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Humans tasted everything with their tongue and their nose. Whatever was consumed never actually came in contact with the body part that handled olfactory functions, but the mere smell of an item contributed to its taste a lot.
That was the reason why the tea that you were drinking was way more pleasing than it would have been if anyone else had made it.
“By your expression, I assume you like the tea I made.”
When your eyes left the full cup and settled on the man before you, they were met with welcoming emeralds.
“Indeed, Barbatos. Any beverage made by you is always soothing to me.”
Bringing the cup near your lips to acquire a sip had itself opened your nasal passages easily. The aroma had filled your nose and your head with tranquility.
The taste in itself would require a whole passage for its explanation.
“I am glad that you like it. I would want nothing but for you to enjoy these fleeting companies of ours.”
You nodded at his comment and looked at the plate of toast biscuits and the basket of roses.
Though a compulsion for your status as an exchange student, you still enjoyed meeting up with Barbatos every month to talk about your month in devildom. The knowledge that these meetings were a duty on both your parts existed besides the growing affinity you both had for each other.
But you also made sure to not cross a line in fear of offending the royal butler or, worse, embarrassing yourself.
“This reminded me, Barbatos.”
He was already studying your face when you looked at him, but you didn’t comment as you had gotten used to this. As the personal butler of the next king in line, he always studied the people around him, especially the exchange students.
“Did you hear about the heir of the eastern lord? …That’s a stupid question, my bad. I wanted to know what you know about it.”
“How does this interest you?”
He was now looking at his own cup; maybe to inform you that you shouldn’t prod? It was hard to comprehend the indirect language of the royal court. You clearly weren’t good at it, as Barbatos sensed you were struggling.
“I’m not asking you to cease your interest. Far from that. I am asking you, what part of this incident do you want to know about? I’m sure you wouldn’t like to hear everything about the eastern lord.”
You fought back a sigh at the relief that you’d get information on this. Taking another sip from the warm tea to settle your questions for the next moments, you breathed deeply.
“I just wanted to know about what happened to the heir recently.”
“Are you interested in the details of his murder?”
Murder? That could hardly be a murder.
You had seen him after he had died. Solomon had covered your field of vision when you both came across his body.
It was far from a murder.
It was a straight-up slaughter.
And there was a lot about it that bothered you, as he had met you mere days before his death.
The meeting was far from welcoming, and that was exactly what made you feel uneasy.
Did Solomon perhaps tell Satan or Belphie about this? They were quick to take such brutal actions.
You really hoped that wasn’t the case.
“I just wanted to know what happened and who did it. I hope I’m not prodding too much.”
Barbatos shook his head slightly in denial, an assurance for you to let your worries dissipate.
“We’re having tea, so why not spill some of it? ......I presume that’s the correct human world saying.”
He cleared his throat, a slight blush appearing on his face from embarrassment. You couldn’t help but smile.
“I apologize for that. I meant that since we’re drinking tea, we might as well gossip a little. And you’re no outsider. The young lord has reiterated time and time that you are extremely close to him, so I don’t see a reason to hide things from you.”
You took another sip from the warm tea, pausing at feeling the remnants of bitter crumbling tea leaves on your tongue.
Maybe today wasn’t the best thing to discuss all of this. Barbatos had been busy because of the murder. It’s rare for his tea to have any solid matter, no matter how small.
You just had to make sure to keep the conversation short today.
“He was in my class. The potion lectures. I saw him sometimes there. That’s why I wanted to know about this.”
The sound of a hum made you look towards the man in front of you.
“Lord of the East looks over the trade of the eastern part of the devildom. He looks over the minor lords, how much they tax the common demons of the devildom, how subservient they are to the young lord, and more.”
You shook suddenly because of the sound of loud, raging thunder out of the castle windows.
“I think it’s about to rain.”
Saying that made you revisit the way the rain had made him bleed in river-like patterns as his blood was diluted by the rainwater.
“Are you okay?”
You were snapped out of the image that your mind had procured, and you instead nodded as a way to give reassurance to Barbatos.
“Continuing with the instance, the Lord had been a great help to us before and after the demon lord submitted to prolonged sleep. It’s his heir that worried us.”
You frowned at his choice of words.
“Worried you? In what sense?”
"Well, he was the only child who could survive after multiple miscarriages to the lord’s wife. After the Lord’s wife died, the Lord spoiled his son. He was foulmouthed, wanted to acquire everything he desired, wasn’t good with studies, and didn’t know anything of the estate. He made a name for himself, and there were talks of the lord being replaced by another lord after his death because the heir would not be able to handle anything at all.”
Your ears turned your head towards the sound of the sudden rainfall, which hit the castle’s window furiously.
“It was raining that day too, you know?”
Barbatos stopped.
“Pardon?”
You took a deep breath and looked towards the cup of tea, which was now not even half full to continue.
“The day I saw his body. Everyone was gathering in the alleyway behind RAD, and I was with Solomon. He was teaching me a rain-repellent spell I remember. Curiosity took the better of us, and we decided to take a peek, and then-”
You felt bile rise in your mouth. You covered your lips with your fingers and tried to prevent yourself from throwing up. Barbatos got up from his place, a slight panic visible on his face as he handed you a glass of water.
“Don’t recall if you don’t want to. You don’t look good. Humans are not used to seeing that stuff.”
You shook your head slightly and chose to continue.
“It’s fine. No need for water. The tea is fine for now.”
You drank more of the tea. The bitter taste of the bottom-most liquid in the cup calming your nerves.
“Barbatos, the guy was brutally butchered. His limbs hadn’t been cut off, but they had been wrangled by something. Ropes perhaps? Like someone tied a thick rope around a limb and tightened it until everything beneath the skin, whether muscle or bone, separated into two. The skin being the only thing... keeping everything intact.”
You breathed deeply, Barbatos’s eyes studying you.
“They were twisted, Barbatos. There were slash marks on his back, which were an attempt to pull out his scales, I think. The rain was washing over his bloodied body, and... and…”
Barbatos took the empty cup from you and sat beside you.
“He was lying on his chest, but his head was staring at the sky. The murderer twisted him.”
Barbatos frowned, confused about what to do.
“The attack on him was not to kill him, Barbatos. It was done to torture him. The main motive was to make him suffer. But Diavolo thinks otherwise because he believes that it was done purely for the reason of getting rid of an heir. But you yourself said that he wasn’t going to inherit the estate. So why?”
Barbatos moved his head towards the windows, which were getting drenched by the rainfall. His expression not visible due to your position.
“What happened to him was tragic. But we have evidence that the attack on him was done out of greed for money. It was brutal, but hatred of nobility could have caused that.”
You placed the cup on the table with shaking hands, and at the clink of the ceramic, Barbatos looked at you.
“I don’t know Barbatos. I just feel bad, and you’re right... I was blaming myself.”
Barbatos hesitantly placed his hand on your shoulder, his effort to calm you making you feel lighter.
“It’s normal to blame yourself. The heir got into an argument with you some days ago about your place in the devildom. I heard that he threatened to kill you and even attacked you. In a situation like this, it’s normal for you to think someone close to you killed him. But there’s no use worrying over that; we have done our investigations, and we know that it’s not one of Lucifer’s brothers.”
You looked at Barbatos and saw his gentle reassuring smile.
“Don’t blame yourself for it.”
You felt lighter at his words until a question arose in your mind.
“Barbatos. Who told you that I talked to him and had a fight with him? Solomon has gone to the celestial world, so he can’t be the one who told you.”
Barbato paused at your question and sighed.
“Lucifer mentioned it. After the murder, he informed me of what happened.”
Oh yeah, that would make sense.
Only if you had told Lucifer yourself.
“Barbatos. I didn’t tell Lucifer.”
A silence stretched out in the room at your statement, the only sound audible being the rain outside. Barbatos’s hand on your shoulder suddenly felt uneasy on your skin.
"Well, that makes sense. Of course, you wouldn’t tell Lucifer considering how impulsive he can be, just like his brothers when it comes to you.”
At this, you were reminded of something else.
Solomon wasn’t aware the demon had threatened to kill you. You deliberately hadn't told him.
It was impossible for Barbatos to know of this as you were alone in a desolate class with the guy.
Or maybe you weren’t as alone as you thought.
“Have you been stalking me, Barbatos?”
Thunder roared outside the castle repeatedly at your question. The man in front of you smiled at you once the sound stopped.
“Can I not keep an exchange student under my surveillance for their protection?”
It was after this that your head suddenly felt heavy and your hand instinctively grabbed onto the sofa you were sitting on to maintain balance.
"Ah, I assume that the tea has started taking effect.”
Your whole body fought the urge to collapse as you managed to stare at Barbatos in terror.
“Your expression tells me that I was successful in not getting caught. I’m glad. I was afraid you would catch onto my hobby of watching you. What’s with that look? Don’t worry. I didn’t give you poison. Just a human world drug that is supposed to make you go to deep sleep for a few hours. Or are you curious about why I’m doing this?”
His eyes raked over your shivering form, a Slytherin-like look dissolving in his irises.
“To be completely honest, these monthly meetups were just an excuse to have you to myself. The exchange student program didn’t require me personally to take reports from you, but you see, for some reason, your presence felt like an indulgence that I was allowing myself to have. But I assure you, I have never crossed any lines.”
Your vision started growing hazy the more he talked.
“I was more than fulfilled from just admiring you from afar. Feeding you items that my hands created, hearing Lucifer complain about you, and listening to you talk about your month were all more than enough for me. Believe me when I say that I was never greedy. But then the that heir started causing issues.”
Your head hung low as your body required more energy to not topple over.
It was hard to throw up the tea like this.
You were too weak to induce nausea.
“He was seen hanging out with demons who actively wanted to hurt you. I caught him near your vicinity multiple times when I was watching you. But I only took action when he tried to hurt you. So you cannot, under any circumstances, even think about comparing me to those fallen angels because I didn’t act out of impulse.”
You heard him sigh and remove his gloves.
“When I witnessed him try to hurt you, it made me realize something that I had been ignoring for the past many months.”
You felt a bare finger guide your chin to your side, your eyes meeting the dark gaze of the man in front of you.
“Watching you was not enough. I needed to be someone who could protect you. Someone who could provide you with safety and care and, in return, acquire your addicting presence and maybe something more....”
Your grip on the sofa cushion loosened as you felt weak and fell forward, only to be caught by an arm that pulled you upwards and made you settle on the couch with your head resting on a lap.
“His body was supposed to be a reminder for others. I didn’t mean to traumatize you. I feel ashamed to know that I have hurt you, even if indirectly and unintentionally.”
Breathing became harder the more you tried to focus on his words, the effects of whatever was in the tea taking over your senses.
“Though there’s nothing to worry about. I will cure you of everything that ails you. You just need to give in to me.”
You felt his hands caress your face as your consciousness slipped off from your grasp, his calm face the last thing visible to you before you entered a deep slumber.
“When you wake up, my beloved. You’ll have a lot to look forward to. I promise you that.”