. "It wasn't an easy task to become such a powerful figure in the demon world." He glided his fingers across the vials. "There were a few... political rivals I had to eliminate swiftly."

His eyes were now transfixed on the vials as he picked them up admiringly. "So, I thought I might as well be upfront with you about it. "

It's clear to me now that killing others is something he's always taken immense pleasure in. Even if I weren't in the picture, his sadistic side would have undoubtedly manifested in the end like this. He's beyond redemption...

"This particular poison is my favourite." Bennett held the silver encased vial labelled Cantarella in front of my face. "I plan on slipping it into my guest's meal tonight."

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "We're having guests over?"

Taking me by the hand, Bennett gently guided me back up the stairs. "Right, I forgot to mention that you'll be eating dinner alone in the bedroom tonight."

Before opening the door, I was suddenly pulled into Bennett's arms as he groped my body while forcefully making out with me. He pulled away panting as a disgusting string of saliva could be seen connecting us to each other. Even though he didn't push me any further, passion was still clearly lingering in his eyes.

"I hope that's enough to satisfy you for now. I'll try not to be too long so we can make love again tonight."

Ugh, please don't hurry. I tried to suppress my revulsion as I opened the cellar door myself. As I made my way out into the hallway I slowly turned around in confusion.

"I have to prepare myself for tonight," Bennett explained as he leaned lazily against the doorframe. "Seeing as you can't run away, feel free to relax however you want in the meantime."

This feels like another test, but yet... Bennett appears to be sincere. As he pulled across the cellar door, I was left stunned to the spot. I won't object to being given space, but I can't help but feel suspicious about Bennett's sudden leniency with me.

Nevertheless, I decided to take this time to explore the rest of the mansion at my discretion. To my dismay, I was treated coldly by all of Bennett's servants.

I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that they're avoiding eye contact with me though. I'm sure they're aware of Bennett's jealous temper so they're probably just avoiding me to keep their own lives.

"Has anyone seen the new kitchen staff workers?" A stressed woman shouted as she flipped through her clipboard with quick velocity. "Master Dragomir won't be happy if tonight's dinner isn't prepared on time!"

Sounds like a stressful job... Sensing that the woman was about to lose her temper with the nearby servants, I slowly backed away from the scene. The last thing I needed was a headache from all of the yelling.

Once I was out of sight, I went to turn for the stairs. But to my surprise, I was suddenly pulled into the nearby study by an unknown figure.

"NNGH!" I squealed as I attempted to kick and flail my arms around. I'm so over being kidnapped! Has no one ever heard of tapping on the shoulder–

"R-Relax! It's just me, Vana..." the voice tried to explain in a hushed voice. I immediately recognised the voice. Stopping what I was doing I turned to look the man in the eyes.

"Nick? How are you–" I stopped myself from saying another word. I needed to be careful, if Bennett's senses are as sharp as he's claimed them to be, then he could be listening to me as we speak.

Looking around, I grabbed a nearby pen and paper off the desk to write. 'Is that really you, Nick?"

Nick smiled as he took the pen from my hand. 'Yes. I was able to find you thanks to that previous skill I got, remember?'

Ah, yes. , I have to admit, it was a pretty useful skill. It's thanks to that skill that I was saved from a frosty demise in the previous world.

We gazed into each other's eyes silently while smiling to ourselves. Before long, Nick slowly went to hold my hand. My heartbeat started to race as I was pulled into his hold.

But once the danger of the situation finally dawned on me, I quickly stopped Nick with my hand as I wrote on the paper once more. 'It's dangerous for you to be here. Bennett will kill both of us if he finds out!'

To my surprise, all Nick did was shrug as he playfully wrote out his response. 'He'll never know, trust me.'

How can he be so sure? There's no way he can guarantee that! Bennett is cunning, he has eyes and ears plastered all over this mansion!

...

But even so, I don't want to push Nick away right now. As I looked up at him once more, the feelings of my previous loneliness started to resurface. I don't want to lose him again so soon.

So, with that last thought in mind, I leaned in once more to kiss him passionately. Neither one of our grips on each other loosened. Perhaps we were both afraid that if we pulled away, the other would disappear.