Chapter 383: 383 - Carlos" Hatred
"Lilith, did you remember more things?" Noah interrupted the whole situation, making Lilith slowly turn towards him, her eyes narrowing.
"Now that you mention it... It seems I did," she said, laying her head onto the bed. "I only remember about the higher echelons, though."
"Higher Echelons?" Maggie asked, curious, as she looked highly interested.
"Yeah," Lilith turned over, speaking to her instead. "The Seven Generals—"
"You better stop here," Noah interrupted her, making Maggie puff her cheeks annoyed at him blocking her curiosity.
"He"s right," but the snake soon agreed, making Maggie look at her, confused. "I don"t think tonight is the time for me to talk about those things," she said, taking a look back at the shaken healer and maid, who were already far ahead of their own mental limits. Also, it was deep into the night, and everyone was still feeling sleepy.
"It would be best if you went to bed. We can continue the conversation tomorrow," Noah said, turning his back towards the door and taking a few steps.
"Wait!" Maggie reached forward, grabbing his hand as soon as he turned away, and making him turn only his head towards her. "Why don"t you stay and sleep here?" she asked, pulling his hand.
"I... don"t think that"s appropriate or that the others would agree, Maggie," Noah said, smiling wryly, half in disbelief that she would even propose something like that.
"I think everyone would agree, right?!" she looked back, to see everyone averting their gaze while blushing, except Lilith, who slithered towards them, coiling around Noah"s waist and sliding her head between his shirt and Maggie"s hand.
"I think n.o.body would, Maggie. It"s a little too much," she said, holding back her laughter, the girl pouting.
"Don"t Worry, I"ll be back in the morning. See you, girls," he said, waving, though only Sha gave him a look with the edge of his eyes, going red, amd raised her hand a bit.
"Just what in the world is going through their heads?" he asked himself, before deciding it was better to not know, and start walking towards the door.
"Awww, I wanted him to stay," he heard Maggie bemoan, as she climbed back onto the bed, and he reached the door, starting to close it behind.
"Wait, what abou Lil—" he heard her voice call him out, but closed the door, pretending not to hear it, and looking down at the snake who just stared him in the eyes.
"Don"t you dare," she said, dead serious, Noah simply laughing a little and walking ahead, headed towards his room.
"You know, not having you around when I needed was a huge pain," he said, as he made his way down the stairs.
"Then make sure to take me with you next time something like this happens," she said, heading up his torso towards his shoulder, and him talking back
"So long as you make sure to not sleep through the whole deal again—Ouch!" he pretended it hurt, as he felt the snake bit softly on his shoulder, the two laughing at each other as they walked down the hall.
"Noah, look," she called his attention out as they reached towards the stairs. Kneeling near the wall, was the man he had saved earlier, crying while holding the hand of the woman he"d found dead earlier.
"Why did it have to be like this?! Why couldn"t he have saved you instead of me?" Noah inadvertently heard the man"s bemoaning. Losing someone precious, especially when there was no forewarning was very overbearing, so he decided not to ignore him.
"I would have saved both of you if I could. Unfortunately, only you were still alive by the time I arrived."
Hearing Noah"s voice, the man froze, before turning towards him in a hurry. "My daughter! Did you find her?!" he quickly prompted Noah, kneeling in front of him.
"What an impudent man. Does he know no better?" he sneered at him mentally, but Noah quickly interrupted her.
"He just lost his wife, give the man a break," he told Lilith, before addressing the man, extending his hand to let the man stand. "Thankfully your daughter is fine," he said, the man hesitating to hold his hand, since his were covered in blood, but taking one good look at how covered in it this boy was, he chose to take his hand regardless of his status.
"Thank G.o.d," he sighed, crying. "When n.o.body could tell me where she was, I thought I had lost her too, or that they could have taken her," he told Noah, straightening himself before widening his eyes in realization. "Where is she?!" he asked, looking at Noah with a mixture of anxiety and fear.
"Calm down," Noah told him, "She"s resting in the room at the end of the corridor, but I wouldn"t go there now," he said, the man nervously looking at him.
"Why not?! She"s my daughter and an emplo—"
"Relax. First, look at yourself," Noah told him, the man looking down to his blood-soaked clothes. "My sister happened to invite her into the room before any of this happened. She"s still inside, so she was spared of the whole thing," Noah"s words made the man immediately calm down, and look at him in deep grat.i.tude. "That"s why n.o.body knew where she was or had seen her, I also couldn"t find her when I looked all over the house and the dormitory. But I think she got the best of luck tonight," Noah told him, making the man lean against the wall.
"You have my eternal grat.i.tude, both for my life, and taking care of my only child," the man said, still crying. "I"ll arrange for my wife to be taken downstairs and given a proper funeral, and tell her about it in the morning. Telling this to her now, especially covered in blood, would only cause her more trauma and grief," the man said, bowing down at Noah.
"Noah, you"re there," A male voice suddenly called from the stairs, as Carlos left his proofed room without waiting for Noah. "I saw through the cameras the people started walking around the estate again—Holy mother of G.o.d, Silvio?!" he suddenly interrupted himself as reached the top of the stairs, and saw the blood-clad Butler bowing at Noah. "Are you alright? Where"s your daughter, and your wife?"
"Young Master," the man turned to face Carlos, tears rolling down his face still, though they were half of sadness and half of joy.
"What happened to you? Are you okay?" he asked, making Noah take a mental note to remind himself how to care for ones who have served you wholeheartedly.
"I am, thanks to your best friend," he said, as Carlos held both of his hands, the two turning towards Noah, who could see the grat.i.tude in Carlos" eyes. "My daughter too is safe, thankfully. She had been working with his grace"s sister and her friends," he said, his face turning grim near the end, "As for my wife," he turned behind Carlos looking the way and gasping, before biting his lips and closing his eyes.
"I see," he took a second to calm down and breathe in. "I am incredibly sorry for your loss. We will compensate you for this whole situation and make sure you and your sister have the best support we can arrange and she can be at peace," he said, Noah seeing how he was clearly shaken too.
"The woman must have meant a lot to him as well," Lilith muttered inside Noah"s mind, to which he simply agreed, and waited for Carlos to address him.
"Noah, will you please accompany me for a drink?" Carlos asked, comforting the Butler—Silvio—as they made their way downstairs.
"Of course," Noah simply accepted, although the exhaustion was starting to pile up, since this was a request from his friend, who surely wanted to know what was happening.
They made their way towards the dinner table, where Silvio poured two gla.s.ses of whisky over some ice, and handed the two.
"One more," Carlos asked, an order which, although confused, the butler followed. As he went to serve the other gla.s.s to Carlos, he shook his head. "This one is for you," he said, the man biting his lip.
"But, Young Master, this is expensive," he reasoned, but Carlos would not hear.
"I do not mind. You need this more than either of us. You are also relieved of all obligations for the next week. Take the bottle with you, and try to get a little bit of rest," he ordered the man, who reluctantly nodded, taking the expensive almost full bottle of 36-year-aged whisky with him as he left towards the destroyed front door, and a woman walked into the dining room in his stead.
"Now, Noah. Please tell me everything you know and all that happened tonight. Word by word," he told Noah, a bloodl.u.s.t he had never expected to see from Carlos. .h.i.tting him as he frowned. And Noah started to tell everything that happened from the time he was woken up, to the time he headed back inside, every last bit. Lilith heard it silently, as for her too, it was the first time hearing all details of the story, since Noah took as much care as possible to omit the worst details from the girls, especially in respect to the maid, Alice, the Butler"s daughter.
Carlos silently listened to the whole thing without making a sound, his hands in a praying position in front of his face, while he rested his chin on his thumbs, his elbows firmly pressed onto the table, and he held back the urge to flip the table and scream. "I see..." is all he could say as Noah finished recounting the event, before putting his hands down onto the table and staring at Noah in the eyes. "Who should I make pay for this?" he asked Noah, his eyes devoid of all emotion but one, hatred.