I heard some grunted replies from the other lords. I glanced at Caleb and noticed that he was still staring at me as if he couldn't take his eyes off me. Perhaps with this long hair, I reminded him and the other lords of this Yuki of Yamato. Which would be the reason why they were shocked and couldn't stop looking at me.
Of course, that didn't sit well with me. After all, I didn't know if looking like this reminded them of all the sadness and heartache or the happiness when they had been with this Yuki of Yamato lady.
It was then Lord Geoffrey said, "Shall we dine?" And a moment later, delicious dishes of exotic food were brought out and laid across the table. There were roasted meats of all sorts, along with vegetables cooked in many ways, different types of breads, baked savory goods, and so much more. This, to me, looked like it could feed an entire army of people, but I wasn't surprised that it was just for the eleven of us, since I knew from Aria that the seven lords, as powerful demons, needed a huge amount of sustenance to feed their dark qi.
It wasn't until midway through the meal that I felt the atmosphere become light and cheerful again, after the lords' shock of witnessing my long hair.
Lord Victor had asked to swap seats with Felix, and surprisingly enough, Felix agreed. Once beside me, Lord Victor proceeded to chat with me, asking me various questions. Of course, I answered him as much as I could between eating, and when he touched my hair, a voice snapped from across the table, "Victor!"
It was Caleb, and he look pissed as hell.
"Ah, sorry," Lord Victor said with a chuckle, releasing my hair. He leaned in close to me and whispered, "Looks like someone is pissed he doesn't get to touch your hair first."
I raised my brow. Why would Caleb be pissed that he didn't get to touch my hair first?
When I shifted my gaze to him again, I noted that his grey eyes were glinting again in that dark vibe that both scared yet excited me at the same time.
Suddenly, it hit me. He'd had the same look when he had been passionately kissing me that night a few days ago.
The moment I realized that, my heart skipped a beat and my tummy fluttered deliciously.
I licked my lips, and suddenly, all seven lords' attention was turned on me again, and I felt tense, as if there were a powerful and agitating sort of qi buzzing in the air.
Lord Geoffrey stood and said, in a hard, commanding tone that I had not heard from him before, "Felix, Caleb, come with me."
As I watched Lord Geoffrey heading toward the door, Felix and Caleb stood and silently followed suit.
Once the door was closed behind them, I returned my attention to my food, wondering what was going on. Of course, I noticed that the agitated sort of feel in the air had disappeared, too.
I turned to Lord Victor and asked, "Where are they going?"
It was Lord Ethan who answered me. "To talk, negotiate, and make sure shit doesn't get out of hand."
Lord Noah said, "Ah, and here I thought they'd invite me, too."
"Fuck!" Lord Aaron said darkly. "They're always leaving me out." Of course, he was looking at me strangely.
Once dinner was over an hour later, after three of the lords walked out midway through the meal, we—Aria, Leona, Brenna, and I—thanked the remaining four lords politely and returned to our quarters. Of course, none of those three lords who had left ever reappeared, which made me wonder what could be such an important topic of discussion that would take so long to negotiate.
It was some two hours later, after our tummies had finally digested our big meal and we girls (even though I was supposed to be a boy) chatted, or rather gossiped, about the lords and their shocked reactions at seeing my new look, that there were a few knocks at the front door. Of course, it was just about time for the girls and I to retire to our rooms for the night, too. Brenna rushed over to open the door, and a moment later, I heard, "My Lord Aaron."
"Alfie... please get him for me."
I got up from my seat in the sitting area and headed over to the front door. There, I saw Aaron, who said, "Alfie, come with me."
"To where?" I asked.
"Doesn't matter," he said, and before I could say anything, he wrapped his hand around my wrist and led me out the door, without my shoes, mind you.
Behind me, Aria said, "I'll leave the door unlocked for when you come back, Alfie."
I waved at her. "Thanks."
In the exotically beautiful garden with the colorful lights glowing here and there and the stars glittering gracefully in the distance of the sky above, I trailed along behind Aaron with my feet only in socks. I wanted him to slow down but decided not to ask because, damn, he looked... pissed off or something. Was he all right?
"Alfie, do you like me?" he asked out of the blue.
I nodded my head. "Of course I do, my lord."
"Good," he said. "Remember that and don't ever change your mind."
I was curious as to what he meant by that and wanted to ask him for an explanation but decided against it.
It was some moments later when I found that we'd returned to the northern wing of the palace where the seven lords' private quarters resided.
Aaron led me, not toward the dining hall or the drawing room where we had been only a few hours ago for dinner, but to another sector of the residence. We headed directly toward the back, passing by the garden to what I thought was a detached building that looked very much like a bathhouse.
Suddenly, I began to panic and wondered why Aaron would lead me here.
I asked, "Lord Aaron? What are we doing here?"
He said, "We're taking a bath."
I pulled back immediately in reaction. "No. I... I don't need one."
Aaron wouldn't let me go and pulled me into his arms. He said, "Come on. It'll be fun. Everyone is waiting."
I shook my head as I said, "No. I'm fine. I don't need one. I just had one." I managed to escape his grasp and hastily started heading the other way. When I heard his footsteps coming after me, I bolted, running through the garden toward the exit.
Of course, Aaron chased after me. Swift as he was as a warrior, I had no chance against him and was caught in no time. In the end, he hauled me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Aaron!" I demanded. "Put me down, now! I don't need a bath. I mean it. I already had one before dinner. Please, just put me down."
Aaron didn't reply as he swiftly headed toward the bathhouse, and God, I wanted to disappear.