The tension in the room was so thick it could enter a womb and create a fertilized baby.
Valeria lay on the marble, her chest heaving as she sucked in greedy lungfuls of air.
The red marks on her neck from Patricks fingers was visible from her pale neck.
Patrick stood over her, his heart still drumming. He looked down at his own hands, almost surprised they belonged to him. The noble bullshit suit he wore was slightly rumpled, making him look less like a refined suitor.
Valeria propped herself up on her elbows, her hair splaying across the floor like a web. She let out a jagged, wet laugh that turned into a cough.
"You... you absolute animal," she whispered, her voice a shredded of its former elegance. She looked at the guards, who were still frozen in a state of pathetic indecision. "Leave. All of you. Now!"
The guards didn't need to be told twice. They scrambled out, dragging the panicked maids with them, the heavy oak doors thudding shut and leaving only the four of them: the gasping heiress, the impulsive "Young Master," the old butler, and the silence.
Reidward stood up fully now, brushing the dust off his trousers with a nonchalance that was borderline insulting.
"Young Master," Reidward said, his tone conversational, as if they were discussing the weather rather than an attempted strangulation.
"While your defense of my honor was... thoroughly articulated, we do have a schedule to keep. And Lady Valeria, I believe your tea has gone cold."
Valeria ignored the butler. She kept her eyes locked on Patrick. The fear that had filled them moments ago was being rapidly replaced by obsession. "No one has ever laid a hand on me," she breathed, touching the bruises on her throat with a trembling finger.
A slow, terrifyingly genuine smile spread across her face. "My father treats me like a porcelain doll. My suitors treat me like a paycheck."
"You're gonna pay for this." Valeria said in a threatening tone.
Valeria's personal maid entered the dining room after being informed by the other maids of the tense situation, and approached her young miss.
She stood up unsteadily with the aid of the personal maid, using the edge of the table for support.
Patrick blinked, his brain finally catching up.
Patrick grumbled, though he backed up half a step. "Just don't talk shit about Reidward. He's the only one in this godforsaken palace who isn't a total headache."
Reidward bowed slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I am humbled, Young Master. Now, if we are finished with the assault and battery portion of the morning, perhaps we can discuss the land request over a fresh pot of tea?"
"That won't be necessary, simply hand over the contract and I will have my people send the documents for the plot of land. We'll consult again if I notice any mistakes from the contract." Valeria said flatly, demonstrating that she had some experience for such business matters.
Patrick looked over at Reidward, "Old man, whats that strategic method you mentioned before?"
Reidward looked slightly confused at the young master's question. He, the butler himself already did the strategic method by trying to distract the young miss by offering to discuss matters over tea. Which, by the way, has clearly failed once Valeria rejected it, the suggestion was more than just talking about the plot of land. It was also about to discuss the actions Patrick did to her.
Pure noble bullshit really, why not talk it in direct words.
Reidward smiled after realizing that Patrick seemed to have lost his business senses after having amnesia, "Young master, I suggest you and Valeria have a talk to tie loose ends, apologizing would be best too."
Patrick nodded, his nerves still lingering from before, he then approaches Valeria cautiously.
Valeria's personal maid, Pem, stood in front of Valeria, though still to the side slightly to not obscure her young miss's view of the man approaching her.
Valeria scrutinized Patrick's side, looking for any hint of him snapping out at her again. She then pulled her small gun from her thigh holster and took a step back, pointing the gun to him.
Patrick stopped abruptly, then sighed. "Young lady, I know that my conduct has been less than appropriate this morning, but please put your firearm away so we can talk it over."
The cunt himself didn't notice how his way of talking changed slightly, why use "conduct" and "appropriate" that sounds like buzzwords to extend a sentence from an essay.
The rizz is slowly growing.
Pem, the personal maid, glanced at Patrick for a few seconds then to her young miss.
Something was wrong, clearly wrong, she can sense hormones going off in the room, this is insane.
The curtain's lighting from the window swayed lightly even though there was no wind at all, letting the gleam of sunlight land on Valeria's back. Her red hair had a more pinkish hue from the lighting, her morning dress from the later half on her back made her glow in an ethereal manner.
Her pinkish blush was visible from such an angle, her irises dazed as it widened, betraying her flustered state.
The gun, which she was holding tightly, loossened, falling down on the floor with a light metallic noise.
It was like the messy table, scattered plates, spilled meals, didn't lessen the magical impact of the scene.
Patrick was smiling, though it was a nervous smile, it perfectly accentuated his handsome features. If the sunlight hit Valeria's back, then Patrick was directly illuminated by it, making his every feature perfect.
His perfectly sculpted jawline, the way the suit fits his masculine figure, and how he reached out his hand hesitantly, would make any girl fall to her knees.
Valeria did not sense her feet walking, as if levitatating closer, drawn by a magnetic force. Her hand automatically locked onto Patrick's, their skin contact making her breath hitch.
"I apologize." Patrick said cautiously.
The lifted curtains fell down making the magical view dissapear.
The curtains fell, putting the room into a cinematic shadow.
Valeria then leaned in and put her head on Patrick's chest, still holding his hand from the side. Patrick glanced down at the beauty and noticed her redness, he felt his waist being held by a soft hand.
Uhh... what does this mean?
Patrick was left baffled, Valeria seemingly flustered,
Pem, unable to handle the sheer, concentrated dosage of shoujo manga energy, hit the floor in a dead faint, her soul temporarily leaving her body.
Reidward just stood in the corner, smiling as he successfully manufactured a miracle out of assault and battery, his insane eyes threatening to turn to blood red.