Elise hold her blue eyes to steer clear against his red eyes where a bewitching look had taken place on upon his handsome face. She felt her heartbeat raised and the ear he whispered to felt hot as if her skin had come in contact with a coal in winter.

"I think I will be fine," Elise refused. There was something that told her not to ask and she didn't mind Ian occupying her mind in times that he mentioned. Although it could be a problem at some point.

"Great then. If you had agreed, I would have told you that the answer to forget me is none." Ian took a step back, bringing his body to see how Elise's chest that tensed when he went closer heaved for breaths. "It doesn't seem like we have any problem left, shall we go?"

"I will take my cloak," said Elise and receiving Ian's nod, she went to her room to pick the same red cloak which she folded and settled beside her dressing table when the corner of her eyes caught something in the mirror and she stop. Her fingers ran on the crack that happened on the edge of the mirror which was considerably large.

"What happened to the mirror?" Elise questioned herself, finding her mirror broken to be surprising.

As she had no time to think, Elise put the matter aside without thinking too deeply into the broken mirror and leave the room to follow Ian walking toward the carriage. Before they enter the carriage, Elise saw Maroon bowing like the butler he was. Their eyes didn't meet and Ian who was standing beside Elise look at how passionately Elise was staring at Maroon.

Once entering, Elise noticed of how the carriage was brighter today as they left with the sun up high.

"Did Maroon gave you a hard time?" came Ian's silvery voice that brought Elise's gaze from the window to stop at him.

"He didn't, Mister Maroon is a very capable person and I wish to become more like him as a maid," explained Elise. She noticed how Maroon was quick to do every chores in the house when he almost seem like he didn't do anything.

"You don't have to do that," Ian stated which rouse Elise's curiosity. "The term you are holding now as a maid wouldn't stay long." Ian said meaningfully but his words were light which made Elise to question his words.

What did he meant by it wouldn't stay long?

"Maroon had been quiet since the first time I saw him," Ian continued where he left off as if he hadn't said anything important. "He was a very fiery one when I first meet him but it toned down. I later realize that he was just a bad talker. Therefore, you don't have to feel uncomfortable to him. He may seem to hate people but not in general."

"Master Ian, did you meet him before he works in the castle?" asked Elise because it sounded that way from what she heard which was unexpected as she thought Maroon chose to work there like most of maids or housekeepers in the castle.

"I offered him a work, he seemed to be very interested and took it," Ian's eyes trained on her, not leaving her eyes. "Now that I remember it was quite a journey meeting him before. He was like you in the past, a slave but not now anymore."

Elise was surprised at the new finding. Maroon was a slave?

"Did you buy Mister Maroon from the slave market?" like how she was?

"No. It's quite different. In my entire life I have only bought one slave and it is you," his hand reached out to her cheeks and his grin moving further up to feel Elise's cheeks that felt hot under his gloves. "Are you curious of how I meet him?"

"If you don't mind to tell me, I would like to know," Elise responded which Ian approve. It was great to see Elise had taken interest in his past although it was quite cumbersome to know it was more of Maroon's past she was curious of.

"Telling you would not matter but I don't think it's fair if I am the only one who tell in this exchange. How about you tell me of yourself?" Ian wondered what childhood do Elise went through after she left White Mansion and question if the Scotts was not as normal as they seemed to be.

"What do you want to know?" Elise asked, she felt her heart surge with warmth that Ian was interested in her past.

"Many but," Ian drawled at the same time the carriage had stopped before pulling the curtain of the window. His red eyes noticing where they had stopped and continued, "We have to put our little conversation to an end until next time."

Elise didn't have to open the curtain to look as the door was opened for Ian to walk down before her. Reaching the ground, Elise took note of the large board made out of wood hanged in arch shape between two wooden pillar. She then saw how the people in the street were dressed poshly and unlike the ground before the gate which was muddy, the road of the the street were paved cleanly, making the street fancier than the ones she had ever been.

Elise who was yet to familiarize herself to the name of street or town in Warine didn't know where she was. She and Ian both walked from the gate to enter the street. Elise, who had never been to the street before, found the street to be very different than any street she had ever walked to by looking at the people, she could tell the street was made for the wealthy and not for people like her. On both her right and left side were tailor shops and shoemakers shops with a few fabric stores.

"Where is this street?" asked Elise as Ian walked beside her, taking smaller stride to match her steps.

Elise heard him speak, "This street is famous for people who would like to shop for shoes or clothing," he then stop for Elise to follow his steps and stopped, "and this is the store I particularly like to shop when it come to shoes," she turned her head, seeing the small store which didn't seem like a shoe store as there were no shoes displayed behind the glass which was against the door. If it was not for Ian knowing the shop to be a store shop, Elise doubt she would notice the store to be one.

"Please!" shouted a person from afar before they entered the shop which caught to Ian's and Elise notice as the woman was running toward them, begging, "P-please help me! They are g-going to kill me!" said the woman with a shrill voice.

The sudden screaming startled Elise and she looked at the woman who was on the ground, her dress were in a dusty brown color filled with grim and mud where blood had covered her back and the smell had Ian's eyes to narrow while staring at the woman. His red eyes bear no emotions until he stopped to stare at the diagonal wound on the woman's back where her clothes were torn.

A/N: We reach the goal! Enjoy the 4 chapter mass release and I will be happy if everyone could keep up the records <3