Hope woke up in that fluffy bed she couldn't stand at all. Her head throbbed as if it was trapped in a vise while a torturer played with her mental health. She perceived the knock on the door as if someone with a mace was using it directly on her head.

Ayala's face appeared by the ajar door, and she smiled. "Good evening!"

Hope's temples vibrated with shock at the sound of the maid's voice. It took a few moments until she understood what the words meant. "What do you mean by evening?"

"I mean, you've been sleeping all day," Ayala smiled. "Are you telling me what happened last night?"

Hope sat with her eyes closed and tried to clear her thoughts. She remembered everything that had happened last night in great detail until Drake put her head on his shoulder and told her she could sleep. When Hope saw in her mind the scene with her vomiting on the window, the girl was horrified and ashamed, but those feelings passed quickly. It wasn't like she could go back in time and redo the past. She barely managed to stutter, "Can you bring me some water and some pickles, please? And then I promise I'll tell you."

By the time Ayala returned with water and pickles, Hope was in better condition. Now she could certainly have a conversation if they use a lower voice. "Before I tell you, can you first tell me how I got to my room?"

"That's simple," Ayala smiled. "I woke up in the morning and came to do my first chores of the day. I caught lord Springwood climbing the stairs with you in his arms. At first, I was scared, thinking that something bad might have happened, but then I saw the smile on his face and how calmly he looked at you, so I believed it was for the better not to intervene. I've never seen him like this before! The lord was so peaceful and happy!"

Hope smiled, imagining Drake in that situation. In fact, he had acted like a gentleman throughout the night while she had been... oh well, let's just say her usual self. She needed to talk to him and find out if she had paved the way for a connection between the two of them last night or destroyed that possibility forever.

Hope stuffed another pickle into her mouth, running to the door. "I'll tell you more in the evening!"

"But it's already evening," Ayala murmured in disappointment.

-----

Drake was in the yard, practicing knife throwing. He already stuck more than twenty knives in the trunk of a tree, and he was preparing to throw the next one. His posture was straight and perfect, and the knife flew with astonishing speed in a short, undulating jerk from his shoulder, elbow, and wrist.

Hope was approaching from the side and she could admire the strong shape of his chin and the straight line of his nose. The wind blew, bringing strands of black hair that caressed the perfect white cheeks. 'Even when he does lethal things, he still looks like a hell lord for whom anyone would be able to sell their souls,' Hope thought as she got closer to him. She noticed that the knives already stuck in the tree's bark formed the letter H.

"Should I take that as a compliment or a threat?" Hope asked amusedly. He answered neither with a smile nor with a look. "You can take it any way you want."

'Aha, it is obvious. Here we go again!' Hope thought resignedly and then continued with her outer voice without any hesitation. "Can we talk about last night?"

Drake threw the next knife, this time into another tree. "We have nothing to talk about last night. We both let our guard down and behaved like children. I indulged you according to our deal. It is over now."

He did not reach out to take the next knife and continue the exercise. Despite the birds announcing spring, Hope could not break through the infernal silence and bleakness that hung between them. She did not want to listen to those words. She wanted to hear Drake, but not the words he said to her now. Hope was expecting something else… What? She was a fool! She sighed and asked boldly, "So, what do I have to do today?"

In a split second, Drake picked up the next knife and threw it a few millimeters from her leg. "We've been playing childish games for too long, and I want you to do what I actually brought you here. You have to get the beast out of me or kill it. The choice is yours, but we can no longer live in the same body. "

Hope froze and, inside her mind, saw again those incredible red eyes and the cage that held that magnificent creature captive. Was that gorgeous beast in Drake? Hope managed to recover and muttered, "I'll try."

"Trying is not enough! You will succeed in a maximum of six months before winter comes, or your head will join Bernard's," said Drake, pointing to the ramparts of the castle, where the head of the manners and etiquette teacher was resting on a spike.

Hope's heart skipped a beat. Her big brown eyes were pinned down on Bernard's head, making her look like a deer lost in a very dark place while trying to escape the big bad wolf. "Did that man die because of me?"

Drake's laughter accentuated her malaise, and unpleasant chills ran through her as his voice thundered. "That man made his choice when he decided to leave and not listen to me. He made that choice on his own. Now the same option is yours. You fulfill the task I set for you, or you fail. If you succeed, I offer in exchange your life, freedom, and a small token of gratitude per your desire. If you fail, I get your head to adorn the walls of my castle with it. "

Hope was perplexed. She didn't see that coming. Is it possible to truly understand another human being? Even if we waste time and make serious efforts to get to know someone, in the end, how much do we manage to precisely understand what represents him as a person? However, perhaps most importantly, how can we tell if he really deserves to be known?

A/N: If you like this book, don't hesitate to join me on Discord: https://discord.gg/D8rNVYAV5G