The Duke's Passion

That day, Tilly showed Fabian more blank portraits, claiming that they were her portraits before she was born. For reasons unknown, Fabian just let her point at everything before she returned to her room. That was the first and last time Tilly showed him around and she barely spoke a word after that. 

For the past three weeks, their routine revolved around Fabian serving her tea and food. Surprisingly, Tilly's kitchen always had eggs as if they just appeared there magically. He didn't investigate because that wasn't important to him. He didn't plan to stay for a long time, so he also didn't try to build connections with this housemate. 

Not that Tilly even tried to befriend him. She was just like the first time he met her: quiet, strange, and still rang the bell.

"Tomorrow marks my one month in here," he muttered, staring at the pot where he planted a seed he saw when he was on his fourth day. He felt nothing special about his departure. Fabian had been investigating every night and, to his dismay, the vampires surrounding the forbidden forest didn't decrease. 

The only reason he still stayed despite that was he somehow trusted Tilly's words. She wasn't the type of person to lie... or rather, she was a terrible liar. Even if it turned out to be a lie, his stay here helped him plan his escape, and he recovered very well. Maleficent had been acting out when he stepped foot in the original land of the vampires, so he had to be in his best form once he stepped outside the forbidden forest. 

His thoughts trailed off when Fabian sensed Tilly's presence behind him. He turned around to see her by the door. His brows furrowed. This was the first time Tilly came to him in his entire stay here. So, it was actually a surprise that she was by the door leading to the garden.

"Are you here to walk in the garden, my lady?" he asked with a kind smile and a polite tone. But Tilly glanced down. She was only a step away from actually going out of the house, but she didn't. Not that she showed she was afraid to go out. It was more like she didn't have any interest in stepping out.

Tilly slowly raised her head, and as soon as their eyes met, her lips parted. "Tea."

"You want tea?" he inquired, and she nodded. "Sure. Why don't you have tea in the garden for a change..."

His smile remained, although Tilly didn't wait for him to finish before she turned around and walked back inside. When she was out of his sight, his smile faded as he glanced at the garden. Before, this garden was left unattended, but he already made it look like a proper garden. There weren't flowers or any of the sort, but at least it was clean and the grass was trimmed. 

"Until now, I still can't read what's inside that woman's mind," came out a mumble as he headed inside to make her some tea. Since he would depart tomorrow, he thought of being generous. 

***

"Here's your tea." Fabian served her tea in her room and sat down on the chair across from her. His eyes instantly landed on her pale face as she sipped the tea. He had been in this place for almost a month, and this was only the second time Fabian joined her.

"I will set off tomorrow," he said to remind her, but Tilly didn't have a reaction as she placed the teacup back on the saucer. "I can teach you how to make tea so you can do it on your own."

Tilly set her silver eyes on him and said nothing. She didn't have any reaction or showed even the slightest sign of her body language. Nothing. He was like talking to a wall. 

A shallow breath slipped past his lips as he gave up. If she didn't want, then there was nothing he could do, he thought. 

"Thank you for taking me in, Lady Tilly. I appreciate it." He smiled and tilted his head down to express his gratitude. "I will go tomorrow at dawn. But I will make you breakfast before that, although it might go cold once you wake up."

Her eyelashes just fluttered before she peeled her eyes away from him. Instead of answering, Tilly picked up the bell right next to her and rang it delicately. This was Fabian's cue that he should just leave her alone. It was not like they grew attached to each other as they barely talked. 

He planted his hand on the armrest, pushing himself up. As he stepped to the side, he placed his palm across his chest and bowed before turning around to leave. But just as he did, he turned his head back when the bell produced a clumsy ring as its handle broke. His eyes landed on the floor, and he glanced at Tilly, who was also staring at the handle in her hand. 

"It broke," she muttered with a slight frown. This was the first time she showed a little emotion, which was a little surprising to Fabian. 

'Did she grow attached to the bell?' he wondered as he sighed. 'Treat this as my appreciation for letting me have some peace in this place.'

Fabian walked back and picked up the bell. "My lady, don't frown. The handle broke, but the bell didn't." His words made her raise her head to him, seeing that Fabian placed the bell on the table before slipping his hand inside his suit. 

When he took out his hand, he was already holding a black handkerchief. She only watched him spread the handkerchief, holding both ends of it until it formed a triangle. Fabian then folded it until it became thin, slipping the end into the loop on top of the bell — like how one put a thread on the needle. 

After he successfully pull half of the handkerchief, Fabian was about to tie it but stopped. Instead, he gazed at her to study her momentarily. Tilly was pale and her hair, eyes, and dress were all white. She had no other colors other than white. Also, her hair still bothered her.

The side of his lips stretched into a smile until his eyes squinted. "My lady, should I tie your hair?"