Suddenly, the person in front of Barca went limp and he had no choice but to brace the fall. He didn"t even get the chance to get a close look at the person"s face. He didn"t know how to position his arms since the person in front of him had long arms and legs.The entire situation was awkward. As he was about to lay the person down on the ground the door creaked. Distracted, he was about to look at the direction of the door when the man on his arms stirred.
Bang!
Barca who was still awkwardly cradling the man"s head when an alarmed voice broke the silence.
"It was open!"
The young maid who blurted out the first thing she thought of stood on the doorway with her eyes focused on Barca and a tall, young man. The lamp on her hand almost fell down and the light illuminated her red, flushed face.
Not knowing what to do, Barca couldn"t figure out how to release the young man"s head without injuring him. The young man was struggling to set himself to rights which added to Barca"s confusion. After a long time, both men finally got up. The maid who witnessed the entire scene remained in the same position. Even in the darkness, it was clear that she looked at the two men in a weird way.
With the light from the maid"s candle, Barca finally saw the appearance of the person who disturbed his bath. It was a young, willowy man. Noticing Barca"s intent stare, the young man moved further to Barca and placed his hands in front of his body, as if to shield himself from a.s.sault. With furrowed brows, Barca stared back at the young man"s ridiculous reaction.
Looking closely at the maid who entered, Barca recognized her to be Agnes who was in charge of the kitchens. Being more familiar with her than the young man, Barca directed his question to the maid.
"Do you know this man?"
The maid, who seems to have just snapped out of a daze, nodded but said nothing else. Barca couldn"t help but prod her for more information since the young man was unfamiliar to him.
"He was hired not long ago," the maid answered timidly while trying to conceal her surprise. Hearing her answer, Barca focused on the young man and continued questioning him.
"Why were you lurking outside?"
The young man who heard Barca"s inquiry panicked and he couldn"t help but sound defensive when he saw the maid give him a weird look.
"No, it"s not like that!"
The young man looked at the maid and then at Barca before pointing his fingers towards the man.
"When I woke up you were holding me in your arms."
"You pa.s.sed out after you pushed me against the wall and ..." Barca"s voice trailed off when he recalled what happened. This young man slapped him so hard earlier and was now acting like he was the one who was mauled and abused.
The maid couldn"t help but look at the young man and then at Barca who was only wearing a robe.
"Uhm... I did not mean to intrude," the maid said in a small, apologetic voice while looking from one man to another. She stepped back slowly and was about to leave when she heard Barca speak in an authoritative voice.
"Close the door."
The main reluctantly reached for the door. While doing her task, she could hear the young man"s horrified voice.
"You... man... I"m a man!"
"Yes, that!" Barca exclaimed, "Why are you calling me human?"
"Me? I"ve never met you until a few minutes ago!" the young man reasoned.
"You even told me to save someone," Barca reminded him. The young man gave him a sideways glance.
"You must be mistaken. I did not." the young man said firmly. Barca studied him as if confirming if he was telling the truth.
"Who are you?"
"I am Eilan. I have been hired to take care of the horses." The young man explained while throwing Barca a serious look. Barca asked no further questions but he pondered all the information he learned.
As the silence lengthened, the young man, Eilan, cautiously eyed the door from time to time. With one foot forward, the young man was prepared to bolt out of the room if Barca did anything unusual.
While the two men measured each other with weird looks, slow footsteps could be heard from outside. The clip-clop sound pulled Eilan out of his defensive stance.
"The... the horse, Nightmare, he arrived back in the manor earlier. I was about to inform you."
"Is that why you were lingering outside the door?"
Eilan nodded.
As if by cue, something nudged the door and a majestic black horse came into view. Nightmare peeked inside and looked at Barca and then the young man in front of him and let out a loud, unapologetic neigh.
Barca looked at Nightmare who seems to be walking in place and shifting his weight from one foot to another. Seeing no immediate reaction from anyone, Nightmare kicked the door and let out a loud, sharp sound.