Amethyst lay on her bed and began to leaf through the book on plants that she had picked from the library.
After a year, she would have to leave this place. She would then desperately need to start looking for a way to make a living, and she didn’t want to find herself lost along the journey to achieving her goal. Therefore, it was crucial to her, that she familiarise herself with all the possibilities that lay before her.
The other reason why she chose that book was because it was the only one in Alec’s office that had pictures in it and was perhaps, the easiest to read.
“Hmm…Bolvitart? This looks like a herb. I wonder if it is indeed edible? Since it isn’t stated here that it’s poisonous, maybe I can. Oh, this one looks like a pumpkin leaf!
“Konfrostart? What a name! Why can’t they name it something easy like potato, barley, corn or spinach.”
Knock knock.
A maid brought in a tray of food after knocking to notify her arrival. As she tried to carry it over to the table in a corner of the room, Amethyst stopped her.
“Will you bring it here instead?”
The maid hesitated before bringing it to her. Amethyst told the maid to leave it on the bed and gestured for her to leave. There were all easily digestible kinds of food on the tray.
“Oh man…I really wanted to eat some meat.”
The dishes in front of her lacked the meat dishes she liked so much. Her favourite lunch time menu consisted of cutlets, stir fried meat and previously on the weekends, she had eaten grilled pork belly for breakfast.
‘Tomorrow I must put in a request for some meat.’
Putting her longings for meat aside, she enjoyed the warm buttery soup by dipping toasted breadsticks in it as she immersed herself into the book.
She broke off a small piece of bread and flipped the page, sipped on her drink, and then flipped another. As she ate, breadcrumbs fell on the bed sheet, and the drink splattered onto its white expanse, but she found herself strangely unperturbed.
Her old self would have jumped at the idea of breadcrumbs on the bed, but now she found that she couldn’t be bothered about it. Simply changing her sitting position, she continued flipping the pages of the book.
As she started to feel fuller, she felt somewhat suffocated. Amethyst sat up, crossed her knees, then looking around, took off her undergarments and threw it on the table next to the bed.
“Huh, finally now I can breathe! I guess not anybody can be a Victoria’s Secret angel after all.”
She lay back down and kicking her legs in the air, started humming a tune. She took a bite of the cookie, the maid had brought along with her breakfast and turned the page of her book.
*
“Where is Ash?” Alexcent, who had barely managed to complete only the urgent pieces of work, returned to the mansion and asked Pon.
“Madam is in the bedroom.”
“The bedroom?”
“Yes. Well…according to the maids she even ate in the bedroom and has not left since then. Perhaps she is not feeling well-”
Alexcent frowned at Pon’s statement. He couldn’t help but be concerned if it was because of yesterday and headed straight to her bedroom instead of his office.
Knock knock
Alexcent opened the door as he knocked and frowned at what he saw. Then lifted one of his eyebrows in part disdain and part amusement. On the bed, surrounding her, were plates, books, pieces of tissue, crumbs of biscuits and tea ware.
“What…a scene.”
Amethyst sat up in surprise as she heard an unexpected voice. “What are you doing home at this hour?”
“I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“Not feeling well? Who, me?”
“Yes. I heard you didn’t leave the bedroom even once today. Were you here like this the whole day?”
“What do you mean the whole day, it’s only noon. I can stay like this for a week!”
Ignoring Amethyst’s reply, Alexcent let out a resigned sigh and walked towards the bed to picked up the book.
“Botany? I didn’t know you were interested in such things.”
“Ah, well it’s not that I’m interested. I couldn’t find any other interesting books in your office-”
“Then why don’t you do something more productive and efficient.”
“Productive?” Amethyst asked.
“Yes. Rather than dirty the bedroom…!”
Suddenly Alexcent’s ears turned red, and he was unable to continue his sentence.
“What is it?”
“Ash, you didn’t go to my office like that, did you?”
Amethyst followed Alexcent’s gaze and saw that her nipples, through her thin slip dress, were very prominently highlighted by the wrinkles of her dress.
As she wore a see-through dress where the bright sun cast a backlight around her, she appeared very sensual. Amethyst quickly pulled at her gown and wrapped herself with it, flustered at the look in his eyes.
“No, nobody saw me! And why are your ear turning red! You’re…making me embarrassed!”
“Ash… Have you forgotten that we have male servants as well? What if….” Just the thought of it put Alexcent in a bad mood; his ashen face betrayed it.