♚♚♚
A new day dawned before she knew it. Apparently, she’d fallen asleep on the floor.
Rock cautiously raised her head from her knees and scanned her surroundings. What she saw was a warm, coral pink bedroom, which inevitably reminded her of the prior night’s events and her role as a prisoner in this gilded cage.
“Ow…”
Her head hurt. Maybe she was more worn out than she’d realized.
After all, a lot had happened yesterday. She’d visited the Mateus family mausoleum with Ebel, entered a church, met Lauretta for the first time, and then got kidnapped all before the day ended. It was hard to believe all that had happened in a day.
Rock staggered to her feet and started thinking of her next move with her aching head. Obviously, she didn’t want to stay there long. She needed to do whatever it took to escape.
She opened the window and stepped out onto the third-floor balcony again. The rising morning sun was unquestionably starting to illuminate the gorgeous aristocrat district townscape. The emperor’s palace was within sight, and Rock strained her eyes to see it and its surroundings.
Somewhere in this district was Mateus Manor, which she’d visited several times. All she had to do was make her way there. If she just knew where it was in relation to her current location…
But she heard a noise come from the hallway before she could pinpoint it. It sounded like a rolling cart and two pairs of feet approaching her room.
Rock quickly pulled back inside the bedroom, closed the window, and braced herself. There was a knock at the door seconds later.
“Good morning, Roxy. Are you awake?”
That voice belonged to Lord Alexis, the werewolf who’d kidnapped her.
Rock took a steadying breath and answered, “Yes.”
“I’m coming in then.”
The door opened.
But it was a man Rock didn’t recognize who stepped inside.
He looked older than her father with his deep gray hair. He was on the short side with a thin build and wore fine, black velvet clothing with gold thread embroidery. A smile lit his thin eyes, which stood in contrast with his stiff, thick eyebrows.
His eyes were gold.
“You already finished getting dressed? It isn’t proper to wear the same clothing you had on yesterday,” the man lightly scolded her in a familiar voice as he pointed to the chest of drawers beside the bed. “You’ll find several outfits inside. They all belong to you. Wear what you like.”
Rock didn’t respond. She cautiously assessed the man’s face, which finally made him realize what was wrong.
“Oh, right. This is our first time meeting like this.” He swept into a courteous bow and introduced himself. “My name is Placido Alexis. I’m Lauretta’s husband and your uncle.” Then he looked over his shoulder and introduced the young girl who’d followed him in. “This is our maid Alice. You can ask her for help with things you may feel uncomfortable asking Danilo about.”
The maid with walnut-colored hair bowed silently.
Alice looked to be around Johanna’s age. She seemed oddly nervous as she kept her face blank but blinked an awful lot.
“Alice, prepare breakfast.”
“Yes, milord.”
Upon Placido’s orders, Alice rolled a large cart into the bedroom. She quickly moved the plates from the cart to the flower-decorated round table. During that time, Placido watched Rock with a soft smile that twinkled in his gold eyes.
“I bet you’re hungry. How do you feel about eating while chatting with me?”
Rock was certainly famished. But she didn’t have an appetite.
“Are you telling me to eat the food prepared by my kidnapper?” Rock couldn’t stop herself from sniping back. Alice’s hand stopped in the middle of laying out the food. “I think not.”
Placido glanced over at the maid before returning Rock’s question with one of his own. “I had a delicious breakfast prepared for you, but…are you saying you suspect the food?”
“I can’t trust anything served by you,” Rock boldly affirmed.
Placido’s smile didn’t waver as he told the maid, “Alice, you can return to your other duties.”
“…Are you certain?”
“I’ll take care of the rest. Roxy still needs time to calm down.”
Rock snorted. There was nothing to calm down about, but Alice said nothing as she expressionlessly left the room.
After seeing the maid out, Placido promptly continued her work. He poured water from the pitcher into two china cups and held them both out to Rock.
“You can choose which one you want. I’ll drink the other.”
Rock was hesitant. He seemed to just be after gaining her trust. Next, he asked Rock to choose her own lightly baked bread, soup, and fruit. He placed what she didn’t select in front of his own seat. It seemed like he was accustomed to serving food as the table was swiftly set with breakfast for two.
“It’s ready. Come, let’s eat,” Placido said, pulling out a chair for Rock to sit. When she didn’t move, he flashed a knowing smile and changed out the chair for another. “Did you want to choose your own chair too? Forgive me for not noticing sooner.”
That wasn’t why Rock didn’t move, but it seemed the conversation wouldn’t get anywhere until she sat down.
She reluctantly plopped down on the second chair he pulled out for her.
“Enjoy,” Placido said, sitting opposite of her.
He took a sip of water and bit into the bread. He also elegantly scooped up some of the steaming hot soup on his spoon and closed his eyes as if savoring the taste.
This was probably his way of showing her it wasn’t a trap. Poison or no poison, Rock wasn’t in the mood to eat with her kidnapper.
“You aren’t going to eat?” Placido eventually asked.
“I don’t feel like eating,” she answered with a scowl. “I just want to go home.”
His expression grew awfully gentle then.
“I’m willing to let you go back from time to time if you become our child. Back to your father, Fredericks Berwick.”
Rock’s eyes went round with shock.
She was surprised not only by the fact he said she could go back but also that he’d called himself her uncle and Phoebe her father.
This was the same man who’d referred to her as “our precious child” when speaking to Lauretta.
“And here I thought you were trying to become my father yourself,” Rock shot back, and still Placido responded with a sort of warm kindness.
“Of course, it is my and Lauretta’s greatest desire for you to become our child. But I also want to respect the life you’ve lived thus far, including your biological parents.”
Talk is cheap, Rock thought.
He might be trying to cajole her into letting down her guard with every intention of going back on his word once he won her over.
Honing every skill she’d learned in the slums, Rock cautiously listened to what he had to say.
“Lauretta has been moping about near always these days.” Placido frowned with pain when he mentioned his wife. “As you know, we don’t have any children. She has become more hurt by that fact as we’ve aged. I told her I’m fine with adopting an heir, but she’s obsessed with it being blood-related.”
“And that’s where I come in?” Rock asked.