heartless - adachi yuto

thirteen

A month has passed and Nao is still alive.

No one could really believe that Lord Yuto did not want to kill Nao after she yelled at him. Nao was completely fine, eventually going into bed and falling asleep while the other women in her quarter stayed up in fear of guards barging through the door. Roon cried at the thought of one the women her quarter being taken away and murdered, and Veva had to comfort her. Everyone knew that Nao's death would come, but they did not think it would arrive so soon.

However, Nao was still alive, now making noodles for Admiral Wooseok's lunch.

After Admiral Wooseok heard about the incident, he raced over to Lord Yuto's room and spoke to him for two hours straight, convincing him that Nao was truly the best maid and that Lord Yuto's health was flourishing because of her. At midnight, Lord Yuto finally changed his mind, his face red with anger.

"If she crosses paths with me one more time," he growled, "or even looks me in the face, I will have her boiled in oil."

Nao was removed from any task that involved her having contact with Lord Yuto - from making his meals to cleaning his robes. However, Admiral Wooseok noticed that Lord Yuto had stopped eating his food, so he told Nao to secretly prepare Lord Yuto's meals and make Kin deliver the food.

In fact, Admiral Wooseok had been noticing a lot of changes. One, Lord Yuto was talking less and less everyday, going back to his silent self like he used to be. His body was thinning again, his cheeks only mere skin attached to bone. His old scars were showing through again, looking as ugly as before, and sometimes Lord Yuto's bad eye burned so badly that he had to lift his eye patch in front of Admiral Wooseok so he could rub it gently.

Admiral Wooseok had enough.

"Listen to me, and listen good," Admiral Wooseok said, after he had cornered Nao in the kitchen. "If you would have just kept your mouth shut when Lord Yuto yelled at you that night, you and him would not be in this bad position. You lost his trust, and he is deteriorating physically. You are going to his room tonight to serve him his dinner and you will put the cream on his scars like you used to."

"But Adm-"

"Shut up!" He yelled. "He's sick and he is itchy, his skin has been aching. The other maid assigned to him as tried to help but nothing worked. You will bring the cream and some food to him, and even if he rejects you, you stand your ground."

"He will kill me," Nao told him, "he will."

"He did not kill you last time, so he will not kill you now. Do not make any excuses," Admiral Wooseok snarled, grabbing his food from Nao's hands before stepping out.

In the evening, Nao and Admiral Wooseok stood in front of Lord Yuto's bedroom door, Nao holding a tray of chocolate-covered fruit slices with a container of the healing cream on the side.

Admiral Wooseok opened the door, revealing Lord Yuto sitting on his bed, his robe pulled off his body and wrapped around his lower region. His hands were running up and down his skin, his fingers scratching at the scars on his skin.

"Who said you could walk in without warning me?" Lord Yuto said monotonously. His eyes landed on Nao, his eyes widening before he looked back at Admiral Wooseok. "How dare you?"

"Look at yourself," Admiral Wooseok spoke, "your skin is peeling, you have become skinny, and you talk less. Even if you do not like her, she is doing good things for your health and you should be thankful."

"Why are you always going against my words?"

"Because I know you better than you know yourself, you need help," Admiral Wooseok pushed Nao into the bedroom, her almost dropping everything on the tray. "I will be standing outside. If I hear an disagreement or argument from inside, I will hit both of you!"