Aether and the receptionist started to eat as they didn’t talk for a second. Aether wanted to give her ti to calm her heart; otherwise, whatever he was going to say would be nothing but... magical words for her ears.
The food in front of them stead quietly, its scent weaving with the gentle glow. For a mont, the world shrank to just their table.
Yet what he didn’t know was that this silence only made her heart beat even more, and looking at his half-lifted rabbit mask where she could see his sharp jaw, pure white skin and... soft red lips, she gulped while eating the food, not sure what she was eating right now!
Her gaze darted from his mask to the plate and back, cheeks warming with every stolen glance.
"I am sorry for my previous act," she finally started to speak. Aether, who had been staring at the window, turned to her and said, "It’s fine... as long as you are fine—"
[ 3000 AP]
Aether imdiately shut his mouth as his eyes rolled back... he was not worried about her health... that’s just usual courtesy to ask soone who just fell down... oh goodness, please!
The receptionist smiled gently before nudging her nose as she said, "W-Why do you want to eat with , Mr. Lackey? Is there sothing else? Or are you worried your products might get stolen, so you wanted to spy on my company to see if everything was alright?"
Aether’s lips parted... She didn’t look like an idiot, as she seed to be.
He hesitated, then answered, "No, not that. I was about to eat and you ca there, so yeah... I an, eating with a partner is better than eating alone, right?"
The receptionist nodded her head in understanding as she smiled softly. "Indeed... Being alone is sotis hard," as her face turned sad and gloomy all of a sudden.
Aether blinked as his voice lowered, "Is sothing wrong?"
The receptionist flinched as she shook her head. "N-No, sir, it’s just nothing," as she continued to eat her food. "It’s good, right?"
She tried to focus on the flavours.
Aether nodded, but obviously, nothing was going to get near to his beloved mother-in-law’s cooking.
As the atmosphere between them turned soft and perfect, Aether slowly interjected, "So... How’s your life going? Is it good? Did your CEO forgive you, and what about her fiancé who tried to sneak in and almost made you lose your job?" he asked as casually as possible.
The receptionist smiled weakly, "I don’t know what happened, but it seems their engagent was called off and he never ca back, and I know I pretty much ssed up there..." as her face turned to guilt, "For that, I am really sorry, sir. I honestly needed this work and losing it ant really hard for and... and... I—" her eyes started to tremble.
She pressed her hands together.
Aether shook his head, "There is nothing to worry about anymore... You tried what anyone could have done there," he said with a serious tone. He knew how hard it was to find a job and losing one ant everything, and sotis it was even harder, being pushed around by others, treated like nothing.
[ 3000 AP]
"..." Aether blinked... He was not planning for this!
The receptionist smiled gently, wiping her tears. "That’s so generous of you, sir... with your humble heart, I managed to get my work back, but after that, the CEO lost trust in ... sigh, I had no choice but to work hard to prove to her I was worthy. It was really tiring, working day and night, and I did my best to make her look at again and see as her loyal subordinate... sigh, I guess that’s what they say in business: if you lose trust, then it’s very hard to get it back."
Aether raised his eyebrows to hear that. "What happened? Did she finally forgive you?"
The receptionist shrugged, letting her shoulders drop. "I don’t know, sir, but I am still trying my best to prove my worth, and when she forgives , then only I could get sleep peacefully," she said with a tired tone.
Aether humd with a thoughtful expression. Well, just like she said, it was hard to get trust back once it was lost. That’s why he was hesitating with Rosavere... as she herself ntioned, her company had been here for thousands of years; it was almost like an empire of its own within all the other empires.
He would rather not want to make an enemy out of it.
"But she looks different now? I an, her attitude, her cold eyes... what happened to her?" he asked curiously.
The receptionist sighed, letting out a faint breath as if the mory pained her. "Not sure, but I heard the rumour that her grandfather again tried to marry her to that useless man and..."
"And?" Aether leaned towards her.
The receptionist shook her head reluctantly, "N-Nothing," she shrugged, clearly uncomfortable.
Aether clicked his tongue softly; he could not lose whatever it was. His hand, almost of its own accord, moved toward her hand and touched it gently, just brushing her fingers. The touch made her flinch, her breath catching for a heartbeat.
[ 3000 AP]
"S-Sir?"
"Please call ... Lackey."
The woman raised her eyebrows, startled by his request. "B-But that’s wrong... I an, you are soone dealing with my CEO, I could not disrespect you!"
Aether smiled warmly, a genuine smile reaching his eyes. "It’s fine," he said, as his hand gave a small, reassuring squeeze to her small hands. He continued in a softer voice,
"Do you think I would be eating with you if I were soone who only deals with CEOs?"
The receptionist blinked at him, surprised, before nodding her head, her face slowly turning red. "E-Even so," she whispered as she slowly nudged her hand from his grip.
Aether didn’t let her leave.
"Even so what?" he smirked, leaning closer to her. His hot breath brushed her skin; she trembled, swallowing hard. Nightfire’s scent still lingered on Aether, curling around them with a faintly magical allure—of course, it started to cause so effect on the receptionist.
She shyly tilted her head, avoiding his gaze. "Y-You are so an, L-Lackey."
Aether chuckled as he let go of her hand and continued to eat his food.
Still, he was not trying to seduce anyone here!
Believe him!!
While they resud their eating, Aether asked in an innocent tone, "Maybe her grandfather is forcing her to marry that useless man again? That’s why she changed, turned cold?"
The receptionist nodded her head, "Maybe, but there are other rumours spreading..." She looked around the room, checking for listening ears before leaning closer to Aether and whispering,
"She may have a lover."
Aether raised his eyebrows, caught off guard. "Lover?"
The receptionist nodded her head, "Soone from the Void Empire has been visiting her every night."
... Now that’s interesting.
Aether’s frown deepened, "Void Empire? I guess maybe it could work, right?"
The receptionist’s cheeks turned red as she leaned in even closer, her words barely above a whisper.
"The guards ntioned... a moaning sound after the visit."
"..." Aether blankly stared at her, his eyes fixed as she turned redder and redder under his unwavering gaze.
"W-Why are you looking at like that? It’s not like I did anything!" she almost shouted, her voice spiking in embarrassnt, seeing him stare as if she had betrayed him or sothing scandalous.
However, Aether calmly asked, "When did it start?"
"Huh?" she blinked, thrown off by his sudden shift in tone.
"I an... when did these rumours start circulating?"
"Well... around the ti when the barriers were deployed? Maybe a few days before... Not sure, but it was around that ti," she said, her expression thoughtful as she searched her mories for more details.
Coincidences?
Nah!
Aether’s frown deepened... It seed Rosavere had co into contact with soone related to the Void Empire.
’Hmm... now it’s getting interesting,’ he thought, eyeing the receptionist. He already had enough information for now; if he pried any deeper, she might grow suspicious, and... who knew, Rosavere itself might get involved.
He slowly changed the topic, his voice lightening as he began to talk about happier things—stories from childhood, funny monts, and even a few idle questions about her thoughts on the Father of the Emperor and other city gossip.
And her answers... let’s just say she wasn’t particularly interested in politics, nor did she care much for the Emperor’s family affairs. Her eyes lit up only for simple joys: her favourite sweets, the festivals, stories about mischievous children in the marketplace.
Soon they finished eating, laughter and gentle conversation lingering in the air. The receptionist was giggling happily as if she’d truly enjoyed her ti here, her worries for once forgotten.
Aether was about to pay when she said, "It’s fine... this restaurant is our branch too."
Aether blinked in mild surprise.
He saw the receptionist talking to the woman behind the desk, who nodded at her and then glanced at Aether, nodding again with a secretive little smile.
The receptionist smiled at Aether before they both stepped out of the restaurant.
"Okay, Lackey, I will be leaving then!" she said, flashing him a big smile and waving her hand as she turned—then, with a kind of awkward wobble, she walked away on her heels.
Aether stared after her for a mont, brow furrowing. ’Did she wear those for the first ti or sothing?’ he wondered before shaking his head.
"Wait... I didn’t even know her na," he sighed, rubbing his forehead as he turned and walked away.
Only to slip quietly into an empty alley nearby and, in a voice gone cold, say, "That’s enough following around!"
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