Feel Safe

The six hours he spent sleeping felt like a very long time. His eyes flickered to clear his vision as he stared at the ceiling and walls of the same room he had been sleeping in for a year. The only difference was that a small face was peeking from the bed.

When he moved his eyes to take a look at the child's face. She quickly hid under the blanket. Mediis, who was sticking her butt up like imitating the child, also backed away as if hiding as well.

Noah raised his brows as if wondering what the child did to Mediis for her to play that game. Then again, it wasn't his problem at the moment.

Noah sat up and smoothed the fur on Caliga's body. This black dog had been coming to his missions a lot and had been eating a lot without moving so much. The once-shapely hellhound was becoming fluffy and flabby because of Noah's love. However, the bigger Caliga got, the more power was being transferred to him and to his spawns.

Even if Mediis and the others were not Caliga's children, Noah still considered these younger siblings Caliga's spawns.

"Wake up…" Noah whispered as he squished the loose skin on Caliga's face. The black dog enjoyed the touch and refused to even lift his head. He was like the lazy dog now; Evil boy swapped with his master, ah.

The third seat got on his feet and stretched his back and arms. As Rosanna was still underneath the cover, he didn't bother with her anymore. He took out clothes from his cabinet and changed while keeping an eye on the lump underneath the blanket. After having fresh clothes on his body, he stood at the side of the bed.

"Rosanna…" he called with his soft voice. He then repeated as he got no response from her, "Rosanna…"

"Go away," the child murmured as she curled and cried underneath the blanket. She didn't know who this man was or if he was one of her daddy's people. All she knew was that he was surrounded by a lot of scary-looking dogs. "I don't want to see Daddy."

"En, I know. Do you want to eat?"

"Eat?" Rosanna felt her hunger resurfacing. She hadn't eaten anything properly for two weeks since her mother placed her in that dark place. Her white eyes blinked, and she poked her head out of the blanket. "What can I eat?"

"Bread… pancake… milk?" Noah didn't know what he would find in Laquisha's fridge today so he had no idea what to make for breakfast. Laquisha had always fought with him whenever he cooked bacon and had a bite. Aside from her bacon, he had no idea what was in there.

Rosanna didn't know if she could trust him. Her mother told her not to trust anyone after all. However, she was hungry. She could only grip on the blanket and held onto it as she rose from the bed.

Seeing what she was doing, Noah reached out to clutch on the blanket. The child gasped, but he didn't care as he pulled on the edges and tied a knot to keep the blanket from falling off of Rosanna's body.

If she felt safe with the blanket, he should at least make sure it wouldn't leave her.

"Come."

Noah left the bedside and walked out of the room. Rosanna didn't move immediately and tested if he would return and get angry since she didn't come.

In the end, the call wasn't for her but for the hellhounds in the room. Noah wouldn't force her to get out if she didn't want to.

…

The smell of cooking bacon drifted to Laquisha's nose, and she knew that she had to get up now. Else, Noah might give it to Rosanna.

She got up on her bed and caught what seemed to be a strange creature peeking from the corner of the open door. It had a face, but its body was like a fluffy bundle of fabric. If she hadn't been around demons, she would probably freak out.

"Erm, is someone there?" Laquisha got to her feet and walked to her door. When she looked around from her doorway, she noticed a small figure hiding behind the side table in the hallway. It was no doubt Rosanna, but she was wearing a blanket like a cloak.

Laquisha only stood at her doorway and regretted not even putting on proper clothes before searching. If anything, she was only wearing last night's underwear. Since the child was a female, she didn't even bother covering up.

"Rosanna, what can I do for you, honey?"

"…"

Footsteps came from the corner, and Noah walked into the hallway where the two girls were. He was going to wake up Laquisha and fetch Rosanna who ran off from Mediis. When he appeared, he noticed Laquisha's nudity and her sudden reaction.

As a gesture of respect, he only turned his face away. "Appearing naked in front of a child?"

"She came out of nowhere. Go away!" Laquisha only gritted her teeth as she flicked her hand at him.

She had been living with Noah for a year, but she had never noticed him getting interested in her body. This man seemed to be able to hold a thousand secrets while she… didn't even bother asking if he wouldn't tell.

Noah didn't know what she was doing, but he still left the hallway. She was already awake so he didn't have to wake her up. Moreover, Rosanna was already found. He had no more reason to hang out in the place so he picked up his feet and began walking back to the kitchen.

"Tch, how could he have no reaction at all?" Laquisha snorted as she took a look at her body. She was a bombshell, and she knew it. A lot of their daily kills were men trying their luck with the fifth seat holder so she didn't know why Noah seemed to dismiss her as a woman.

If only she would ask, she'd know the answer.

She then looked at the girl who was imitating her action of flicking her hands and murmuring 'go away' towards the corner. Laquisha blinked her eyes and shrugged as she came back inside her room to put on some clothes.

When she walked out and headed to the dining hall, Rosanna started following her. Her feet shuffled quickly as she tried to catch up with Laquisha. Actually, if Laquisha adjusted her steps, Rosanna would be able to catch up just fine.

"Be careful. I don't want to hear you whining." Laquisha suddenly stopped and caught the girl who almost fell from fright. "Don't be so scared; we're not going to hurt you."

"…you're not going to give me to Daddy?"

"Nope."

Rosanna then stared straight into her eyes, and Laquisha felt like she was being hypnotized by the child. The sound of the ticking clock started to slow down, and she was losing control of her body. Those white eyes seemed to loom over her, and her consciousness was slipping away.

Bite! Laquisha felt a jolt as pain was sent to her entire body from her leg. She quickly broke out of the spellbound and looked down behind her. A strange black shadow flashed by, and a bite mark was on her leg. Beads of blood formed from the holes the teeth created.

"Shit!" She quickly kneeled down to check on her leg. What could have bitten her?

Then, she remembered Rosanna. Her glare flew to the child and made Rosanna scream and run away. The child disappeared into the corner, and Laquisha gritted her teeth.

She arrived in the dining hall and saw that Noah was already eating his pancakes. Another two plates were readied for the other two occupants, as well as the plate of bacon, glasses of milk and juice, and a plate of peeled and sliced fruits.

Laquisha sat on her seat opposite of Noah. "She tried to hypnotize me."

Noah's eyes lifted from his food to her face. "What did she get?"

"…I don't think she succeeded in getting anything. Something bit my leg and forced me to feel myself again." Laquisha took the plate of bacon and started eating. "Should I spend the day hunting a vermin? That shit bit me real good."

"She saved you, and you want to beat her up?" Noah frowned before taking a slice of apple from the fruits. He took it off of the fork and placed it onto his palm… only to reach under the table. "She deserved to be praised.

"About Rosanna… let her feel safe first. She doesn't even know where she is."

Laquisha found it strange, Noah's action and words. However, she just shrugged and continued eating. "Okay. Then again, she's your liability, not mine. If she escapes, I will beat you up."

A chuckle came from Noah. That child wouldn't be able to escape the house. If the hellhounds couldn't corner her, Hyacinth would lock the house down. There's no escape bound to happen unless they would be leaving the front door open.

The woman then hummed as she looked at the empty seat with a plate of pancakes. "Must be so hard to be hunted by her own father. Not only did she not have a mom anymore, but she didn't even know where to go. I remember still enjoying my life with my Papa."

Her eyes then flicked at Noah who stopped eating. "How 'bout you?"

"…I… I don't remember." Noah hummed. "I don't know if my parents left me to my auntie or if they died." He then eyed at her. "They'd never return or find me anymore, too. What's the point of asking?"