"What’s that?" Xion motioned toward the painting on the wall.
The lady turned around, a soft smile gracing her lips, "That is a depiction of the third great war. Magnificent, is it not?"
Xion decided to ignore her question. Just a little revenge...
Even if he did not want to drink it, Xion still could not go against the lady’s wishes.
Despite his urge to smash the cup against the rune on the ground, he could only bring it to his lips and take a tentative sip.
He was ready for a similar sort of blandness to hit his taste buds. But the tea was sweet with a hint of honey and a delicate floral note, perhaps jasmine, that lingered on the palate.
At the very least, his throat was no longer painfully dry.
Only after he had taken a few sips did the lady decide to speak.
"Are you that Devil Archduke’s healer?"
Devil Archduke, who???
The silly Xion wondered. The only Archduke he knew was the father of Rael.
Xion shook his head firmly. "No." He really did not know anything about this devil archduke.
The lady in gold stared at him so hard that Xion felt self-conscious.
Is there dirt on my face? Maybe I accidentally drooled in my sleep?
Setting his cup down, he wiped his face vigorously with his arm. Feeling marginally less unsure, he glanced up only to see the lady still staring at him.
"There are many who starve to death. Food is precious, after all. Is that not right, young master Xion?"
Her tone seemed casual, but each of her words was filled with hidden needles. She might as well have outright called him an ungrateful bastard who was wasting food like some prodigal son of the rich.
A surge of irritation flared in Xion’s chest, rising like a tide that threatened to sweep away his composure. He had to bite his inner cheek to keep his tongue in check.
No, Xion, we can’t curse her. Not again.
He silently picked the cup up and took another sip. It was either that there was no poison at all or that it was a very slow acting one.
For now, other than his limbs being restricted, there were no visible signs of harm in his body.
Although he had carefully observed that the lady took the sip first, one just could never be fully sure.
At the very least, if something went wrong, he still had the system as his hidden ace up his sleeve.
Thinking , Xion had calmed down a lot. Even his movements while drinking tea had gone from stiff to actually enjoying the sweetness.
That was until he heard the lady speak again.
"Are you that devil’s mistress? A toy to warm his bed, perhaps?"
Xion choked on the last sip. His wide eyes watered, and his fair cheeks flared red as he coughed violently.
However, the lady seemed entirely unfazed by his struggle. Or rather, with the way she nodded to herself, it was as if she had interpreted Xion’s flustered face as confirmation.
"Well, you do have a face to tempt him."
"Stop!" Xion hastily wiped his lips, his eyes narrowing with irritation. "Listen here, lady. I don’t know any devil, nor do I know any Archduke. I’m only responsible for healing a child. Stop slandering innocent people!"
Each word shot out like bullets from a machine gun. How someone could act all high and mighty but have a brain filled with dirt was really beyond him.
His words halted the lady’s drinking action. She placed the cup on the table with elegance, and as soon as she did, the table vanished, leaving no trace.
"So, you... really do not know him?" She asked, her head tilted to one side in confusion.
Xion wanted to yell in frustration. Despite his words, she still refused to believe him. It was as if her arrogance and misconceptions had formed an impenetrable shield against logic.
He groaned, "I never knew a devil. I don’t know a devil. I don’t want to know the devil! Let me go, you lunatic!"
He was about to curse some more when the woman raised her hand. The familiar fingers, the same ones that had made him scream just minutes ago, moved toward him.
Wise enough to recognize the danger, Xion quickly shut his mouth.
The finger inched closer, and instinctively, he pulled back. She tapped lightly on the armrest, just near his still-tied left hand. The ropes snapped and fell to the floor.
Xion sat there, blinking in a daze. "Are you done? Can I go now?" he asked, disbelief written all over his face.
"I do apologize for my behavior, young master. I did not mean to offend such a gifted and blessed talent." She spoke in a soft voice as if she truly felt bad.
Xion glanced at the lady. He was actually impressed by her ability to talk nonsense. One minute, she was calling him a prostitute, and now she was praising him for being gifted.
It was only then it clicked Xion. He had never told his patients his real name. He had only used Aijawa.
"Wait a minute, how do you know my name?"
The lady did not answer. Instead, she said something that made Xion’s future plan burn like a delicate paper.
"Goddess Myrthia had sent an angel with hair so dark it could rival the darkest of the night. You should not follow that devil or anyone from his side."
She paused while fumbling into his pocket. Then she showed an old parchment, yellowed and blurry, to him.
Xion had to squint his eyes to read the words.
"This is the prophecy left by the angel."
Prophecy? Was this not a very famous nursery rhyme from his world?
Xion, bewildered and confused, looked at the paper and then at the woman. "Um, what does it mean?"
Now, please do forgive Xion, but he really could not understand exactly how was a twinkle twinkle little star supposed to deal with the devil.
Xion had no idea how his confusion saved his life. As the lady had said so, there was indeed prophecy, but that was for the arrival of the previous angel.
That prophecy had long since become the past, and now the church only had writings of that said angel.
She was only testing if Xion, who somehow had the same hair color, could read the ancient sacred language. By the looks of it, the healer did not understand anything.
She sighed, "It’s fine if you are unable to read the sacred text."
Xion, "..." I can. I am just too stunned to speak.
"No one can read this actually. These were left by the angel."
Xion, "... Yes, I can’t read a thing."
The conversation ended with the lady sighing in defeat while Xion was baffled at what he had just learned.
So, to say, this was left by his transmigrated senior?
He was once again put to sleep, then dropped off at the entrance of the inn.
Xion could not understand if he should curse his kidnapper or if he should thank them for giving him a ride back home. But thinking back to the women who openly disrespected him, he snorted.
Anyway, he had slipped a laxative into her tea, so she would be spending a good long while in the bathroom.
Thinking the trouble was finally over, he walked inside with an exhausted face, only to see Rael’s father chopping someone’s head right in the hallway.
Lady in Golden, "Do you know the devil?"
Xion, "No, not a hint of what you are talking about."
Ray, Allen, Nazia, "You do!"
Xion entered the inn, "Phew safe-"
Darius chopping someone’s head, "Where is he?!"
Terrified Xion, "Um, I think I should go back to my kidnapper."
The said kidnapper on her seventh trip to the bathroom, "I will remember this felony!"