In a blink of an eye, Elise found herself near the border of the forest with Ian. Her hands were not around his arm and when she took a careless step forward, Ian pulled her by her waist, saving her from the fall, "Still clumsy, aren't you, dearie?"

"Thank you," Elise said, her heartbeat was still pacing back and forth aloud. With his help she then found her steady ground and left the forest's border. "It's so quiet," whispered Elise and she looked to see the small village coming in sight but unlike her thought of normal village there was no light coming from torches or inside the house which was strange as they have come at night but not deadly night.

"Can't blame the silence, I was the one who made it," Ian grinned when he garnered Elise's eyes on him, "What did you think I do?"

"You killed them?" asked Elise as it was the first thought and answer that came to her mind upon thinking what Ian could have done to the village.

"I didn't," Ian said, and it surprised Elise honestly, "The village was a rural one, very small and simple. This place was where my mother came from and we came here once at a point but just briefly to cross by the village because the men hired by the bitch waited us here as they knew at one point my mother would come here to hide. When I became the Lord, I want to preserve a little of my mother's memory which I have none as I have burnt everything down."

Elise quickly took more steps and circled her hands around his arm, Ian looked at her small but endearing action as she didn't want him to feel sad. He never knew or expected that one day he would be similar to the fool people who fell in love blindly. It makes him wonder how he could feel such a love so ardently that his life which always been his prioritized became the last thing he could be bothered about?

"What are you thinking?" Elise asked when she saw Ian's eyes going into a thinking. The village must be a very important place for Ian as it hold many memories about his late mother.

Instead of thinking about the village, he looked into her eyes and said, "I was thinking how deeply in love I am with you to the point where I don't care about myself."

Elise was surprised by the sudden confession that had her heartbeat quickened in surprise. "Don't do that, you are also important," Elise stressed and Ian gave her a lukewarm nod that had her frown slightly but then she believed he would be alright. It was bad for her to say this, but at time, she was grateful for his curse in which he couldn't die so he won't ever lose his life on her hand. "How did your mother meet your father?" Elise then asked to lighten the mood.

"She never told me about it but I did heard some story about her from her closest maid. She was just a village girl when my father passed by the area, around here," Ian pointed the empty open road that they passed by, "He continue to visit the village through the carriage, like a stalker before finally asking my mother out for a few times. My mother tip toed with him at first but then fell in love for him. That's when her misfortune began."

The discussion the had previous times, played once again in Elise's mind. She had heard how bad Lady Lucy was treated, the woman was without doubt had a very lovely soul that must be resting in Heaven. "I think she might have been happy," Ian's eyebrows raised when she spoke, "She had you with her; I heard from the people in Saltige of how lucky it is when a mother is with their child. Although it was painful for her, you must be her reason to get through all the pain."

Ian's smile softened at her words, "Maybe you are right. I always asked my mother why would she stay loyal for a man like my father who had treated her no less than a garbage. She told me because she had made an oath to God but as time passes after her death, I realized it might not be because of the oath but me. She knew how difficult it was for a single woman to raise a son and she didn't want me to suffer. I do feel grateful for her words but I wish she would have left. Even if it was hard, I would rather live in poverty than to watch her breaking with the passing day."

Elise didn't reply, showing him a keen listening as it was what he needed now, "Mother often sacrifices everything of them for us," Elise said and she recalled about her mother. "After gaining my memories about my mother, I wonder how she died. If it was really illness."

"Was your mother's death tampered by the Angel's magic?" Ian questioned her, wondering if even her mother's death had been tinkered which mean something was hidden underneath the death.

"It wasn't tampered. Everything remain the same but I have never seen my mother's body. When I remembered it, I woke up somewhere different from my mother's house and it was around that time the aunt who I had to live with for three months told me that my mother had died." and now thinking about it, she found how strange it was for her not to see her mother's grave.

"Her grave should be in Saltige," Ian looked at Elise's blue eyes that shook when she shake her head at the same time. "It's not?" He asked.

"Her grave was moved in another village. I have never been able to see her," and she wished she could. In the past, Elise couldn't pull herself and the idea to visit her mother's grave because she still had the fear in the back of her mind of how her mother would abuse her. Not wanting to sully her mother's kind image which Elise liked more than the time she appeared mad, she pushed the idea of visiting the grave. But now that she knew the memories were false, the urge to visit her mother's grave came to her.

"We should visit there soon," Ian said, the words he given was as a promise. Being in the village gave Elise a little sense of creepiness because she could see at times how there are ghosts passing by but they weren't dangerous nor bother them. Like the time she wondered why no ghost ever come near her when Ian was with, she noticed that when ghost were passing by them, it immediately turn its path as if in fear. Everyone steered clear from him which confirmed Elise that they do knew him as a Demon.

They continue to walk until they reach to one of the house that looked more polished than the rest of the houses in the village as if it was cleaned daily, "This is the house," Ian announced, his red eyes fiercely gazed at the cream painted house that appeared older than the rest of the houses but cleaner.

Stepping inside the house, Ian lighted the candles left in the room with a snap of his finger, helping Elise to look around. The house wasn't an extravagant one. It consisted of a single bedroom and a kitchen, a simple house perfect for a single lady to live in. 

While the house was cleaned, she begin to notice how many of the things were left as it was. The books that were read half way opened in the dining room, there were signs of leftover teacups that had just been cleaned and somewhere it gave Elise a feeling as if there was someone who lived here but she found no one. It felt as if a time stopping magic was placed in the house to preserve the memories of the woman who once live here which now Elise knew was Ian's doing to keep the last memory he could have of his mother's.

"Did your mother live alone?" Elise asked, curious, "What about her parents?"

"I have never heard anything about my maternal grandparents. But my mother once touched the subject," said Ian and he didn't stop, continuing to walk until they reached to one room where Elise assume to be Lady Lucy's room based on the old bed on the corner of the wall. "She told me that they were gone when she was still a baby and was placed to live in the orphanage. Until she reached the age eighteen did she moved out from the orphanage and live in this village and house."

Elise recalled about the words he said and her brows raised a little, "But I thought she had a brother?"

Ian didn't forget it either and answered, "She never describe anything about him. She only said that they met again after years of separation but as for where that man live, what he was doing, or how he looked, I have never heard anything about him. She insisted to keep any information about him as a silence even during her death. At one point when my mother was running away with me, I asked her if we could come to his house but my mother said that we couldn't. Once again she gave me no reason for why not."

"Have you ever tried to find him?" Elise curiously questioned because his uncle was surrounded by many mystery, including the rumors that the man was a Satan's worshiper.

Ian twisted his lips, a light scoff passed by his lips, "For a man who could leave his own sister in her worse situation without protection or meet her again to find whether she was healthy a and alright; I have no zeal to search for the garbage."

Not far from them, the white crow who had been following the couple since they have arrived on the house while hanging its body on the roof of the house drew in a frown upon hearing his nephew's calling him a garbage but kept silence as he had been sneakily following them.

Elise thought of how the man was, and she wondered if there was another side of the story. Coming toward the old desk, Elise can't help but run her fingers on the table that was light dusted by dusts. Noticing one of the drawer opened, she pulled out the drawer to see there was nothing.

Something urged in Elise to find the drawer that had caught her interest. With a hint of curiosity, she pushed her fingertips on the surface inside the drawer and climbed up to the upper part of the drawer when she noticed something like a cover could be felt.

"Did you find something?" Ian, who had been watching what his curious bride was doing then question when he saw her expression frowning in a thought.

Elise nodded her head, "I can feel something here...like a cover of a book."

***

It's my birthday, therefore the one chapter so I can have a little holiday^^ thank you for the whites everyone~