"You need to be cautious of your surroundings, mi hija." The man tapped her 8 year-old daughter's shoulder before he waved goodbye leaving her in front of the gate of her school.

As expected of her father, he always wanted her to be cautious because there are bad creatures around that looked like a good human. She did what her father says, being cautious, and finding mysteries for everyone. That way, she learned how to spot the weaknesses and strengths of anyone and she can even say whether they are being real or not.

"Papà, their house is weird. They don't use lights but torches. They don't serve veggies and they serve wine."

Whenever her father visits a house of a known and noble family, he would bring her with him and request her to tell him whatever she sees and observes. So it became a hobby of hers to investigate whoever she encounters. Until when she was fifteen, she started seeing unexpected things. She wasn't afraid of blood, dead people, and criminals. Seeing a guy cut into half in front of her eyes did not even traumatize her.

"Dad, how did he cut the guy in half without blades? They were like 'The Flash' because I couldn't even see them because of how fast they are." She asked with a glint of amazement in her eyes.

Her father looked at her, now serious. He tapped her head and looked straight at her eyes.

"Now that you've seen so many mysterious things in this world and you understand them, I will tell you who they really are."

She nodded excitedly to hear what her father would say. It's been seven years since she wanted an answer and finally ...

"They are...."

Breathing hard and dazzled with her dream about her past, she only saw a white ceiling and the Biel Molten Lava Lights hang above her. She looked around to see the room where she thinks she slept after the incident.

Upon looking around, her eyes instantly widened as she saw Gael bowing his head to her with a cart of food beside him.

"Good morning, milady. I have brought you milk." He greeted me like he did yesterday. The same smiling face, the same posture, all the same Gael before his right calf was cut-

She directly searched her eyes all over his body, no sign of cut- he looks so fresh like nothing happened?

"What time is it? What date?" She asked for confirmation of how many hours it took for her to gain consciousness.

He smiled. "It's June 7, 1:43 PM, you must be tired from sleeping quite a while, milady." He started pouring milk into a glass.

"Are you okay? How about your calf?" Her eyes landed on his right leg but it was okay, there's no specific injury spotted. He was the same.

Meanwhile, Gael did not lose his smile, forming a slight grin to show his cocky side.

"It's pleasing my heart that you have concern for me, milady. But I've never got any injury because you know how handsome I am. And I was just outside your dwell watching over your irreplaceable beauty with closed eyes." He lifted the glass of milk to give it to her.

"Are you all demons?"

Gael stopped midways, wide eyes looking at her. Brows furrowed, he retreated to stand straight and look straight at her eyes. He lost the smile covering his inner self. This woman is uncovering them fast. In just a short period of time, she caught a very big fish just by one drop of hook in the ocean. He never thought that Leonardo would reveal the dreadful story of creatures like them to his mere adopted daughter. What does his new milady know about them? Did Leaonardo tell her about everything? Would it scare her if he told her the truth?

His previous miladies had never found out this early, not until their curiosity killed them and became mentally unstable, and until they attempted on touching the King...

He smiled and handed her the glass of milk, gently.

"Please drink it so you could be refreshed, milady. I don't like to make my Queen think about many things that might bother her. That would be very unpleasant on my part as your valet."

She looked at his smiling face, seconds before drinking the milk. She then went out of her bed afterwards to clean herself as he tidied up her room. Going out the bathroom with a robe, her meal was served and Gael was standing near the door. Without asking him again, she finished her meal and wore a sleeveless A-line white dress. She then went out from her room to see the full darkness with Gael at her back holding a torch.

"Do your previous miladies fear darkness? What are their differences from me?" She talked casually stomping her feet to the hall to the King's bedroom.

If Gael won't talk, she has no choice but to ask the King personally.

Hearing his milady speaking casual to him, he smiled and talked.

"They would freak out, milady. They would cling to me, hug me, and squeeze their soft and bouncy boobs in my back."

He looked for a reaction but nothing so he continued with a genuine smile and honest answer.

"Others would touch my dick and give me a handjobs. They would throw themselves to me betraying my King so I fuck them hard until they can't walk anymore." Gael's eyes were studying her from behind but she didn't even grimace. Guess like he shouldn't underestimate his new milady.

"What happened to those who can't go out?" She stopped in front of the King's door.

"They all disobeyed my King."

"Pretty much, you killed them?" She looked at Gael's eyes but he didn't lose his gentle smile.

"Well, some... I killed those who I fucked because they don't deserve my King." He shrugged like nothing was wrong from what he did. She sighed as she saw Thiago pop up from nowhere at their back, holding a torch and watching them. He bowed his head before speaking.

"May I ask what brings your presence thy King's dwelling, milady?"

She didn't respond for seconds and looked at the breech wood door she's facing. Why is she here in the first place? She was in a demons' lair or not just a lair, but their Kingdom. And she is here to fulfill a job needed to be done for her family's sake. She is aware that she is on the verge of her life but what is the consequence if she runs away? Or what happens if she will stay?

She got awakened from the sound of the opening of the door. There was Thiago behind it with his left hand motioning her to come inside. She stepped her foot in this dark room once again, unsure if she could go out alive. She did not sit this time, she remained standing beside the bookshelves and let Thiago do his work before the King sent him away. Silence filled the room like it's abandoned. She looked straight to the place where she thinks as the center before gulping then spoke.

"Are you a demon?"

No one responded like before. The silence is deafening and she feels cold. She looked for the coat if it was still there but nothing was hanging in the bookshelf. This is a tough situation in which she is unsure about the other side because she didn't even have the slightest idea who he is, how he looks, and how he reacted with her question. Now she regrets asking him. Goodbye life.

She heard footsteps making her still. What is he going to do? Was he planning to kill her because she found out about it? Damn, this nerve racking, especially that she had no escape from this castle.

"Are you scared?"

This is the time when she realized she wasn't breathing and she breathed out after hearing his voice. It calmed her down although it sounds like a threat. His voice is so tantalizing in her mind that she's losing the fear of anything inside this castle. It was like a magic spell that covers the negative thoughts playing in her mind. Is his part of the demons' curse? That his voice would make him feel like this? What will he do if she told him the truth? Would she be spared from death?

"I am not afraid of demons. I am afraid of what they will do."

That was an honest answer. It's true, she wasn't afraid, she's afraid of their capabilities. And she is not planning to lie anymore. All her life, she pretended as an innocent woman who is naïve to everyone. She pretended to be happy with little things she doesn't like. She played nice like she was perfect but she is getting tired of it. She doesn't want to be what they think she is. She wants to be what she is and she is showing it to a demon she just met yesterday. She had this feeling that she must not lie to him that she will obey him and that is what she is doing now.

She listened to his response but it was nothing but pure silence. She walked through the previous seat she had sat in.

"I was adopted by my father when I was five. I don't know who I was and what my name is. I was living on a faraway island with nuns taking care of me. Then he came to clothe me, fed me, and took care of my future." She looked down remembering the man who just died 3 days ago and she didn't even make time to mourn him. He will remain as the greatest man she had ever met because of his pure heart and intentions.

"He told me about demons when I was fifteen." She looked up to search her eyes to her black surroundings.

"I've seen so many crime scenes that remain mysterious. I've seen actual demons who live in my neighborhood and who live like humans. I've seen a demon who killed a friend in front of my eyes."

She gave up from searching where he could be standing so she looked down again. Is he even listening to her?

She sighed and felt something a bit heavy on her shoulders and realized that he just put a white coat on her without even noticing it. She looked at her back if he was there but no. She did not even see a shadow- demons don't have shadows and they are fast.

"Thank you." She sat down and held the coat properly to feel warmth.

Even if it was dead silent, she knew he was there. She may not have felt and seen him but he was there, maybe listening. So she won't stop asking.

"I only know about demons, they eat human souls. They're fast. They can kill. They're not vegetarians. They only drink alcoholic wine." She then looked somewhere in the darkness. "But yours is maybe a special case. And I've never encountered this before. Why are you always in the dark?"

It was again, silence filled the room. Was he even there? Or was the question too much to ask? It must be confidential information that is not necessary for her to know.

"I... I'm sorry if it was too much." She looked down with the spark of tears he could clearly see from where he was.

She looks mourning and she has this habit of pouting her lips every time she feels sorry for anyone. She was even worried about Savage but dared not ask him about who he really was, behind him. Yes, she wasn't afraid of him, you can see it in her eyes. This woman...

"Love me, woman."

Luna felt the dancing of her stomach, the chill all over her spine, and the racing beat of her heart as she heard his sonorous voice. She was stunned a bit like she wanted to hear more, more grandiloquent phrases from him. It sends her every time he speaks and it makes her feel good.

"I like your voice." She answered calmly, put her feet to the edge of the breech wood chair where she's sitting and hugged her legs. She was looking at the torch with a small smile on her lips, eyes sparkling.

After a moment of silence, she started playing with her toes, putting her hair that covers her face at the back of her ear.

"If you want me to fall in love with you, you must do something." She looked somewhere in the darkness.

"It's okay if you won't allow me to go out from the boundaries of this castle." She smiled and played back to her toes.

"I guess you don't know how to please women, that's why they turned to Gael. Most of them are afraid of the dark but maybe you didn't comfort them that's why they ran away... But it's okay, I will be here to love you." She paused and looked somewhere in the dark.

"I will love you, is that okay with you?" She didn't demand, she wasn't forced, she was asking for permission!

She was thinking that there might be a deep reason why he is a special case from all the demons she encountered. He might be lonely in this dark castle. Everyone feared him. He couldn't see the outside world and remained alone in this castle. He might need love. True love, like from the Beauty the Beast.

"Yes."

A wide smile formed from her lips as soon as she heard his silent reply. She cannot explain it, she is happy. Yes, she is, it is a genuine happiness.

The door opens and Thiago enters with the cart of food with him. He bowed his head to her before disappearing in the darkness, maybe to serve the food to their King. And then she just watched Gael putting her meal on the small glass table in front of her.

She thanked Gael before he and Thaigo left the room. She put down her feet and looked somewhere in the darkness listening if he could be eating by now.

"Are you eating? Can I eat mine? I mean... I want to at least eat after you've got the first spoon of yours. It's a norm in my home."

She heard a spank of knife to a glass plate making her smile because he made a sign that he started cutting the meat, might be. She grabbed the knife and fork to cut hers and started feeding herself.

"Are you not lonely in this castle?" She looked somewhere in the darkness after swallowing her first feed.

"Did the previous miladies make you happy?"

Deep in the darkness, he stared at the only woman who dared asking if he was lonely. It wasn't meant to tell him to go out from the darkness but she was asking if the women who came to the castle served him right. She didn't empathize with him, she is investigating him.

Clever than those women who came to be fucked.

"Were those women nobles? Were their families indebted to you like me?"

Indebted? You are sold, woman.

"They are all useless." He scowled and devoured his meal.

"Well, Gael is a good looking man. They would probably fall from his good looks and choose him instead of you because they aren't patient enough to wait for you."

That fucking Savage! Did he flirt with his new mistress again?

You'll fuckin lose another limb, Savage!

He searched her eyes, not seeing any spell of Savage in it. He stilled as she raised her head to look at him. She spotted him. He almost thought that she was really looking at him now. Her eyes were like the beautiful moon that doesn't spark, it was gray and light. He cannot escape it. It is inviting him to stare at it.

"I want to see you soon, Even if it takes many years, marido."

He stilled, flabbergasted. Shocked. Surprised. Bewildered. In his hundred years of life, he felt this emotion for the very first time. Her face is so innocent that he could see pure intention. It wasn't a bluff, it's real. She is being honest to what she said. What is this feeling? His right hand traveled into his chest. This is unreal. This is... fraudulent! Deceptive! His heart... His frozen heart is going crazy!

"Are you done eating?"

Luna tried feeling him if he's done because it was dead silent. She couldn't hear anything.

"Uhmm. I was thinking if I could do... some household chores? I promise not to exhaust myself, I will only entertain myself when I think I have nothing to do. And can I go to the garden? I like flowers and taking care of them. And I also want books!" She snapped after remembering that there is a bookshelf behind her.

"I like reading historical books! I am also willing to read it to you." Her eyes were sparkling imagining herself telling him stories from the past. It was her hobby to be talkative about things she learnt from books. It would be awesome if he would be listening to her from the dark and ask her questions. She was imagining him and her to be sharing thoughts about the past.

"Marido, can I steal some of your time and you listen to me when I read? I'm so excited." She was clapping her hands and wagging her arms and feet.

He remained staring at her. No one can resist this woman if she's acting this way. He had this feeling that he shouldn't kill the excitement overwhelming her right now.

This woman...

His frown turned into a sigh.

"Okay."

She insisted on it. If ever she will back out because she's getting bored of it, she won't let this woman get what she wants again.