Present,
"Do you know your mistake, Rivia?"
::No.::
"Let's pause for a moment." Observing the woman standing by the door, Avendial noticed her eyes continuously glancing at the voice receiver on his desk, while her lips were slightly parted as if she wanted to convey something. Without paying attention to her repeated recording, he shut off the device and repeated himself assertively, "Do you know your mistake, Dominic Rivia Aurelia?"
'!?!'
"M-master, I can explain." Rivia was caught off guard when she heard him utter her full name. The emotionless mask on her face started to crack, her eyes widening and lips quivering. Though she extended her hands, she couldn't move her feet from where they stood.
"Your actions could have hurt me today, you know?" Avendial looked blankly at her, observing her body language, which he may have forgotten in his long journey, but now showed no ignorance in understanding her mentality towards him.
Not all humans behave in the same way towards their partner, despite having a strong tendency and obsession. Fictional portrayals may exaggerate these traits, but in reality, human psychology categorizes individuals differently.
Just like presently, Avendial wanted to observe if Rivia's obsession for him could reach the limit where she could harm him physically, just like today where she put her interest in having him while not caring for his well-being.
But after hearing the transmitter, he at least understood that her obsession wasn't blinding her mind since she first drank poison herself, while trusting her Synergy, which could easily nullify her poison, but after finding it was really an aphrodisiac, she decided to feed it to him.
And after witnessing her reactions, he was confident that she was not the kind of person who would harm him or want to create a macabre doll out of his dead body, similar to the woman he once worked with in a previous life.
Yes, he had already dealt with obsessive women who were definitely not someone whom anyone would want to be with.
Now he just needed to confirm the fact that Rivia would not harm him after being cornered to the point of losing him, after all, one shows their extreme sides when cornered.
"No! Even at the cost of my life, I wouldn't have let any harm fall on you, Master!" Rivia instantly replied, as she lifted her feet to move forward, feeling inexplicable from within, knowing that even if she had to die today, she wouldn't have let anything happen to him.
"And you think that wouldn't have hurt me, huh?" Avendial leaned forward with his elbow on the desk, chin resting on palm, keeping his eyes fixed on Rivia, whose body was visibly flinching due to his words.
"...I-I," Rivia's feet didn't move an inch and landed at the spot from where they lifted a moment ago to move forwards, her head turned downward, with a hand reaching her chest as she clenched it near her heart, which was beating uncontrollably.
Normally, due to her Synergy, she was able to control her emotions, body functions, and even deal with hormonal changes, but somehow she had lost her Synergy today.
She didn't know how, but despair gripped her, knowing that if it was permanent, she might be abandoned.
In the dimly lit room, the finely textured and crafted walls and ceilings couldn't lighten the atmosphere, as the woman in the room bathed in the moonlight streaming through the window, feeling defeated.
"I am disappointed in you, Rivia." Avendial closed his eyes and leaned backward, showing his dissatisfaction with her actions, wanting nothing but to see her reaction while also conveying her mistakes.
drip drip
In that calm night, where the moonlight was the only source within, tear beads started to make their way out of those amethyst eyes, which had appeared like predators a moment ago but were not able to endure the harsh words, which instead of her ears were directly listened to by her heart.
Only swirls of thoughts remained inside her:
She was definitely wrong to do all this, but was it too greedy of her to want to have what she wanted?
Didn't he also go as far as to destroy businesses of his rivals just to get into that market?
So, was she to blame if she used the provided opportunity?
'It's wrong," Rivia's wrist lifted to wipe away her tears, which soon turned into unbearable agony as they streamed down. Her feet lacked the strength to approach him, and her voice barely stammered, "P-please, I-I am sorry, Master."
"....." Avendial stood from his place and averted his gaze from Rivia, not swaying away due to her tears, which she deserved to have due to the mistakes she made today.
If seen inside his memories, Rivia and he grew together from the early age of seven or eight after he brought her from the orphanage.
Due to his interest towards family and responsibility, he focused on always excelling in having profits.
That day, even as a child, he had seen some profit in bringing this girl home, who was beating some of the boys in the orphanage. He told her that she needed to become strong if she wanted to be close to him.
He had seen her swinging the wooden sword all night through the window of his room, whose light kept shining all night, as he studied to take responsibility for his family.
So, there was definitely a connection between both of them.
But even after knowing all this, this woman decided to take the gamble of her life and endanger it just to sleep with him?
He was enraged, especially that he had hardly managed to escape the princess' palace. It was beyond calming, at least for the upcoming few days until this woman learned her lesson.
"Prepare the bath." Ignoring Rivia, he glanced towards the two maids who stood with their eyes turned down and bodies trembling in fear due to whatever they saw and heard just now, fearing for their lives as they swiftly entered the bathroom upon hearing his voice.
They had just seen that woman crying and welling like a child, knowing well about her cruelty, they knew if she saw their faces, it would be the end.
"Yes, it's prepared, Lord." Both maids entered the bathroom before taking their leave, bowed, and swiftly left the room through the door, which remained wide open, leaving behind only Rivia, whose arms were drenched in tears as she kept clearing them, and Avendial, who without a glance at her, entered the bathroom.