A Monster Was Born ✔️

The Twist of a Knife (Part III)

As Luoji had expected, she didn't even look surprised, just continued looking at the table and her nails.

She really was quite beautiful, long hair spilling over her shoulders, a pair of black hair clips on the left side of her head, a short gothic styled dress with black lace and crossette elegantly capturing her small frame, as she side eyed Luoji with a bored look.

"Is that so?" She questioned.

She smiled, as if thinking of secrets only she knew. "Luo Ji. Blood type O. Your father was born in ZhangJiaJie and your mother came from SanYa. They are not exactly on best terms, and that makes you wonder why they haven't divorced each other already, even though you're not exactly fond of either of them. You have trouble making friends at school and so you prefer to be by yourself. Your favorite subjects are science and math and you plan on majoring in chemistry at Princeton five months from now. Your highest score on the AMC is a 144. You hope to work in the medical field when you grow up and contribute to groundbreaking research."

"I have to admit, it is an interesting profile, even compared to the millions with backgrounds similar to you."

After she finished her little speech, the elderly man came back, holding a tray of cookies and small cakes in one hand. He placed it on the table just as the girl looked up.

"For you, my lady," he murmured.

"Thank you," she replied, a slightly annoyed edge in her voice.

The man bowed before he proceeded to pour the tea into both of their cups.

"However," the girl said, the annoyance becoming more obvious. "Why are you doing things without permission as I am trying to entertain our lovely guest here?"

"I would never trouble you as to force you in pouring this tea yourself, my lady," he explained. "Additionally, I had reason to believe our guest would be quite famished before coming here, so I desired to contribute to a more delightful atmosphere, regardless of whether you asked for it or not."

"Oh, I see."

The tea he poured was like the color of coffee, emitting a pleasant aroma as the contents of it blended and swirled. Luoji frowned at his cup.

Ben bowed again, before getting ready to leave.

"But," the girl said, her eyes narrowing. "If you pull something like this again, I hope you are prepared to face consequences."

He paused in his steps, although Luoji could've sworn he saw a smirk on the servant's face as he muttered the words, "As you wish, my lady", before slamming the door shut once again.

Luoji shivered in his seat. For whatever reason, he didn't like that man.

"Sorry for the interruption," the girl sighed, reaching over for her cup of tea. "There is always something that ruins the moment whenever I try to speak to a guest."

Holding the dainty cup between two fingers, she took a long sip of the tea. After she finished, she reached over and plucked a raspberry macaron from the dish of deserts, putting it into her mouth, savoring the flavor. When she saw Luoji hesitating, she raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about the food," she told him. "Benjamin would shoot himself in the eye before ever thinking of poisoning it."

With that, Luoji's hunger won over, eventually prompting him to reach for his cup. As soon as he tasted what was inside of it, he felt the comfort of its warmth and sweetness, pooling into his belly, brightening every area of his brain. He had forgotten how long he starved, and now every inch of his body screamed for nourishment.

He reached for a vanilla cookie and shoved it into his mouth. Then another. Then he took another sip of the sweetened tea, its flavor ripe like honey as it flowed down his throat. He could feel his body recovering, parts of it becoming stronger after being deprived so long.

He glanced over at the girl, who at that moment was wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin. She noticed his glance and met him with her lilac colored eyes, unflinching.

Luoji turned his eyes away, focusing them on the table. "So," he began. "Enough with the small talk. What do you want from me? Why did you guide me here?"

"Hmmm?" she responded. "That's the first question you thought of asking? No worrying about whether or not I will kidnap you and hide you in a basement? No questions about why I chose to stalk you and get all that information? Are you really choosing to put your trust in the hands of a total stranger?"

"You didn't bring me here to harm me," Luoji muttered. "If you had, you would've done it already. Besides, the song you sang...you knew about the 'incident'."

"So that's what you choose to call it," she said. "Even though nothing really happened? You humans sure are entertaining."

You humans?

"Hey." Her violet eyes glowed, and her smile all of a sudden looked dangerous. "Why don't we play a game? A game you are going to lose."

This time it was Luoji's turn to smile. "You're on."

[ ]

When the game was over, the results were what the girl predicted. Luoji could only stare at it all in shock, his mind trying to understand them in a repeated loop, his mouth silently echoing the words. They say there was a first time for anything and for Luoji, that first happened today. A new beginning, new realizations.

The girl extended her hand to him, not in mockery but in invitation. "My name is Sophia Merriweather. And from now on, you're going to work for me."