She Belongs To The Devil

Damien and Kenneth's conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Kenneth looked towards the closed door and asked.

And in came the reply from Joyce, "It's me. I wanted to discuss a few changes in our today's plan."

"Ah! Give me a minute," Kenneth replied. He then glanced at the vial that Damien was still holding and then gestured for him to gulp it down. "Put the vial back in the box," he asked Damien and then headed to get the door.

Kenneth opened the door and saw another lady along with Joyce. Kenneth looked confused because she was carrying a tray in her hand, but at the same time, she wasn't wearing the gown that the maids of this castle wore.

Seeing Kenneth's confusion, Joyce smiled and then introduced the lady to Kenneth, "She is one of the guests of the castle. But she was insisting on helping me out. So, I brought her along with me. Her name is Miriam."

Miriam gave a polite bow to the Crown Prince of Brenalia. "Please accept my greetings, Your Highness."

Joyce tilted her head to peek inside the room. "Ah! Damien!" She smiled brightly upon seeing Damien inside Kenneth's room. "You're also here. That makes my task easier and less time-consuming."

Damien hurriedly closed the lid of the box so that the humans wouldn't feel sick at the sight of all those vials of blood. He returned her smile and cheerfully greeted Joyce, "Yes, I am also here." He also gave a curious look at Miriam and asked Joyce, "There are some changes in the plan?"

Kenneth stepped aside from the door and then asked Joyce and Miriam while gesturing inside his room, "Please, come in."

When both the ladies walked inside the room, Kenneth closed the door behind them and then joined everyone.

Joyce looked at Miriam and asked her, "Why don't you set the tray on that tea table? And then…" She felt a little uncomfortable while ordering Miriam around. She couldn't bring herself to ask her to serve the tea to everyone.
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However, Miriam gave a gentle bow and replied to Joyce, "I will serve the tea right away." She was the one to take up the task, so she knew what she needed to do.

"That would be lovely," Joyce gave a subtle smile and sighed. And then she focused her attention on the boys who were seated on the chairs by now.

"So, what is it?" Damien asked again.

Joyce sat in front of the boys and took her time looking at both of them. To speak the truth, she hadn't expected to find them together, especially after Ariel announced her decision yesterday. Nevertheless, she was extremely happy to see their unbroken bond even after their rivalry.

She smiled at them and then finally said, "I… Um… Vlad and I were thinking that it would be better if we spent the whole day here in the castle. I think after all the series of events that have been happening, it is better if we take it slow. What do you two think about that? You know, we can roam around the castle, eat and drink to our content, and not pressure ourselves too much."

Joyce was the one who came up with the idea to cancel everything that they had planned for today. She knew how Kenneth and Ariel had tried their best to look like nothing was bothering them when both of them were breaking down on the inside. They were considerate enough of the others and were suppressing their true emotions so as not to ruin the whole trip.

Joyce tried to return their favor for yesterday by being considerate of them. She was sure that both Ariel and Kenneth still needed some time to process their pent-up emotions, especially Kenneth. Thus, she wanted to cancel all the plans for the day and let everyone rest.

Damien and Kenneth looked at each other. They both were instantly fascinated by the suggestion. Both of them felt that it was definitely a good idea to take a break from their packed schedule.

Thus, Damien gave a nod and said, "I think we can do that. Taking a break today doesn't sound that bad."

"Yes, I also agree. I think that showing the castle around to everyone is a good idea," Kenneth also said with a smile.

Miriam finished brewing the tea. So, she served it to all three in the room. And while serving the tea, she couldn't help but look at Kenneth's face for a second more.

Joyce picked up her teacup and replied to the boys with a happy look on her face, "So, it's settled then. I will think of a few activities to do inside the castle. But it won't be compulsory for everyone." She looked at Kenneth's face while she further spoke, "You can rest in your own room if you don't feel like participating."

Kenneth smiled because he understood that Joyce was canceling today's plan for his sake. However, he didn't insist Joyce not worry about him and carry on with the plan. He needed some alone time to sort out his emotions. And he was sure that Ariel, as well as Damien, needed that time too.

"Thank you, Joy," he said in a grateful tone.

Joyce glanced at Miriam, who had been standing silently in one corner, and asked her, "Why don't you also bring your tea here and sit with us?"

"I could never…" Miriam nervously replied without lifting her head.

However, Joyce insisted, "I won't let you help me out if you start acting like my helper, Miriam. Come and join us."

Miriam didn't want to go back to being a burden on the castle again when her request to allow her to help around in the castle had finally been accepted after begging Joyce countless times.

So, she picked up her cup and went to sit beside Joyce.

Although she joined the table, she couldn't help but stay reserved since she believed that it was no place for her. All she did was sipped her tea and every once in a while, took a peek at Kenneth's face.

Kenneth felt weirded out by that constant gaze from Miriam. However, he also caught her peeking at Damien once or twice. So, he thought that she was simply trying to maintain eye contact even though she wasn't contributing much to the conversation.

After they finished having their tea and making small talk, Joyce and Miriam left the boys alone.

They hadn't even taken a few steps after exiting the room when Miriam looked at Joyce and asked, "I'm sorry if I am overstepping, but… I was curious to know one thing about the Prince with blond hair."

"Oh, you mean Kenneth?" Joyce asked.

Miriam nodded her head and asked, "Is he from Aberdeen, by any chance?"

"Aberdeen?" Joyce furrowed her brows and wondered if she was asking that because she knew Kenneth was part werewolf. "No, he's from Brenalia. Why do you ask though?"

Unlike what Joyce had thought, she got a different response from Miriam.

"Oh, it's nothing much. I guess I was simply imagining things." Miriam turned to look at the path ahead of them and focused on walking.

However, she had piqued Joyce's interest. "Imagining what kind of things exactly?"

Miriam gave an awkward smile and then replied, "I just found it odd that he greatly resembled someone I knew. So, I was wondering if he had a relative there in Aberdeen. But I think I was just imagining it. It's been quite a few years since I last met her, so… I must have been mistaken."